Beneath the Alpha's Moon
Chapter 303: Complications

Chapter 303: Complications

Eldur’s POV

I had never been more careful with anything in my life—not even my own cursed heart. But as I held the enchanted urn in my arms, cradling Margaret’s ashes like something sacred, I knew the stakes weren’t just mine anymore.

They were Nova’s.

They were everything.

Mai and Ollie stood to my left, quiet for once. The sky above was bruised with the colors of twilight—purple clouds stretched like torn silk, the moon peeking shyly behind them. The air hummed with magic and memory. I could feel Aethros pacing within me, silent, tense, hopeful.

"Elizabeth, we’ve got it," I sent through the mind link, my thoughts sharp and steady.

Her voice came back almost instantly, calm but laced with urgency. "I’m at the cottage. Bring the urn. I’ll be waiting."

"Got it," I replied, already moving. My family followed quickly as I informed them where Elizabeth asked to meet.

We all stood at the edge of Elizabeth’s magic cottage—the one tucked deep beyond the shattered grove, past the stones that murmured ancient names when the wind dared to stir them. Whenever she returned to the valley, this was her sacred ground. She claimed the air here pulsed with stronger magic, like the land itself remembered spells from a forgotten age. Her cottage always smelled like wild herbs, stardust, and books too old for history to remember.

The door creaked open before I knocked.

"You brought her," Elizabeth said, her voice low and wise, eyes glowing with the kind of knowledge I’d never trust in anyone else.

I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. My throat was a knot of flames.

Instead, I held the urn out.

Elizabeth’s gaze softened. She took it from me gently, like it was a newborn, not the remains of the woman who’d cursed the girl I loved.

"We’ll need moonroot," she murmured, more to herself. "And sunpetal... Ollie, grab the blackthorn crystal from the third shelf. Mai, you’ll help me crush the emberstones."

Mai nodded and rolled up her sleeves. "On it."

I stood in the middle of it all, silent.

And waiting.

Ollie shot me a look, his usual teasing nowhere in sight. "You okay, man?"

I swallowed hard, nodding once. "Just... don’t screw this up."

He gave me a mock salute. "No pressure or anything."

Mai smacked him with a wooden spoon.

Elizabeth cleared a space on the round table. Candles flickered to life with a wave of her hand. The whole room began to vibrate gently—as if the magic itself knew how badly we needed this to work.

We grounded Margaret’s ashes into a fine powder, mixed with Nova’s blood—retrieved days ago from her, cold and coppery—and stirred it with moonroot oil under the waning light of the moon.

Everything shimmered. Every pulse of magic made my chest ache.

When the elixir was finally done—glowing like dawn in a glass bottle—Elizabeth held it close, whispering something in the old tongue. Then she turned to me.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"I’ve been ready since the moment she closed her eyes," I said hoarsely.

She nodded. "Let’s go to her."

When we got back to the castle, we headed straight to Nova’s room. Nova lay on the bed looking like a fallen star.

Pale, still, her chest rising so faintly I had to keep counting the seconds between breaths. I knelt beside her, my hand curling around hers, afraid I’d crush her if I held too tight, afraid I’d lose her if I didn’t.

Elizabeth sat beside us, uncorking the bottle. The room smelled like roses and burnt sugar.

"Her body might reject it," she warned gently. "But if it takes... she’ll wake. Maybe not tonight. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon."

I closed my eyes.

"Do it."

She dribbled the glowing mixture onto Nova’s tongue, whispering spells as she did, one hand over Nova’s heart, the other glowing with soft energy.

I couldn’t breathe.

Not really.

When it was over, Elizabeth stood.

"She’ll rest. Stay with her," she said.

I didn’t need the instruction.

I didn’t leave her side.

Day One

Mai brought soup. I didn’t eat it.

Mom forced me to shower. I did, grudgingly.

Nova didn’t stir.

I spoke to her all day. Told her about Margaret’s end. About how the stars looked like they were holding their breath. About how Ollie had finally tried cooking and almost poisoned us all.

Nothing.

But I held her hand. And I kept speaking.

And I waited.

Day Two

The room was quiet except for the soft ticking of the old wall clock and the occasional rustle of the curtains in the breeze. Nova still hadn’t stirred. Her chest rose and fell—slow, steady—but every second felt like a lifetime.

Auntie Teresa slipped in without a word. She moved like she always did—with quiet strength, like the world couldn’t shake her anymore. She pulled up a chair beside Nova’s bed and gently reached out, brushing a few strands of hair from Nova’s forehead.

"She reminds me of the girl I used to be," she said softly, her voice tinged with something like longing. "She’s strong... stubborn... just doesn’t know it yet."

I wanted to say something back. I really did. But my throat was dry, like the words had burned to ash before they could leave my mouth. So I said nothing. Just sat there, watching Nova breathe.

When the sun began to dip low, casting golden light across the room, Dad walked in.

He didn’t say a thing either.

Just stood behind me and laid a hand on my shoulder. Solid. Warm. Steady.

An hour passed, maybe more, and he never moved. Never let go.

He was just there—being my father.

Day Three

I fell asleep beside her. My head on the edge of the bed, fingers curled in hers.

And then—

Movement.

A twitch.

A sound.

"...Eldur?"

My eyes shot open. I thought I’d imagined it. Aethros inside me roared awake.

I jerked up. "Nova?!"

Her eyes—those brilliant amber eyes—blinked open. Confused. Blurry. But awake.

"Is this... real?" she croaked.

I let out a strangled laugh that broke halfway through. "If it’s not, don’t wake me."

Mai walked, paused, and then screamed. Literally screamed. "SHE’S AWAKE!"

Ollie ran in holding a slice of cake. "I brought dessert!"

Liam burst in right after, hugging Mai and grinning like a maniac. "She’s okay!"

Mom covered her mouth with both hands, eyes filling with tears.

Dad? He smiled. That quiet, proud smile that made him look ancient and young all at once.

Nova looked around at all of us, stunned.

"I... don’t understand. Why are you all crying?"

I fell to my knees, burying my face in her lap. "You came back."

Her fingers tangled in my hair.

"I wasn’t going to leave you," she whispered.

And I believed her.

Later that night after all the fuss was over, Nova looked stronger, her cheeks were even flushed. I helped her sit up, arranging the pillows like a dozen times until Mom swatted my hands and did it herself.

Nova laughed. "You’re treating me like a porcelain doll."

"You are my porcelain doll," I said, deadpan. "But like... with sass and knives."

She giggled and looked down.

Then she frowned.

The smile instantly wiped from my face.

"Nova? What’s wrong?"

"Eldur," she said softly. "I can’t feel my legs."

My heart stopped. My hands curled tightly around hers. "What do you mean?"

"I—I can’t move them," Nova whispered, her voice cracking. "I can’t feel anything."

Her hands trembled as she tried again, looking down at her legs like they belonged to someone else. Panic slowly began to bloom in her chest, rising like a tide.

The door creaked open, and Elizabeth stepped inside, her presence as calm as moonlight. She didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Not a single flicker of surprise crossed her face.

"I was afraid this might happen," she said softly, walking over to us.

Nova’s head snapped up. Her eyes, wide and terrified, locked onto Elizabeth’s with a desperation I hadn’t seen in her before. "What’s happening to me? Why can’t I move?"

Elizabeth sat gently at the edge of the bed, her voice quiet but certain—like she’d spent lifetimes breaking bad news and learning how to keep the truth from sounding like doom.

"Margaret’s hex was deep... deeper than I thought," she said. "The antidote worked. It fought the curse and pushed it out. But curses like that don’t leave quietly. It scarred you—on the inside. Magical scarring, buried in your nerves. Your spine took the worst of it."

I swallowed hard, the weight of her words pressing down on my chest.

"Will she... get better?" I asked. I hated how small my voice sounded.

Elizabeth turned to me, nodding slowly. "Yes. I truly believe the feeling will return. But no one—not even me—can say when. It could be days. Weeks. Maybe longer."

Nova stared at her lap, eyes glistening, lips parted like she wanted to scream—but didn’t have the breath to.

"So I’m stuck like this?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

"For now," Elizabeth said gently. "But we won’t let this be the end. We’ll start working to strengthen your body. And I’ll keep digging until I find a permanent cure. But until then..."

She waved her hand, and something rolled forward from behind her—a sleek, black wheelchair etched with soft glowing runes, each symbol humming gently with magic. It looked less like a hospital tool and more like something forged in a realm where even broken things still had purpose.

Nova stared at it like it had slapped her.

"A wheelchair," she said, like the word hurt to say out loud.

I dropped to my knees in front of her, gently taking her hands in mine.

"Hey," I said softly, urging her to meet my eyes. "Nova. Look at me."

She blinked hard, a single tear sliding down her cheek. But she looked.

"You’re alive," I said. "You’re breathing. You’re here. And if I had to carry you on my back across every kingdom, mountain, and hellgate, I would. This chair? It’s just temporary. A stepping stone."

She gave a soft, shaky laugh—more breath than sound—as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"You always make everything sound like a battle," she murmured.

"That’s because it is," I said, leaning forward to kiss her knuckles. "And you? You’re my war, Nova. One I’m not planning on losing."

Her smile trembled, but it was real. It lit up her tired eyes, even with the fear still swimming in them.

"Well then," she said with a wobbly grin, "I guess you’re stuck with me, silver eyes."

I grinned back, even as my heart ached. "Good. Because I was never letting go anyway."