Chapter 4

Chapter 4

BIANCA

The morning shift at the hospital was a blessing—twelve hours where I could lose myself in other people's problems, where my hands could heal bodies even if my own heart was breaking. I'd left before Matthew woke, left a note for Theo with his breakfast, and escaped into the only place I still felt competent.

Mrs. Michaelson needed her bandages changed. Little Marcus had finally kept down solid food after three days of stomach flu. Old Mr. Kapoor's blood pressure was stabilizing. These were problems I could solve, wounds I could actually mend.

"Dr. Morrison?" Nurse Sarah approached my station, a file in her hands. "We have a home visit request. New patient, immunocompromised, can't come to the hospital. The address is—"

I took the file without looking, already mentally preparing for the visit. Home calls were rare but not unusual, especially for patients who couldn't risk exposure to hospital germs. I gathered my supplies, checked my bag twice out of habit, and headed for my car.

It wasn't until I pulled up to the building that my stomach dropped.

The Meridian Apartments. Fifteen stories of modern luxury overlooking the park. I knew this building. I'd driven past it exactly forty-three times in the last thirteen months—yes, I'd counted—because this was where Mia lived.

My hands tightened on the steering wheel. The patient was on the ninth floor. Mia was on the twelfth. Different floors. Different worlds, really. I could do this. I was a professional. I couldn't abandon a patient just because my husband's first love happened to live in the same building.

Besides, what were the odds I'd even see her?

I forced myself out of the car, medical bag heavy in my hand, and walked through the pristine lobby. The doorman nodded at me professionally, clearly used to medical personnel coming and going. The elevator ride was smooth, silent, and I focused on my breathing, on the patient I was about to see, on anything except the fact that twelve floors above me, Mia was probably planning the next activity on her bucket list with my husband.

The ninth floor hallway was quiet, carpeted in that expensive way that absorbed all sound. Apartment 9C. I knocked, heard a weak "come in," and entered to find an elderly woman propped up in bed, her color poor, her breathing labored.

Mrs. Adelaide Finch. Seventy-eight years old. Stage four lymphoma. Actually dying, unlike certain other people I could name.

"Mrs. Finch," I said gently, moving to her bedside, already assessing her condition with practiced eyes. "I'm Dr. Morrison. I'm here to check on you and adjust your pain management if needed."

"Bless you for coming, dear." Her voice was thin, reedy. "The hospital's too far, and I get so tired..."

I spent the next forty minutes examining her, adjusting her medications, checking her vitals, and listening—really listening—as she talked about her late husband, her estranged daughter, the grandson she hoped would visit before... well. Before.

This was what dying looked like. This exhaustion, this fragility, this gradual dimming of light.

I was updating Mrs. Finch's chart, my hand steady and professional, when I heard voices in the hallway outside. Male voices. One of them was familiar in a way that made my entire body go rigid.

Matthew.

No. No, it couldn't be. What were the odds—

But I knew that voice. I heard it said "I do" four years ago. I'd heard it say "it's a boy" when Theo was born. I'd heard it say "Bianca's just tired" last night while I cried behind a locked door.

"Mrs. Finch," I said quietly, proud of how calm I sounded, "I need to step outside for just a moment to update your chart in private. Medical confidentiality. I'll be right back."

She nodded, already drifting off, the pain medication making her drowsy.

I moved to the door, my heart hammering, and eased it open just enough to slip through. I was pulling it closed behind me—quietly, carefully, so as not to disturb my patient—when I heard a second voice. Clearer now. Closer.

Dr. Gerald Hartwick. I recognized him immediately. One of the top specialists in rare blood disorders at County General. What was he doing here?

I froze, my hand still on Mrs. Finch's doorknob, my body half-hidden by the door frame. I should leave. I should walk away. But something—instinct, suspicion, the same feeling that had made me question Mia's diagnosis from the beginning—kept me rooted in place.

"—grateful you came to the apartment, Dr. Hartwick," Matthew was saying. They were walking toward the elevator, their backs to me. "Mia's been so worried about the test results. About what comes next."

"I understand your concern, Alpha Morrison." Dr. Hartwick's voice was professional, careful. "But as I explained, the diagnosis is quite clear. Ms. Davids has Feral Lupin Phase 2."

Feral Lupin phase 2. My medical mind immediately accessed the information. . A rare genetic blood disorder that caused progressive organ failure. It was terminal, yes, but it wasn't the death sentence Mia had been claiming. With proper treatment, patients could live for years, even decades. It was manageable, not immediately fatal.

So it was real. She did have something. But not what she'd been claiming. Not a death sentence. Not "months to live."

"But there is a treatment?" Matthew's voice was urgent, desperate in a way he'd never sounded for me. "You said on the phone there was something we could try?"

They'd stopped near the elevator, still with their backs to me. I should move. Should retreat into Mrs. Finch's apartment. Should cover my ears and preserve my ignorance.

I didn't move.

"Yes," Dr. Hartwick said slowly. "But I need to be very clear about what this treatment entails, Alpha Morrison. Feral Lupin Phase 2 can be cured—completely cured—but it requires a very specific biological component. It needs a genetic match, a willing donor, and the procedure is... complex."

"Whatever it takes. Name it. I'll pay anything—"

"It's not about money." The doctor's voice was grave now. "The cure requires sustained cellular regeneration from a compatible donor. The closest match would be a blood relative, but Ms. Davids has none living. The second-best option is a mate bond—specifically, the Luna of a powerful Alpha. The combination of Alpha blood and Luna healing abilities creates a unique cellular signature that can reverse the damage Feral Lupin Phase 2 causes."

The world tilted sideways.

"You're saying Bianca could cure her," Matthew said, and I heard something in his voice—hope, determination, that tone he used when he'd made up his mind about something and nothing would change it.

"Potentially, yes. Your mate's healing abilities combined with your Alpha blood bond could provide the necessary cellular regeneration. But Alpha Morrison, I need to stress something crucial—this treatment is extremely dangerous for the donor. It requires sustained, intensive healing sessions over months. It would drain your mate's abilities, potentially permanently. And there's a significant risk of—"

"How significant?" Matthew interrupted.

"Twenty to thirty percent chance of the donor developing severe complications. Organ failure, neurological damage, loss of healing abilities, even death in extreme cases. The Luna would essentially be transferring her life force to cure Ms. Mia. It's not a simple procedure. It's a sacrifice."

Silence.

I pressed my back against the wall, my medical bag sliding from my numb fingers to land silently on the carpet. This was it. This was the truth I'd been circling for thirteen months. Mia wasn't dying immediately, but she was sick. And the cure required me to risk my life to save her.

"When can we start?" Matthew asked.

My heart stopped.