CHAPTER 77
RYAN’S POV
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“Doctor! Doctor! Doctor! Please, help! Someone help!” I yelled at the top of my voice as Anna was being rushed in on the stretcher, her gown soaked in blood, her face pale, and her body frighteningly still. My chest was ripping apart, my legs weak, but I didn’t stop running alongside the nurses as if me screaming would somehow keep her alive.
“Let me take over!” Dr. Kellan’s voice boomed, sharp and commanding, and in that moment he pushed the
nurses aside and grabbed the stretcher. He had flown all the way from Nivelle for my inauguration, but now it was as if fate had planted him here just for this moment. His hands were steady, his eyes laser–focused, and
before I could blink, he was wheeling her straight into the emergency room.
“Ryan, you can’t come in,” he barked at me. “We need space. She’s losing too much blood. If you want her alive, wait outside!”
“No, no, please–I can’t-” My voice cracked, my body fighting to push past, but two nurses held me back.
“That’s my mate! That’s my baby in there! Please!”
“Ryan!” Dr. Kellan shouted without even looking at me as the doors slammed shut. “If you love her, then wait
outside and let us do our job!”
I froze. My chest was heaving, my fists shaking, my throat closing up, but I stumbled back, dragging both
hands through my hair in pure frustration as I hit the wall and almost slid down to the floor. My mind was
spinning, my wolf clawing at me from the inside, screaming at me to break the doors down and go to her, but my body… my body was frozen.
And then, all at once, I heard footsteps. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Beta Logan, Gamma Steve, and Alex
came rushing down the hallway. Mom’s face was already soaked with tears. Dad’s jaw was clenched tight. Grandma clutched Grandpa’s arm for support.
“What happened? Ryan, what happened to her?” Mom cried, rushing to me, her hands gripping my shoulders as if shaking me would give her the answer.
“How is she? Tell me she’s okay!” Grandma’s voice cracked as she stepped closer, her eyes wide with fear.
I couldn’t take it. I growled loudly, running both hands roughly through my hair, the sound tearing from my
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chest so raw that it echoed through the entire corridor.
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“I don’t know!” I shouted, my voice breaking. “I don’t fucking know! She was fine, she was inside the hall, and then–then someone found her in a pool of blood at the damn staircase!” My throat burned as I slammed my fist against the wall. “I should’ve been there! I should’ve protected her!”
“Son…” Dad started, his voice low but tight, but I snapped my head up, my eyes burning.
“Alex!” I barked, my voice sharp, cold, Alpha–heavy. The entire hallway seemed to tremble with the authority
in it. “Find out who the hell did this to my Anna. Now!”
“Yes, Alpha,” he said with absolute respect, his tone leaving no room for doubt. He turned on his heel and
sprinted down the hall, already pulling out his phone.
“That’s not all!” I shouted after him, my chest heaving. “Call the owner of this hotel. Tell him I want every
single CCTV recording from tonight, from every floor, every angle, every hidden fucking corner. And if I don’t
have them, I’ll burn this entire place down brick by brick!”
“Yes, Alpha!” Alex’s voice rang back as he disappeared.
Beta Logan and Gamma Steve exchanged a quick look before stepping forward.
“We’ll assist him,” Logan said firmly. “Whoever did this will not get away with it.” Without waiting for
another word, the two of them hurried off in the same direction.
Dad paced back and forth like a lion, his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed so tightly I thought his forehead would split.
“Whoever is behind this,” he muttered under his breath, “they don’t know what storm they’ve unleashed.”
Mom’s arms wrapped tightly around me, but I couldn’t even hug her back. My body was too stiff, my head too
full of chaos. My eyes stayed locked on the red light above the emergency room doors that told me they were
still working on Anna.
Minutes turned into hours. Every tick of the clock felt like a blade in my chest. I could hear faint shouting from inside the room, the sound of equipment moving, Dr. Kellan’s commanding tone telling the nurses what to do.
My heart stopped every time the voices rose, and I found myself whispering her name under my breath like a
prayer I wasn’t sure the goddess was listening to.
Finally, the door creaked open, and Dr. Kellan stepped out. His face… fuck. His face was pale, grim, tired, his hands covered in gloves that were stained with blood. My legs went weak at the sight.
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“How is she?” Mom asked instantly, her voice desperate.
“Is she okay? Tell me my baby is okay!” Grandma cried, clutching Grandpa’s arm even tighter.
Dad’s voice was cold. “Speak, Kellan.”
I stepped forward, my heart in my throat. “Please, Doc. Tell me she’s okay. Tell me my mate is okay.”
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Dr. Kellan let out a long breath, pulling the mask off his face. “There’s good news… and bad news,” he said slowly, his eyes shifting from me to my parents, then back to me. “The good news is–Anna is conscious now.”
My heart leapt in relief, but then froze when I saw the way his jaw tightened, the way his eyes darkened.
“But…” he continued, his voice heavier now, “there’s something else you need to know.”
