"Fenris, stop talking nonsense. No pack healer is going to treat someone of your station."
"The poison's already taken hold. It's too late. Just be good. Even if you can never sire pups again, my pup will still call you father."
I gripped her hand so hard my knuckles went white. "Seraphina, listen to me. I am the Alpha Heir. The Supreme Alpha's own son. Go find a healer to save me. Now."
But she thought I was lying. She wrenched her hand free, anger flashing across her face.
"You've really disappointed me. There's a limit to how far a lie should go. This is the pack stronghold's territory, not some borderland den of yours. One wrong word here can cost you your head."
She turned on her heel, the night-blooming jasmine of her scent already retreating, already cold.
"It's only barrenness. It won't kill you. Look after yourself."
I watched her walk away, and the last shred of hope inside me died.
Deep in my chest, my wolf let out a sound that wasn't quite a howl. Low, airless, like something crawling into a place it wouldn't come back from.