Slowly—agonizingly slowly—the monitor’s beeps steadied again. His breathing evened out, but his skin was still far too pale.

I inhaled deeply, but the air felt thick, suffocating. I could have teleported straight to the triplets, but I wanted them to sort out their issues without me interfering. So instead of mind-linking or appearing before them, I decided to reach out to Sofia. We hadn’t spoken since Lord Frederick’s party. She hadn’t made any effort to contact me. I moved instinctively, placing my hands over the boy’s frail body and pouring my energy into him, forcing warmth and life back into his weakening system. My magic clashed with the healer’s power, blending into a desperate push to stabilize him. My stomach churned, but I forced the words out. “So what are you going to do, Sofia?” I frowned—not at my wolf’s choice of words, but at the whole twisted situation I’d found myself in. I thought meeting my real family, learning who I truly was, would finally make me feel happy. But right now? I wished I’d never found out. I wished I could go back to being the Parkers’ daughter… somehow, life had been so much simpler then.

My heart pounded. “Not enough? What does he need?”

The cool scent of antiseptic and healing herbs hit my nose the moment I arrived at the pack hospital. My wolf stirred anxiously inside me. I followed Sofia’s scent down the quiet hallways while ignoring the curious eyes of the people passing by.

Something inside me snapped. “Confused?!” I hissed, my voice echoing too loudly in the ward. “This is your son’s life we’re talking about, Sofia. You don’t have the luxury of being confused right now!”

I took a shaky step toward the bed, my hand hovering over the boy’s forehead. My wolf whimpered softly inside me, urging me to act. “What’s wrong with him, Sofia?” I asked, already gathering my energy to heal him.

Hi, Sofia, I called through the mind link.

“So… what do you think?” Mother asked, raising a brow at me. She gave me that confident look, like she was offering me the best gift in the world, utterly convinced I wouldn’t dare refuse.

I didn’t waste a second. “Stay with him,” I said, already feeling the power hum in my veins. In the next heartbeat, the hospital ward blurred around me, and I vanished into the pull of my teleportation.

Her lips trembled. “Olivia-”

The moment she saw me, she looked shocked and got to her feet. “You came so quick,” she whispered.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My gaze flicked between her and the boy.

Olivia’s POV

Hi, Olivia, she said, but her voice sounded strained… exhausted.

Her head whipped toward me, her eyes blazing through the tears. “You don’t understand! If Damien finds out—if he knows—he’ll take him from me, Olivia. I’ll lose him forever!”

My brow furrowed, even though I knew she couldn’t see it. “What’s going on, Sofia? You sound… off.”

The anger on her face deepened, but I didn’t care. In fact, in that moment, I regretted healing her. I should’ve just let her stay in the coma. Life would’ve been so much easier for me.

She shook her head slowly, her lips trembling. “The healers have done everything they can. They’ve managed to stabilize him for now… but it’s not enough.”

Her voice cracked as she whispered, “He needs a bone marrow transplant. And the match… it has to come from his father.”

With a glare sharp enough to cut steel, I met her eyes. “Never happening, Mother. I’m not marrying Lord Frederick,” I hissed.

A doctor stepped forward, her face grim as she looked between us. “That was close. But listen to me—he won’t last much longer like this. The transplant has to be done in the next twenty-four hours… or there’s nothing more we can do.”

I looked at her closely, and my heart clenched. She looked… different. Thinner. Her cheeks had hollowed out, her skin pale, and there were faint shadows under her eyes.

She had been living here, fighting this battle alone, and I hadn’t even known.

“She’s acting like a bitch… no offense,” my wolf growled.

“This is your destiny, Olivia. You can’t run from it,” she snarled, not even giving me a chance to respond before spinning on her heel and storming out, slamming the door behind her.

Then, finally, she gave a small, shaky, approving nod.

Finally, I reached the children’s ward. The faint sounds of soft cries and low voices filled the air. I spotted Sofia sitting beside a bed, her posture slumped, her eyes red from lack of sleep.

She looked away, her chin trembling before the first tear slid down her cheek. “I… I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I’m confused.”

My gaze shifted to the boy lying on the bed. The moment my eyes landed on him, my breath caught in my throat. Even in his frail state, with his small chest rising and falling weakly, there was no denying the resemblance. The shape of his jaw, the curve of his eyebrows… he looked exactly like Alpha Damien.

Before I could bite back a response, the steady beeping from the monitor next to the bed turned erratic. My wolf shot forward inside me, panic surging in my veins.

There was a tense silence, then her voice came through the mind link, soft and tired. “I’m at the pack hospital. My son’s been ill for a few days now… and it’s been getting worse.”

She froze, torn between fear and hope, her eyes darting to her son’s still form. For a long moment, the only sound was the steady beep of the monitor.

My wolf was already pacing inside me, her hackles raised. And God help me, she was—

“No,” I cut her off sharply. “There’s no more time to argue. Let me teleport to Damien and bring him here. He needs to know. He needs to be here.”

She didn’t respond at first. But after a few long seconds, her voice finally connected.

Sofia’s knees buckled, and I caught her before she hit the floor. My wolf growled.

“I didn’t want to bother you. You’ve already been dealing with so much-”

Her eyes darkened with my refusal, but I still didn’t care. Right now, she felt more like a stranger than the woman who gave birth to me.

“I don’t care,” I cut her off. “I’m coming right now.”

Before she could argue, I ended the link and teleported.

My chest tightened instantly. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I asked, already getting worked up.

“He’s crashing!” one of the healers shouted as they rushed in.

I gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “Listen to me—if you don’t act now, you’re going to lose your son.” My voice shook with desperation, but I didn’t let her look away. “You think you’re protecting him by hiding this from Damien, but you’re not. You’re killing him.”