Chapter 372
Chapter 372:
Carmella POV
The jarring vibration of my phone against the nightstand shattered my sleep. I fumbled for it in the dark of my Chelsea apartment, eyes barely open. “Mom p>
Eleanor’s scream tore through the speaker. It wasn’t simply a cry of panic — it was the agonizing, guttural howl of a Beta female whose mate was slipping away. Even through the line, her usually comforting rose scent felt choked with phantom blood and absolute terror.
“Carmella! It’s your father — a multi-car pile-up on the highway. There’s so much blood. Mount Sinai ER, please hurry p>
Adrenaline hijacked my wolfless body. I didn’t even remember dressing. I grabbed my keys, ran three red lights, and practically abandoned my car at the Mount Sinai emergency drop-off zone.
The ER waiting area was a chaotic blur of hard plastic chairs, terror, bleach, and the distressed scents of various Pack members. I found Eleanor weeping near the trauma bay doors. Before I could even reach her, a Pack Doctor in blood-stained green scrubs pushed through the heavy double doors.
“He needs O-negative blood now,” the doctor said grimly. “His internal organs are ruptured, and the hospital’s Pack reserves are completely drained. We don’t have time to transport from another Pack p>
“Take mine.” I stepped forward instantly, rolling up my sleeve. “I’m O-negative. I’m his daughter p>
The doctor nodded and rushed me into a bright, sterile rapid cross-matching lab. I sat in the leather phlebotomy chair while a nurse typed my social security number into the core medical database.
Suddenly, a massive red warning box flashed across the computer monitor.
𝖱еa𝘥 𝗼n a𝗇у 𝖽𝗲𝗏𝗂𝗰е о𝘯.с𝗈𝗺
The doctor frowned, scanning the screen before turning to me with a cold, pitying stare. “Miss, your blood type is AB-positive. You cannot donate to an O-negative patient p>
“That’s impossible,” I stammered, my heart dropping into my stomach. “My parents are both O-negative p>
“Genetically speaking,” the doctor said, his words slicing through my reality like a silver blade, “two O-negative Beta wolves can never produce an AB-positive offspring. You are not their biological daughter p>
The linoleum floor seemed to drop out from under me. Twenty-seven years. My entire life, my identity, my family — a complete, fabricated lie.
I stumbled out of the lab, my vision tunneling. Eleanor was pacing the waiting area, wringing her hands. I walked straight to her, my body trembling with a devastating rage I had never known.
“Who am I?” I demanded, my voice cracking.
Eleanor flinched, refusing to meet my eyes. “Carmella, please, your father is dying p>
“I am AB-positive!” I screamed, not caring who in the ER heard me. Tears of absolute betrayal spilled hot and fast down my cheeks. “Two O-negatives can’t have an AB-positive child! Whose daughter am I? You lied to me my entire life p>
Panic and profound guilt flashed across Eleanor’s pale face. Instead of answering, she broke into hysterical, evasive sobs, covering her face with her hands. The silence was a deafening confirmation. I was nothing — a wolfless orphan living inside a lie.
Before I could shatter completely, the sliding glass doors of the ER burst open.