Red Alert–1
Sebastian’s POV
Why the fuck did this happen to her? Why would someone do this? Had there been warning signs I missed? Was she in danger without my knowing it?
These questions hammered my brain while Damien drove like a madman through traffic.
If she’d been in danger and I hadn’t noticed, hadn’t done a damn thing to protect her, I’d
never forgive myself.
“Is she alive?” I asked, terrified of his answer.
She had to be. She had to be.
Damien shot me a sideways glance. “I don’t know much, but I know she’s alive.”
I knew Damien as Gamma had a special connection with the Luna, but given Thea’s unique status, I wasn’t sure if that bond still functioned.
From the footage they’d shown on TV, whoever was after Thea wanted to make sure she
died. Make sure she had no chance of survival. I didn’t know the extent of her injuries,
but I knew at least two bullets had hit her.
“Do you know where they took her?” I asked, my voice so fucking rough I barely
recognized it.
I’d been so focused on getting to her that I hadn’t even asked where to go. I just needed
to be with her.
“Yeah, don’t worry. I called to confirm. They told me she was taken to Moon Bay General,”
he answered.
At least they had the brains to send her to the best werewolf medical center here, with the top doctors and special equipment for dealing with non–natural injuries. But then my
heart squeezed for a moment – that was also where Derek had died.
I tried to calm my heartbeat. Tried to breathe through the panic that was nearly drowning me. But it was too fucking hard. I kept praying to the Goddess, knowing I wouldn’t have a
moment’s peace until I knew she was safe.
1/3
Red Alert–1
‘She’ll be okay, Sebastian,” Damien said after a minute or two of silence.
I wanted to have confidence in that, but I couldn’t. She might survive, but what about the baby? Not only had she been shot, but the impact when she fell to the ground couldn’t have been good for the pup in her belly.
If she survived but the baby died in the process, she’d be shattered. I knew Thea. That kind of loss would destroy her. It might be the end of her.
“Can you go any faster?” I commanded.
It felt like we were moving at a snail’s pace. Time was crawling. Why was it always like this? Like slow motion.
“I’m already going as fast as I can, Sebastian.”
“Not fast enough. I need to be with her,” I told him desperately.
Why couldn’t he understand that I needed to be there now? What if she woke up with no one beside her? She needed me.
When I first felt that dread, heard my wolf’s warning, I should have trusted my instincts and listened to him. I should have dug deeper and made sure all my loved ones were protected. I didn’t, and now Thea was paying the price.
“Any idea who might be behind this?” Damien asked.
I knew what he was doing. Trying to distract me, so I wouldn’t focus too much on the negative shit.
“Graves,” I growled the name with hatred. “Only he has a motive.”
If it was him, then he’d won. He’d succeeded in destroying me and getting his revenge. Nothing could hurt me more than this.
“What about Leo? You need to tell him,” Damien added.
Fuck. I’d completely forgotten about him. He was going to be so fucking heartbroken. He loved his mom so much, and this was going to gut him.
“What am I supposed to tell him? How do I face him and tell him his mother was shot?
2/3
Red Alert–1
Tell him I failed to protect her?”
I felt an avalanche of emotions trying to suffocate me. I couldn’t break down now. Leo needed me, and so did Thea. My feelings would have to wait until I could process them.
“This isn’t your fault, Sebastian. There’s no way you could have predicted this.”
I wished that were true, but the guilt was too strong. I should have listened to my gut.
I stayed silent because there was nothing to say. A few minutes later, we arrived at the hospital. I didn’t wait for Damien to park, just jumped out while the car was still moving and rushed inside.
“Thea Sterling,” I practically shouted when I reached the nurses‘ station.
“Alpha Ashworth,” one of them nodded and gestured to me, “this way please. She was brought in about ten minutes ago and is in the emergency room now.”
Chapter Comments
LIKE
Red Alert–2
“How is she? How’s the baby?”
“I’m sorry, Alpha Ashworth, but I don’t know much. The medical team is doing everything they can, and they instructed me to have family wait in the waiting room.”
I wanted to scream and roar at her, but I knew that wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t do any fucking good.
She led me to the waiting area, then left seconds later. I remained there, thoughts racing, worry consuming me. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I felt arms wrapping
around me.
I turned to face the intruder only to see my mother looking back at me.
“Mom,” I whispered. I felt tears pricking my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
I’d never felt so fucking helpless. An Alpha wasn’t supposed to be helpless, but right now I
was.
“She’ll be okay, son. The Moon Goddess won’t take her like this.”
I nodded, unable to force any words from my mouth.
“Have you heard anything from the medical team?” I only realized the core members of
both the Sterling and Ashworth Packs were here when I heard Iris’s voice.
Roman, Margaret, my mother, my father, Damien, even Aurora.
“No,” I answered, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Has anyone contacted the Kincaid family?”
“Yes. They’re on their way, but it’ll take at least four hours from the northern border of their territory.”
I turned to face my brother, suddenly remembering something. I couldn’t let Leo hear about this from anyone else. If someone had to tell him, it had to be me.
“Damien, have our people take down that footage.”
Red Alert 2
“On it,” he said, pulling out his phone and walking a few steps away.
“I need someone to pick up Leo,” I mumbled, eyes fixed on the doors to the special
treatment room.
Iris answered, “I’ve already contacted the school. Wyatt and Jaxon will bring him here.”
I saw Aurora stiffen at the mention of Jaxon’s name, but honestly, I didn’t give a shit. Her issues with him didn’t matter right now.
The treatment room doors suddenly opened and the chief physician walked out. We all
stood to face him.
“Alpha.” He acknowledged me with a nod.
“How is she?” I blurted out.
The physician hesitated, then spoke directly: “Her condition is extremely critical. Silver bullets tore through her body, causing severe internal damage. There are three silver bullets inside her that we’re trying to remove. But…”
“But what?” I felt my heart nearly stop.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. Being wolfless means she can’t heal herself, and while the silver
doesn’t affect her as badly as it would a wolf, the physical damage is still lethal. Worst of
all, one bullet hit her abdomen, threatening the baby’s life.”
I heard gasps from the women, but I didn’t care about them. My focus was on what the
doctor was saying next: “We need to perform a C–section.”
“But she’s only seven months pregnant,” Iris cried.
“Yes. But if we don’t act, we might lose the baby.”
My breathing became rapid, real fucking difficult. Shit. This was worse than I’d imagined.
“Do it,” I murmured. If that was the only way to save the baby, then so be it.
Just as the words left my mouth, alarms started blaring, and the lights above the treatment room turned red. I knew what that meant. It was a goddamn red alert.
2/3
Red Alert–2
A nurse rushed out, whispering in the chief physician’s ear. I saw the panic in their eyes, just before the chief turned to us with a grave expression.
“Thea just went into cardiac arrest. The others are doing everything they can, but we need to prepare. In her current condition, we might not be able to save both mother and baby.”
I felt a chill spread through my entire body. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” he looked me straight in the eyes, “that we need you, as Alpha Ashworth, to decide who to save. The mother or the baby?”
I felt the whole world collapsing beneath my feet. How the fuck could they ask me to choose? This wasn’t something my Alpha power was meant to solve.
Thea. I wanted Thea to live. But what would she think if she woke up to find her child was dead and I’d made that choice? I couldn’t lose Thea, but choosing her over her baby would absolutely make her hate me for the rest of her life.
