Nihal paced across his room, thinking what all weapons could be handy.

"Hritika, I don't think ordering weapons would be enough. Their presence won't matter if we do not know how to use them. As soon as they are delivered, we will have to start practicing," Nihal muttered, while scrolling through his phone to search for videos that taught the basics.

Not receiving any response, Nihal looked up to see Hritika staring at the wall, her mind somewhere else. Standing up, he went near her and shook her shoulder to bring her back to the present.

Nihal raised one eyebrow, silently asking what had disturbed Hritika so much.

"Something was amiss," Hritika answered quietly, her mind still on the topic.

"Huh?" Nihal asked unintelligently.

Hritika shook her head, getting out of her thoughts and elaborated everything to Nihal.

"I was thinking about Yara. There was something different. I can't exactly pinpoint what, but she wasn't acting like her usual self," Hritika said, while moving to sit down on the bed.

Nihal too followed her and sat beside her.

"Usual self? It's not like we know much about her. She did look sick though. Maybe she caught cold or something," Nihal shrugged.

"Of course we don't know much about her but I have met her before. Remember, you called me when I was at the clearing. That time, I was talking; actually fighting with Vivaan and Yara. The fierceness of that day was absent today and not to forget that these are werewolves. Their immunity is too strong for them to catch a common cold," Hritika countered-back.

Something was going on. Hritika wasn't called observant for no reason. Sick or not, why would Yara growl when Nihal was in danger. She should have been happy. Nihal was an obstacle to her best friend's reign then why the hell did she growl? And not to forget the unmistakable pride that showed in her eyes when Nihal showed off his capability.

Hritika didn't mention all this to Nihal. He already had a lot on his plate and there was no point in confusing him more. If she didn't have any concrete reason behind those actions, then keeping silent was the best.

"Forget it. It must be a werewolf thing. You were saying something about the weapons."

Just like that Hritika changed the topic.

                           ★★★★★

"Let's go for a run." Vivaan suggested to Yara.

Something was troubling his best friend. He knew running would take off her mind from that thing; whatever it was. And maybe she could confide in him if they were at a scheduled place.

Yara nodded slowly and they both walked towards the forest.

Vivaan went behind the tree to remove his clothes and shift. He was just about to shift when he heard a painful crunch which was followed by Yara's shout of pain.

Frantically pulling up his jeans, he ran towards Yara and the sight made him tear up.

She had stopped mid shift in a painful position. He had read about werewolves having trouble in shifting but had never seen it happening ever in his life.

"Yara, what's wrong?" He asked in a small voice.

The only response Vivaan got was a groan.

"Sachi, Sachi are you here? Please give back the control to Yara." Vivaan requested, not knowing who was in control- Yara or Sachi.

She whimpered, not being able to shift or respond to her best friend.

Vivaan took a deep breath. He couldn't lose his calm right now. His best friend needed him.

"Okay, calm down. Don't force yourself. Close your eyes and try to forget your surroundings. Just focus on my voice." Vivaan instructed in a soft yet steady voice.

He had to sound confident for Yara to be comforted and follow his voice.

She tried her best to follow Vivaan.

"Very good. Now try imagining your human form. Don't force yourself to shift, just imagine." Vivaan continued.

Seeing that Yara had calmed down a little, he moved on with his instructions. Slowly and steadily, he asked her imagine one-one part of her body.

After trying hard, Yara finally shifted back to her human form after five minutes.

She slumped down on the floor in fatigue, forgetting about her nudeness.

Vivaan quickly made her wear an oversized T-shirt and then took her into a tight hug, whispering comforting words in her ear while rubbing her back.

"You scared me," Vivaan whispered after a while.

"I am okay now," Yara assured in a low voice.

She turned to look around in case anybody had seen her but sighed in relief when she saw that no one else was present.

Fortunately the part of woods they had selected was not commonly used and hence no one had seen Yara at her weakest.

"Yara, I was not going to force you to blurt out your problem but I can't let the matter go after seeing your condition. Please tell me." Vivaan requested in a broken voice.

Vivaan couldn't bear if anything happened to his best friend. He had already lost so many things in these few days and this would be a final stroke.

Yara moved out of Vivaan's comfort and sat down with her back supported by a tree.

"I am sorry. I tried my best but couldn't help it. We tried so much to be on your side and forget him but our willpower isn't that strong. Sachi is dying." Yara cried.

"Yara, wh...what are you saying? Sachi and dying? Whom are you trying to forget? I cannot understand anything." Vivaan ran his hand through his hairs.

Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Yara told him the bitter truth.

"We were trying to forget our mate as he is your enemy. We didn't want to betray you. We tried so hard to stand by your side but we are not that strong. I am so sorry."

Vivaan stilled upon hearing her words. He had an inkling but he still tried to confirm in hopes that she was talking about somebody else.

"Wh..who?" He stuttered.

He wanted the answer yet he didn't want to listen. Joy was in same condition. Both of them wanted to destroy everything that came in their way but one look- one look at their trembling best friend, they held their ground.

"Who is your mate, Yara?" He questioned again.

"Your half-brother."

Unlike what he had originally thought, her answer didn't make him lose his temper. He calmed himself- down; he had to. Vivaan didn't have any other choice. His feelings on this topic didn't matter when he heard his best friend answer him in a broken voice, like she had lost all hope.