Chapter 4

I looked inside. Mia's sterile pod was open.

Her vitals on the monitor were dangerously weak.

The doctor shook off my hand.

He wouldn't look me in the eye and spoke fast.

"The Alpha's son ingested wolfsbane. It was a mild exposure, but he's having a reaction. We've all been summoned."

My voice bled with despair.

Shaking, I pulled the black card from my bag.

"I'll double it! I'll pay whatever you want! Please, finish the surgery!"

That's when I saw the memo on the transfer text.

It was the massive fee Gideon paid to rent out the top medical team.

"I'm sorry, Luna," the doctor said, his voice full of pity but his actions firm. "We cannot disobey a direct Alpha Command."

"My baby is waiting! She's waiting!" I begged, my voice hoarse. "Please!"

But the doctors left without looking back. Leaving Mia to die alone on the operating table.

My phone dinged. A photo from Vivian.

Toby just had a tiny rash on his arm, but he was surrounded by specialists. Gideon was sitting by the bed, gently feeding him sliced Wagyu beef.

The text that followed was pure venom:

[So pathetic, Cora. You really thought you mattered? You just signed your daughter's death warrant. But it's for the best. Now Toby will be the only heir.]

I stared at the screen, my blood running cold.

Time was ticking. The meds were wearing off. I called Gideon's phone over and over, but he never picked up.

In total despair, I started recording a video. I begged wildly at the camera.

"Vivian, please! Let the doctors come back!"

"I'll give you all the money! I'll give up my Luna title forever! Please save my daughter!"

I knelt on the floor, crying, begging the camera.

After I posted the video, Gideon finally called back.

"Cora! That's enough!" he roared in frustration. "Toby was poisoned with wolfsbane! If we don't save him, Civian's bloodline dies! I only pulled a few specialists. The rest of the doctors can finish Mia's surgery! Do you have to fight for attention right now?!"

"Without the lead surgeons, she'll die... She's going to die!!" I screamed.

Drowning in that endless despair, I gathered what was left of my strength.

The legal papers were not enough.

I would tear this curse from my very soul.

I shattered the final, broken threads of our bond.

The agony of a soul tearing itself in two sent my vision black.

The pain made me cough up a mouthful of blood. My wolf let out a dying howl.

The line went dead. He'd hung up on me.

Ten minutes later, my phone blew up with notifications.

The same news was plastered all over the internet:

[Crescent Pack Luna Halts Daughter's Gene Surgery to Fake Scam!]

[Sacrificing Daughter for Cash? The Most Toxic Mother in the Werewolf World!]

[Loving Alpha Father Saves Son, Slandered by Greedy Ex-Mate!]

Trembling, I clicked the comments. The screen was full of curses and insults aimed at me.

And paparazzi, smelling blood, were already swarming the back entrance of the clinic.

I completely snapped.

I grabbed a scalpel from the operating table and rushed out like a madwoman.

"Get out! Get the hell out of the way!"

I waved the scalpel. My eyes were blood-red. My eyes held the vicious glow of a cornered, feral wolf.

The paparazzi backed away in panic, their cameras flashing wildly. I only had one thought—clear a path for my daughter's gurney to survive.

—

Meanwhile, Gideon saw the overwhelming news and started to panic.

He looked at Toby, who was perfectly fine and playing video games.

A deeply ominous feeling rose in his chest.

Toby's tiny rash was already gone.

If Cora was really faking it, why would she destroy her own reputation in front of the entire werewolf world?

Just then, he felt a tearing agony in his heart. The corner that belonged to Cora was completely empty.

A terrifying thought popped into his head.

He jumped to his feet.

Ignoring Vivian trying to stop him, he rushed like crazy to the hospital.

When he reached the operating room doors, the sight before him almost brought the mighty Alpha to his knees...