Renzo’s POV

The infirmary felt smaller than usual as we waited.

The walls pressed in, the air thick with the sharp scent of herbs and iron and something bitter that lingered at the back of my throat. No matter how many times I’d been here growing up, the place never stopped reminding me how fragile bodies really were, how easily things broke, how quickly control slipped away.

Linda lay on the bed nearest the window.

She looked nothing like herself.

Her skin was pale, almost translucent, her lashes resting too heavily against her cheeks. Tubes and charms surrounded her, faintly glowing, humming with low magic as healers moved quietly around her. Every few seconds, someone checked her pulse, adjusted something, murmured in hushed tones.

I stood beside my brothers, arms folded tightly across my chest.

I was worried. Anyone would be.

But my mind kept betraying me.

It kept drifting away from the infirmary, away from Linda’s shallow breathing and the healer’s careful movements, and snapping back to Jade’s face.

That look in her eyes.

Empty. Hollow. Like something vital had been scooped out of her and left behind.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my attention back to the present just as the lead healer turned toward us.

“The convulsions she experienced weren’t spontaneous,” the healer said calmly. “They were triggered.”

“Triggered how?” Ryder asked, his voice tight.

“The physical trauma she sustained yesterday caused her system to go into overdrive,” the healer explained. “Her body is reacting as though it’s still under threat. It’s a shock response, but prolonged.”

Ronan stiffened. “So what does that mean?”

“It means her condition is fragile,” the healer replied. “She can stabilize, but she cannot be left alone. Another episode could occur without warning.”

My stomach twisted.

“And if it does?” I asked quietly.

The healer met my eyes. “If no one is there to notice it in time... it could be fatal.”

Silence fell heavily around us.

I looked back at Linda, my chest tightening. She didn’t look like someone clinging to life. She looked like someone already halfway gone, like the world might forget her if it blinked too long.

And yet....

My thoughts drifted again.

Where was Jade? What is she doing now?

The question rose unbidden, sharp and persistent.

“She attacked Linda,” Ronan muttered under his breath, as if reading my thoughts.

I didn’t respond.

I wondered where Jade was, how she was feeling.

The look she had given was today stuck with me.

How she had told us to stay from her coldly.

I just couldn’t forget it

My wolf stirred, restless too.

We are supposed to be with her comforting her.

She needs us.

Linda stirred then, a soft sound escaping her throat.

“Ronan?” she whispered weakly.

We all moved at once.

“I’m here,” Ronan said quickly, stepping closer to the bed.

Her eyes fluttered open, panic flashing through them as she looked around. Her breathing hitched. “I.... I thought I was alone.”

“You weren’t,” Ryder said gently. “We’re right here.”

Her hand shot out, clutching Ronan’s sleeve like an anchor. “Please don’t leave,” she whispered. “I’m scared it’ll happen again.”

The fear in her voice was real.

“I don’t want to die,” she said, tears slipping down her temples. “I don’t understand why Jade hates me so much. I’ve never want to hurt her. I care about her... I really do.”

My chest tightened.

Sympathy came first. Then confusion. Then something darker and heavier that sat uncomfortably in my gut.

I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Neither do I know what to do.

Ronan rested a steadying hand over hers. “You’re safe,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Ryder nodded. “We’ll stay.”

Linda let out a shaky breath, her grip loosening as exhaustion pulled her back under. Her eyes closed again, her breathing evening out.

And just like that, the decision was made.

We’ll stay with her.

Again.

Time passed in slow, suffocating stretches.

The infirmary lights dimmed as evening crept in, casting long shadows across the floor. Healers came and went. Linda slept, woke briefly, clung to us, then slept again.

Every time she stirred, one of us was there.

Every time I thought about Jade, I told myself the same thing.

She’s fine.

She’s strong.

She’s holding on just fine.

But the unease wouldn’t leave.

Ryder paced once, then stopped. “Should one of us check on Jade?”

Ronan shook his head almost immediately. “Linda can’t be left alone.”

“I know,” Ryder said. “I just...”

“We’ll talk to Jade later,” Ronan said firmly. “Once things settle down.”

Later.

That word again.

Linda stirred once more, whimpering softly, and any chance of leaving vanished. She clutched at us, begging quietly for us not to go, fear written all over her face.

And we stayed.

Hours slipped by.

The night deepened.

Linda finally fell into a deeper sleep, the healers murmuring that she was stable, for now. The room grew quieter, the urgency fading just enough for my thoughts to spiral.

I couldn’t sit still anymore.

Jade’s face replayed in my mind over and over. The way she’d looked through us earlier, like we weren’t even there. Like she’d already detached herself from us completely.

Something was wrong.

Deeply wrong.

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Ryder looked up. “Renzo?” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

“Where are you going?” Ronan asked.

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t wait.

I turned and ran.