Chapter Nine: Life in the Balance
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NICOLE
The scent of silver and blood filled the air, thick and suffocating.
Nathan’s claws raked furiously against the chains as his wolf fought against the poison coursing through him. His growls were guttural, feral, and laced with agony. I could barely breathe. The steady rhythm of his heart was slowing, faltering. He was slipping away, and it was my fault.
“He’s not stabilizing,” the head healer muttered, her voice sharp in the heavy silence. The other healers exchanged grim glances, their expressions shadowed with
worry.
“We’ll have to flush the silver out,” one.
of them sai tone clipped, heavy with
the weight of the decision.
My stomach twisted. I forced myself to step
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forward, despite the tremor in my legs.
“How? What do we do?”
The head healer turned to me, her face pale but composed. “It’s not easy… The silver is too deeply embedded. The only way is to force his body to expel it–through intense pain, something that will shock his system into overdrive. We’ll need an
anchor.”
I blinked, “What does that mean?”
“We’ll need someone to hold the strain,
to bear the pain with him as the silver is forced from his system. But it’s risky. It’s dangerous… for both of them.” The healer’s gaze locked with mine, piercing and unyielding. It was as though she could sense what I was thinking.
I shouldn’t even be here. I had my own pack to return to–a fractured faction that was falling apart because Nathan had
refused me help when I needed it the most.
But he had saved Daniel and me, and now
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mum ad kry by
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he was paying the price with unimaginable pain.
Still, I should have left. Daniel was safe
now. My duty was to my pack.
And yet, I couldn’t move.
When the cabin collapsed, mere seconds. after I’d stepped out, something inside me broke. In that single heartbeat, I realized the bitter truth: I still cared. Despite everything he had done, despite his accusations and cruelty, I didn’t want him to die.
“I’ll do it. I’ll be the anchor,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
The room stilled, the tension sharp enough
to cut.
Before anyone could respond, the door flew open, and Nadia stormed in. Her eyes. were wild with exaggerated panic, and her breath came in frantic gasps as she rushed to Nathan’s side–only for his wolf to
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growl at her, low and dangerous, freezing her in her tracks.
“Oh my Goddess–what’s happening? Is he going to die?” she cried, her voice a perfect blend of fear and melodrama.
I stood motionless, fighting the urge to
scoff.
Nadia turned to the head healer, ignoring me entirely. “What‘ s going on? Why haven‘ t you done something? Why is he in chains?”
The healer’s gaze flickered between Nadia and me, clearly unsure of where her allegiance lay. “As I was just telling Alpha Nicole,” she began, her voice carefully neutral, “we‘ re attempting to flush the silver from his system, but-”
Nadia cut her off with a sharp glare, her attention snapping to me. I could feel the venom in her stare before she even spoke.
“Why are you discussing pack affairs with her? I am Nathan‘ s Luna in all but name.
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Chapter Nine: Life in the Balance
She shouldn’t even be here! She’s the reason this happened!” Nadia’s voice. rose, each word dripping with accusation.
“And why wasn‘ t I informed
immediately when Nathan was brought here?”
The fact that she was speaking like I wasn‘ t even in the room made my blood. boil and restraint snapped.
“I am standing right here,” I said coldly, stepping closer. “If you have something to say about my presence, say it to my face.”
Nadia’s lip curled into a snarl. “You still have the audacity to speak? You‘ re the reason he’s poisoned! You manipulated. him, made him think that stupid child was his. You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you? And now he’s dying because of you!”
Her words hit like a slap, but I held my ground.
It took everything in me not to push my
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wolf back, “Don’t you ever insult my son and I didn’t make him do anything,” My voice was tight, low with warning. “He
chose to jump in front of those arrows. He made his own choice.”
Her snarl deepened, and she took a step forward, her anger palpable.
Before she could retort, the healer interrupted, her voice rushing with
urgency. “I apologize for interrupting but this is not the time for this! We’re running out of time. The poison needs to be flushed out now. If not, his wolf will give in and stop fighting and the Alpha will die!”
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