Chapter 1 Someone Took Her Heart

(Evelyn's POV)

My five-year-old daughter, Stella, lay dying in a hospital bed, her heart failing. Seeing all those clear IV lines running into her thin little arms was like a knife twisting in my chest.

"Mommy..." Stella's eyes were squeezed shut. Her lips barely moved, and her voice was tiny. "I want Daddy..."

I knelt by the bed and wrapped both hands around her little hand. It was ice-cold. I fought back my tears. "Don't be scared, baby. Daddy's on his way. Get some sleep, and when you wake up, Daddy will be here."

Stella managed a small smile. "Okay. I'll wait for Daddy."

I stroked her hair and hummed to her, choking back a sob, until she drifted off.

Once she was finally asleep, I slipped one hand free and, with shaking fingers, tried calling my Alpha mate, Adrian Hayes, again.

It was my 16th call that day.

This time, the call finally went through.

"Adrian? It's me. Stella's been asking for you all day. Can you come to the hospital?" I held the phone tight with both hands, my voice barely steady.

"Luna, it's me." But the voice on the other end wasn't my mate's. It was Mark Parker, Adrian's personal assistant. "The Alpha is dealing with a very important private matter right now. If there's anything you need, I can pass along a message."

"Mark, please..." My voice came out small. "Stella isn't doing well today. She keeps asking for her daddy. Could you put him on, just for a minute?"

"I'm sorry, Luna. The Alpha gave clear instructions. No one is to disturb him for the rest of the day." Mark's voice was polite and flat. "I'll let him know you called as soon as he's free."

I swallowed hard. "Then please... just tell him Stella needs him," I whispered. "Ask him to call me back."

Beep. Beep.

The line had already gone dead. I didn't even know if he'd heard me.

I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles turned white. Just then, a text from my best friend, Chloe Collins, popped up at the top of the screen. "Evelyn, what the hell is Adrian doing?!"

Then she sent me a link to a news article.

My heart gave a sick lurch. I had a terrible feeling about this. My hand shook as I tapped the link.

Splashed across the front page was a sharp, clear photo someone had snapped at the airport.

It had been taken at the VIP terminal of the international airport. My husband, Adrian, Alpha of Blackthorn Pack, was wearing the black tailored suit he'd worn out of the house that morning, the one I had ironed for him myself. He had pulled a blonde woman into his arms and was holding her tight against his chest.

The woman had her arms wrapped around his waist and her face buried in his chest.

It was Vanessa Reed. His childhood sweetheart.

The headline under the photo stung my eyes: "Blackthorn Pack Alpha Makes a Splash at the Airport, Welcomes First Love Vanessa Home with a Tender Embrace!"

I stared at Adrian's profile in the photo. With me, he was always polite but distant. Even the way he looked at me was guarded. But in this photo, his eyes were so soft they practically melted.

My daughter was lying in a hospital bed, hanging on by a thread, and the "private matter" no one was allowed to interrupt him for was picking up his childhood sweetheart at the airport.

The door swung open, and Healer Jenkins walked in holding a syringe full of pale blue liquid.

I stood up and went to him, catching his sleeve like he was my last hope. "Healer Jenkins, Stella's donor heart arrived yesterday, right? Can you schedule the surgery now? Stella really can't wait any longer."

Healer Jenkins stopped. He avoided my pleading eyes and looked down, slowly pushing the moon-herb serum into Stella's IV line.

"Luna..." His voice was strained. "I'm so sorry. Half an hour ago, that heart went to another patient."

"What...?" All the blood drained from my face, and I went cold, like I'd fallen through ice. "But we waited six whole months for that match," I whispered. "That heart was supposed to save Stella..."

"Another hospital put in a priority claim this morning, and the donor's family agreed to it." Healer Jenkins lowered his head. "By the time I found out, the transplant had already begun."

"But Stella was first on the list..." My eyes stung, and my voice cracked. "You said she was a perfect match. Who... who got it?"

"That information is strictly confidential. I can't tell you..." Healer Jenkins hesitated, and there was pity on his face. "Luna, the moon-herb serum is barely keeping her heart going... Without a new heart, she could slip away at any time. Please... prepare yourself."

Seeing me frozen there in shock, Healer Jenkins couldn't bring himself to say any more. He left quietly and closed the door behind him.

Every ounce of strength drained out of me. I sank down beside the bed, and the tears finally spilled over, big drops splashing onto the backs of my hands.

"Mommy..."

The voice was barely a whisper. I hurried to wipe my tears away and looked up. At some point, Stella had opened her eyes. Her green eyes, exactly like Adrian's, gazed weakly up at me.

"Mommy, why are you sad?" Stella tried to lift her hand to touch my face, but she didn't have the strength. "Were you crying?"

"No, Mommy's not sad." I forced a smile that was closer to a grimace and pressed my face against her cold little hand. "Mommy's just really tired."

"Mommy, am I almost better?" Stella gazed up at me, so innocent, her eyes shining with hope. "When I'm all better, do you think Daddy will take me to Disneyland?"

It felt like an invisible hand had grabbed my heart and crushed it.

"Lily from kindergarten said when she got better, her daddy took her to Disneyland." Stella's voice was getting softer and softer, but I could hear how much she envied Lily.

"Her daddy bought her the prettiest princess dress, and when they watched the fireworks, he carried her on his shoulders the whole time... Mommy, I really want Daddy to carry me on his shoulders to watch the fireworks too, just once. I promise I'll always take my medicine from now on, and I'll never make Daddy mad again, okay?"

My heart broke as I listened. Even now, she thought her daddy wouldn't come see her because she hadn't been good enough...

"Okay... okay." I bit my lip until I tasted blood and nodded over and over. "When you're better, Daddy will definitely take you. He'll carry you on his shoulders and buy you the biggest balloon there is!"

Now that she had her promise, Stella gave a small, contented smile. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she slipped back into unconsciousness.

I stood up, took one long look at my daughter in the hospital bed, then turned and ran out of the room.

I drove as fast as I could back to the house on the pack estate. The front hall was empty. I stumbled up to the second floor and headed straight for the study at the end of the hallway. I had to find Adrian. Stella was still waiting for him.

The study door was open a crack, and the light was on inside. I was about to push it open when I heard two men talking.

It was Adrian and his best friend, Owen Turner.

"So, Adrian, what are you going to do now?"

I went rigid, rooted to the spot.

"You always used to say you and Evelyn were already mates, you had Stella, and Vanessa had found a mate overseas anyway. So you figured you might as well make it work." Owen paused, and his tone turned sly.

"But things are different now. Vanessa's severed her mate bond and come home single. Don't you want to get back together with her?"

The study went dead silent. The only sound was the clink of ice against a glass.

"I mean, you and Vanessa were so in love back then. If your grandmother hadn't been so against it and forced you to marry Evelyn to repay a debt, you and Vanessa might have kids by now!"

When Adrian didn't answer, Owen kept pushing. "Now that she's finally back, why not just give Evelyn a generous settlement and sever the mate bond, whether she agrees or not? Then you can be with Vanessa, and nobody can say a word."

Outside the door, my nails dug deep into the soft flesh of my palms. I didn't feel a thing. I held my breath and waited for Adrian's answer.