78
CHAPTER 78
RYAN’S POV
“The bad news…” Dr. Kellan’s voice was low, almost hesitant, as if he knew the words would break me. “She lost the baby. And not only that… her wolf. Her wolf was just starting to come out fully, it was still adapting, and now it’s as if it has shrunk back into hiding. That’s why the baby couldn’t be protected. Her wolf
should have shielded the pregnancy, but it didn’t.”
The words hit me like knives. My chest tightened so painfully that I had to clutch my shirt as if it would stop my heart from tearing open. I growled so loud the entire hallway shook, everyone flinching at the sound.
My child.
My own baby.
Gone before I could even hold him or her. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think, all I wanted was to smash
everything in sight, but instead I forced the words out.
“I want to see her.‘
”
“Ryan-” Dr. Kellan tried, but I cut him off.
“NOW!” I barked, my voice raw with pain. “Take me to her, I don’t care what state she’s in, I just need to see
my Anna.”
Mom sobbed softly beside me, Dad’s jaw was tight, Grandma whispered a prayer under her breath, but I didn’t
care, I only cared about getting to Anna. Just then the nurses came out, pushing her bed slowly, her fragile
body lying there with tubes and wires attached to her, machines beeping, her skin pale but her chest rising and
falling, thank the goddess, she was breathing.
“Anna…” I whispered brokenly as I rushed forward, grabbing her hand gently but desperately, kissing it over
and over like I could bring her back to me that way. “Baby, I’m here. I’m right here.” My lips brushed her
knuckles, her fingers limp in mine, and I kept kissing, whispering against her skin. “You’re alive. That’s all
that matters. You’re alive.”
The pain inside me was unbearable, knowing we’d lost our first child, knowing our baby was gone, but even
with that pain burning inside my chest, I was grateful that she was still here, breathing, still with me. Because
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without her, I’d have nothing.
The nurses pushed her into a private room and carefully moved her onto the bed. I sat right there beside her, refusing to let go of her hand, kissing it again and again while brushing strands of hair away from her face. My tears dropped onto her skin, and I didn’t even bother wiping them.
“We can always make more babies,” I whispered to her, my voice shaking. “Do you hear me, Anna? We can always make more babies. Just don’t you ever leave me. Don’t you ever leave me, baby. I love you so much.”
Mom’s hand rested gently on my back, Dad’s firm grip squeezed my shoulder, Grandma and Grandpa stood close, their eyes full of sorrow, but I barely registered them. My world was this girl lying in front of me.
“Come back to me, my love,” I begged, pressing my forehead to her hand. “I don’t know what I’ll do without
you. I don’t know how to breathe without you.”
Minutes passed like hours, my eyes never leaving her face, every little sound from the monitor making me
flinch. Then, finally, her lashes fluttered, slowly, weakly, but they moved, and I shot up straight.
“Baby… baby, Anna!” I called, my voice rising with hope, my whole body trembling as I kissed her hand
again, covering it with desperate kisses. “Open your eyes, love. Please, open them for me.”
And then they did. Her beautiful eyes opened, tired and hazy, but open. My heart nearly burst out of my chest
from relief. I smiled so wide through my tears, pressing more kisses to her hand.
“Oh thank God… Anna… baby, you’re awake. I thought I’d lost you. I thought-” My voice broke as I choked on
my words. “I love you. I love you so much.”
But then… the words that left her lips shocked the hell out of me.
