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This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Was the witch’s spell taking my son from me?

Maximus caught up to me just before I reached the clinic. He didn’t try to stop me from going into the building; nothing would have kept me from getting here. A nurse approached, urgency written on her face, responding to my panicked look. My breathing wouldn’t settle. I gulped down air, but words wouldn’t come as I tried to explain what was happening.

“He won’t stop vomiting,” Maximus explained to her. “It just started within the last half hour. First, it was normal spit-up, but now—”

Titan vomited all over me again. Tears spilled down my face as I clung to him. I wanted to fix this, to take away whatever was wrong with him and deal with it myself. Whatever it took to relieve his pain, fear, and illness.

Could I do that?

“Give him to me. We need to get him on fluids immediately,” the nurse said, placing her hands on Titan.

The way I growled made the nurse take a step back. I wanted to hand him over; they were here to help him. But how could I trust this person to take care of my pup? What if the curse could alter those trying to help him?

“It’s okay, Kylie. They are here to help,” Maximus whispered in my ear, gently pulling Titan from my arms.

The way my lycan surged to the surface made me whimper at seeing my son in someone else’s arms who could help him when I couldn’t. I sank to my knees. This was the worst feeling I had ever experienced in my life.

Maximus picked me up in his arms, and I thought this would make me feel safe, but it didn’t. I wanted to be at my son’s side. He needed to know I was here; I hadn’t abandoned him in his time of need. I sobbed against Maximus’s chest, not knowing what I could do to help or fix this.

“It’s okay,” Maximus whispered when he sat down in a chair with me cradled against him. “We will get it all worked out. He will be fine.”

Anger brewed inside me. Did he really not know this was all because of him?

I pushed away from him and sucked in enough air to steady my rapidly beating heart.

“Do you not understand what is happening here, Maximus? This is because of the spell Zephyrine cast on you for breaking her heart! Now she plans to break everything of yours!”

His eyebrows furrowed, a low growl rising in his throat. “What are you talking about?”

“How can you be this stupid? She wanted you to suffer, and this is how she plans to do it. Zephyrine made you ignore the signs of a strong mate bond and reject me. A fated mate! A way for you to become stronger and hold your reign over the kingdom! It broke us apart and made you think that it was done, that the curse wasbroken.” I balled my fists at my sides. “But it wasn’t. It’s far from over, Max.”

“You’re blaming me for my son getting sick right now? It could just be a stomach virus. How are you jumping from him having an upset stomach to a damn curse?”

He was white-knuckling the arms of the chair. Maximus wanted to respond but didn’t know how to control himself. His breathing was labored, and his nostrils were flared. Maximus was barely holding it together.

That didn’t stop me.

“It’s because of you we are in this position. You were thinking with your dick, and it made another woman snap. It’s not even you who is suffering, Max. It’s me and your child!”

I stormed out to get air. It was becoming harder to breathe, knowing my son was fighting something these nurses and doctors wouldn’t be able to heal. The only person who could undo this would be Zephyrine, and I had no idea how I could get in contact with her. What was her endgame even? Why would it trickle down to a person who had no part in this?

The cold air hit me, and I sucked in a breath to try to calm my nerves. I couldn’t go too far, but staying in that space with him wouldn’t help how I felt. This was becoming too much.

I felt his energy before his actual touch. Maximus grabbed my shoulders and whirled me around to face him. The look on his face wasn’t what I thought it would be. Pain etched his features, and I thought I saw moisture in his eyes. I watched his Adam’sapple bob as he struggled to speak. He had something to say; I could see it. So I waited until he found the words.

“Zephyrine’s curse was more than I thought it was—I see that now. I hate how it’s come down to my child’s life being on the line for me not to take it seriously. I’m so sorry.”

My face hardened at his words. “Sorry? You think that is all I will accept when our son is in the clinic!”

He winced at my words, and he opened his mouth to say something, but I pulled away from his hold on my shoulders and took a step back. Shaking my head, I narrowed my eyes on him.

“Take accountability for your fucking actions, Maximus, or get the fuck out of my life.”

He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. “That’s the last thing I want,” he murmured. “Please, don’t leave me. Not now… not after I found you again.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a huff. This wasn’t going to be a moment where I let him off the hook just because he apologized. It was hard to keep the anger inside me as I watched him look utterly broken. Every instinct I had was to wrap him up in my arms and make it better in any way I could. It hurt to see him like this, but I was tired of him thinking this was over. Just because he said a few apologies and things were becoming a little comfortable didn’t mean we were fine now.

We weren’t.