Page 119

"He's dying and he needs his family there by his side. He had another complication, so the doctors had to take him back to operate on him again." He paused, swallowed tightly, "He's gonna die, Amelia. I can already smell it around him."

"Oh, God..." She sobbed, "He can't be dying, he can't be dying. My husband—"

Then, she turned and darted away, straight towards the entrance of the hospital.

He turned then, to see Ismena and Valentina watching their mother run back to be with her husband, tears in their eyes. He'd forgotten that they were there.

Valentina has an arm around her sister's waist while Ismena's arm was around her neck. They were holding each other closely, seeking comfort from each other.

His chest arched. He used to have this bond with his twin brother. He missed it, badly.

"Thank you for that, Alphose. Mother needed that... We," Ismena wet her dry lips, "We needed to hear that."

"I'll go join mama, so she doesn't lose her way because she's too disoriented." Valentina said, pulling away from her sister. Ismena nodded at her, before she turned and followed the same route her mother followed.

"How's your waist? I notice the way you wince slightly at every movement that affect that area." Alphose asked in concern.

"I'm okay." She lied. The mountain lion really dug into her waist and it hurts more than she was letting on, but she wouldn't tell that to Alphose. "Have you heard from him?"

The cougar Alpha shook his head, not even bothering to pretend like he didn't know who she was asking about.

Shaking her head, she placed a hand on her chest, rubbing it unconsciously. "Here. I can feel him here, Alphose. The misery, the pain, the rage. I can feel everything."

Alphose bit back his surprise. Only a mated mate can feel the emotions of her partner that way, so he was surprised that she was feeling him.

"I—" She began, only to cut off suddenly when she heard a loud scream. A very loud one from a very familiar voice.

Her mother.

Ismena's face crumbled, she turned and ran off towards the entrance of the hospital, with Alphose hurrying closely behind her.

CHAPTER 39. IT'S NOT ALRIGHT.

She barged into the open door of her father's hospital room, to see the nurses and the doctor surrounding her father's bed, she couldn't even see his face.

"Let's go two hundred joules, come on." The doctor commanded one of the nurses, rubbing the defibrillator together before he jolted her father's chest again. Her father jerked on the bed, but that was the only reaction they got.

The machines were going crazy. There was a loud beeping but for the life of Ismena, she can't seem to figure out where the sound was coming from. Her mother and sister crowded her, grabbing her from everywhere in sheer panic. They were asking her questions but she couldn't hear them well. She couldn't hear anything, see anything apart from the monitor.

She watched in horror as the lines straightened—until it flatlined, and then there was an even louder beep.

The doctor straightened away from him, his lips pursed in sadness, before looking at the nurses and shaking his head. Like a movie, everyone stopped whatever activity they'd been performing, stepping back from her father.

"Time of death, 5:45 pm." One of the nurses announced.

A loud scream tore through the air. It took her a moment to realize that they were from her. She barely noticed her mother rushing to her father's body and throwing her arms around him. Valentina fell to the ground and began crying her eyes out.

Amidst her scream of agony, Ismena heard her mother begging her father not to leave her. Begging him to come back to her. She was yelling to him that she was sorry for leaving with him for so long, but he shouldn't leave her because of it.

Then, she felt familiar strong arms envelop her from behind. She turned and looked up at him with red eyes, tear-faced.

"Ena..." Wolfaraine groaned deeply, sorrow-filled blue eyes looking into her brown ones.

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her head to his lower chest, and began bawling her eyes out. It was too much. It hurts badly.

He held her to her chest as she cried her heart out. His body offered comfort, even when his body was tearing about with a force of anguish that was not helping her own suffering. But, she didn't care. Ismena couldn't bring herself to pull away.

She held on, tremors after tremors shaking her body while she sobbed loudly.