Chapter 202
Chapter 202:
Outside the door, Kira was collapsed against my mother’s chest, trembling violently and sobbing in a flawless, Oscar-worthy performance of absolute terror. Carolyn held her tightly, her faded floral scent souring with panic — not for Maeve, but for the scandal this could cause.
“She’s just a child! She’s terrified!” Carolyn snapped at the Pack Doctor, her voice ringing with an undeniable, aggressive authority to control the narrative. “Maeve was old. Her heart was fragile. It was just a tragic accident p>
I stood frozen in the corridor, my lungs refusing to expand. The chaotic shouts of the medical team trying to revive my grandmother faded into a deafening, ringing silence. The grief hit me with the force of a freight train, completely paralyzing my mind. I couldn’t see the calculated absence of real tears on Kira’s cheeks. I couldn’t see the truth.
Minutes later, the Pack Doctor stepped out, his face grim. Maeve had been resuscitated, but she was in a deep, unresponsive coma. She was fading.
The world tilted. My knees buckled — but before I could hit the floor, massive, scorching arms caught me.
Kain.
Through our fragile mate-bond, he had felt my soul tearing apart. He pulled me flush against his broad chest, shielding me from the chaotic hallway as he guided me into the Sanctum’s fluorescent-lit Common Room.
The atmospheric pressure in the room instantly plummeted to a lethal vacuum. Kain’s ancient cedar scent was entirely consumed by the heavy, crackling ozone of a violent storm. His Inner Wolf was roaring, demanding blood for my agony. He turned his head, his storm-gray eyes completely swallowed by a burning, molten Lycan gold, and locked his gaze onto Carolyn and Kira, who had followed us into the room. He didn’t yell. He didn’t have to.
“What. Happened.” Kain’s voice was a low, gravelly vibration that froze the very air in our lungs.
𝗔𝗱𝘥𝘪𝖼𝘁ive 𝗇o𝘃𝗲l𝘴 𝘰ո 𝗀𝘢lո𝗼𝘷е𝗅ѕ.сo𝗺
Under the absolute, crushing weight of the Lycan King’s aura, Carolyn’s weak Omega wolf whimpered. She physically shrank back, gasping for breath, but her desperate need to protect her golden child forced her to speak.
“It was her heart, Your Majesty,” Carolyn choked out, her hands trembling. “She was old. Kira was just sitting with her when it gave out p>
Kain’s jaw clenched so tight a muscle ticked near his ear. His golden eyes narrowed, his predator instincts screaming that it was a lie. But without proof, he couldn’t act against the mother of his Luna. He took a slow, measured breath, forced his Lycan to submit, and turned his attention back to holding me together.
A few moments later, Kain stepped out into the hall to speak privately with the Pack Doctor. I sat alone in the corner of the Common Room, staring blankly at the linoleum floor, drowning in a sea of helpless despair.
“Ms. Wolfe p>
The whisper was so faint I almost missed it. I looked up. Nurse Betty stood beside my chair, her hands nervously wringing her scrubs. She glanced over her shoulder at Kira, who was sipping water across the room, before leaning down.
“It wasn’t natural, Ms. Wolfe,” Betty whispered, her voice trembling with suppressed outrage.
My breath hitched. “What p>