Louisa's POV
"Louisa, can you hear me?"
I heard my wolf's calm and steady voice in the darkness.
"Hey, lassie," I said.
I felt that I was floating in a liquid that was denser than water.
"Are you angry at me?" she asked.
"No... Why would I be angry at you?" I asked.
There was no response.
I wanted to look at her, but my eyes were covered by some sort of clouds.
I couldn't see anything at all.
"Come on, lassie. What happened? It has been a while since I talked to you last time," I said.
I felt some tickling chilling sensation from the tips of my toes.
"There was wolfsbane in your tea. So you are dying now," my wolf said.
"It's in the water!" I exclaimed. I suddenly recalled the prophecy of the snake in my dream.
He was trying to warn me about my death!
"But why?! Who put the poison in my drink?!" I asked. "I poured that drink by myself and it was for Gianna! I drank the tea myself this morning!" I said.
"I really don't know, Louisa. But now, we need to focus on how to bring you back to life," my wolf said.
"What can I do? I can't die like this. I can heal myself... I'm undead!" I said.
"Wolfsbane is a lethal poison for wolves. It is killing your organs and prevents them from regenerating themselves. Doctor Jafar is trying to let it out of your system by draining your blood. The only thing you can do right now is to stay awake with me. Can you do that?" my wolf asked.
"Yes, of course. But I feel cold, lassie," I said. I felt the liquid wrapping my body was turning chilling cold.
"I wish I could hug you, but I can't," she said. "But don't panic. I'm here with you."
"Yes, lassie. Just keep talking to me," I wrapped my arms around my body and said.
"I shouldn't have pushed you to fight for Lucas' love. I love him, but that's my choice. I should have forced it on you. It's not fair," she said.
"I know you have feelings towards Lucas. I tried, lassie. I really did. But he isn't the one. I mean, is that even possible? My mate isn't the man that I love," I whispered.
"You are a very special girl, Louisa. Your mother was Princess Tallulah, the most powerful witch of her time. Your father was the Wolf King. Then, Will changed you into an undead. You're the existing proof that three types of creatures can be harmonized into one. Your very existence is against almost all Guillaume's principles. So, I really don't know what is possible and what not about you. Most wolves fall in love with their mates right away when they meet for the first time."
"Just like Lucian and Gianna did," I sighed and lowered my head. I could see that my legs were getting frozen.
"I wonder what real love feels like..." I mumbled, feeling heartbroken.
Love was nothing but an illusion for me.
It was written in other people's fairytales.
"Louisa, don't be sad. As I told you, you aren't an ordinary girl. So, you aren't supposed to live an ordinary life. There's a reason you're created, a higher purpose. You have to walk your own way," my wolf said.
"But what is life without love?" I whispered.
It was funny. I couldn't feel my legs anymore, but I was worrying about not having love.
My wolf was silent for a while, and then said, "Louisa, how can you be so arrogant and ignorant? Can you feel being loved by people around you? Your mother traded her own life for you in front of death. Your father risked his throne and sanity to send you away. Your friends, be it animals or werewolves, they all have shed their blood and tears for you. Love follows you wherever you go and it is the only reason that you're still alive. I don't know why you have to turn a blind eye and refuse to recognize it!"
Her words were like strikes of lightning, electrifying me over and over again.
At that moment, my friends' faces appeared at the back of my mind. One after another, they showed up and faded into the darkness, but only one person's face stopped right in front of my eyes.
Darren.
A warlock with a pair of saddest eyes in the entire world, but always tries to smile at me whenever he lays his eyes on me.
I burst into tears almost instantly.
I suddenly remembered that so many times he was trying to tell me something, but eventually gave up.
Now I finally realized what he had wanted to say, but he was a lifetime and a thousand miles away from me.
I lowered my head and saw the crystal clear icy sheet sprawling towards my chest.
No. This can't be it. I thought to myself.
I can't die like this. I have to... I have to get out of this place and... I have to see Darren.
I want to tell him...
I need to tell him...
"Help me, lassie! The ice is consuming me! I'm frozen to death!" I cried out.
"I can't help you, Louisa. If I had legs and claws, I would have pulled you out long ago. But the wolfsbane in your body is consuming me," she said.
Then, the clouds in front of my eyes were gone and I saw her. The remains of a tiny skinny white wolf, with four legs missing and only half of his body remained, like she had been torn apart.
She was bleeding so badly that the whole icy ground around her turned red.
"No! Lassie! No!!!" I shouted.
She was trying to cheer me up even when her body was being consumed by the poison!
I couldn't feel the pain that she was going through because of Czar's Ring on my finger!
"No! No!" I exclaimed on the top of my lungs.
At that moment, I could feel my tears, like fire, coming up from my eyes.
They dropped on the ice that had already submerged my chest, and the ice started to melt.
"I'm going to save you, lassie! Stay with me!" I shouted at my wolf.
Wind blew up some snow and covered her frozen body.
I used all my strength to lift my arms from beneath the ice and smashed the ice sheet covering my body.
Then, I shambled, trudged, and eventually ran towards my wolf.