Chapter 22 Alpha Darius's POV I had never felt so helpless. For days, I was stuck in this sterile pack infirmary, surrounded by white walls and white lies. My wolf-what was left of him-had curled so deep into my soul that I could barely feel him anymore. And without my beast, I wasn't sure what I even was. My mother had said she was done with me. I'd believed her... until I caught the scent of desperation in the air. She had been scrambling-behind my back-contacting every renowned healer, bone mage, and shifter medic she could. I only learned about it when an unfamiliar scent drifted into my hospital room, heavy with forest herbs and magic. Clark Blackthorn. The Bone-Walker. A retired elder, once revered in our world for healing wolves too broken to shift. He stood before me now, adjusting his glasses as he examined my scans is movements deliberate and eerily quiet. His aura carried the weight of an old Alpha, even if he no longer led. My mother, Emily at my bedside, and beside her, unfortunately, were the Moonveils. Both of hem. And Lexie. hated being seen like this-weak, stripped of dominance, my rank reduced to pity and failure. Clark raised a clawed hand, gently tapping around the site of my leg wound with a reflex ammer coated in rune-inked silver. Pain erupted through my entire body. growled involuntarily, claws digging into the mattress. Doctor-that hurts!" Clark didn't flinch. He pulled back the hammer with calm precision and spoke with brutal onesty. Alpha Darius, I can restore enough to get you walking again. You may no longer need a cane but you will limp. On storm days, the pain will feel like a silver spike driven through your bone. That won't fade." He paused. I could feel the weight of his words before he even finished. If you're willing to live with that for the rest of your life, then I will proceed. But if you want your ife back as it was... I can't give it to you." Something inside me snapped. Frustration. Shame. Fury, With a snarl, I swept the tray of herbs and medicine off the table, the crash echoing across the 'oom. 'This is what your so-called reputation brings? Limping through life in agony? You're no miracle healer. You're just a name that should've stayed buried in the archives!" His aura shifted immediately-dangerously so. Clark's golden eyes narrowed like twin suns. His next words were colder than the winters of the 1/2 01 2% 7:08 pm A North Clans. "Elder Luna, Emily, I was done with cases like this long ago. I only came because Luna Avelyn requested it." My body tensed. "She called in a favor from me-and even so, I warned her your condition wasn't ideal. If your son thinks this is beneath him, find someone else. I'd love to see who else has the strength and skill to mend a wolf too broken to shift." He turned on his heel, his team trailing after him like shadows, and stalked out of the infirmary. My mother ran after him, but she didn't get so much as a glance back. When she returned, her footsteps were thunder. She slapped me so hard, that my head jerked sideways, the sting echoing louder than the tray I had shattered. "Do you know how hard it was to get him here?" she shouted. "Do you even understand what you've done? Clark Blackthorn is the last of his kind. You just spat in the face of your only chance!" But I was no longer listening to her rage. I had latched onto something else. Avelyn... "She asked him?" My voice was hoarse. "Mom-he said Avelyn sent him. She still cares, doesn't she? She hasn't given up on me completely." Mother let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "You think she still gives a damn? You idiot." She leaned in close, her voice a snarl. "She only did it for Alpha Riven-so no one would say the Ashton heir let his fiancée's ex rot in a hospital bed. It was about status, not you. She's mated now. Mated to a stronger Alpha. She belongs to another pack. Keep dreaming." My wolf whimpered from somewhere deep inside, but I didn't let it show. Luna Myra POV The tension in the room was unbearable. "Emily," I said gently, trying to placate her. "He's in pain. He's lashing out. Maybe this isn't th time to argue. Instead... why don't we talk about the kids' future?" I sat beside her, my words laced with meaning. Lexie stiffened on the other side of the bed, her expression shifting. She no longer looked at Alpha Darius the way she used to. Not with desire. Not with ambition. Now, there was only calculation. "Mom," she whispered, "Darius hasn't even recovered. There's no need to rush." But I cut her off. "You returned for him, didn't you? You marked him once. Whether you still want this or not, it's too late to back down." Emily's voice sliced through the air. "She can bond with him if she insists-but there will be no mating ceremony." Chapter 22 2/3 91.8% 7:08 pm A Robert, bless his thick skull, immediately barked back. "This is Lexie's first marriage! Of course, there should be a ceremony!" Luna Emily turned toward him, her eyes gleaming with contempt. "Your daughter, Avelyn didn't get one. No guests. No Luna veil. And now your daughter-who slithered into her sister's bed-expects a full moon festival? "Let me be clear: letting her bear the Nightbane name at all is already my greatest compromise. There will be no feast. No howling vows. "Unless... of course, you want every Alpha in the territory to know that your adopted daughter betrayed her sister and mated her husband while her bed was still warm? You might be able to live with that shame-but the Nightbane Pack won't" Her words were quiet-but their weight hit like thunder. Robert opened his mouth... then closed it. 7:08 pm