---- Chapter 6 JOSIE POV: The Mind-Link from the pack hospital was a scream in my head. A raw, panicked burst of energy that made my blood run cold "Luna, it's your father... he's critical!" | didn't bother replying. | dropped the champagne flute | was holding. It shattered on the marble floor, the sound lost in the din of the gala. | turned and ran. | didn't care about the stares. | didn't care about Laurence's angry hiss of my name behind me. | pushed through the crowd, my velvet dress feeling like a lead weight. When | burst into the hospital wing, the scene was chaotic. Healers were rushing, but not towards the intensive care unit where my father lay. They were all heading upstairs. "What's happening?" | grabbed the arm of a young nurse. "Where is everyone going? My father needs help!" The nurse looked at me with pity in her eyes. "Alpha's orders, Luna. Rosalie Harris reported feeling a sudden energy drain. The entire senior healing team has been ordered to the penthouse suite to conduct a full-body energy diagnostic on ---- her.' Rosalie. A fake energy drain. A lie to pull every single skilled healer away from my dying father. Rage, cold and pure, flooded my veins. | sprinted for the elevators that led to the private penthouse suites. Two of Laurence's personal guards, werewolves built like mountains, stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Apologies, Luna. This floor is sealed by the Alpha's command," the first one said, his voice flat and unemotional. "My father is dying downstairs!" | screamed, my voice cracking. "| need to speak to the Alpha!" "No one is to disturb the Alpha," the second guard said. He wouldn't even meet my eyes. | fell to my knees. The hard, cold floor did nothing to numb the desperation tearing me apart. "Please," | begged, the word a tagged sob. "I'm begging you. Just let me talk to him." They remained like stone statues. Unmoving. Uncaring. This was his order. And his order was absolute. Defeated, | scrambled back, pulling out my phone. | sent a desperate Mind-Link to Laurence, pouring all my fear and pain into the connection. "Laurence, please! Dad is dying! The healers are all with Rosalie! Please, just send one of them back!" ---- The connection opened. But the first thing | heard was not his voice. It was Rosalie's, a soft, seductive giggle in the background of his mind. Then his voice came, impatient and harsh. "Stop bothering me with trivial matters, Josie." And then, silence. He had slammed the connection shut. My world shattered. Trivial matters. My father's life was a trivial matter. Anew strength, born of pure, undiluted hatred, surged through me. | stood up, my tears drying on my face. | made the arrangements myself. | called the transport team Chris had on standby. But we were too late. On the way to the airfield, a black, unmarked van slammed into our ambulance. Rogues. Their feral scent filled the air as they tried to drag my father from the vehicle. My guards fought them off, but the damage was done. The delay was fatal. We made it to the small, private medical facility near the airstrip. But it was no use. The healer, an old wolf with kind eyes, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, my child," he said softly. "The interruption of the Sun-Root treatment, combined with the delay in getting him here... his bloodline couldn't sustain the ---- shock. It simply... gave out." He was gone. | sank to the floor, a silent scream trapped in my throat. My body was numb. My mind was empty. In that void, a faint mental ping echoed. It was Laurence, trying to Mind-Link me again. With a trembling finger, | rejected the call. In the days that followed, | moved like a ghost. | arranged my father's cremation. | held his ashes in a simple wooden urn. And | received one final message from Chris. It was a file containing bank transfers, encrypted messages. Concrete proof. The Rogues who attacked the ambulance had been paid from an offshore account belonging to one of Rosalie's most loyal servants. It wasn't just neglect. It was murder. And Laurence had been her willing accomplice.