That night, I couldn’t sleep. My body felt on fire from the allergy, and the whole night was filled with restless dreams of Celeste and the cruel laughter of Asher’s friends. When I woke up drenched in sweat, the ache in my chest was almost as bad as the reaction on my skin.
As dawn broke, Asher shook me awake, his usual playful smirk on his face.
“Rise and shine, Lois!” he teased, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead.
I jerked away, glaring at him. “What are you doing?”
“Waking up my Snow White, what else?,” he replied, amused by my reaction.
“Ugh,” I muttered, wiping my face in disgust. “It’s the weekend, Asher! Can’t you let people sleep?”
He raised an eyebrow, his tone softening. “You’ve got hives all over, Lois. And you’re burning up. I’m taking you to the pack healer.”
“I’m fine;” I insisted, but he wasn’t having it.
“Humor me,” he said with a shrug, already pulling me out of bed.
Reluctantly, I got dressed, too tired to argue.
At the pack’s medical center, the sterile smell of antiseptic hit me as we walked through the corridor. Then we saw her—Celeste.
Wow.
She was limping slightly, her face lighting up the moment she saw Asher.
“Asher!” she called, smiling at him. “What a surprise!”