Chapter 281: Long cold night

The night dragged on in agonizing, suffocating slowness.

Despite Kaden’s constant care, Yuki’s fever stubbornly refused to break. The oversized T-shirt clung to her frame, soaked through with sweat as she tossed and turned, trapped in a restless half-sleep. Kaden had completely severed his main pack link, refusing to listen to any voices outside this villa.

"Kieran... make it stop... please..." she whimpered again, her small hands clutching tightly at the bedsheets as a tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

Kaden picked up the digital thermometer and checked her temperature again. His brow furrowed in deep frustration—her fever was climbing back toward the danger zone.

’The fever reducers aren’t holding,’ Kaden’s wolf growled internally. ’She’s in severe physical pain. Her nervous system is misfiring.’

Kaden let out a long, heavy sigh, running a hand through his loose dark hair. "This is getting ridiculously troublesome," he muttered.

Setting the wet towel aside, he reached out and placed his bare palm flat against her chest, directly over her heart. Closing his eyes, he began channeling his raw Alpha magic into her body to stabilize her core—yet as her small groans grew weaker, a dark, reckless thought crossed his mind.

’Fuck it. I’m going to regret this later.’

Kaden tapped into the specialized, ancient Ravencourt bloodline trait—the rare ability to absorb physical agony. Opening his core, he began drawing her physical pain directly into his own nervous system.

An immediate, excruciating shockwave slammed through his body. He gasped aloud, his jaw locking as it felt like thousands of white-hot needles were stabbing through his muscles and tearing at his nerves. Sweat broke out across his own forehead, his veins bulging along his neck as he absorbed her agony. But he stubbornly refused to pull his hand away, holding the connection open until Yuki’s chest finally stopped heaving and her pained whimpers faded into quiet, peaceful breathing.

He didn’t know how many hours passed in that agonizing state.

Eventually, a private mental thread opened in his mind—the single link he had kept unblocked. ’Kaden? How is she holding up?’ Kieran’s exhausted voice asked.

Kaden leaned back in his chair, taking a slow, shaky breath as he wiped a line of sweat from his own jaw. He looked down at Yuki, whose pale skin had finally cooled to a manageable warm flush. ’She’s stable for now. The seizure passed. Her fever has come down a little, and she’s breathing more evenly.’

He paused, testing his own sore arm before asking, ’How are you holding on down there? Any progress on the cure?’

’I am making headway with the compound,’ Kieran answered, though the flat, strained tone of his voice was far from reassuring. ’I still need to test the concentration. I can’t risk administering something that might make her condition worse.’

Kaden’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’And what happens if you fail, Kieran? What are you going to do when the military board comes knocking with your medical license on the line?’

A heavy silence stretched over the link before Kieran replied softly, ’I won’t fail.’

The mental connection snapped shut.

Kaden stared down at the sleeping girl. It was the dead of night now, the cool night breeze blew in from the balcony glass carrying the wet scent of rain. Reaching out, he placed a freshly dampened towel over her forehead, then gently took her small hand in his. Tiny, faint white sparks of his raw Alpha magic floated harmlessly between their intertwined fingers, soothing her resting nerves.

’How much longer do you plan on playing martyr for her?’ his inner wolf grumbled, sounding mildly impressed despite himself. ’You can’t keep absorbing her nerve pain forever.’

Kaden’s lips curved into a dark, arrogant smirk as he tightened his grip on her hand. "Shut up," he murmured internally to his beast. "This is nothing." He said. He had to do this with Kieran’s license on line.

*******

Deep into the quiet hours of the night past midnight, Yuki was gently nudged awake by a soft, delicate sound.

Meow.

Her eyelashes fluttered, as her eyes slowly opened.

She found herself lying in a dimly lit master bedroom. Massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows framed the dark, rain-swept night, while the soft blue glow of ambient wall sconces illuminated the opulent wooden décor. Her head still throbbed with a dull, distant ache, and her entire body felt strangely sore, as if she had run a marathon.

She tried to shift her arm, only to realize that someone was tightly holding her left hand.

Yuki turned her head, her eyes widening in sheer bewilderment. Slumped sideways in the armchair beside her mattress, sound asleep with his broad shoulders resting against the edge of the bed, was Kaden.

"Kaden...?" she blurted out in a faint, raspy whisper, utterly stunned to see the hot-tempered General sitting vigil by her side.

Meow.

The soft sound chimed again from the far side of the room.

Yuki turned her head toward the window. Sitting gracefully atop the wide marble sill beneath the moonlight was the most breathtaking cat she had ever seen—a sleek, pristine white feline with striking, luminous violet eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.

Yuki’s breath caught in her throat, completely enchanted by the creature’s ethereal beauty.

Slowly, carefully, she slipped her fingers out of Kaden’s warm grip. Despite his hyper-vigilant military instincts, he didn’t even twitch, utterly exhausted from taking on her nerve agony for hours.

Yuki swung her legs off the mattress, but the moment her feet touched the rug, her knees buckled like soft jelly, and she collapsed onto the floor with a soft thud. She gasped, holding her breath and glancing back at Kaden—but the General remained dead to the world.

Scrambling back up onto her shaky feet, Yuki staggered unsteadily across the plush carpet toward the open balcony window. Cold night air washed over her face as she looked down at the pristine white cat.

"Are you lost...?" she murmured softly, leaning her hands against the marble sill.

The white cat tilted its head, letting out a sweet, melodic meow as its vibrant violet eyes locked directly onto hers.

"Do you want to come inside?" Yuki asked gently. It certainly wasn’t the smartest idea to invite an unknown stray animal into a high-security Alpha villa, but she was too captivated to care.

She stepped back, making room, and the white cat leaped effortlessly over the sill, landing silently on the hardwood floor before trotting casually toward the center of the room.

Yuki spun around, watching the cat with a bemused, fascinated smile. There was something unsettlingly, hauntingly familiar about the creature—especially those brilliant, otherworldly purple eyes.

Dragging her heavy legs forward, she stopped a few feet away, leaned down, and tilted her head as a wild, impossible thought crossed her mind.

"Is that you... Yuki?" she blurted out softly, calling the cat by her own name.

It was a completely absurd question, but after everything she had experienced, nothing felt too crazy anymore.

To her absolute horror, the white cat’s lips curved into a distinctly human, mocking smirk.

In the next fraction of a second, the feline form dissolved in a swirling ripple of bright, ethereal magical light, expanding upward until a tall, imposing male figure stood in its place. He possessed long, flowing silver hair, striking violet eyes, and a face so sinfully, breathtakingly gorgeous that her mind completely froze trying to process his presence.

"Thought it would take you a lot longer to figure it out, Miyuki," the man drawled, his deep, velvety voice echoing smoothly through the quiet room.

Yuki stumbled backward in sheer terror, her hands slapping over her mouth as her heart leaped into her throat.

No fucking way.

Was he some kind of ancient werecat?

And behind her, still slumped in the chair with her warmth lingering on his fingers, Kaden slept on—unaware of what had just walked into the room.