Darkness wrapped around me like a thick fog, but I could hear them. Every word. Every angry breath. Every footstep that echoed through the healing ward.
"Let's keep a proper relationship with each other," John said. His voice was steady, diplomatic. "If not for anyone's sake, for Aurora's sake."
I wanted to open my eyes, to tell them to stop fighting, but my body refused to obey. The silver bullets had done their damage, and now I floated somewhere between life and death, listening to the people I cared about tear each other apart.
"I don't keep relationships with toxic people." That was Richard, the royal healer. His voice was sharp, cutting. "Everyone get out. I want my patient to rest."
My patient. As if I belonged to him.
"I don't want you treating Aurora anymore." The Alpha King's voice sent shivers through my unconscious form. Even now, trapped in this darkness, I recognized the command in his tone. "You're dismissed, healer. I'll have someone else take over."
The room temperature dropped. I could feel the tension crackling like lightning about to strike.
"I dare you, Jack Thornfield." Richard's voice shook with rage. "I will remove Aurora from this healing ward myself, and you won't get access to her anymore."
"Enough!" Nonna's voice rang out, silencing them both. "Why are you fighting? Is this really about Aurora, or is there something else neither of you will admit?"
I heard her footsteps moving closer to my bed. Her hand touched mine, warm and familiar.
"Aurora is special to all of us in different ways," Nonna continued. "She's my best friend, my childhood companion. Richard, you stood by her when Cody was born, when no one else would. But Jack, she's your mate. She's Cody's mother. They share a bond deeper than any of us understand."
The word mate echoed through my foggy consciousness. Mate. But we had never completed the bond. I had run before he could mark me, before our souls could intertwine forever.
"And John," Nonna went on, "you're Cody's uncle, part of this family whether any of us planned it or not. Why can't we work together? We all want the same thing. We want Aurora to wake up, to heal, to be herself again. That's our common goal. Can't we act like a team instead of enemies?"
Silence fell over the room. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then I heard boots moving toward the door. "Keep her safe, Richard Delmark." Jack's voice was quieter now, resigned. "If anything happens to her while she's under your care, you'll answer to me."
The door opened and closed. His scent faded, that intoxicating mixture of pine and winter storms that always made my wolf stir. Even unconscious, I felt the loss of his presence like a physical ache.
John left next without a word. His footsteps were lighter, quicker, eager to escape the tension.
"You shouldn't have let your temper control you," Nonna said once they were alone. Her voice was sharp now, scolding. "Jack did nothing wrong this time, Richard. What happened wasn't his fault."
"Nonna—"
"No, listen. I saw him when we thought she was dead. The Alpha King sobbed like a broken man. He probably regrets every cruel thing he ever said to her, every moment he pushed her away. We need to move forward, not cling to past grievances. For Aurora's sake."
A pause. Then Richard's quiet reply. "Fine."
But I could hear the doubt in his voice, the unwillingness to forgive.
The scene shifted in my mind. I could somehow sense what was happening beyond the walls of my room, as if my wolf was showing me through the pack bonds that still connected us all.
Jack couldn't leave the healing ward. Reporters from neighboring kingdoms surrounded the entrance, their cameras flashing, microphones thrust forward like weapons. The attempt on the Alpha King's life had drawn attention from across the realm.
His royal guards formed a protective circle around him, pushing through the crowd. Questions flew at him from every direction.
"Alpha King, who wanted you dead?"
"What is the identity of the woman who saved your life?"
"Do you share a unique bond with her?"
"Is she dead? Can anyone survive three silver bullets to the chest?"
"Is it true the assassin was a professional, trained by the northern clans?"
Jack ignored them all. He walked with his head high, his shoulders back, every inch the king he was born to be. The guards cleared a path to his vehicle, and soon he was speeding away from the chaos, leaving the reporters scrambling in his wake.
He arrived at the royal estate within minutes. The captured assassin had been taken to the dungeons beneath the castle, chained and unconscious.
"Sir, he's secured," Eduardo reported. The Beta Commander had stayed behind to handle the prisoner while Jack dealt with the aftermath. "But he's still knocked out cold."
"Have you questioned him?" Jack asked. I could sense his exhaustion, the weight of my blood still staining his shirt.
"Only enough to know he's not the real threat. He's just a messenger, following orders from someone higher up."
Jack nodded, moving past Eduardo toward the castle entrance.
"How is Miss Bluey?" Eduardo's voice was tight with concern. "Is she going to survive?"
A pause. Then Jack's reply. "She's stable but in a coma. The silver did significant damage."
"Alpha King, forgive my boldness, but that woman saved your life. She deserves to be honored for what she did. She's a hero."
Jack stopped walking. "I know what I owe her, Eduardo. And it's a relief to finally know the truth."
"What truth, sir?"
"Aurora Bluey is Cody's mother. She's been his mother all along."
Eduardo's shock rippled through the pack bond, reaching even me in my darkness. But Jack didn't elaborate. He simply walked into the castle, leaving his Beta standing in stunned silence.
And I floated in the void, trapped between worlds, wondering if I would ever open my eyes again to face the consequences of what I had done.