~Samantha~

“We’re running out of time,” he said carefully. “Her body is under too much magical strain. If we do not stabilize it soon, she could remain unconscious far longer than any of us want.”

Devon grabbed the edge of Diana’s blanket like it might stop whatever nightmare was trying to swallow her.

“She’s not going to die, right?”

“Diana, please wake up. I swear I won’t ever split from you again. We’re better together. You know that. We always are. Please just open your eyes.”

I turned away for half a second because if I looked at my son’s face any longer, I was going to start crying and never stop.

Dominic did not take the half second route. He grabbed the doctor by his shirt, and shoved him against the wall.

“What the fuck do you mean, running out of time?” he snarled. “You’ve been standing here feeding us meds, checking her pulse, and saying useless shit for hours. Heal her.”

“Dominic, let him go!” I yelled, but he did not hear me.

The doctor swallowed hard, panic in his eyes. “Alpha, I am trying.”

“Trying?” Dominic’s hand tightened. “My daughter is lying there unconscious while you tell me to be patient. Give me an answer before I make sure you never touch another patient in this pack again.”

The doctor licked his lips and Dominic finally let him go with a shove.

“This is beyond my skill,” he admitted, voice shaky. “She either needs a spirit healer who understands this kind of power or a stabilizing herb almost nobody uses anymore.”

Dominic’s head jerked up. “Then get both.”

“Alpha, the healer is far from here.”

“I don’t give a damn if they’re on another planet. Call them.”

“The herb is rare,” the doctor added, sounding like he regretted existing in front of us. “Very hard to find on short notice.”

Dominic was already yanking his phone out. “Listen up, you better find them even if it means you’ve to turn into a magician or get one.”

He started barking orders before anybody could breathe.

“Call every healer within reach. I want the best one dragged here if necessary. Put word out beyond the border. Anybody who finds that herb gets money, land, and a title. I want scouts moving now. Riders too. Search every market, every forest route, every old supplier anyone has ever heard of.”

Men started rushing out like their lives depended on pleasing him first.

And maybe they did.

Where was all this energy when it mattered before?

“You don’t deserve to be a father.” I choked out. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Dominic looked at me like I had just spat on him. “Sam, I know I messed up big time but you can’t say that over this.”

“You see how hard I’m trying to save our daughter’s life.”

“She wouldn’t be in this condition if not for you in the first place.” I got up so quickly and locked eyes with him. “You ruined our marriage with your own hands, filled this house with your disgusting jealousy, turned everything into some childish joke, and now look at her.” I pointed at Diana.

A look of heavy regret crossed his face but they vanished as soon as it came.

“So who would you have preferred? Killian? Oh, where is he now? He left you when you needed him the most but I’m standing right here in front of you and you can’t even appreciate it.”

“I’m sure he has a good reason for being absent.”

“Sure. Maybe if I leave you alone, you might appreciate me more.”

“Try it and see if I’d care.”

He scowled at me then said nothing. Grabbing a hold of Devon, he walked out.

As soon as he left, I let out a deep sigh and I called Killian.

He didn’t pick.

Without him, I suddenly felt stranded.

Where the hell was he?

Then the nastier thought came.

What if Dominic was right?

What if Killian saw how bad it was and chose distance?

What if all that loyalty had limits after all?

The door burst open before I could spiral further.

Killian walked in covered in beads of sweat, breathing hard, his shirt stained with mud, one hand wrapped around a bunch of green-silver leaves tied with a strip of cloth.

“I found it.”

My eyes glistened with hope as I stood up to take a closer look but Dominic who claimed to have left was ten steps ahead of me.

“No, we can’t use that.”

“Would you prefer she dies?”

“Where did you get it?” Dominic demanded.

“I used my connections.”

“You expect me to let you feed my daughter some random plant you pulled from cursed ground?”

Killian’s gaze steeled. “You think I’d just go into the fucking forest and get this? Do you think I’m bored or jobless for attention?”

Dominic forced a snicker. “You disappear without a word, come back filthy, wave around mystery leaves, and I’m supposed to trust it because you said so?”

My head started throbbing.

Killian bridged the distance between them. “You heard the doctor, she doesn’t have much time so get the fuck out of my way.”

“If you can’t care about your daughter, I’ll step up for you.”

Dominic blocked the way. “I’m going to have to verify first before I let you use it on her.”

“That’s going to take decades.”

“It’s way better than spending the rest of my life feeling guilty that I let a man poison my daughter.”

Killian stopped cold. “Poison? Are you fucking serious?”

The tension in the room spiked and even Lila choked back a sound.

“Yes, I’m dead ass!”

My frustration was boiling over and I was a minute away from lashing out.

The doctor, uselessly brave, cleared his throat. “I... have actually never seen that herb before.”

Dominic rounded on him instantly. “There. You heard him.”

Killian let out a manic chuckle. “Of course he hasn’t. His entire education didn’t include any knowledge of this.”

“So you’re calling my pack Doctor dumb now?”

“No, you just did.”

Killian lifted the herb. “Hold me responsible if it backfires. Every last bit of blame. I’ll take it. I would never gamble with Diana’s life.”

Dominic breathed hard. “I don’t care what promises you make. Nobody is using my daughter for an experiment.”

I had officially reached my breaking point.

“Shut up.”

I swung my gaze to Dominic. “Normal medicine is not working, neither are your shouting or threats. All you’ve done is give me a painful headache.”

He went stony faced. “How am I the problem when Killian walked in here with some strange herb? Your trust in him is freaking out.”

I cornered him with my words. “You brought the doctor who couldn’t do shit for us and brought the herb. You already failed so let’s give him a try.”

I gave him minutes to respond. He couldn’t find a single word.

My gaze dropped to Killian. “Do it.”

Dominic’s expression was that of a dying man.

Killian did not waste one second. He was smart enough to understand the urgency at hand.

He passed the leaves to Lila and the doctor, gave fast instructions, crushed part of it himself when their hands moved too slow, then mixed it into a bitter-smelling liquid.

I sat beside Diana and held her hand so hard my fingers started hurting. Devon stood near the wall looking sick enough to fold in half. Dominic stayed where he was, pure fury and fear fighting on his face.

They got the mixture into Diana then came the waiting.

The seconds crawled by.

I kept staring at her mouth, counting every breath. My mind had gotten stuck on one terrifying possibility after another and refused to stop.

Then, finally, something changed.

First, her breathing evened out then the tightness around her eye vanished.

The doctor checked her again, then looked up.

“She’s responding.”

My body sagged with relief. “Thank the moon goddess. My baby is going to be okay.”

Devon burst into tears so hard he had to cover his face. Killian shut his eyes for one brief second and let out a slow breath.  Dominic was stunned, yet disappointed.

I faced Killian. “Thank you.”

Dominic’s face shifted immediately. He tried to hide it, but jealousy on that man was like blood on white cloth. You could spot it from the moon.

“You owe Killian an apology and an appreciation.”

“Why? He did what he had to do.”

“If Diana had trained with me from the start, she wouldn’t have fainted. She didn’t listen to him for a good reason.”  

“Why does your jealousy always have to arrive before your senses?”

“I didn’t do this because of him. If he doesn’t want to apologize, it’s fine.”

As if he realized how mature Killian was, he exhaled hard. “You saved my daughter’s life and here I am, finding it hard to admit that I didn’t do it first.”

“I am sorry and I do appreciate what you did.”

After that, he turned to me with a look that practically said, ‘are you happy now!’

Oh, I absolutely was.