Chapter 39
LESLIES NOV
Everything was happening ton fast, and deep down, I knew it was connected to Alpha Ace Vire! Everything about that man screamed danger and destruction I always felt like trouble followed him and everyone connected to him. The good thing was that he knew how to protect his people.
1 found it strange how often he came to our hospital. At first, I believed it was because of his illness. It was rare, and Charlotte once mentioned something about a curse. Many night, the two of us stayed up late, buried in books and old records, trying to find something, anything, that could help him
But then I noticed he kept coming back, even when there was no reason to. It felt like he wanted to see her, to be around her. He had his Lama, his wife, yet he didn’t seem to care, I saw the way he looked at my best friend, the way his eyes lit up every time she was near, every time he saw her and her son. I had see pictures of him with his Luna a couple of times before, and he never looked at her that way.
What made it even stranger was that my friend knew absolutely nothing about him. She had no idea she was standing so close to the most powerful and famous werewolf in the world. I was truly scared for Charlotte. But at the same time, a small part of me felt happy for her, even though I didn’t understand why.
But Ace has too many enemies. Once you get tangled up with him, bad things start to happen, like the Rougarou. I knew the attack had nothing to do with us. It happened because of him, and that was why I called him.
After I killed that animal in the kitchen, I searched the whole house. That was when I realized Charlotte was gone. At first, I thought she would return after some time, but when she didn’t, fear crept in. I couldn’t call her father, Alpha Graves. I didn’t want to worry him. Ace was my only option, and he found her.
I went to the room Liam was sleeping in. Two guards stood by the door. The Aurelian Crown Hotel belonged to Ace, it was a private VIP hotel. Nothing got in unless he allowed it.
I switched on the light. Liam was sitting on the bed, crying. The moment he saw me, he jumped down and ran straight into
my arms.
“Aunt Les, what is happening? Where are we? This isn’t my room Where is mummy?” His tears soaked into my clothes as I held him tight.
I held him until his crying stopped, the hiccups came next. I carried him back to the bed and made him look at me.
“Baby, nothing is happening. Mummy is just tired. She’s sleeping in the other room.”
He shook his head. “I heard you talking when I was sleeping in the car. Something bad happened, right? Mummy is injured.” Tears shone in his eyes again, fear and worry mixing together. “You look worried too. You look stressed.”
He was too smart and knew how to read people, it’s always hard hiding any emotions from him. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t tell him the whole truth either. I knew Liam, he would cry the whole night, and I couldn’t let that happen.
“Something happened,” I said softly. “Mummy got hurt a little. She’s resting in the other room right now.”
“Then let’s go see her,” he said, already moving. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
I gently stopped him. “Baby, Uncle Ace is with her. Mummy needs to sleep. You’ll see her in the morning.”
“You promise?” He lifted his pinky, and I linked mine with his.
I prayed silently to the moon goddess, asking her to give Charlotte the strength to fight. Moonshade serum had spread
through her body. Charlotte wasn’t an ordinary wolf. She was special, gifted. Sickness never touched her. Her body was built
to reject every form of illness. Seeing this break through her defenses scared me badly.
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10:42 Tue, Feb 10
Chapter 39
I stayed with Liam wil he finally slept. Then I went back to Chelotte’s room, and what I saw there almost larobe me
Ace was curled on the bed beside her, his head resting on her stouch, close to her chest. He was crying hard, his body shaking as he spoke life into her. I stayed by the door, leaning against the frame, not wanting to disturb them
“Don’t die on me, baby” he whispered. “You have to come back to me. You won’t die. I won’t let you. He kissed her stomach, then lifted her hand and pressed his lips to it again and again. “What am I supposed to do withom you? You’re all I have. You’re the one who keeps me sane. What about your baby, Liam Who’s going to take care of him if you die? You see, you can’t die.”
I felt like I was intruding, like I was seeing something I wasn’t meant to see, yet I couldn’t move. This wasn’t the Ace we all knew. This Ace was vulnerable, open, hurting and breaking.
“What am I supposed to do without you?” he cried softly. “You have no idea how much you mean to me. I’ll give my life if it means you’ll live. You keep my heart beating. I wish there was a way to take this pain away from you, my love.”
He was nothing like the Ace we saw on TV. Not the ruthless, brul Alpha who showed no mercy. The man in front of me wasn’t the one who had killed thousands without blinking or getting his clothes dirty. This was a man terrified of losing the woman he loved, and it left me confused. He had only met Charlotte a few weeks ago. How could he be this attached to her? He had a mate, didn’t he? It didn’t make sense. Wolves didn’t act like this toward another woman when they already had their mates.
I turned to leave when a loud groan came from Charlotte. I rushed to her side.
“What is happening?” Ace asked, his voice raw with immeasurable pain. He didn’t even try to wipe his tears or hide how broken he was in front of me.
I checked her properly. Her breathing and temperature, the way her body was reacting to the drug was completely different than I had thought. I couldn’t explain what was happening to her
“Her system is deteriorating very fast,” I said quietly. “With the way this thing is moving through her system, a regular wolf would already be dead.”
“Then do something,” Ace broke in. “Do something, Les, please. I can’t watch her die. Should I call the doctors from my pack? There has to be something that can be done. Please.”
He was begging now, completely helpless, and it made my chest hurt. I didn’t want Charlotte to die, but this wasn’t something I could fight for her.
“You can call a million doctors and they still won’t be able to help.” I said. “I didn’t mention this before, but aside from being my best friend, Charlotte trained me in medicine. She knows more about medicine and healing than anyone in the world right now. She taught me, and she taught many doctors who trained under her. She never hides what she knows, that’s why we’re all loyal to her. Her kind is rare.”
I glanced at him. “What I’m trying to say is, this isn’t about money or how many doctors you can call. This is her fight. All we can do now is pray she pulls through.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” he said. “There has to be something. When the best doctors in the world gave up on me, she didn’t. She found something. I believe there’s something we can do for her.”
I shut my eyes, forcing my mind to work. Charlotte had cured the strangest sicknesses to ever exist. Most times, it wasn’t even medicine. It was her gift. She simply laid hands on them, and their bodies responded, they got healed.
Then something clicked. “Can you have someone drive me to the hospital?” I asked quickly. “There’s something I can get. It won’t heal her, but it might help keep her alive for the night.”
He didn’t hesitate. He called one of his men, his Gamma, Damien. He drove me straight to the hospital. I went into Charlotte’s office and took what I needed, then we rushed back.
It was a thick herbal tonic she had put together herself, mixed with moonroot, silverleaf, and her own blood. Something she
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Chapter Bo
made for extrine cases cases where the body was close
With Ace’s help, I forced it down her throat and prayed it would be enough to hold her until she could fight the rest on her
I prayed all through the night. Ace didn’t sleep either. Two thing would happen tonight, she either fought and lived, or the gave up. For the sake of everyone who loved her. I prayed she fought.
Theard Ace muttering words under his breath. At first, I thought heard wrong, because there was no way,
“I lost you before because of my carelessness, my stupidity,” he whispered. “I won’t lose you again. I won’t lose you again, my love.”
Lost her before? How?
They only met a few weeks ago.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
