TAKING THEM HOME

Silas's point of view

The scent of antiseptic and faint blood clung to the sterile air of the pack hospital, but underneath it lingered something familiar. Something haunting. Her scent.

Aurelia.

The name stirred a storm inside me, no less potent than the first time I whispered it. When I stepped into Grayson’s territory yesterday, I never imagined I’d find her again. Defenseless, branded, and seconds away from losing her children. I didn’t intend to intervene. This wasn’t my pack. But fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor.

I hadn’t seen her in years, and yet when I caught her scent on the trial grounds, it rooted me in place. Then I saw her. Limp, shaking, holding her pups like a final shield against the world. Her eyes held pain I could feel in my bones.

And then... that boy.

The little pup with the same frost-gray eyes as mine.

No. It couldn’t be.

I paced the length of the hospital corridor, clenching and unclenching my fists. The imprint of her pain hadn’t left me since I carried her into the infirmary. She’d passed out in my arms, bloodied, half-branded, broken, and something inside me cracked open.

She was still my mate.

I had convinced myself the bond had severed the day I rejected her. The day I was told she had betrayed me. Lied to me. Slept with another man.

But now?

Now, her presence burned in my chest like wildfire.

I scrubbed a hand over my face just as James, my beta, appeared at the hallway entrance.

“You’re still here,” he said, raising a brow. “You sure you don’t want me to drag you out by the neck before someone else realizes the Alpha of Blackfang is playing nursemaid in enemy territory?”

I shot him a look. “Watch it.”

He sighed and leaned against the wall beside me. “You can’t stay here forever. This isn’t your jurisdiction, Silas. And you already made the save. Now let the healers do their job and let’s get out of this corrupt hole.”

“She was branded,” I growled. “Publicly.”

James grimaced. “I know. I saw. That Sheila witch took pleasure in it. The kid tried to fight back too. Strong little thing.”

I didn’t answer. My eyes fell to the door of Aurelia’s room again. The image of her writhing beneath the searing brand haunted me. And her scream, that scream had torn into something deep and primal inside me.

“Any news?” James asked carefully.

“Doctors say she’s stable,” I muttered. “The birth drained her. Without her mate’s energy, she was too weak to heal properly.”

James tilted his head. “But you touched her.”

“And her body responded,” I confirmed.

Before I could say more, a nurse came toward us, her face pale and eyes worried.

“We ran a full panel on the children,” she said carefully, glancing between us. “The boy... Kael... he has a rare condition. A dormant blood fever. It activates under high trauma or stress.”

I frowned. “What kind of fever?”

“It’s tied to genetics, likely inherited from the father’s side. It’s unpredictable, but it can be fatal without exposure to the sire’s aura regularly.”

My jaw clenched. “How bad is it?”

“He’s stable for now, but it will flare again. The aura of the biological father helps regulate the child’s internal healing and keep the fever dormant. If he doesn’t stay close to you for the next few weeks, it could be fatal.”

James went still beside me.

I nodded stiffly. “Prepare him for transfer. He’s coming with me.”

The nurse hesitated. “And the mother?”

I swallowed. “Her too. I’ll speak to her.”

As she disappeared down the hall, James blew out a breath. “Well... that’s one way to drag her back.”

I didn’t reply.

James’s phone buzzed again. He glanced at it and gave me an uncomfortable look.

“Alisha’s calling again.”

I said nothing.

“She’s getting... agitated. She wants to talk about the Luna ceremony. About the heir—”

“I’m not answering.” My voice was steel.

James exhaled. “She’s going to come here, you know.”

“She can try.”

“She’s not going to like this, Silas.”

“I don’t care what she likes,” I snapped. “She’s not my mate. Never was.”

James paused, choosing his next words with care. “You told her it was done with Aurelia.”

“So did I.” My voice cracked. “Until yesterday.”

I didn’t elaborate. James didn’t ask. We had fought through enough wars together to understand the things left unsaid.

A nurse opened the door to Aurelia’s room. “She’s waking up.”

I was at her side in seconds.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, confusion clouding the hazel depths. Her skin was pale, her body wrapped in bandages. But her scent was still the same. Wild honey and pine.

“Aurelia,” I said quietly.

She stiffened at the sound of my voice, her gaze locking with mine. Then, as though remembering everything, she tried to push herself up.

“Don’t,” I said, putting a hand on her arm. “You need rest.”

She looked at my hand, then at me, with a mixture of defiance and disbelief. “Why are you here?”

“I found you during the trial. I didn’t know you were here. That you were alive.”

Her jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t have saved me.”

“That’s not something you get to decide.” My voice turned rough. “You were being tortured in public.”

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but her voice held steel. “You’re not my alpha. This isn’t your business.”

“You’re my mate,” I said.

Her breath caught. She looked away, blinking rapidly. “Not anymore.”

I stepped closer. “Then explain the boy. The one who looks exactly like me.”

She flinched.

I pushed on. “He’s mine, isn’t he?”

Silence.

Her lips trembled, but no sound escaped.

“Aurelia,” I whispered. “Please. Tell me the truth.”

Her gaze snapped to mine, blazing with pain and fury. “What truth, Silas? The truth you refused to hear all those years ago? The one you burned with your rejection?”

I recoiled.

“I begged you to listen. You didn’t. You left me for dead.” Her voice broke. “And now you waltz in with your righteous fury like the years didn’t pass, like the scars didn’t form.”

“I was wrong,” I said, throat tight. “I was misled.”

She gave a hollow laugh. “Too late for regrets.”

“You don’t have to forgive me,” I said. “But Kael is sick. He has a blood fever.”

Her expression shifted. “What?”

“Triggered by trauma. He needs to be around me. My presence helps stabilize it. That’s what the doctors said.”

She looked stricken. “No... not Kael...”

“You need to come with me,” I said gently. “For him.”

Her fingers tightened around the sheets. “They won’t let me leave. Grayson and Sheila will kill us.”

“Let me handle them.”

She gave me a wary look. “Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “But Kael is my blood. And I won’t let him die.”

A long silence followed. Then she nodded slowly.

“For my son,” she whispered. “Not for you.”

I gave a curt nod. “That’s all I ask.”

And for now... it was enough.