NORA

"Oh, wow, those are really getting bad." Layla at the front says, pointing at my eyes. "Still not getting sleep?"

I almost hold back a groan while shaking my head. "I can't even begin to explain how exhausted I am. I feel that at this time, I might need hospitalization soon enough."

I shove my bags into the locker before heading to Dr. Graham's office. There's a sick dog that he's treating in the room. It's a puppy who was attacked by another stray dog last week. We had been tracking his healing process since then, after he required surgery.

"He looks so much better today!" I squeal, looking at him before putting my hands on him to give him some love.

"Almost." Graham nods. "Just a little more time and then he'll be back on his feet and ready to go home."

The puppy whines a little as I hold him down on the metal table so he can get his medications, which are administered through an IV. We've been giving him fluids, which is why it seems to have helped him so much. He's almost back to normal now.

"I had a question, if you don't mind." I look up at Graham and say while continuing my gentle strokes.

Dr. Graham tosses the used equipment into the bin before looking at me, "Of course, go ahead."

"I was awake for a while last night upon hearing these sounds," I continue, recalling what I had felt last night. "A lot of howling noises. I was wondering if you've had an encounter with wolves in this area? Like, how bad is it?"

"Wolves?" Graham raises a brow at me. "Around here?"

"Yes."

He narrows his gaze and begins pulling out a few other medicines from under the table. "Well, they're common in the woods, but not in the central town."

"Have you ever treated one? I heard so many of them. I didn't even know that we had that big of a population."

I had never really encountered a wolf, but surely Dr. Graham must have in all his years living here and having his practice.

"Not really..." he trails off. "But they're not really dangerous. Is it the first time you've heard one?" he asks me back.

"Oh, yes, actually. Aside from seeing them in documentaries." I reply, my hand still resting on the puppy's flank. Just thinking about last night made my skin prickle. That did not stop. "I didn't realize they were so... vocal. We never had anything like that back in Glenfell."

Dr. Graham pauses while holding a glass vial. He looks at me over the rim of his glasses, his expression confused for a moment there.

"You might be surprised, Nora." He says, "They're... quite vocal during the full moon, and it can get intense. But you surely must've heard them once or twice in your hometown."

"Glenfell? I've lived there my entire life and never heard a single wolf. Even during our camping trips."

"Right." He nods and then quickly turns to give the second medicine to the puppy I'm holding onto. "Why don't you go put him back in his cage? I have to look over some paperwork."

The shift is too sudden for me to notice, but I still do.

Are they wolves in Glenfell? How did I never know after spending my entire life there?

I tuck the puppy back into his cage after giving him some treats, then play with him from the outside for the next few minutes. My thoughts began wandering, going far beyond where they should.

Why does no one seem to be fazed that there are wolves near the town?

They're feral animals, they could attack any time, and they don't really care who it is—

Was it a wolf that attacked my parents?

The thought hits me hard. But then I recall Mr. Marcelli's words about it not being an animal but someone else. He was very confident of that, wasn't he? And wasn't I next in line to be attacked?

I don't know what to believe.

I leave the clinic a few hours early to return to the manor and prepare for the evening ahead. A long shower is exactly what I need. At this time, I'm taking multiple cold showers to get the exhaustion out of my bones, along with the warmth under my skin.

I put on one of my new black dresses and let my hair down after aggressively combing it for ten minutes. It doesn't look too shabby once I'm done.

Just as I expected, when Mrs. Sofia appears at my door, she looks like royalty, and I take a sigh of relief for getting the dresses yesterday rather than just walking out in the most crappiest clothes I can.

"Oh, you look good!" She walks in with a smile as her eyes run all over me. "Here, I got you something, and it would mean a lot if you'd wear it."

My eyes narrow on the box she flungs open and inside it is a diamond necklace with a small black jewel in the center. It looks so precious that I don't think I should touch it.

My mouth opens and I force the words out before the greed gets to me. "I possibly can't wear that—" I say, looking up. "It's very beautiful. Thank you, but I don't think that it's appropriate—"

"It would look lovely on you. Here, let me." She steps in before I can reject her again.

She takes the necklace from the case and wraps it around my neck. It looks as beautiful on my skin as it did on that velvet cushion.

"There," she steps back, a smile creeping over her face as she admires me. "You're stunning, just like your mother was. She would've wanted you to have it."

I don't know what to say to that. I look at her in the mirror before nodding my head. "Thank you, but it's only for today. I can't— I won't keep it. It should go back in that vault, or wherever it came from."

Mrs. Sofia chuckles and nods her head.

"Come down once you're ready."

"Thank you again," I repeat, watching as she steps around. "Oh, and I wanted to ask if Mr. Marcelli will present tonight?" I don't know where it comes from, but it does.

Mrs. Sofia halts on her steps and looks at me. For a split second, I see her brows furrow. But they quickly return to normal as if I'm just imagining it.

"Vicenzo is still away. Business, I'm afraid. You're not missing him, are you?" she jokes at the end.

"No, not really. Just curious, that's all."

I turn as she leaves my room. My hand flies over to the necklace, and it's just... so beautiful. My fingers glide over it as I admire it in the mirror.

I'm not missing Mr. Marcelli. No. Absolutely not.

Who would ever?

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