Alpha Draven stood framed in the light—tall, composed, his aura cold enough to frost the stone floors. His dark eyes swept over my disheveled face and for a heartbeat, his brows drew together.
Then his voice struck like a blade.
“Lunessa, how could you be so heartless? Myrielle hasn’t eaten because she feels guilty about you. Now she’s hurt herself and you dare question me for calling healers? You’re behaving like a pup.”
Something inside me cracked. “He’s tended our pack’s far fields since before I took my first breath! If that leg gives out—his whole world crumbles! You know what this means for him!”
He exhaled sharply, dismissive. “It’s only a few days’ delay. He’s not dying. Stop causing a scene.”
My blood turned to ice.
Inside, Myrielle sat on her bed, wrapped in pale furs, her figure trembling just enough to seem delicate. She lifted her shimmering eyes toward him.
“Draven… don’t scold her. It’s my fault. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t be so upset. Maybe you should just let the healers—”
“Don’t worry about her,” Draven interrupted softly, adjusting her blanket with tender care. “She’s being unreasonable.”
Something in me shattered beyond repair.
Tears blurred my vision as my hand swung on instinct.
Crack.
My palm met his cheek with a sharp, echoing slap.
“If the healer-sanctum won’t treat my father,” I choked out, chest heaving, “then I’ll take him elsewhere.”
Draven’s expression iced over, fury flickering in his eyes. But before he could speak, Myrielle laughed—a quiet, mocking trill.
“Transfer him?” she echoed sweetly.
“You think moving a patient in his condition is easy? What if something goes wrong during carriage? Can you afford another setback?”
Her gaze drifted lazily toward me, a poisonous glimmer lighting her eyes.
“But…” she added, voice dripping honey, “I might be willing to help. If you kneel. Beg me properly. Press your forehead to the ground and apologize.”
My body stiffened.
Draven—The man who once swore to protect me—didn’t even flinch.
He simply nodded and said, calm and cold,
“She’s offering you mercy, Lunessa. Stop being stubborn. And now you’re striking people? Really?”
He touched his cheek, unreadable. “Do as she asks. Myrielle deserves to be happy.”
I looked between them—the Alpha I had trusted with my heart and the woman who now smiled at my father’s suffering.