Morning arrived unexpectedly so fast and Shalei felt as if she had just taken a nap for half an hour. Her mind had been foggy throughout the sleep, never truly delving into a deep slumber as her head was filled with jumbled thoughts.
At some point of time, she might have been dreaming about her childhood, the blurry features of her parents and then everything was sucked away into a whirlpool of darkness, leaving a pair of mesmerizing blue-green eyes which was the final straw that jolted her awake. At least, she was thankful that she didn't have any nightmares about the Infected.
The bed was bereft of a certain silver wolf and the mattress was cold when Shalei touched it. How long had Sebastian been awake? Shalei didn't even sense him rousing, considering her fitful sleep.
The scenery outside the window drew her attention away. Dusky orange light sprinkled in through the murky clouds, and if she hadn't observed the morning these past few days, she would have thought that it was already afternoon.
She felt well-rested but as soon as the thought of yesterday's event came back, all of the anxiety and nausea returned yet again. She took a deep breath, changed into another more casual gowns — she would really like to wear normal outfits, really; but that would be the discussion for another day — and left her room to find the hallway empty.
That wasn't unusual. She seemed to remember Sebastian saying something about repairing the destroyed beacon last night thus she directly descended the stairs and met Meagan halfway.
"Good morning, Meagan."
"Your Excellency," Meagan's eyes lit up and Shalei scratched her nose sheepishly. She still couldn't get used to how enthusiastic the mother and daughter pair were. It was as if they genuinely enjoyed seeing her. Nobody had ever looked at Shalei with such vigor, such happiness as if they truly welcomed her existence in their lives. But these people he had only met for the past few days, they made her feel… unsteady. Like she could finally relax and lower her guard, disregarding the teachings and etiquette that had been drilled into her since young. "Did you have a good rest?"
"I did, thank you for asking." She continued her way down and Meagan followed behind her. "How about you and Patricia?"
That's right, she wanted to ask more about the rank division of Alpha, Beta and Omega to see if her understanding from fantasy books was the same in real life. However, she halted when a worried expression flashed through Meagan's face. Shalei took a guess. "Did something happen…?" Oh please God, not again, not this time. She wasn't ready to deal with whatever it was after she had just woken up less than an hour ago.
"Oh, no, everything is fine." Meagan forced a smile and it certainly didn't seem fine. "It's just that… Patricia has caught a high fever."
Shalei made a little surprised noise in her throat. "She's sick?"
Meagan nodded and this time, Shalei could clearly see how worried she was. Strands of hair had escaped from her ponytail, framing her thin face. Her eyebags were prominent and her fatigue was clear for anyone to see. "She was just feeling a little cold last night and this lowly one didn't think too much about it but today, when this lowly one wakes up, her body was boiling all over and she kept moaning and groaning in pain."
Creases slowly made their way to Shalei's forehead. She slowly worded her sentence. "Do you think she has been spooked by last night's event?"
"Perhaps." Meagan gave a wry smile. "But this lowly one can't be certain either if it is just an average fever or… she has started manifesting." She swallowed, her voice thick with fear. "Her Excellency might not have a clear idea but Omega's chance to survive through manifestation is less than 50%."
Dread slowly dawned on Shalei as she registered the meaning behind Meagan's words. Patricia's chance to survive was less than 50%? That meant… she would either survive to be the werewolf or die?
Shalei thought of Patricia's sunny disposition, her gummy smile and the freckles on her face, and felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Such a young twelve years old girl was going to go against death so early on? Shalei had become fond of the girl in such a short time and the idea that Patricia could be dying felt like a punch straight to her gut; she had no idea that becoming a werewolf was such a horrifying process.
"Take me to her." Shalei said after she had found her voice again. In such a circumstance, there was no way she could stomach anything without throwing up ever again. She leveled Meagan with a hard stare and helplessly, the woman started to guide her along.
The mansion was devoid of people along the way and as she had expected, everyone was out to repair the gate and beacon. They descended the stairs again to the second floor and arrived in front of one of the rooms that was plastered with various cute stickers. The corner of Shalei's lips lifted slightly at the sight.
Meagan knocked on the wooden door and swung it open after she heard a weak response. "Patti," Meagan said softly. "Her Excellency is here to visit you."
The room was smaller than Shalei had imagined, but that was only because her room was large — she suspected that it was the largest in the entire mansion. Patricia's room seemed like a guest room for one, only wide enough for a single bed and wooden cabinet.
As soon as they entered, Patricia almost jumped off the bed, her eyes wide in bewilderment and panic only to fall back again as her arms hadn't quite regained strength. "Y—Your Excellency!"
"No, it's fine." Shalei hastily pressed her shoulders down. "Just lay down and rest."
The girl still looked disgruntled and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at her disheveled look. Shalei sat down by her bedside and took in her appearance; her face was pale, lips chapped, bluish shadow under her eyes and oily hair stuck to her skin due to excessive sweating. In one glance, Shalei could tell that she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. She furrowed her brows. "How are you feeling?"
"Hot and cold." The girl giggled, high and breathless. She tugged the blanket up to cover the bottom half of her face, and Shalei was relieved to find that her honey brown eyes were still as bright as ever. "Your Excellency, do you think I will be able to become a werewolf after this?"
"Patti," Meagan admonished with a soft and doting tone. "We still aren't certain whether you are undergoing transformation or it's just a regular fever."
"But I swear I can feel my bones creaking last night!" She retorted loudly. "And my body feels heavier and my joints are sore too. It's the same symptoms as told in the books!"
Shalei had no heart to tell her that a regular fever's symptoms also included bones creaking and soreness throughout the whole body, moreso when Patricia turned to her and urged, round eyes brimming with tears that were ready to fall anytime soon. "What do you think, Your Excellency? I will become a werewolf, right? I…" She bit her bottom lips and her voice trembled when she spoke, "I really, really want to fight alongside everyone. I have been training with Keith since I was nine. I want to eliminate the Infected, to search for food, to protect Mother and not only waiting at home for everyone to come back when I know there's a chance they will not return ever again, like Father and Kylie…"
Exactly how much hardship had they gone through to compel such a thought from a twelve years old girl? Shalei's heart ached sorely for the girl, despite not knowing who Kylie was. Pointedly, they must be someone important to Patricia, as important as her father perhaps.
Heavens, she was really weak toward this kind of small, adorable being who was kind and selfless thorough and thorough. From her peripheral vision, she could see Meagan discreetly wiping her tears and she sighed, reaching for Patricia's cold and clammy hands.
"You will." Bullshit. Shalei knew she was uttering nonsense but if it could make Patricia feel better, she would even talk until her mouth went dry. With the most serious look she could muster, she declared. "Don't worry, Patti. You will definitely become a werewolf."
Patricia's honey brown eyes brightened up like they contained boiling, molten gold inside and Shalei felt like she had never made any better decision than now. "Yes!" She pumped her fist in midair and if she wasn't lying down right now, Shalei was certain that she would be jumping all over the place now. "I sure will!"
Shalei chuckled and brushed the hair sticking to Patricia's forehead away, telling her to go to sleep so that she could get better soon. Only then did she leave the room and close the door behind her. By her side, Meagan murmured again and again, tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you, thank you so much, Your Excellency."
The deep gratitude and reverence that burst forth her eyes were so overwhelming that Shalei could feel it vividly on her skin. "It's really nothing, Meagan." She shifted awkwardly on her feet. Seriously, what did she do to warrant such a reaction? She did nothing other than comforting Patricia but both of them reacted as if everything she said would come true in the future.
There was no way it would… right?