Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Nathan’s POV

“ Alpha, it’s Emily! We found her at the bottom of the slope by the northern cliffs. She’s unconscious. We’re rushing her to the clinic right now! ”

I was already running before Blake finished speaking.

Emily was hurt. I needed to see her. Asher was howling inside my head, and I could barely think.

By the time I reached the clinic, Blake, Liam, and Kane were already there.

Kane stood in front of the hospital room door, his face pale and tense. Through the narrow gap between the linds, I saw her. Emily lay motionless in the bed. Too still. Far too still.

Jessie sat beside her, holding her hand, while Poppy paced back and forth across the room, wiping tears from her

heeks.

“ Damn it. ”

My fists clenched and a low growl tore from my throat. I had to force myself not to rip the door off its hinges.

“ What happened? ” I demanded.

Blake rubbed a hand over his face. “ She fell during the wolf run. ”

My body went cold. “ Fell p>

“ From the northern cliffs. ”

The northern cliffs were almost two hundred meters high. Wolves didn’t simply fall from there and survive.

“ What do you mean she fell? ” I asked, my voice dropping.

Blake’s jaw tightened. “ That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Kane found her at the bottom of the slope. ”

Kane lowered his eyes. “ She was unconscious when I reached her, Alpha. ”

Asher slammed against my control. “ You failed her. ” The words hit harder than any blade.

Doctor Reed stepped into the hallway with a patient file in his hands. “ Alpha Nathan. ”

His face told me enough. “ Doctor. ”

“ She’s stable. ”

Relief hit me for half a second, but then I saw his expression. He wasn’t relaxed. He looked worried,

“ I need to speak with you privately. ”

1:24 pm

Reed swallowed hard. “ Alpha, please. ”

Liam stepped closer, his voice low. “ Nathan. Let’s go. ”

I forced myself to breathe. Once. Twice.

Then I nodded stiffly. Reed led me down the hallway into his office. The second the door closed behind us, I

urned on him.

“ What aren’t you telling me? ”

He motioned toward the chair. “ Please sit. ”

“ I’m not sitting. ”

Reed sighed softly and opened the file. “ We managed to stabilize her condition. Her heart is functioning. Her rain activity is present. She’s breathing on her own. ”

But? ”

“ But she hasn’t woken up. ”

The words felt like a punch. I stared at him. “ What does that mean? ”

“ It means we don’t know when she’ll regain consciousness.7

When. Not if. I held onto that word like a lifeline.

“ When, ” I repeated.

Reed nodded carefully. “ Yes. When. ”

My claws pressed hard against my palms. “ What else? ”

The doctor looked back down at the file. “ She fell from a dangerous height. Judging by the injuries, she rolled lown the slope and struck several rocks on the way down. She has three fractured ribs. ”

My jaw clenched.

“ A dislocated ankle, ” he continued.

The wood of the chair beside me cracked under my grip.

“ She has cuts and bruises all over her body, ” Reed hesitated. “ And a bad concussion. Her head was split open. We had to give her stitches. ”

All I could see was Emily lying in that bed, broken and alone.

“ If she had landed differently, ” Reed said quietly, “ one of the ribs could have punctured her lung. Or she could

have broken her neck. That would have been it. ”

Asher went silent. That was worse than his howling.

“ She’s lucky, ” Reed added gently.

My head snapped up. “ Lucky? ” The word came out as a dark growl, and Reed froze.

“ She fell from a cliff, broke three ribs, dislocated her ankle, hit her head hard enough to stay unconscious, and you’re calling her lucky? ”

“ She survived, ” Reed said quietly. “ That is the part I mean. ”

I looked away because I hated that he was right. She had survived. Barely.

“ What if she never wakes up? ” The thought made my blood run cold.t wasn’t because another male took her ‘ rom me, or because she chose to leave. It was because I lost her before I even got the chance to know her.

The possibility hollowed something out inside my chest.

“ What do we do now? ” I asked.

“ We wait. ”

That one word felt like torture. I let out a humorless laugh. The Royal Pack had warriors, doctors, money, nfluence, and power, and all we could do was wait.

Asher clawed at my mind. “ She needed us. You weren’t there. You let her fall. ”

I felt my control slipping. Really slipping.

“ You will update me every hour, ” I said, forcing the words through my teeth.

Reed blinked. “ Alpha, I have other patients. My assistant can- ”

I slammed my palm down onto his desk, cutting him off. The entire office shook. “ No. ”

Reed went silent. I leaned closer.

“ You will update me personally. Every hour. Do you understand? ”

I knew he didn’t just see me. He saw Asher behind my eyes, and he was afraid.

“ Of course, Alpha, ” he said quickly. “ Every hour. ”

I didn’t wait for anything else. If I stayed one more second, I would lose control inside the clinic. So I left.

I walked past the room where Emily lay unconscious. I didn’t look through the window again. I couldn’t. If I saw er like that one more time, I would break.

The moment I stepped outside, Asher took over. The shift ripped through me. Bones cracked, claws hit the dirt, ind the world sharpened.

Then we ran Away from the clinic. Away from the place where my mate lay hurt because I hadn’t been there to protect her.

Asher tore through the forest like a storm. Trees blurred around us, branches snapped, and the earth ripped beneath our paws. He destroyed everything in his path, like fallen logs, rocks, and thick roots. Anything that could break, he broke.

The entire night passed in a blur of rage. He howled until the birds fled from the trees and ran until his paws bled. He slammed his body into the earth as if the pain could drown out the guilt. It didn’t. Nothing did.

By dawn, Asher finally collapsed near the edge of the northern forest. Exhaustion forced him to release control. I hifted back into human form, breathing hard, covered in dirt, sweat, and scratches. Around me, the forest looked ike a battlefield.

“ Nathan? ” My mother’s voice entered my mind, soft and worried. Asher must have blocked the pack link when he ook over. “ Where are you, sweetheart? ”

I looked around at the destruction. “ Out in the forest. Asher needed to run. ”

There was a pause. “ She’s in good hands, Nathan. ”

“ I know, ” I snapped. But it didn’t help.

Another pause. Then she sighed. “ Your father needs you. ”

My frustration flared. “ No. ”

Nathan. ”

“ I’m not leaving Emily. ”

“ I know you want to stay with her, ” my mother said gently. “ I’ll stay with her, I promise. I won’t leave her şide. ”

My throat tightened. “ Where does he need me? ”

“ There’s an emergency council near the destroyed Brookstone pack. Marcus has already set up a temporary ommand post. Crystal Waters pack is hosting the meeting. Your father and Liam leave in two hours. ”

I closed my eyes. The rogue attack. The destroyed pack. Duty. Always duty.

“ Liam can go with him. ”

“ You are the future Alpha King, ” the words landed heavily. “ This is exactly the kind of situation where the other

Alphas need to see you. ”

I stayed silent.

“ And your father knows asking you right now would only make you angrier, ” she added softly. “ That’s why he isked me to speak to you. ”

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. My father was a strategist even when dealing with his own son.

I can’t leave her, ” I said.

“ You are not abandoning her, Iwill be with her. Jessie and Poppy are already there, and Doctor Reed is watching her closely. I will tell you the second anything changes. ”

I wanted to refuse. Every instinct in me screamed to go back to the clinic, to sit beside Emily, hold her hand, and wait until she opened her eyes. But another part of me knew my mother was right. The packs were under threat. If I vas going to be Alpha King, I didn’t get to choose only the duties that didn’t hurt.

“ Fine, ” I said at last.

Asher snarled instantly. “ Traitor. ”

I shoved him behind a mental wall. He had taken enough from me tonight. “ I’ll be there. ”

“ Thank you, sweetheart. ” The link faded.

I walked toward the nearest supply box at the edge of the forest. We kept them around the territory perimeter for hifted wolves who destroyed their clothes during transformation. Inside were folded black pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes. I dressed quickly and headed back toward my quarters.

Halfway there, a nervous knock touched my mind. “ Alpha Nathan? This is Doctor Reed. It’s about Emily. ”

Next Chapter Chapter 27

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Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy novels. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.