Chapter 6

When we hurried to the pack infirmary, I saw Damine slumped on a stone bench outside the treatment room. His black tactical vest was stained with large patches of darkened blood and grayish marks from silver toxin burns. His sweat-soaked black hair clung to his forehead.

The light in his eyes was gone, filled with panic and helplessness. He was slumped forward, his back curved.

I had never seen him look so broken.

Sofia's friends immediately rushed forward to ask what happened.

Damine ran a hand roughly through his hair, his voice tight with pain and guilt: "It's all my fault... I shouldn't have said those things to make Sofia angry. I shouldn't have let her drive off alone... She was just emotional because we fought... Otherwise, she wouldn't have been driving so fast, she wouldn't have crashed into those damn roadblocks and silver spike traps set by those bastards from Shadowfang Pack..."

Just then, the pack's most senior healer emerged, his expression extremely grim.

"The patient's condition is critical. The silver toxin has penetrated deeply, triggering a severe depletion of her primal wolf essence. Standard anti-toxin serums will have limited effect. Right now, we need a concentrated transfusion of an Alpha's blood to forcibly neutralize the toxin and jumpstart her life force. Does anyone know of an Alpha willing to donate their essence blood... though it could weaken the Alpha's powers?"

Everyone exchanged glances, their gazes eventually landing on Damine.

Only he, the Alpha of Stormfang Pack, possessed the purest, most potent bloodline.

Without a moment's hesitation, Damine rose to his feet, swaying slightly as he pulled off his blood-stained jacket. He took the sterile cloak the healer offered and followed a staff member quickly into the treatment room.

About half an hour later, the door to the treatment room opened again. A healer's assistant helped Damine out.

The man who was usually so strong and imposing now looked deathly pale, his lips bloodless, as if all his strength had been drained. He could barely stand.

Seeing me standing nearby, he nearly collapsed directly toward me. I instinctively reached out to support him.

His body was heavy and cold.

The assistant didn't leave. His tone was still urgent: "The patient's vitals are temporarily stable, but the silver toxin is fighting back. We need at least one more, substantial dose of Alpha essence blood to consolidate the treatment and completely eliminate the remaining poison. Can we contact any other Alpha?"

While we waited, the pack had already tried all their connections. There were virtually no wolves with pure Alpha bloodlines who could arrive in time.

Seeing everyone's silent, anxious expressions, Damine grew even more agitated.

He struggled, trying to force himself to his feet through sheer willpower alone.

"I... I can." His voice was weak but stubborn.

The assistant stared at him, as if looking at a man completely disregarding his own life.

"Alpha Blackwood, you've already given more essence blood than your body can handle! Doing it again will severely damage your wolf, you might not even be able to transform, and your powers could decline drastically!"

The expressions of the others changed. They all stepped forward, trying to dissuade him.

"Alpha, please stop! We can think of other ways. Perhaps we can contact friendly packs and ask their Alpha for help... After all, Stormfang donates a great deal of supplies every year."

But Damine just shook his head firmly, his eyes locked on the closed treatment room door.

"Sofia... she can't wait that long."

Seeing him in this nearly irrational state, I finally couldn't help but speak. My voice was shockingly clear in the quiet hallway: "The healers are already doing everything they can. They'll find another way to get Alpha essence blood. You don't need to... exhaust yourself like this."

Damine froze for a moment. His gaze seemed to flicker over me, but there was no hesitation in it.

He ignored what I said and pulled himself from the assistant's grip. He turned again, dragging his weakened body but taking determined, staggering steps toward the door.

Watching his resolute back disappear through the door, everyone fell into a deeper silence.

Someone sighed heavily, their voice filled with helplessness and a hint of barely concealed resentment.

"As long as it's about Sofia, the Alpha acts like a madman! Remember when he challenged that guy to a duel just because someone accidentally bumped into Sofia during training? He hadn't fully mastered his wolf back then and ended up with a fractured leg, lying in the infirmary for a whole month!"

"Tell me about it. Even earlier, to find that so-called 'Ocean Heart' for Sofia, he dove alone into the Dark Lake Abyss filled with dangerous aquatic predators and almost didn't make it back... And now it's the same thing. To save her, he's willing to damage his own wolf. I... I always thought she was still the one who mattered most to him, that's why... why I sometimes wanted to help create opportunities for them. Seeing this now... sigh..."

They whispered among themselves, as if completely forgetting I, his legal mate, was standing right there.

Listening as they recounted one by one all the past events between Damine and Sofia that I had never known, I felt a strange sense of daze.

It wasn't until this moment, hearing this 'care' stacked up by life-threatening risks, that I saw with crystal-clear clarity just how absurd and ridiculous my former hope of "maybe I could replace her" had been.

Love is love. No love is no love.

I don't know how much time passed before the emergency treatment was finally over.

The door opened. The healer looked exhausted. He was followed by Sofia, still unconscious but with a slightly better complexion, being wheeled out on a gurney, and Damine, who was being nearly carried out by two assistants, almost unconscious.

Everyone's heart leaped. They immediately crowded around, asking with concern about Sofia's condition.

The healer wiped the sweat from his forehead, his gaze resting on the unconscious Damine with a touch of emotion.

He sighed to the group gathered by Sofia's bedside: "They... must be true mates, right? It's so rare to find a male who would be willing to pay such a price for her, even to the point of damaging his own wolf."

I was left alone on the outskirts of the crowd. My lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.

It turned out that even at the brink of life and death, even with his official mate standing right there, in everyone's eyes, they were still the rightful pair.

And I, from beginning to end, had only been a superfluous onlooker.