Chapter: Chapter 37: Conspiracy PlanI tell him. All of it. The promise of freedom. The demand for testimony. The thinly veiled threats against Bella and Aunt Marie. The implication that he has proof of our arranged marriage. The forty-eight hour deadline.Tyler's face darkens with every word. His hands curl into fists so tight his knuckles crack. By the time I finish, his eyes are glowing full amber. His wolf is close to the surface. Too close."I'm going to kill him," he says flatly. Not a threat. A statement of fact. "I'm going to find him. I'm going to rip his throat out. And then I'm going to burn the body so there's nothing left to bury.""That's exactly what he wants." I struggle to sit up, ignoring the shooting pain in my hip. "Tyler, listen to me. He's baiting you. Trying to make you lose control in front of witnesses so the Council removes you.""I don't care." His voice is a growl. Not fully human anymore."Yes, you do." I grab his hand, forcing him to look at me. "You care about Bella. If you go after Mitchel
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
Chapter: Chapter 36: Ultimatum"Help me prove he's unfit.""So you can take over the pack.""So the pack can be led by someone stable. Someone who doesn't settle disputes with violence. Someone who won't drag us into a war with the other territories." His expression is earnest. Sincere. Almost believable. "I'm trying to save lives, April. Including yours.""By betraying Tyler.""By protecting the pack from a dangerous Alpha." Mitchell moves closer to the bed. "Think about it. If you testify, the Council removes Tyler. He loses everything—the pack, the company, the power. But Bella is safe. Your aunt is safe. You're free. Everyone wins except the man who deserves to lose."There's a sick logic to it. A tempting one."And if I refuse?" I ask.Mitchell's expression hardens. "Then I'll be forced to make things... difficult. For you. For your aunt. For everyone you care about.""That's a threat.""That's reality." He leans down, hands on the bed rails, bringing his face level with mine. "Tyler's protection only extends
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
Chapter: Chapter 35: Sleeping BeautyI'm in recovery when Mitchell makes his move.The bone marrow extraction went smoothly, according to Dr. Reeves. Two hours under anesthesia. They drilled into my hip bone and extracted the marrow Bella needs. Now I'm lying in a hospital bed, groggy from drugs, my hip throbbing with pain that the morphine only partially masks.Bella's transplant is happening in the operating room down the hall. Tyler is with her. Liam is coordinating security. Wade posted guards outside my door.I'm alone when the door opens.I assume it's a nurse. I don't open my eyes."Sleeping beauty. How fitting."The voice is male. Cultured. Not Tyler's.My eyes snap open.Mitchell Raven stands at the foot of my bed, hands in the pockets of an expensive suit. Ice-blue eyes study me with the detached interest of a scientist examining a specimen."How did you get in here?" I try to sit up. Pain shoots through my hip. I gasp, falling back."I walked through the front door." Mitchell moves to the window, glancing out
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
Chapter: Chapter 34: Hold On, BellaI close my eyes. Let myself lean into him."I'm not doing it for you," I whisper back. "I'm doing it for her.""I know." He pulls back to look at me. "That makes it mean even more."Liam wakes up with a snort. "What'd I miss?""April's a match," Tyler says.Liam's face lights up. He crosses to me and pulls me into a hug that lifts me off my feet."You beautiful, brave, incredible woman," he says. "Thank you.""Put me down, Liam."He does, grinning.Dr. Reeves clears her throat. "Tyler, you should take April home. Let her rest. The procedure is at 7 AM. She needs sleep.""I want to see Bella first," I say.Dr. Reeves hesitates. "She's sleeping.""Just for a minute."She leads us to Bella's room.Bella looks so small in the hospital bed. So pale. So fragile.Tubes and wires connect her to machines that beep steadily, measuring her heart rate, her oxygen levels, her struggle to survive. An IV drips clear fluid into her arm. Another bag contains antibiotics, fighting the infection that's
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
Chapter: Chapter 33: Test ResultsAround 4 AM, Liam brings coffee from the cafeteria. It tastes like burnt cardboard, but I drink it anyway. Tyler doesn't touch his. Just holds the cup, letting the heat seep into his cold hands."Remember when she was eight?" Liam says suddenly. "She wanted to learn to ride a bike. You spent three weekends teaching her."Tyler's expression doesn't change, but something shifts in his eyes."She crashed into the rosebushes," Liam continues. "Cut her knee open. You carried her inside, cleaned the wound, bandaged it. She didn't cry once.""She never cries," Tyler says, his voice hoarse from disuse. "Even during chemo. Even when the pain is so bad she can't move. She doesn't cry.""She's tough. Like her brother.""She's tougher than me." Tyler finally looks at Liam. "If I had half her strength—"He doesn't finish the sentence. Doesn't need to.Liam sits down beside him. Claps a hand on his shoulder. "She's going to make it. I feel it.""You can't feel that.""Sure I can. I'm Irish. We're g
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
Chapter: Chapter 32: Desperation"No," Tyler repeats. His hand is crushing mine. "There has to be something. Another treatment. Experimental drugs. Clinical trials. Anything.""There's one option," Dr. Reeves says carefully. "A bone marrow transplant. But we'd need a compatible donor. Family is usually the best match.""Test me," Tyler says immediately."I already did. Last year, remember? You're not a match. The Corvus Mutation affects more than just your heart, it alters your bone marrow structure too. You can't donate."Tyler looks like he's been punched in the gut."What about April?" he asks desperately.Both of them look at me."We could test her," Dr. Reeves says slowly. "But the chances of a random match are slim. Maybe one in a hundred thousand.""Test her," Tyler commands."Tyler—" I start."Please." He turns to me, and for the first time since I've known him, I see tears in his eyes. Actual tears. "Please, April. It's the only chance she has.""Of course," I say without hesitation. "Test me. Now."Dr. Reev
Last Updated: 2025-12-18
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