Fake Miscarriage.

The moment they step out of the pack house, Theo and Mira both realize exactly where the howl came from.

The servant quarters.

Theo doesn't slow down. His footsteps are fast and hard against the ground as he moves toward it.

And even when he glances back and sees Mira behind him, still following, still not listening to his earlier command to stay behind, he doesn't tell her to go back.

They barge into the room together, breath catching in their throats, hearts pounding.

Mira's eyes go straight to where she left Morgana, she doesn't mean to, it just happens. Her gaze drags there before anything else registers.

Morgana hasn't moved.

She's still there, slumped in the same place, back against the wall.

But the blood is new.

Thick, dark, and fresh. Not on her head anymore. Not from the earlier injury. But beneath her. Pooling under her where she sits, spreading slow and terrifying across the floor.

Mira stops breathing.