EMBER's POV

"Ember? Ember. Ember wake up. " I heard the voice from deep within me but found it hard to respond to it, even if I was struggling to.


"Ember?" the voice called out again, and I forced myself to open my eyes.

"there you are." the voice said and the owner's face came into view.

"William?" I asked, my voice sounding terrible to my ears, but I was truly shocked to see him there. How had he even gotten in here?


"hey." he said and ran his hand down my cheek, and as I slowly got my orientation back, I realized that my head was cradled in his lap, "welcome back."

He is my college colleague. We used to be very good friends, but we lost touch after graduation.


"What happened?" I asked weakly as he helped me sit up,

"you passed out." he said, sounding worried, "easy there," he said when I tried and failed to stand.

"I passed out?" I asked, putting my hand over my head, and tried to remember what had happened. But as flashes of my memory came back to me, so did a very bad headache and I groaned,

"those witches." I hissed, remembering the encounter with Lara and Kate,

"Who?" I opened his eyes and stared into his worried ones,

"Paris's mother, and his mate, Kate. They were here, and I had head-to-head with them. I suppose I was overwhelmed."

"What the hell did they want?" he asked angrily, as he tried to help me stand.

"to try and kick me out of my own home," I said and smiled up at him weakly,

"they have some nerve," he said and helped me sit on the couch, before proceeding to get me a glass of water.

"But," I asked, accepting the glass, "how did you get in here?" I asked, wondering how he had gotten in here.

"I was calling and got worried when you didn't pick up. Axel said you weren't home, it's not a work day. I knew better than to call Paris, so I tracked you." he said simply and I raised a brow,

"you did what?" I asked totally confused,

"I tracked you," he said again and I shook my head,

"You want to tell me how you did that?"

"the rain. I was in the area and your scent was very prominent. Water only makes these things stronger. It was a stretch but I decided to follow it. When I got here, I tried Axel again to confirm that this place existed. He said it did, and alas, I had found you."

"the guards didn’t give you any trouble?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"they would have but I tried your number a lot of times out here, and so did they, after that, they were more open to my worry. But seeing as those two had come here earlier, it explains their hesitance to let me in when I got here.

I was quiet because, to be honest, I did not know what to say. I was still in shock that I had fainted.

"You saved me." I finally said and pressed my lips together, felt my chin wobble,

He sat beside me and rubbed my hand playfully, "You would have done the same for me, so don't you dare get emotional about this."

I blew out a breath and nodded, "Yeah. But I'm just thinking, what might have happened if you didn't come when you did, the way you did." I said and leaned on his shoulder.

He felt like Axel. He was warm, and steady and made sure I was okay. And I was grateful he stayed, even when I left.

"I'm just here, grateful that we don't have to know." he said, and patted my head gently, "but tell me though, what were you doing out in the rain, that had led you out here to take shelter?"

I sighed, and raised my head slowly, "Well, I was trying to get a divorce from Paris. I sent a text inviting him with a lawyer, but he never showed up. According to him, he never got my text, but I don't know if I'm supposed to believe that."

" a divorce you say?" he asked and I nodded,

"you could have told me, I would have done It for you," he said casually and I tilted my head with a smile,

"So you are what now? A lawyer?"

"Actually yes. I'm quite good at it," he said with a smile, and I blinked in surprise,

"I didn't know this. "

"Well, you've been a bit encumbered with life. Nevertheless, the point is, I can help you."

I brought out my phone and searched William's name and gaped, "You're famous!" I exclaimed and turned to him in awe and he smiled shyly,

"Long story short, I can help you," he said and I smiled,

"I'd really like that," I said and looked away. Between me and my wolf, I didn't know which one of us was more sad about me leaving Paris.

"Are you okay though?" he asked and I turned to him to find him watching me.

"no." I said and rested my head on his shoulder again, "but I will be."

William invited me to his house the next day, and I took the invite openly. I didn't really have many friends and was more than happy to connect with the handful of friends that I had.

"Ember," he said, greeting me at the front door, I smiled, then handed him the bouquet I had brought as a sort of housewarming gift,

"I didn't know what to bring, hopefully, this works."

"This works." He said and pulled me into a hug, "I told my sister Lily about you, she's very excited."

"mmm." I said and pulled away from the hug, "The more the merrier. I said and took his hand as he led me into his living room,

"let me just put these in a vase," he said about the flowers and I watched as he did so,

"Is she here?" a feminine voice called out, and I supposed that was Lily,

"She's here," William called out and we turned to the sound of Lily walking to the living room,

"Hi!" Lily called out happily when she arrived, and her smile made me smile too. She was about five feet tall and gave off a kind of pixie vibe

"Hello, I'm Ember," I said and stretched out a hand, but she put me into a hug,

"I know. I'm Lily." she said when she pulled away, "she's pretty." she said, turning to William, and I couldn't help blushing.

"Well, William, you've had her every time before." Lily said, tucking her hand through my hand, "So I'm going to steal her away for a moment."

"Lily, I don't-"

"It's okay." I said, and turned to William with a smile, "It's been too long since I had a sister-sister bond." I said and turned to Lily, "Let's go."

"We'll be back down when the meal is ready," Lily said happily,

"Ember, if there is a problem, just shout."

"will do," I said, and followed Lily to her room,

"I'm sorry, I wanted to speak to you in private," Lily said, and sat me on her bed,

"hmm. Fair enough," I said and blew out a breath, "so, what did you want to talk to me about?"

She got up and paced a few minutes, before finally turning to me, "I had a run-in with a witch a couple of weeks ago." she said and blew out a breath, "witches can be bloody, I tell you." I nodded,

"I've encountered a few bloody ones, myself."

"she put a knife into my calf. A silver one. If it had just been a knife, I might have survived, but she put something on it, and now I have a hard time shifting. I mean we all experience pain, but triple that pain, and that's exactly how I feel."

"wow. I've heard about things like that. But, I've never known anyone directly who had to deal with such."

"I've done a lot of digging and heard that wolf's venom from a very powerful wolf can cure my excessive pain."

"And that's where I come in?" I asked, smiling at her. My true identity was not news to William.

"yes," she said and nodded, her eyes pleading with me, and I sighed,

"I've never actually done something like this before. But I'm willing to try if it'll really help you."

"Thank you!" she said, and came to me so quickly and hugged me real tight, "thank you."

I patted her head the way William had the day before and she giggled, "We can go back down now. I'm pretty sure William kind of hates me for stealing you away."

"Sure, of course."

~~~

"back just in time." William said when we got down, "just finished preparing dinner."

"William made dinner? You must be really special." Lily said and turned to me, before helping to gather plates.

"she is," William called out and set out the platters of food on the dining table

When the table was arranged, we all three sat around the table to have dinner,

"I can't even remember the last time William cooked a meal for me." Lily said and shook her head, before putting some rice in her mouth and then sighed, "Heaven knows I've missed this."

"You've been really annoying, so consider it as what you deserve."

"good thing Ember took your invitation, I'm reaping the benefits."

William simply rolled his eyes and Lily laughed,

"My condolences to the man who falls for you."

"Oh. He'll be happy, you'll see. And you'll miss living under the same roof with me if I ever had to leave,"

"dream on."

"oh how I love you, big brother."

William merely raised a brow and smiled, but I saw the affection in his expression. It was obvious that behind their banter was a whole lot of love.