A sharp intake of air. “Avelyn?”
“I was accidentally bitten. The details don’t matter. Delyse still keeps
in touch with her brother, James, and she’s the only one who can help me obtain a vaccine that only Harington Pharmaceuticals manufactures. Miss Delacroix, you said you care about all your students and ex-students, that you consider us your daughters. Please, I’m counting on you.”
The headmistress swallowed heavily, and they heard her stand up and push her office chair away.
“Oh, by the way,” continued Avelyn, “you’re on speaker.”
“I figured that much, young lady.” Miss Delacroix ended her sentence abruptly, probably realizing she couldn’t call Avelyn “young lady” anymore. It wasn’t appropriate for her position as an Alpha wolf’s bride. “Do you even understand the immensity of what you’re telling me? Bitten? Harington Pharmaceuticals working on a vaccine when we all know that’s…”
“Illegal, yes. Now you know why we can’t simply go to the Councilor and ask him for help. Delyse may be my only chance. Please, if you do care about me, let me talk to her. One phone call. It might not get me anywhere, but I have to try.”
“Avelyn, now more than ever, I can’t. It would make me an accomplice to whatever you’ve gotten yourself into. Helping you could mean putting the reputation of Alma Venus in danger and ruining the future of our shifter-brides.”
It made sense, and Avelyn knew it. However, she had come this far, she had no intention of giving up so easily. “I’m pregnant. I found out four days ago, and you know what else I found out? That I’d lose the baby if I turn on the next full moon.”
There was silence on the other end.
“And I’ll never be able to have children again.” Avelyn paused for a few seconds. She didn’t want to cry, but it took her by surprise. She had no idea that saying these things out loud would have such an impact on her. Max squeezed her knee again, unsure how to react. “Miss Delacroix, I’m begging you…” her breath hitched, and she struggled to stifle a sob. “Just let me talk to her. I’m putting all my hope in a rumor. I don’t even know if this cure exists. If I am to be honest… God, it scares me to think of it, let alone say it… but, if I am to be honest, it sounds like some kind of urban legend, I have to admit. A Councilor risking his career by working on something the rest of the Council has voted against?” She chuckled lightly between sobs. “It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Maybe it is. Maybe I am crazy for putting my hope into this, but I don’t have any other choice. Let me… let me follow this through, and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work and I’ll live with it.”
The headmistress sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” Avelyn almost jumped off the desk, but Max was in her way.
“Don’t thank me. I can’t promise you anything.”
“Of course.”
“I’m just saying that I’ll think about it and see what I can do. Don’t get your hopes too high.”
“They’re already high, Miss Delacroix. If they tumble to the ground, so be it. I’ll step all over them myself and crush them into small pieces, but I must try everything first.”
“Oh, goodness! You were never a good poet, were you?”
Avelyn felt the smile in the woman’s voice, and laughed cheerfully. “No, I guess I wasn’t.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks.
***
Monique Delacroix did more than allow Avelyn and Delyse to speak on the phone; she let them video chat. Avelyn had kicked Max out of the bedroom, promising she’d tell him everything afterward. She completely disregarded his protests. The headmistress hadn’t set a time limit for them, so she knew she wouldn’t only talk business with Delyse. She had every intention to take advantage of this unique opportunity and cram as much girl talk as she could. “And don’t you dare lurk around the room, mister, or I’ll know,” she had told Max. “My hearing is just as sharp as yours.”
She sat down at her desk and started throwing impatient looks at the clock on the wall and drumming her fingers on the edge of her laptop. The call had been scheduled for 10 AM, and there were ten more minutes until then. She didn’t have to wait more than three minutes, though, because Delyse was just as eager as she was, and called earlier.
“Hi,” said Avelyn when the blonde’s pretty face appeared on her screen.
“Oh my God, you look wonderful!” Delyse had a huge smile on her face and, for once, it reached her light blue eyes.
Avelyn grinned. “Liar. I’ve gained a lot of weight. You, on the other hand, look great.”
“I can’t believe Miss Delacroix actually let us talk.” She furrowed her brows. “But that means something is wrong, doesn’t it? When she called me to her office last evening, she seemed worried. What’s happened?”
Avelyn looked down for a second, avoiding her friend’s concerned eyes. She had hoped they could do the “girl talk”-thing first and enjoy half an hour of normality before getting to the difficult part. She missed her long conversations with Delyse so much.
“Yes, there’s something I needed to talk to you about.”
“And it is urgent and serious enough to convince even the headmistress to forget about her own rules. And the consequences of breaking those rules. Avelyn, you’re scaring me. Stop staring at your hands and tell me already.”
Avelyn closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and got ready to spill everything out as fast as she could. Yesterday, talking about everything out loud had turned her into a sobbing mess, and she didn’t look forward to that happening again. It had helped her convince Miss Delacroix of her terrible situation, but now crying wouldn’t have the same effect. It would only worry Delyse even more, and her friend didn’t deserve that. It occurred to her that she had been such a pain to her best friend. Such a burden. She had practically stolen her husband, her future, and now she needed her help to save her child. It wasn’t fair, and for a moment she toyed with the idea of giving up, of telling her it had all been a scheme to convince the headmistress to let them talk for a few hours, just like the old times. But it was stupid. So childish and stupid.