Chapter 458
Four hundred and sixty
Emma POV
The search for Luna Elizabeth’s grave was going nowhere.
The two Root-ranked Daughters had come to the hospital that morning and reviewed the updates. Meridian had deliberately hidden her body outside pack grounds. Veronica had already confirmed that Elizabeth wasn’t buried in Alpha Edward’s family cemetery, but she had no idea where the cult had taken the corpse.
Dr. Harry was looking into advanced surgical grafting techniques, trying to see if they could physically shift the Meridian growth away from Alexander’s heart. It was growing like a tumor, slowly expanding toward his chest wall. If it wrapped completely around his heart, it would choke him to death.
The only true fix was transferring the curse back to the living anchor, and I already knew that anchor was Zachary. The man was still strutting around under pack arrest, acting completely innocent while his loyalists tried to stall the tribunal. I hadn’t attended the last hearing, but hearing how his people defended him made my blood boil. If Zachary had to die for Alexander to live, I wouldn’t shed a single tear.
I hadn’t gone home the night before. A restless need kept me at the hospital.
I couldn’t sleep in Alexander’s room because of the isolation rules, so I spent the night sitting on a wooden bench in the hallway. A kind nurse eventually rolled over a padded armchair for me, and I buried myself in work files until dawn.
When the Roots arrived, they spent hours inside the unit discussing options. They explained that finding Elizabeth’s grave was essential. In spiritual magic, finding the source allows a reverse flow, which my mom would call throwing the spear back at the shooter. But since the shooter was dead, the backdraft would hit the living person she was protecting: Zachary.
Before I left the floor to grab a quick change of clothes, I passed Veronica’s room. She was still staying at the hospital for observation, even though she had given her testimony. Through the glass, I saw her clutching her son, Jake, pulling him into her chest as if she would never let go. Jake was around the same age as
Maverick.
Watching Veronica hold her child made my hand drop instinctively to my own belly. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying my baby would survive the nightmare we were living through.
Then I stopped at her doorway. “I heard how brave you were at the hearing, Veronica. Thank you. I hope you get full justice p>
Veronica offered me a faint smile.
“I pray your mate wakes up,” she said.
That evening, I went to Wesley’s house for dinner. Isabella had invited me, knowing I was craving lamb chops.
Between bites, Wesley filled me in on what enforcement had uncovered about Alpha Desmond. The affair between Elizabeth and Desmond had started before Elizabeth even married Alpha Edward. Desmond had positioned himself as Alexander’s trusted mentor, which made it natural for a frightened Alexander to run straight to him the night Edward was killed.
1/5
Four hundred and sixty
+15 Bonus
If a DNA test eventually proved that Zachary was Desmond’s biological son, the whole plot snapped into focus. Desmond and Elizabeth had spent decades positioning their secret heir to steal the Iron Wells throne, using Meridian dark magic to grease the wheels.
“What do these Meridian people even want?” I asked, dropping my fork in disgust. “Why are they so endlessly cruel p>
“Total dominion,” Wesley answered plainly, cutting his meat. “They want control over the Alpha seats across the entire territory p>
While we were sitting at the table, Wesley’s phone buzzed. He checked the screen, and his jaw instantly went rigid.
He stood up without a word and walked toward the other wing of the house. I stared after him, my pulse spiking.
“I don’t like that look,” I said, turning to Isabella and Anita. “Wesley always talks about pack business right in front of us. Why did he walk away p>
“Calm down, Emma,” Isabella urged, setting a soothing hand on my arm. “You’re pregnant. Don’t work yourself into a panic over a phone call p>
When Wesley walked back into the dining room a few minutes later, I stood up so fast that my chair scraped loudly against the floorboards.
“Is it Alexander?” I demanded, my voice cracking. “Is he dead?! Just tell me p>
“Emma p>
“Please, don’t. Just tell me p>
Wesley’s face fell.
“Someone tried to turn off his life support p>
A strangled gasp tore out of my throat, and I burst into loud tears. Isabella and Anita rushed to my side, grabbing my arms as I staggered backward.
“I need to go to the hospital right now!” I sobbed, pulling against their grip. “Let me go p>
“You can’t go right now, Emma,” Wesley insisted as they led me to the sofa. “It’s late, and the unit is locked down. They caught the nurse who tried to do it. She’s in custody p>
“Who was it?!” I cried out. “Was it Meridian p>
“Obviously,” Isabella spat, her eyes flashing with anger.
Wesley explained that a night nurse had noticed two staff members whispering suspiciously near Alexander’s room. One of them didn’t even belong on that floor. When the other nurse checked through the viewing glass, she saw the intruder pulling the main power plug from the ventilator, causing Alexander’s air intake to drop. The nurse screamed for security, and guards tackled the intruder before she could flee.
“It was Zachary’s last desperate move,” Wesley muttered, shaking his head. “He knows the trial is failing p>
2/5
Four hundred and saty
+15 Bonus
I didn’t sleep a single minute that night. I tossed and turned on the guest bed, then paced the room until my feet ached.
First thing the next morning, Wesley, Anita, and I rushed to Metropolitan Hospital.
We suited up in sterile gear, and I ran into the isolation room.
“Did they mess with the oxygen line?” Wesley asked Dr. Harry. “Did it cause any damage p>
“They disconnected the primary intake tube,” Dr. Harry explained, checking the vitals screen. “Airflow dropped, but the nurse screamed so fast that the backup battery kicked in before his oxygen levels plunged. He’s stable p>
“What about the surgical grafting?” Wesley pressed. “Is there any medical way to clear that mass from his heart p>
“I’ve done all I can from a surgical standpoint,” Dr. Harry sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. “The rest isn’t medicine. It’s up to the Daughters now p>
Lucas, Cherry, and Charlie arrived later. Charlie had initially come to check on Veronica, but he hurried over when he heard about the breach.
Cherry sobbed with her hands covering her face. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly while she shook against my shoulder. Lucas stood off to the side, his face set in a death glare.
“This gives us full grounds to arrest Zachary,” Charlie announced grimly. “They also flouted orders by leaving the pack p>
Charlie added that Veronica had warned him about Mina’s heavy involvement in Meridian.
“We are going to Iron Wells right now to execute a full felony arrest on both of them,” he said. “If we catch them red-handed, we might find the ritual objects they’re using to maintain the anchor p>
I didn’t care about the politics or the arrests. All I cared about was the man lying motionless on the bed behind me.
Before Charlie and Wesley left for Iron Wells, they spoke with the night nurse who had saved Alexander’s life. She was standing nervously near the station, exhausted from answering questions.
She explained that she had taken extra cleaning shifts because her husband had been out of work for months, leaving them struggling to pay for their eldest son’s college tuition.
Wesley reached into his coat pocket, pulled out an envelope packed with cash, and pressed it into her hands.
“This doesn’t even begin to cover what you did for us,” Wesley told her. “I’ll make sure the hospital board hears about your vigilance. Consider yourself promoted, and don’t worry about your son’s tuition p>
The nurse clutched the money to her chest, sobbing with gratitude as she thanked him over and over.
Once the hallway cleared, I went back inside the isolation room alone. Lucas and Cherry sat on the bench outside the glass door, flanked by two enforcement guards.
The nurses had adjusted Alexander’s bed, propping his head up slightly with a fresh pillow.
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Four hundred and sixty
+15 Bonus
I slipped my gloved hand over his cold fingers and rested my forehead against the edge of his mattress.
“Please, Alexander,” I whispered into the quiet room. “You have to do more than just twitch your thumb. You have to open your eyes, I’m so tired p>
Exhaustion finally caught up with me My eyes grew heavy, and my head slipped sideways onto the blanket beside his hand. I fell into a deep sleep.
I woke up a while later to a strange pressure resting against the top of my head.
Frowning, I reached up with my gloved hand, assuming my phone had slipped out of my pocket or my hair clip had fallen loose. My fingers brushed against warm skin.
A hand was gently resting on my hair.
My eyes snapped wide open. I raised my head slowly, my heart slamming wildly against my ribs.
Alexander was sitting up against his pillow. His deep blue eyes were open and focused, staring straight down at my face.
A violent shock tore through my system. My hands trembled like leaves in a storm, and a scream escaped my throat.
The glass door burst open. Before I could process the sight of his face, my vision went black and my legs buckled beneath me. Lucas lunged forward, catching my limp body in his arms before I hit the floor.
A/N: Hey, everyone. I’m sorry for the slow updates lately, I had to take a little time away to focus on and finish my final exams for my master’s, so writing had to take a backseat for a while.
Now that the book is coming to an end, I just want to thank you all for sticking around and being so patient with me. Your comments, encouragement, and constant support, even when updates have been slow, mean more to me than you know. I truly appreciate every one of you for staying with me and this story until now. Thank you for being here. 3
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