~Maeve~
The rain came down like it held a personal grudge against me.
I stood at the edge of the county road with a broken umbrella trapped beneath one arm and my four-year-old daughter pressed against my chest. Daisy’s forehead burned through my wet sweater, but the rest of her had begun to shiver.
“Stay awake for me, ladybug.” I shifted her higher, trying to shelter her face from the rain. “Can you do that?”
Her eyelids fluttered. “I’m tired, Mommy.”
“I know. You can sleep as soon as we get to the clinic.”
Another set of headlights appeared around the bend. I stepped closer to the road and raised my free hand, no longer caring how I looked. The first two cars had passed without slowing. The third had sprayed muddy water over my shoes.
This one finally stopped.
The woman behind the wheel lowered her window a few inches. Her wary expression changed when she saw Daisy in my arms.
“My daughter has a fever,” I said. “I don’t have a car, and no one from the estate is answering. Please, I just need to get her to Ashridge Medical.”
She unlocked the doors.
Ten minutes later, I sat in the back seat with Daisy across my lap, counting the seconds between her breaths.
I should have realized she was sick that morning. She had barely touched her breakfast, and she hadn’t followed me from room to room the way she usually did. I’d told myself she was tired.
The truth was that I had been too busy scrubbing thirty-one rooms to notice.
My mother-in-law, Vivienne, had taken the household staff and every available car to the coast for the long weekend. She called it an opportunity for me to remember the value of hard work. We both knew it was punishment for the negative pregnancy test she had found in my bathroom trash.
Another month without an heir.
Another month in which the Luna of Ashridge had failed to justify her place.
By the time I had found Daisy curled up on the nursery floor, her fever had reached one hundred and four.
I had called Rowan twelve times.
He hadn’t answered once.
The clinic staff took Daisy from my arms as soon as we arrived. A nurse wrapped a silver emergency blanket around my shoulders, but I could not stop shivering as I followed the stretcher down the hall.
“Has she taken anything for the fever?” the doctor asked.
“Children’s ibuprofen at eleven fifteen. Five milliliters.” The time and dosage came easily, even with my heart hammering. “She weighs thirty-two pounds. She has a history of respiratory infections, but no medication allergies.”
The doctor nodded to the nurse. “Let’s get fluids started and run a chest scan.”
Daisy reached for me when they inserted the IV. I held her other hand and talked about the aquarium we had promised to visit in the spring. I described blue fish, green fish, fat orange fish, and one ridiculous purple fish wearing a hat until the needle was secured and her crying eased.
“Mommy,” she whispered when the nurse finished.
“I’m right here.”
“Don’t go.”
“I won’t.”
Once the fever medication began working, Daisy’s eyes grew heavy. I stayed beside her until her grip loosened around my fingers and her breathing settled into a steadier rhythm.
The doctor drew me aside afterward.
“Her temperature is coming down, but I want to keep her overnight. We’re still waiting on the scan results.”
“Whatever she needs.”
He gave me an uncomfortable look. “Registration is having trouble authorizing the pack account. They’ve contacted the Alpha’s office.”
My heart dropped as I remembered those desperate calls Rowen ignored.
“I'll try to contact her father," I tried not to shake when I said it. "Please don’t delay her treatment.”
“We won’t.” His expression softened. “Take a few minutes. You’re soaked through.”
In the restroom, I dried my face with paper towels and checked my banking app.
The balance in my personal account was $186.42.
I had transferred six hundred dollars to my mother three days ago after she claimed the electricity was about to be disconnected. She had sent me a photograph of the warning notice, although the date had been folded out of sight.
My credit card was nearly at its limit, and I had no access to the main pack accounts without Rowan’s approval. Vivienne called that financial prudence. Rowan called it unnecessary for me to concern myself with money.
Six years ago, I had been studying accounting. Now I had to ask permission to pay for my daughter’s medicine.
I called my mother anyway.
Victoria answered after the fifth ring. “Maeve, I was about to call you.”
For one foolish moment, I thought someone from the pack had told her about Daisy.
“The money you sent isn’t enough,” she continued. “Giselle’s car needs repairs, and the mechanic wants a deposit by Monday.”
My hand tightened around the phone. “Daisy is in the hospital.”