Chapter 32

Vincent’s POV

The monitoring room was dim except for the pale glow of the screens. Machines hummed in the background, their steady rhythm somehow louder than it should have been. Guards stood at attention along the far wall, their faces carefully blank, but I could feel their unease—every man in this room knew the Alpha’s temper was a living thing. One wrong move, one misplaced word, and it would break free.

The air itself felt heavy, thick with anticipation. Every click of the machines, every shuffle of a guard’s boots struck me as too loud. Even Rowan, who had stood beside me through countless battles, carried a tension in his shoulders. They all feared me, but what none of them realized was that I feared myself more. Not fear of weakness, but fear of what I might do if the surgeon’s hands faltered and my daughter’s heart stopped beating on that table.

On the largest screen, Dr. Lean bent over my daughter’s bed, hands steady, movements precise. Her face was hidden behind the mask, g