My eyes were sticky and heavy with exhaustion. My lips were dry and stuck together. My mouth tasted odd. My body felt heavy. I opened my mouth and sucked in a deep breath. I shifted under the blankets. How long had I been asleep?

The door cracked open. “Raine?”

“Mm, yeah?” I mumbled, blinking.

“...I’m sorry for getting angry at you,” it was Cedar.

“No, no, don’t apologize,” I sighed, shifting onto my back. “I get it.”

“N-no, I-I really should apologize,” Cedar hesitantly stepped into the room, leaving the door open. “I was emotional, and… in pain. The doctor called. Amber’s awake. W-we can go see him… if you want.”

“...I don’t know if he’ll want to see me,” I breathed.

“Well, Amelia and I are gonna leave soon,” he took a step forward. “Wanna come with us? Y-you can just… wait outside the room and we can ask him if he wants to see you. I know he won’t blame you, he’s not like that.”

“You blamed me,” I muttered.

“And I was wrong,” Cedar replied. “Do you wanna come?”

I thought for a moment, shifting under the blankets, “Okay.”

I slowly sat up on the bed, realizing I was still in my clothes from yesterday. I pushed the blankets away, stretching. I heard a few joints pop.

“A-again, I’m really sorry for blaming you,” Cedar said, shifting his weight.

“Again, it’s okay,” I stood up, grabbing the phone off the nightstand. “I get it.”

He tilted his head, “Where’d you get a phone?”

“Oh, uh…,” I hesitated. “The, uh, the God of Ivory Tower gave it to me.”

His eyes widened.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just lowered my head and motioned to the door. He slowly nodded, opening the door. I grabbed my jacket and boots, following him down the stairs. Amelia was waiting by the door. I quickly put on my boots and then my jacket, zipping it up to my chin.

“The God gave him a phone,” Cedar breathed, still in disbelief.

“Yeah, he was here for a bit last night, too,” I rubbed my still-tired eyes. “I, uh, gave him the names.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Amelia said, acknowledging both me and Cedar. She looked at me with concern, “You sure you want to go?”

I only nodded, rubbing my eyes. She slowly nodded in response, then led us out of the house. There was a car waiting. Cedar and I sat in the back while Amelia sat in the front. I immediately leaned my head on the window and closed my eyes.

“Cedar, did you wake up Raine?” Amelia asked.

“No, no, I was already a little awake,” I mumbled. “I’m just tired.”

The ride to the hospital was silent. I could practically feel Cedar’s fear radiating off him. He was bouncing his leg and messing with his sleeves. His brown hair was unbrushed and stuck out from under his hat.

When we finally pulled up to the hospital, Cedar and Amelia were quick to get out of the SUV. I followed a few paces behind, head lowered, not exactly overwhelmingly excited to see Amber.

“Dr. Crane!”

“Alpha Rose,” the doctor said. “Amber is doing surprisingly well, considering his medical history. We’re keeping him on some light morphine for the time being, just until he gets a bit stronger. His fever’s gone down, but he hasn’t eaten yet.” I could feel Dr. Crane’s eyes on me, “That’s him? The one chosen by The God?”

“...Yeah,” Amelia said, glancing at me.

“Will Amber be okay?” Cedar asked. “I mean, in the long run?”

“That’s the hope,” Dr. Crane replied. “Of course, he is much weaker than your average werewolf, so he’ll probably be without an arm until he gathers enough strength to fully shift.”

“Of course, thank you,” Amelia said, taking Cedar’s hand.

I followed them down the hall towards the intensive care unit.

The ICU was practically empty, aside from a few nurses. I waited outside Amber’s room while Amelia and Cedar went inside to talk to him. I could faintly hear their voices, but tried not to eavesdrop.

Out of boredom and an attempt to ignore my anxiety, I explored my new phone.

The wallpaper was a picture of the snowy archery range deep in the forest, which made me smile at the memory of my first meeting with Cloud. There was practically nothing on the phone aside from the few contacts and a notepad app.

There was also what appeared to be an emotion-tracking app. I opened it. It hadn’t been set up yet, so it started from the beginning. I put in my name and date of birth, then slowly followed the tutorial, carefully reading each step.

“Raine?” Amelia leaned out the door. “He’s agreed to see you. We’ll wait out here.” She and Cedar stepped out of the room.

I could only nod, stuffing my phone in my pocket. I took a deep, trembling breath, trying to push down the fear growing in my chest and clogging my throat. I lowered my head and walked into the dimly-lit room.

The first thing I heard was the heart monitor. The sheets and blankets shifted as Amber attempted to sit up.

He wore a soft grey button-up shirt with short sleeves that exposed the bandages on what remained of his right arm. His shoulder-length orange hair was hanging limp, lacking its usual soft volume. His skin was unnaturally pale. In his remaining arm, there were two IVs. Over his legs, there was a tray of food which appeared untouched.

“Hey,” his voice was scratchy.

“Hi,” I muttered, looking down.

“...It’s not your fault.”

“I know.” I glanced up at him, quickly looking back down, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve been better,” he lightly chuckled.

“...I’m sorry.”

Amber sighed, “Raine, it’s not your fault.”

I took a deep, shaky breath, “He came here looking for me.”

He was quiet for a moment, then deeply sighed, “He…. He probably would’ve gotten a werewolf sooner or later. Just happened to be me. I’ve always been pretty unlucky.” Again, quiet for a few seconds. “Amelia and Cedar explained that The God of Ivory Tower likes you, and that they… took care of the hunter. Is that true?”

I nodded.

“Do you like them? The God?”

“Yeah, he’s really sweet.”

“Good…. Why did he choose you, anyway?”

I debated on telling him what Cloud had told me, but decided against it, “I don’t know. Maybe….” I shook my head, “I’m assuming it’s a god thing. I-I think I’m gonna go live with him. He has a cabin, apparently.”

“Hm. How far away?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Not too far.”

“It’s been--what?--a month since you first came here?” Amber chuckled. “Moving a bit fast, don’t you think? What are you, a lesbian?”

A little chuckle escaped me, “Maybe….” My smile faltered, “I miss him.”

Amber tilted his head, brows furrowed, “The God?”

I nodded.

“Then go see him,” Amber said. “I’m fine, Raine, don’t worry about me, I’ve been through worse. Worry about yourself. Go live your life.”

I scoffed, rolling my dark eyes, “Easier said than done.” I suddenly felt as though the room was all too small, “I-I’m sorry, I think I need some air.”

I spun around and left before he could say anything.

“Raine, are you--” Amelia started.

“I need some air,” I breathed, walking away.

I speed-walked down the hall and to the exit, practically running into the cold, snowy outside. I sucked in a deep breath. My hands were shaking. Why was I shaking?

I leaned against the cold wall, breath fogging in front of my face. I pulled out my phone, opening the contacts. I put the phone up to my ear and listened to the line ring on the other side.

“Hey, how are--? Ah, fuck you, Dexter.”

“Sorry,” a soft voice on the other side said.

“You should be,” Cloud replied. “Sorry about that, Raine. How are you?”

“I-I…,” I took a deep, trembling breath. “I’ll live with you. I want to go live with you, in your little cabin. C-can you come pick me up? I’m at the hospital.”

“The hospital?” He echoed, “A-are you alright?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” I quickly said. “I just talked with Amber. H-he told me to live my life and…,” I took a deep breath. “I need to move on. I can’t stay in Amelia’s house forever. Besides, I…. I miss you.”

“Raine, are you alright?” Amelia was next to me.

On the phone, Cloud said, “O-okay, I’ll walk over there in my wolf form then we can go pick up your truck? I’ll drive.”

“Y-yeah, okay,” I nodded.

“Raine?” Amelia touched my shoulder. “Is that him?”

I nodded to her. “I’ll see you soon.”

The smile was easy to hear, “Yeah, soon.”

I slowly hung up, slowly exhaling.

I looked at Amelia, shrugging her hand off me, “I’m okay. Cloud’s gonna come pick me up. I’m…. I’m going to his house. We’ll get my truck from the shop then stop by your house to get my bags.”

She slowly nodded, “Then I guess this is goodbye.”

“No, no,” I shook my head. “I’m still going to work at the shop. I’ll be around. I’m just… going to live with Cloud.”

She exhaled, “I can’t believe it’s only been a month since you arrived.”

“Yeah, feels like an eternity,” I breathed.

“Well, if you want to go live with him, I’m not going to stop you,” she said. “Take care of yourself, okay? I can’t help but worry about you. And, thank you for the names. I’ll send the police to arrest them soon.”

“Thank you, Amelia, for everything.”