Grace lay in the sterile hospital bed, her frail form almost swallowed by the stark whiteness of the sheets. Her once vibrant beauty was now a shadow of itself, her skin stretched painfully tight over her bones.
The silver poisoning wracked her body, faint metallic streaks snaking under her translucent skin. Every so often, a low groan of pain escaped her lips.
sending another dagger of helplessness through my chest.
I sat hunched in a chair beside her, unable to look away. My hand twitched, clenching and unclenching as if there might somehow be something
could do to fix this. But there wasn’t.
I was left with nothing but the sight of my mate burning alive in her own skin, tormented from the inside out. And no matter how hard I tried to bury
them, Scarlett’s emerald eyes and cruelly mocking words haunted me.
She was untouchable. Her power loomed large, casting me in shadow. But that wasn’t the worst port.
I had nothing to offer Grace–not comfort, not healing, and certainly not the answers she so desperately needed.
“Alexander.” Sarah’s trembling voice startled me, pulling me back to the present. I turned slightly, noticing her pacing the length of the room like a trapped animal. Her usually composed face was drawn, her hands wringing together as though they could physically twist the situation into a solution
She stopped suddenly, her panicked gaze locking onto mine.
“You have to do something,” she said, her voice cracking. She stepped closer, her desperation thick in the air. “Aiden Walsh–Hazel–someone! You… you have to convince her.”
I didn’t react
“Alexander!” she said sharply, her tone rising with frustration. “Scarlett will listen to you. She has to. There’s still something between you two, isn’t
there? Something you can use?”
My jaw tightened at her words Scarlett had made her feelings abundantly clear, and whatever bond we once had was long shattered. The humiliation of our engagement’s failure burned beneath my skin.
“Scarlett doesn’t listen to anyone, Mother,” I said finally, my voice low bitter. I gestured toward Grace, lying still except for the faint rise and fall of her
chest. “And she definitely won’t bend for this.”
“You can’t give up!” Sarah snapped, her frustration clear. She whirled around, pacing again, her steps erratic and uneven. “You’re Alpha of the Amber Pack! You’re supposed to lead, to make things happen. How are you just sitting here while Grace–your mate–is suffering like this?”
Her words hit like jagged stones, but they failed to provoke the reaction she clearly wanted. Instead, I dropped my elbows onto my knees, running a
hand roughly through my hair.
“What do you expect me to do?” I spat, more at myself than her, Roman Thome made it very clear what would happen if I tried to approach Scarlett again. Do you think I’ve forgotten how he broke my arm?” I flexed my injured limb instinctively; the dull ache was a constant reminder of my
powerlessness.
“This isn’t about you or your pride, Alexander Sarah hissed, stepping closer. Her pale blue eyes were sharp, cutting into me with the weight of her emotions. “This is about saving Grace. Don’t let her–don’t let my daughter–die because you were too angry to push past your failures!”
Her words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Failures. That’s exactly what this all felt like. A long chain of failures tightening around my throat.
The weak groan from the bed made Sarah’s shoulders stiffen. She turned her head quickly, her concern for Grace overriding her anger with me.
I stood abruptly, unable to sit in the suffocating weight of the room any longer.
“I need air,” I muttered, my voice cold and strained. Without waiting for a response, I strode toward the door, my boots thudding heavily against the
polished floor. I didn’t glance back
The hall outside the treatment room was dimly lit, the silence stretching endlessly I leaned back against the wall, letting out a slow, shaky breath What could I do? Every avenue we tried led back to Scarlett. And Scarlett Scarlett’s heart had hardened beyond reason.
Chapter 7 Deicerste Menores
estless. His colly powerful presence now felt uncom
ching for action through
but his words churned my gut
I didnt recond closing my eyes and forong long breaths Handi–kat fasting through my mind.
the I needed to think. Needed to focus Graces face–her pleading blue eyes, her trembling
But then through the heavy comm
drifted through the go in the door to Grace’s roo
slightly ajar door. My sens
harpened instantly Mason’s ears pricked in
Thomas ward.”
through me name had heard in years, spoken in that sharp enom–coated tone that Grace adopted when commened. I stepped
query closer to the door my footsteps deliberate and soft
Thomas Ward. His story was one of desperate tragedy–his pup suffering from poisoning, his hatred simmering for years at the justices of Me Bur
in no position to help your Grace snapp
trembling all th
her voice laced with a mixture of anger and panic. She sounded like a comered animal,
1 barely have resources for myself” she added shortly
My los pressed
ne wavering sightly. “So no, I can’t help your bra
atense line as her words landed like a slap in the face. “Your bret? My frown deepened. This wasn’t the Grace I thought
the other side of the call was muffled, but brief intervals of sound fitered through the door. Grace’s
onses, however, were loud.
go down youll fac
too” Grace hissed. There was fear in her voice now, trembling just beneath the surface of her attempts an
domina
I leaned against the coorframe, tension colling through me like a taut rope. This conversation was beginning to feel heavier with implications I didn’t
understand
1 warned you before not
again Grace bit out.
ice sharp but more brittle now. “You’re not the only one who
A cold relation began piecing self together in my mind. Grace’s silver poisoning. Thomas Ward Poisoned pups. And now these
My chest tightened as thoughts spiraled faster than I could catch them. What had Grace done?
I took another step closer, my heart pounding in my chest. If she noticed my presence, she didn’t show it
Figure out yourself, Thomas she spat suddenly. Her voice hit a shaky high pitch. 1 don’t have time for this. If There was a pause, though the anger in her one fet palpable. If I go down, you’ll regret it Mark my words.”
Her words didn’t just carry malice–they carried fear. That naked kind of panic that clung to every syllable. Grace was hiding something
Then, as if sensing the iron cage closing around her, Grace’s head snapped toward the door. Through the thin window, her pale face turned to stone as our eyes locked
My spine stiffened, but I didn’t flinch away Mason bristled within me, his growl echoing in my chest Grace blinked once, quickly masking whatever storm had risen just moments before. Her hand moved swiftly, pressing the button on her phone to end the call
As I leaned back against the wall outside the room, my thoughts churned violently. The Grace I had fought to save. The Grace I had fought for time after time
The Grace who now shared her secrets not with me, her supposed mate, but with someone like Thomas Ward. And what she was hiding–it could change everything.
For the first time, I wasn’t entirely sure who Grace really wi
