LOGIN"How are you feeling," I asked, settling beside her. "Scared," she admitted honestly. "For the baby, for all of us. I keep thinking about everything she's already done, and now, right when I'm this close to delivery—" "I won't let anything happen to you or the baby," I said firmly, though genuin
Damon pov Two months of genuine, hopeful peace had finally allowed us to believe the worst was actually behind us. My father's recovery had progressed steadily, his new heart apparently functioning well according to every follow-up appointment, his color and energy gradually returning in ways th
"I don't think any of us can," I agreed, understanding the complicated tangle of continued anger and cautious relief we were all navigating regarding her permanent removal from our lives. The hours continued stretching forward, exhaustion mounting steadily as the night deepened toward early mornin
Damon pov The call came late in the night, well past midnight, and I nearly dropped my phone in my rush to actually answer it, some instinctive dread and hope both surging through me simultaneously at the unfamiliar hour. "Alpha-elect Cross," the healer's voice came through, carrying an urgency
"I keep thinking about what he told me," I said quietly, "right after the attack, when he was still recovering from surgery. That he intended to fight to stay, whatever it took. I want to believe that's still true, that he's genuinely still fighting despite how fragile he looks lately." "I think h
Damon pov Two weeks had passed since the trial concluded, Genevieve's exile finally, formally resolved, and still we waited—not for council deliberation this time, but for something considerably more agonizing, the transplant evaluation process crawling forward with a slowness that felt almost cru







