Chapter 1: The Price of a Life

(POV: ELORA)

"Don't give up on me now, Maya... please," I whispered, stripping off my heavy coat.

This worn wool coat was the only thing standing between me and the brutal night wind of Silver Falls. But without a second thought, I draped it over my sister, who lay shivering violently on the ICU bed.

The small room reeked of harsh antiseptic, the air thick and suffocating.

On the bed, Maya lay limp, her face as pale as paper. Frightening black veins spiderwebbed faintly along her neck.

A rare wolf blood disorder was slowly destroying her from the inside out.

Grumble...

My stomach twisted painfully, demanding food I had been ignoring since yesterday morning.

I gently pressed a hand to my stomach, suppressing the burning ache in my gut. For the past twenty-four hours, I had consumed nothing but tap water from Sanctum Clinic, where I worked, just to save every single penny.

My hands—rough and calloused from years of grinding medicinal roots and mixing herbal remedies—softly stroked the top of Maya's head.

"Mom and Dad are gone, Maya. You're all I have left in this world," I murmured, my voice trembling.

I forced a sweet smile as Maya's eyelids fluttered open. I couldn't afford to show weakness in front of her. I was her shield, her older sister, and her parent all rolled into one.

"S-Sis..." Maya’s voice was barely a breath, almost swallowed by the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor beside her. "I'm cold..."

"You'll be warm soon, sweetheart. I'm right here."

I took her ice-cold fingers in mine and pressed them against my warm cheek. The sharp ache in my stomach was nothing compared to the crushing agony breaking my heart right now.

The glass door of the ICU slid open with a soft hiss.

Dr. Aris walked in, his jaw set tight as he held a medical clipboard. The look on his face instantly killed the fragile shred of hope I had just managed to gather.

"Elora, the blood toxins in Maya's system have spiked drastically," Dr. Aris said, skipping any pleasantries.

My heart plummeted into my stomach.

"What do you mean, Doctor? Didn't the herbal mixture I made yesterday suppress the reaction?" I asked, panic lacing my voice.

"Her internal wolf is rejecting her own blood cells. We have less than two hours to perform a pure plasma isolation procedure," Dr. Aris looked at me with deep sympathy. "If we wait any longer, her internal organs will suffer permanent failure."

"Perform the surgery, Doctor! Do it right now!" I gasped hysterically.

"We can't transfer Maya to the operating room until the cashier confirms the deposit payment," Dr. Aris interrupted gently, yet firmly. "The deposit is fifty thousand dollars."

Without another thought, I turned and sprinted out of the ICU as fast as my feet could carry me. The worn soles of my shoes slapped noisily against the cold hospital corridor.

All the money I had earned through years of sweat and toil—money saved by enduring hunger, skipping new clothes, and working sixteen-hour days at the clinic—was on this debit card.

I bumped into several people in the hallway, ignoring their frustrated shouts. All I could see was Maya's pale face; all I could hear was the two-hour clock ticking down in my head.

"Please! Run this card for the emergency deposit for Maya Vance!" I panted at the cashier counter.

My shaking fingers handed over the faded plastic debit card. The receptionist gave me a sympathetic look before taking the card and swiping it through the terminal.

BEEP!

The loud chime sounded like a gunshot in my ears. The small screen on the terminal flashed bright red, displaying words that made the blood in my veins run cold.

TRANSACTION DECLINED: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.

"Zero?" I whispered, my eyes wide with disbelief as I stared at the screen. "N-No way! The machine must be broken! Please, swipe it again!"

"Miss Elora, I've tried twice already," the receptionist said with a worried expression. "Your balance is completely zero. The last transaction was made two hours ago—a full cash withdrawal."

My entire world crashed down in an instant.

The hospital floor beneath my feet seemed to sway violently.

A cash withdrawal? Who could have taken that money besides me?

There was only one other person who had access to my account and knew my PIN.

"Uncle Julian..." I whispered, a sudden wave of scorching heat rising from my chest to my throat.

Just as I turned around, my body trembling, I caught a glimpse of a familiar middle-aged man practically half-running toward the hospital exit.

He was wearing a faded leather jacket, nervously glancing over his shoulder.

"UNCLE JULIAN!" I shouted, shattering the quiet hallway.

A rage I had never felt before erupted inside me. My suppressed wolf energy surged, burning away every drop of physical exhaustion.

I charged after him like a predator tracking its prey. Before he could push open the glass exit doors, I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him around forcefully.

THUD!

I slammed Uncle Julian against the cold hallway wall.

"What did you do to my savings?!" I snarled, my chest heaving and my eyes glowing a faint golden-red under the swell of emotion.

Uncle Julian sneered in panic, trying to pry my fingers off his jacket collar.

"Elora, let go of me! People are watching!" he hissed under his breath.

"Answer me, Julian Vance!" I screamed, discarding all respect. "Where is my fifty thousand dollars?! That was for Maya's surgery! That money was to keep my sister alive!"

"That money... it's gone, Elora," Uncle Julian admitted, turning his face away, unable to meet my eyes.

"Gone where?!"

"I... I was desperate! Rogue wolf debt collectors were hunting me down! If I didn't pay off my gambling debts this afternoon, they were going to chop off my hands and kill me!" he babbled without a shred of guilt.

My blood boiled at the sickening confession from my late father's own brother.

"You traded Maya's life for your gambling debts?!" My voice was raw, breaking into pieces. "Are you even human, or are you a monster?!"

"Listen to me, Elora! I did this to save us all!" Uncle Julian suddenly reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a thick document folder bound in deep black.

"Save us?!" I pulled his collar tighter, raising my fist to strike him. "You just killed Maya!"

"Secret agents from the Silvercrest Pack tracked me down this afternoon!" Uncle Julian cut in hurriedly, his eyes wide. "They're looking for a pureblood wolf female to serve as a secret surrogate mother for their Alpha!"

My hand froze in midair.

"What did you say?"

"Alpha Kaelen Blackwood needs a pureblood heir, but his fiancée is infertile!" Uncle Julian whispered frantically, his voice dripping with manipulation. "They offered a staggering reward! Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash! I already registered your name with the agency as collateral for my debt! All you have to do is bear a child for the Alpha, Elora!"

"You... you sold me?" I whispered in sheer disbelief. Cold tears finally spilled down my cheeks. "You sacrificed me to a strange pack just to save your own neck?!"

"It's the only way for you to get instant cash for Maya!" Uncle Julian barked shamelessly.

BEEP—BEEP—BEEP—BEEP!

Before I could respond, a piercing emergency alarm shrilled from the direction of Maya's ICU room. The red light above the ICU door flashed wildly.

Two nurses and an assistant doctor rushed out, wheeling a metal gurney out of the room. The oxygen tubing on Maya's face swayed violently with the speed of the rolling bed.

"Doctor! What's happening?!" I screamed, letting go of Uncle Julian and sprinting toward my sister's gurney.

"Her condition is in total freefall, Elora! She's out of time!" the nurse said with a tense face. "Because the deposit hasn't been settled and the ICU room is needed for another emergency patient, we have to transfer Maya to the general ward according to protocol."

"NO! PLEASE DON'T MOVE HER!" I screamed hysterically.

I tried to grab the metal frame of the gurney with both hands.

"There's no plasma isolation equipment in the general ward! She'll die there!" Tears streamed down my face, blurring my vision as I pleaded with them. "Please! Give me just one more hour! I'm begging you!"

"I'm sorry, Elora. It's hospital policy," the nurse pushed my hands away gently but firmly, continuing to push Maya's bed down the hall.

My body felt completely drained of strength. My legs shook violently, no longer able to support my starved, exhausted frame.

THUD!

I hit the cold, hard hospital floor.

"Maya... Maya..." I sobbed uncontrollably.

I dragged myself across the floor, ignoring the bite of the cold against my knees, begging every passing pair of feet belonging to the medical staff around me.

"Please save my sister... someone please save my sister..." I whimpered raspily, my nails practically cracking against the tiles.

The world was so cruel. I had given everything—sacrificed my youth, my dreams, and every ounce of energy I possessed—so why was fate still ripping Maya away from me?

Heavy footsteps approached from behind.

Uncle Julian knelt right next to my trembling body on the floor. Without a single drop of sympathy, he slammed the black document folder right onto my chest.

He gripped both of my shoulders with a cruel, unyielding grip, leaning down until his foul breath whispered right into my ear.

"That wealthy Alpha will pay for Maya's entire surgery this very second. Sign this paper, Elora... or watch your sister die tonight."