Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the sharp smell of antiseptic mixed with cold metal. The ceiling above me was painfully white, and every breath sent a dull ache through my chest. My legs felt as though they had been crushed beneath something heavy, and a weak groan escaped before I could stop it.

“Please, don’t try to move,” the nurse said, immediately placing a hand against my shoulder. “You have three fractured ribs and internal bleeding around your liver. You’re incredibly fortunate to have survived the night.”

I blinked several times, trying to make out her face.

She continued speaking, unaware of how difficult it was to process her words.

“Last night was hectic. Dr. Carter was the only physician on duty, and the family of another patient kept demanding that he attend to their wife first because she was pregnant. They were making quite a scene.”

My fingers moved beneath the blanket.

Pregnant.

“But you don’t need to worry,” she added, her voice gentler. “Her injuries turned out to be minor, so the doctor came to you as soon as he could. You received treatment in time.”

Of course she did.

The nurse hesitated before asking, “Is there anyone we should contact? Your family, perhaps? Your mate? Someone ought to stay with you while you recover.”

I lowered my eyes to the blanket.

“I don’t have anyone.”

The words came out so dry and lifeless that they hardly sounded like my own.

The nurse fell silent. I didn't need to look at her to know what was in her expression. Pity.

Then I heard voices outside the room.

“Damon, I’m so sorry.” Bianca sounded close to tears. “I swear, I don’t understand what happened. They were completely under control before. I never intended for them to turn on her. Miss Whitmore was injured because of me.”

Damon answered almost immediately, his voice gentle with concern.

“Bianca, you need to stop blaming yourself. None of this was your fault. You were hurt too, remember? You shouldn’t even be standing here when you’re carrying our child.”

“I don’t care if I’m hurt,” she sobbed. “I just feel terrible about what happened. I need to apologize to her myself. I want her to know that I never meant for this to happen.”

My fingers curled into the sheets.

Another apology.

How many more times was I supposed to hear it?

Damon sighed. “You’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be getting yourself worked up over this. Go back to your room and rest. I’ll take care of everything here.”

“No, please.” Her voice became more desperate. “I don’t want to leave without seeing her. Let me talk to her, even for a minute. I won’t be able to settle down until I tell her I’m sorry.”

Something inside me finally snapped.

I grabbed the cup beside the bed and hurled it at the wall.

The crash silenced the hallway.

A moment later, hurried footsteps approached, and Damon burst through the door.

“Wife, what happened?” He came straight toward me. “Are you hurting? Do you need water? Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it.”

I looked at him.

Really looked at him.

Concern filled his eyes, the same expression I had seen countless times before. It was the face of the man who had once made me believe I was the most precious person in his world.

And suddenly, I didn't have the strength to hate him.

I was simply exhausted.

“Did you investigate it?” I asked.

Damon paused. “Investigate what?”

“The animals. The bear and the shadow lynx. Why did they suddenly lose control?”

For the briefest moment, something shifted in his eyes.

Then his expression settled again.

“It was an accident. Wild animals can become unpredictable. There’s nothing more to it.”

I stared at him.

“Nothing?”

He reached down and carefully adjusted my blanket.

“You’re letting your thoughts run away with you again. Right now, your only concern should be recovering. Don’t waste your energy worrying about something that has already happened.”

Something inside me went completely quiet.

Six years earlier, I had known exactly what Damon was capable of when it came to protecting me.

I had gone beyond the pack’s outer territory alone during a violent storm to check on the boundary. A group of rogues found me before I could return. They surrounded me, and the look in their eyes told me immediately that they meant to hurt me.

One of them seized me and dragged me toward the trees while the others laughed.

I had been terrified.

Then Damon arrived.

I still remembered the fury on his face when he saw their hands on me.

“Touch her again,” he had warned, his Alpha voice carrying through the forest, “and I’ll make you wish you were dead.”

The rogues ignored him.

Damon didn't.

He turned to his warriors with a terrifying calmness.

“Keep them alive,” he ordered. “But make certain they remember what they did.”

Their screams continued for hours.

That was the man who had once protected me as though my life mattered more than his own.

Now I had nearly died right in front of him.

My body had been torn open, my blood covering the ground, and yet he hadn't questioned anything. He hadn't wondered why those animals had targeted me. He hadn't even considered whether Bianca might have known more than she claimed.

My chest felt hollow.

“I understand,” I murmured, turning my face away.

Damon became unusually still.

“Arianne…”

Before he could continue, commotion erupted outside.

Nurses hurried past the doorway, and someone called urgently, “Alpha! Luna’s condition—”

Damon immediately straightened.

“I’ll come back,” he promised. “I’ll also bring you something to eat. Just stay here and wait for me, alright?”

I gave him no answer.

He left anyway.

He never returned.

I waited until I couldn't tell whether minutes or hours had passed. My body throbbed with pain, my head felt unbearably heavy, and eventually exhaustion dragged me into sleep.

Even then, I couldn't escape the uneasiness tightening around my chest.

I woke to a sharp, burning sensation in my arm.

When I looked down, I saw thick bandages wrapped around it, faintly stained with blood.

“What are you doing?” I asked weakly.

The nurse continued working without looking up.

“I’m changing your dressing. You underwent a skin graft, so there’s bound to be some pain. Try to keep your arm still.”

I stared at her.

“A skin graft?”

She finally looked at me.

“You didn't know?”

My mind went blank.

“The Luna in the room next door had a minor injury on her arm,” the nurse explained. “Alpha Callahan requested that some of your skin be used to treat it.”

For several seconds, I couldn't understand what she was saying.

Then the meaning sank in.

“My skin?”

The nurse sighed as she continued replacing the bandage.

“It was only a small wound on her arm, but apparently the Alpha was concerned about it. You know how things are. Some people have everyone rushing to protect them over the smallest injury, while others are expected to endure whatever comes their way.”

She didn't finish the thought.

She didn't need to.

My entire body went cold.

Even my skin.

Even that could be taken from me and handed to Bianca without anyone bothering to ask.

My lips trembled as I swallowed against the burning sensation in my throat.

“Could you help me arrange a transfer to another hospital?”

The nurse stopped.

“A transfer? Why would you want to—”

The door opened.

A familiar voice came from the entrance.

“Transfer to where?”