Chapter 4

I started packing my suitcase as soon as I got home.

The next day, I stood the packed suitcase by the door with Noah's little school bag hanging from the handle and his recording wolf plushie tilting its head to one side.

"Mommy, Daddy said I don't need my heart monitor anymore, and he doesn't want me to say it hurts either. So from now on, even if my heart hurts, I won't say anything. I'm a good—"

The words caught in his throat. His mouth hung open as he gasped twice, and his body tipped to one side. By the time I caught him, his palms were ice cold, and his lips had turned purple.

"Noah? Noah!"

There was no response.

I wrapped him in a blanket and, still in my slippers, carried him straight to the infirmary.

The door to the on-call room was ajar. Damian sat inside, holding one of Erica's hands as he dabbed antiseptic onto her index finger with a cotton swab. The cut was barely a quarter of an inch long.

"That's what you get for being careless and grabbing the roses. Look, the thorn made it all red."

I burst through the door with Noah's head lolling against my arm. "Damian, save him! He can't breathe! It's heart failure!"

Damian glanced up and frowned. "Not this again. Do you even know where you are? Can't you at least pick a better place to fight for attention?"

"His heart's about to stop! Can't you see that?"

"You're overreacting."

But when he looked at Noah, the color drained from his face, and he quickly reached for his stethoscope.

Erica tugged at his sleeve and said softly, "Damian, look, Noah's fingers are still moving! Maybe he's just playing around with you? Kyle does that with me all the time."

Damian stiffened at that. He glanced at Noah's twitching fingers, and his expression darkened as he turned to me with barely contained anger in his eyes.

"Fighting for attention has its time and place. This is an infirmary, not a playground for you and your pup!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Do you have any idea what Noah's condition means right now?"

Damian lowered his voice. "Noah was perfectly fine yesterday, so don't even think about lying to me. Go home!"

He looked around at everyone nearby, his tone impatient. "Noah's my pup. I would never take chances with his health. Besides, if Erica's cut doesn't get treated, it's going to get infected!"

Erica pulled her hand back a little, her voice small. "Maybe… you should go check on him first?"

"There's no rush. Let's finish taking care of yours."

The corners of Erica's mouth twitched upward. "But Noah looks really bad…"

"It's fine. He can handle it!"

Damian put his arm around Erica and led her into the exam room. When the door slammed shut, Noah flinched, and his breathing grew shallower by the second.

I held Noah tight and hurried to pound on the next door. "Hurry! A healer! We need a healer!"

In the end, Healer Gabriel Brown, who was on the night shift, came running down the stairs so fast he lost one of his shoes. "Get him to the emergency room right now!"

In the emergency room, Healer Brown and three other healers fought to save Noah for a full hour. His heart stopped once, and they barely managed to drag him back. The machines in the room were beeping all at once, and the line stayed flat for a long time before a small blip finally rose again.

"Noah?"

I patted his cheek, and the sight of his small, pallid face broke me. I burst into tears.

"Noah, say something to me. Please, Noah, just move your fingers."

Two hours later, Healer Brown took off his mask, his forehead covered in sweat. "Ma'am, you need to prepare yourself."

I braced myself against the wall, my legs shaking uncontrollably. "Go on."

"He'll live, but the damage to his heart is too severe. He may never be able to shift, and he'll always be a weak wolf."

My ears started ringing as Healer Brown went on. "He also suffered a severe shock, so there could be problems with his speech."

I nodded, my heart aching, and stroked Noah's little face. "Healer Brown, I need to ask you for a favor."

As soon as I left the emergency room, I spotted Damian in the distance. He was slowly coming out of the exam room with the box of antiseptic swabs still in his hand, Erica clinging to his arm.

His voice was gentle. "Don't get the cut wet. Just because it's small doesn't mean you can be careless with it."

I walked up to him, and the mate mark on the back of my neck throbbed with heat. Eight years ago, under the moon, he'd bitten that mark into me and promised to protect Noah and me for the rest of our lives.

I closed my eyes, clenched my jaw, and said it silently in my head. "I reject you, Damian Thornwood."

Pain burned from the back of my neck all the way to my heart. The coppery taste of blood rushed up my throat, and I forced it back down.

Damian clutched his chest and dropped to his knees, his face so pale he barely looked human. He looked up at me in disbelief. "Why? Why would you—No! I don't accept it!"

Then he saw the pale little face on the stretcher behind me, and he went white. Damian braced himself against the wall as a sense of dread washed over him.

"What happened to Noah? I'll operate on him right now!"

"Two hours ago, what were you doing?" I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and looked down at him. "Damian, you killed your pup with your own hands."