Page 57

The smell of her blood won’t go away. It’s all over me. It’s wrong. She’s mine. She shouldn’t bleed.

Her body is limp in my arms as I push through the double doors of the pack hospital. Every step feels like I’m carrying my own damn heart to the chopping block.

“Aegis. Stay awake.” My voice cracks. I lower it so the nurses can’t hear. “Don’t you dare close your eyes on me again.”

Her lashes don’t even twitch.

I tighten my hold. She feels too light and fragile for someone who’s fought me so hard all day.

Emery and Zach are already waiting in the hall. The second they see me, they step forward, hands raised to receive her.

“Give her to us,” Emery says calmly.

“Move.”

“She needs treatment—”

“I said move.” My tone drops to a growl.

Zach doesn’t budge. His jaw is tight, his fists clenched at his sides.

“We’ll take her, Your Highness. You’re too close—”

“You take one step closer, and I’ll break your arms. Another step, and I’ll tear them off and feed them to you.”

Zach flinches. Emery’s eyes harden. But they step aside. Smart choice.

I carry her into the nearest room. The nurses rush in behind me with pale faces.

“Your Highness, we’ll take her—” one of them stammers.

I hesitate. My arms won’t release her.

“Sir, please. You’re in the way—”

I look down at Aegis. Her lips are blue. Her blood is soaking my shirt.

I lay her down on the bed. My hands don’t want to let go.

“If anything happens to her—” My voice is low. Dangerous. “—I’ll make every one of you wish you were never born.”

The nurses freeze for a second. Then they snap into action.

“Get the crash cart!”

“She’s going into shock—”

“Push two CCs—now!”

I step back but only slightly. My hands curl into fists. My claws threaten to break skin.

“She’s flatlining!” a nurse shouts.

The sound of the heart monitor burns through my skull.

Flatline.

No.

Not her.

Please.

I slam my fist into the wall so hard the plaster cracks. “Do something!”

“Sir, you’re distracting us—”

“She’s dying!” My voice roars out before I can stop it.

“Get him out of here—”

“Try it, I dare you,” I snarl.

The monitor stays flat.

Something inside me snaps. I grab the nearest doctor by his collar and lift him off the ground.

“If you don’t bring her back,” I whisper, my breath hot against his terrified face, “I’ll rip out your spine and shove it down your throat. Do you hear me?”

The doctor’s face goes pale. “We’re trying—”

The machine beeps. Once. Twice. Then a steady rhythm fills the room.

I let the doctor go. He stumbles back, gasping for air.

She’s alive.

Barely. But alive.

My legs almost give out. I lean against the wall, breathing hard, my hand pressed to my chest like I’m holding my own ribs together.

I stay like that for minutes. Watching. Not blinking. Not moving.

The door creaks open. Emery and Zach step in.

“Out,” I snap.

“Your Highness—” Emery starts.

“Out.”

They don’t move.

I turn slowly, my eyes burning holes through them. “You’re testing my patience.”

“We need to talk.” Zach’s voice is tight.

I step forward. “Talk fast before I decide whose head I’ll mount first.”

“You can’t… she’s not in a position to defend herself right now,” Emery says carefully.

“To hell with her position,” I snap. “You didn’t see her in that cave. She clawed at the walls until her hands bled. She would’ve kept going if I hadn’t pulled her out.”

Zach’s jaw tightens. “She was terrified. That doesn’t make her a risk.”

“You weren’t there,” I say. My voice drops, low and sharp. “Don’t you dare behave like you saw what I saw.”

“Because she was panicking—” Zach starts.

“No. It wasn’t just panic.” I drag a hand down my face. My chest aches as I force the words out. “She’s… carrying something heavier than she should. And she’s breaking under it.”

The silence between us stretches.

When I speak again, my voice is quieter, almost pleading.

“How can I trust her to carry an entire pack when she can barely carry herself right now?”

Zach launches up immediately, fists clenched. “You want to strip her of her position? Because she’s claustrophobic?”

“She’s unstable—”

“She’s doing fine!” Zach snaps. His voice cracks. “You claim to care for her, yet you can’t see that?”

I take a step closer until we’re almost nose to nose. My voice drops to a whisper sharp enough to cut skin.

“Don’t you dare question my feelings for her.”

“Then prove it,” Zach says.

“She’s mine. You hear me? Mine. I’ve seen claustrophobia. And that’s not it.”

Emery frowns. “What are you saying?”

“She’s using Wolf’shaven.”

Their shock is immediate. Emery stiffens. Zach’s lips part.

“That’s impossible,” Zach whispers.

“I’ve smelled it on her. I’ve even taken a dose from her once.”

They exchange a look. Then Emery pulls out his phone.

“Noah,” Emery says when the call connects. “It’s about Aegis.”

“What happened?” Noah’s voice is sharp, alarmed.

“She had an episode. Bad one.”

“You didn’t call me immediately? Are you insane?”

There’s some shuffling and, “Brianna, can you hold down the call? I need to go to Aegis.”

“She wouldn’t want—”

“Damn what she wants! I’m coming there now—”

“Wait. Do you know she’s using Wolf’shaven?”

Silence.

“Have you gone mad? Wolf’shaven is a poison,” Noah says finally. His voice sounds strangled. “Aegis isn’t stupid. She wouldn’t—”

“I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” I cut in.

Noah curses.

“Why would she take it?” I press.

“You’re thinking of stripping her, aren’t you? You can’t do that. She’s a good leader. Struggling doesn’t make her unfit.”

“I don’t give a damn about her position!” My roar echoes off the walls. “She… My woman just flatlined in front of me. I’m trying to save her life.”

Noah exhales. “She’s not your woman.”

My jaw tightens. Not my woman? Excuse me?

My thoughts spiral. Dammit. I thought distance would kill whatever feelings he held for her. I was wrong.

“Why did she start taking it?” I demand, voice tighter than I meant.

There’s a pause. I hear Noah breathe in like he’s weighing his words.

“I didn’t know,” he says finally. “For years… I didn’t know.”

My brow furrows. “Think, Noah.”

Noah exhales sharply through his nose. “The hunters,” he says suddenly.

I stiffen. “What about them?”

“Aegis was held hostage in their captivity two years. They took her alone. I mean, she gave herself up so they wouldn’t take the others.

I don’t even know what happened—she never told me.

” His voice lowers, rough around the edges.

“She came back herself that same day, twelve hours later. Barely alive and covered in blood that wasn’t all hers. ”

“Her wounds… Goddess… She had been whipped, burned, and God knows what, but she never spoke of what happened there.”

The image digs claws into my chest.

“I’m going to fucking kill them all. What are their names? I need names, Noah.”

“You don’t have to. She killed every last one of them before coming back. But she didn’t come back the same.”

I can hear the pain tightening his throat now.

“She smiled less. Laughed less. It was like…” His voice falters. “Like the life drained out of her that day. Even though she was still breathing. It killed me not to ask, but I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it.”

My hand grips the edge of the table so hard it creaks.

My chest tightens. Images of her screaming in the cave flash in my mind.

“It’s guilt,” I say quietly. “She blames herself for the deaths.”

Noah doesn’t answer.

“There’s more,” I press. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

Silence.

“Noah.”

“I can’t, Your Highness. Only Aegis can tell you.”

I growl but let it go. I look around at Emery and Zach and note their stiffened bodies. They know.

I want to know, but I can see their loyalty and respect for her. I understand it now.

Plus, I have a feeling there’s no torture method I’ll use on them that Aegis wouldn’t use on me when she wakes up. That woman’s mind terrifies me.

My woman. A small smile creeps onto my face. She might refuse to acknowledge it, but I can see her walls crumbling more with every minute we spend together. I just need to be patient.

“Please don’t hurt her,” Noah says softly. “She might look tough, but… she won’t survive any more heartbreak.”

I clench my fist. “If I ever break her heart, it’ll be to rebuild it stronger. I have a final question for you.”

“Okay?”

“How does her smile look like?”

There’s silence. I hear Noah exhale like he’s trying to push down something heavy.

“Her real smile? Not the fake ones she throws around now?” he says quietly.

I don’t answer. I don’t need to.

He lets out a short, sad laugh. “It’s rare now. But when she used to smile… Damien, it could light up a whole room. Like the kind of smile that makes you forget your own pain for a second. That’s what it was like. Pure. Soft. When she didn’t have the weight of the world on her shoulders yet.”

There’s another pause. His voice drops. “Her real smile… it’s heavenly.”

I grip the phone tighter. My chest aches.

“Every part of her is,” I whisper before ending the call. I hand the phone back to Zach and this time I see a different look on his face. Respect.

I return to her room.

The scent of blood is still strong.

But this time, she’s sitting up.

And tearing out her IV.

Goddamned stubborn woman.

The nurses are begging her to stop.

“Alpha—please—”

“Shut up,” she says flatly.

“You’re still weak—”

“Good thing I wasn’t planning to run a marathon,” she mutters.

“I see nearly dying hasn’t killed your humor,” I said as I glared at her.

“Never.” She replies, a smirk creeping across her face.