Chapter 1

Elena's POV

"Mommy... please save me.I don't want to die..."

"Don't say that!" I cried, clutching my little boy tighter against my chest as I burst through the revolving doors of St. Gabriel Medical Center.

"You're going to be okay, sweetheart. Mommy's here. Mommy won't let anything happen to you."

Eli's tiny body burned with a frightening fever, his breathing so shallow that every gasp sent a fresh wave of terror through me.

"Nurse!" I screamed. "Please! Help my son!"

Within seconds, two nurses rushed over with a stretcher.

"His temperature is one hundred and five!" one of them exclaimed after checking him. "Get the emergency team ready!"

They carefully lifted Eli from my arms.

"No..." I whispered, stumbling after them. "Please be gentle. He's terrified of needles”

The operating room doors slammed shut in my face.

For the next hour, all I could do was pace the hallway, pray, and wait.

Finally, the doors opened and a middle-aged doctor walked out, removing his surgical gloves.

"Miss Elena."

My heart lurched into my throat as I rushed toward him.

"Doctor... my son. How is he? Is he awake?"

"I've managed to stabilize him for now, but we need to talk. Please come to my office."

The moment we entered his office, I grabbed his arm.

"Please... just tell me he's going to be alright."

He sighed before sitting down.

"Eli survived this episode, but his condition is getting worse."

My blood ran cold.

"What do you mean?"

He opened Eli's medical file and slid several reports across the desk.

"The wolf genes in his bloodstream are becoming increasingly unstable. As an unmarked hybrid child, his body lacks the Alpha bloodline bond needed to regulate those genes. Without that bond..." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "...or a very rare wolf antidote, his organs will gradually begin to fail."

I shot to my feet as my palms crashed against his desk.

"No! Don't tell me my son is dying! There has to be another treatment."

"We've exhausted almost every option."

"We'll keep buying fresh blood," I said frantically. "We'll continue the transfusions. We'll do whatever it takes."

The doctor's expression softened with pity.

"There's another problem."

My heart sank.

"The hospital administration has suspended further treatment until part of your outstanding balance is paid."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"...What?"

"Your unpaid medical bills have exceeded eighty thousand dollars."

The room began to spin.

"You know I don't have that kind of money. For four years," I whispered through trembling lips, "I've paid more than two hundred dollars every single day to keep my son alive. I've never defaulted before. Business has simply been slow these past few weeks. Please... I'll pay for everything. I promise."

He slowly closed Eli's file.

"My hands are tied."

Tears blurred my vision.

"I'll work day and night,  take every job I can and do whatever it takes. My son is all I have. Please... don't give up on him."

The doctor remained silent for several long moments.

"I stabilized him today because he came in on the brink of organ failure. But the medication we administered is only temporary. He's still in tremendous pain, and without the next stage of treatment..."

He didn't finish.

I gripped the edge of his desk until my knuckles turned white.

"What do I need to do?"

"The board has agreed to continue treatment if you can pay at least twenty percent of your outstanding balance."

"Twenty percent… That's sixteen thousand dollars?”

"Yes Miss Elena, If you can bring the payment today, treatment will begin immediately."

My throat tightened.

"And if I can't?"

The doctor lowered his eyes.

When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Miss Elena, If you return too late....I'm afraid you'll be coming back to identify your son's corpse”

***

The doctor's words echoed mercilessly inside my head as I stumbled out of the hospital.

How was I supposed to make sixteen thousand dollars before sunrise?

A bitter laugh escaped my lips as tears streamed down my cheeks.

Business at the club had been terrible these past few weeks. Every dollar I earned disappeared into hospital bills, medication, blood transfusions, rent, and food.

At this rate, even if I sold every hour of my life in Astringe, the human settlement I'd called home for the past five years, it still wouldn't be enough to save my son.

This was all my fault.

If I hadn't fallen hopelessly in love with Lucien Ashthorne...

If I hadn't believed our love could overcome the centuries-old hatred between wolves and humans...

None of this would have happened.

Eli wouldn't have inherited unstable hybrid blood.

He wouldn't have spent almost every day of his life fighting for every breath while I stood by helplessly.

Five years ago, when I fled the Crescent Fang Pack, Lucien's father, Alpha Kaelan Ashthorne, had looked me straight in the eye and uttered the words that still haunted every nightmare I had.

A child born from my son's blood and an ordinary human woman has no place in the Ashthorne bloodline. If Lucien ever discovers that you gave birth to his son… I will kill the boy myself.

I had never forgotten those words.

That was why I disappeared and faked my death.

I allowed Lucien to believe I had betrayed him and If protecting Eli meant carrying Lucien's hatred for the rest of my life...

Then it was a burden I would gladly bear.

I wiped away my tears.

I couldn't afford to break down, not while my son was still waiting for me.

No matter what happened tonight, I would find sixteen thousand dollars.

Even if I had to walk straight into hell to get it.

My phone suddenly vibrated inside my handbag.

The screen lit up with a message from Brandon, the owner of the club where I worked.

«You're twenty minutes late. Get here now. Miss this job, and don't bother coming back.»