For a moment, I stopped moving. Seeing Princess unconscious on the ground made my muscles freeze. My legs felt like they were glued to the ground, my chest locking tight as I stared down at her limp body. The air in my throat felt like sandpaper, and I couldn’t even force myself to blink.

I tried to listen to her heartbeat, but still I couldn’t concentrate.

The entire room felt cold, like it was the early morning when I was in Redwood. The heavy, freezing fog of the old territory seemed to crawl into the bedroom, wrapping around my legs and making my skin break out in goosebumps.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I summoned the courage to move closer to her. My knees hit the floor with a dull thud as I reached out with a trembling hand, my fingers brushing against her skin.

Cold.

What was happening? It felt like touching a stone left outside in the winter, completely draining the warmth straight out of my fingertips.

Then I felt movement. Princess’s face moved, then she opened her eyes. Her long eyelashes fluttered open slowly, her stare looking dull and unfocused for a brief second before she recognized me.

Her cold hand held my hand and brought it closer to her face, trying to feel my warmth. Her fingers were stiff, squeezing my palm weakly as she pressed my hand against her cheek, desperate for any heat I could give her.

"Babe, are you okay?" My voice cracked. The words came out small and broken, shaking uncontrollably in the room.

She nodded her head, giving me a smile. It was a faint, tired little curve of her lips that didn’t even reach her eyes.

"I was just taking a nap..."

Princess sat up, drawing me closer to her. She hugged me tightly. It was like she knew I was breaking inside or she needed more of me. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling my chest against hers with a sudden, desperate strength, as if she could feel my entire body trembling from the shock.

"Your body is cold, Princess... why is it always cold?" I muttered into her neck, the icy feel of her skin sending a shiver straight down my spine.

"I’m sure the AC was on..."

"No, Princess, the AC wasn’t on... what is happening to you? I have noticed you are a little different lately." I said, pulling back just enough to look at her. Her face was still way too pale, her regular alpha energy feeling completely muted and distant.

"I’m fine, baby. It might be an Alpha thing..."

"No, you are lying. I know you are lying... you weren’t napping, right?" I cried... I just couldn’t believe a word she said to me. I buried my face back into her neck, hot tears spilling over my cheeks and wetting her skin, the heavy weight in my chest finally bursting open.

Something was happening, and she didn’t want to tell me. She was hiding something massive, building a wall between us while her health was literally slipping away right in front of my eyes.

Princess pulled me back and looked at me. Her hands moved up to my neck, holding me steady as she forced me to meet her gaze.

"I’m not lying, okay? I’m fine... stop crying. You know I don’t like seeing you cry... please stop." She said, wiping my tears. Her thumbs brushed across my cheekbones, smearing the wetness away with a gentle, worried rhythm.

"And I don’t like it when you keep things from me... please tell me the truth, Princess. What is happening to you? I want to know why your body temperature is like this... please..." I begged, my breath hitching as more tears blurred my vision.

"Why can’t you just believe me when I say I’m fine?" Princess sighed, her shoulders dropping as she let out a long, heavy breath that felt totally devoid of heat.

"Because you are lying to me... you are not being honest. You have been taking your medication more often, you always get a shower every time, and just this morning you took a shower three times before going to school. We were late because of that, and you are always tired... just because I spend most of my day in school doesn’t mean I don’t notice things around me...." I said. I just couldn’t stop crying. Every piece was starting to come together.

"Faye, they are just coincidences... I’m telling you the truth. I’m fine." Princess insisted, her voice getting slightly defensive as she shook her head.

"Stop. Stop it, okay? I’m your girlfriend, your other half. Not just that, I am the mother of your pups. Don’t lie to me... tell me the truth. I want to know why your body temperature is like this... please..." I yelled softly, my fingers gripping the fabric of her shirt, refusing to let her dodge the question this time.

Seeing that I wasn’t going to let the matter slide, she finally decided to tell me. She let out another rough sigh, her gaze dropping to the floor between us before she finally looked back up.

"It’s my medicine. The new one is making my body have this temperature after taking it... and I lost consciousness after taking a shower." She admitted, her voice flat and defeated.

"Why are you still smoking it? You are supposed to stop. T-that is not how the last one was. The previous one made you look high in some way, but it didn’t affect your body temperature..."

"I know, but Silviana said I shouldn’t stop. It’s doing what it’s supposed to do. I took several tests last Saturday and my system is normal... the more I take it, the more I’m going to get better..." Princess explained, reaching out to rub her fingers over my knuckles to calm me down.

"Looks like the more you take it, the more you become a popsicle, or even worse than a popsicle, a frozen block... drugs are supposed to make you feel better, not deteriorate one’s health..." I snapped, the fear in my chest turning into a sharp spark of anger. I don’t even understand, when people come to Uncle PP complaining about a headache or severe stomach pain, he makes medicine for them and they get better... not the other way round.

"Silviana has been the one in charge of my medication. She is my therapist. I would have lost it if she hadn’t come to my aid... I trust her process." Princess said, her jaw tightening slightly as she defended the woman. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

This isn’t right. Something isn’t right here. My instincts were screaming at me, a low warning rumble vibrating deep in my core.

Whenever Princess goes numb, she smokes and it makes her active again, but why does it feel like this new medication is trying to make her cold and numb? It felt like a trap, like someone was purposefully putting her inner fire out.

"Princess, I do not trust your therapist. Something is off about her. You trusting her blindly is kind of weird and stupid because when I get sick and I am given a drug, if it doesn’t help my sickness, I stop it and find another means... I think you need an actual doctor to examine you." I said, looking straight into her eyes with every ounce of seriousness I had left.

"But Silviana is the only one who examines me."

"Babe, she is a therapist. All they do is talk and give advice."

"She is not just a therapist, Faye. She is a psychiatrist. She has been helping with my mental state..." Princess corrected, her voice dropping into a quiet, firm tone.

"Don’t care what she is... I don’t like her. Seek a new one. As long as I am alive, no one is going to mess with you. Our kids need their Mama, and I also need you because I can’t live without you. So for our sake, try a new one." I demanded. I leaned forward, pressing my forehead against hers, letting her feel the absolute desperation rolling off my body.

Princess looked at me for a long, quiet moment, the silence stretching out between us until she finally let out a tiny, soft nod.

"Okay, I have heard you... but please stop crying..." she whispered, her cold arms wrapping around my waist to pull me back against her chest.