“You shouldn’t be alone for this,” he said, his eyes soft but firm as he grabbed the car keys.
The hospital corridors appeared endless, their sterile whiteness a stark contrast to the turmoil in my mind. A nurse with sympathetic eyes directed us to the intensive care unit.
“He has been asking for you repeatedly,” she said softly.
Elias squeezed my hand, “I’ll wait out here.”
I nodded gratefully and took a deep breath before opening the door to Colton’s room.
Colton had devoted himself to werewolf affairs for years, giving his all to the pack and the alliance, and the toll it had taken was visible in every line on his face and every laboured breath he now struggled to draw.
“He refused to slow down,” Theo told me during a chance meeting two years ago. “After you left… After we discovered the truth about Amara… He threw himself into work. Day and night. “As if punishing himself.”
At the age of fifty, his body was already riddled with illness; doctors had mentioned multiple organ failure, accelerated by years of neglecting his health and the strain of his Alpha powers constantly healing injuries that should have required him to rest.
I entered the hospital room quietly and sat in the chair beside his bed. The strong, imposing Alpha, who had once commanded respect with a single glance, was now reduced to a frail shadow. His once-broad shoulders appeared sunken beneath the hospital gown, and his powerful hands were now thin and veined against the white sheets.
Suddenly, I remembered my daughter’s birthday party just yesterday, and the stark contrast between this dying man and the one who had sat in a wheelchair on our lawn, stubbornly determined to see me one last time, struck me with unexpected force. He must have known then that he was dying, and that visit had not been a reconciliation attempt, but rather a goodbye.
“How long has he been doing this?” I enquired, my tone barely above a whisper.
Maddox looked up from his seat across from me, his eyes red-rimmed and hollow. “It’s been getting worse for months. But, today… After we left your home… He collapsed. Doctors say his heart…”
His voice broke, unable to continue, and Theo placed his hand on Maddox’s shoulder, his fingers trembling with grief.
These men approaching fifty, once the most powerful Alphas in the territory, now covered their faces, weeping uncontrollably like children. The sight was so out of place with my memories of them that I felt disoriented for a moment.
“He never forgave himself,” Theo explained, his voice cracking. “None of us did. But, Colton… “He carried it the hardest.”
I looked at Colton, tubes inserted all over his body, the monitoring equipment beeping rhythmically in the background; the machines appeared to be the only thing keeping him connected to this world.
His mouth and nose were covered with an oxygen mask, which fogged slightly with each shallow breath. As I watched, his eyelids fluttered and then opened, and I recognised the familiar blue eyes that had once looked at me with affection, then distrust, and finally regret.
He struggled to move, his hand reaching weakly for the mask. A nurse rushed forward, gently adjusting it so he could try to speak, but warned, “Just for a moment, Alpha. “Your oxygen levels are critical.”
I leaned in closer, but I couldn’t hear his voice over the medical equipment. Despite being siblings for decades, I recognised the shape of his lips and the words he was desperately trying to express.
He called me repeatedly, urgently but weakly.
