Все главы Bound To The Mate Who Broke Me : Глава 11 - Глава 20

Astrid's POV My heart dropped, “Only child?" The words echoed my head, making me feel like the ground had disappeared beneath me. How could this be? I was carrying twins back then. I remembered everything, two heartbeats at every checkup, two sets of kicks keeping me awake at night, two babies that Darius had carried out of that operating room while I lay there bleeding and broken. I forced down my shock and sadness, keeping my face calm for Selene's sake. She didn't need to see me fall apart. "That's beautiful, sweetheart," I said, helping her glue another piece to her craft project. "The colors are perfect together." She beamed widely at me, and I felt my heart break. After we finished her craft work, I knew I needed answers. The questions were eating me alive. "I need to step out for a moment," I told her gently. "Will you be okay?" She nodded, already reaching for her coloring books. Taking one last look at her, I made my way to the second floor was where the family live

Darius's POV The unease hadn't left me since yesterday's encounter with the healer. I summoned Beta Blaise to my office as soon as the sun rose, unable to shake the feeling that something was off about this woman who'd appeared so conveniently in our lives. "I need you to look into the new healer's identity and background," I said without preamble when Blaise entered. "Everything about her. Where she trained, who her family is, why she really came here." Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Healer Skarsen? Is there a problem with her treatment of Iris?" "No, it's not that." I turned to face the window, watching the morning mist roll across the pack grounds. "She feels strangely familiar to me. Even though she doesn't seem to have anything to do with Astrid, I still want to check." I could feel Blaise's hesitation behind me. The silence stretched before he finally spoke. "Alpha, I saw her today too. She really looks nothing like Astrid. Different build, completely different features. And

Astrid's POV The morning light filtered through the medical room windows as I reviewed Iris's latest test results. She sat propped up in the examination bed, looking fragile but alert, watching me with those sharp eyes that seemed to miss nothing despite her weakened state. I held her latest test report in my hands, studying the numbers with professional focus. White blood cell count, inflammatory markers, kidney function, all consistent with someone battling a severe autoimmune condition for years. The medications listed in her chart were aggressive, a cocktail of immunosuppressants and steroids that would challenge anyone's system. "How do the results look?" Iris asked, her voice thin but steady. "I'd like to compare them with your previous records," I said, moving to the filing cabinet. "To track the progression over time.""They're all there," she sighed. "Mother keeps meticulous records. She always has, even before..." Before she lost her license. The unfinished sentence

Astrid's POV The steady rhythm of the mortar and pestle filled the laboratory as I ground dried feverfew into powder for Iris's evening dose. Three different tinctures simmered on the heating plates, each needing careful temperature control. I'd been working here for two hours, adjusting herb combinations to find the right balance for Iris's damaged system. A soft sound caught my attention, the door handle turning slowly, followed by tiny footsteps trying to be quiet. "Hello sweetheart," I said gently, not looking up from my work. "Did you come all by yourself?" Selene stepped out from behind the door, her eyes wide as she looked around the laboratory. "I wanted to see what you were doing." My chest tightened, "Where's Naomi?" "She fell asleep on the couch. She wouldn't wake up even when I shook her." She said, moving close to the counter. " I nodded softly, I couldn't send her away, not when she looked at the herbs with such real interest, not when I was trying to make up

Darius's POV"What do you want for your birthday this year, little wolf?" Selene looked up from her coloring book, considering my question with the seriousness only a five-year-old could manage. Her birthday was in three days, and I'd been dreading this conversation, knowing how often I'd failed to deliver on promises lately. "I want..." she paused, biting her lip. "For the parent-child sports day, I want both you and Healer Skarsen to participate."My stomach dropped. "Both of us?" "Yes!" Her face lit up. "Other kids have two parents there. Emma's mom and dad both came last year. I want two people too." Selene's birthday was coming up, and I was expecting her to ask for toys…books, not this. My first instinct was refusal. I was already worried about her closeness with Healer Skarsen, combined with Iris's warnings about boundaries and appropriate relationships. The healer had only been here two weeks, yet Selene talked about her constantly. But that shouldn't be a problem s