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116 Chapter 116
Seraphina’s POV 1
The first sensation that broke through the darkness wasn’t sight or sound-it was the antiseptic smell that
burned my nostrils. Sharp. Chemical. Completely different from the gray nothingness I’d been floating in.
My eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, but I forced them open anyway. The world came into
focus slowly, blurry edges gradually sharpening into something I could recognize.
White ceiling tiles. Beeping machines. The steady hum of fluorescent lights overhead.
Hospital.
I tried to move and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through my body like lightning, starting from my ribs
and spreading outward until every nerve ending screamed in protest. My left ankle throbbed with each
heartbeat, and my throat felt like I’d swallowed broken ss.
I was wrapped in so many bandages I looked like a mummy. White gauze covered my arms, my torso,
probably my legs too though I couldn’t see them under the thin hospital nket. Even my hands were
partially wrapped, leaving only my fingertips free.
But I was alive. Somehow, impossibly, I was alive.
*A?*
The automatic reach for my wolf’s presence hit nothing but empty silence. Cold, terrifying silence that made
my chest tighten with panic.
Right. She was gone.
A soft snoring sound drew my attention to the chair beside my bed. Damien was slumped there, his head
tilted at an ufortable angle, his powerful frame folded awkwardly in the too-small hospital chair. Dark
circles shadowed his eyes, and several days’ worth of stubble covered his jaw. His clothes were wrinkled, like
he’d been sleeping in them.
How long had I been unconscious?
I tried to speak, but only a hoarse croak emerged from my damaged throat. The sound was barely audible,
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but Damien’s eyes snapped open instantly. Those silver-blue depths that I loved so much were bloodshot
with exhaustion and rimmed red with-
Had he been crying?
“Sera?” His voice was a broken whisper, like he was afraid I might disappear if he spoke too loudly. He leaned
forward in the chair, his hand reaching toward me before stopping just short of touching. Like he was
terrified I might shatter under his fingers.
I managed a small nod, wincing as the movement sent fresh waves of pain through my neck. “Hi,” I whispered,
the single syble scraping against my raw throat.
That’s when I saw them. Tears. Actual tears sliding down Damien Nightshadow’s cheeks.
“You’re awake,” he breathed, and his voice crackedpletely on the words. “God, Sera, you’re actually
awake.”
I tried to lift my hand to touch his face, but my arm felt like it was made of lead. The best I could manage was
a slight twitch of my fingers.
Damien noticed immediately. His hand covered mine so gently it was like being touched by a feather, his
thumb stroking over my knuckles with infinite care.
“Don’t try to move too much,” he said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “You’re hurt. Badly hurt. But you’re
safe now. You’re home.”
“How long?” I managed to croak out.
“Four days. You’ve been unconscious for four days.” His grip on my hand tightened slightly. “I thought… I
thought I’d lost you.”
Four days. No wonder he looked like he’d aged years since Ist saw him.
“Adrian?”
“He’s safe. He’s with Ophelia. I didn’t want him to see you like this.” Damien’s voice was gentle, but I could hear the pain underneath. “He’s been asking for you every day. Crying for his mama.”
“The baby?” I whispered, pressing my free hand to my stomach.
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“Strong. Healthy. Dr. Morgan says the baby is perfectly fine.” Relief flooded his voice. “Whatever they did to you, they didn’t hurt our child.”
Thank god. At least one thing had gone right in this nightmare.
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to process everything. I was alive. The baby was okay. My family was
safe. But-
The silence in my mind was deafening. Like a piece of my soul had been carved out and thrown away.
“I can’t feel her,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Damien, I can’t feel A anywhere. It’s like she’s just… gone.”
The change in Damien’s expression told me everything I needed to know. His face went pale, his jaw
tightening with barely controlled emotion.
“The wolfsbane,” he said quietly. “They used a massive dose. More than anyone should be able to survive.”
“But she’lle back, right?” Desperation crept into my voice. “When the poison wears off, she’lle
back?”
Damien’s silence stretched too long. Way too long.
“Damien?” My voice cracked with rising panic. “She’lle back, won’t she?”
He looked down at our joined hands, his thumb still stroking over my knuckles like he was trying to
memorize the feeling.
“Dr. Morgan says…” He stopped, swallowed hard, tried again. “The amount they gave you should have killed
you. The fact that you survived is a miracle. But the neural pathways that connect you to your wolf… they’ve
been severed.”
The tears came then, hot and relentless, streaming down my cheeks faster than I could stop them. I wasn’t
just crying for A. I was crying for everything I’d lost, everything they’d taken from me. My strength, my
healing, my connection to the pack, I was human now. Weak and ordinary and broken.
“Shh,” Damien murmured, carefully moving from the chair to perch on the edge of the bed beside me. His hand stroked through my hair with infinite gentleness. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out. We’ll find a way.”
“They killed her,” I sobbed against his chest. “They killed my wolf, Damien”
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“No.” His voice was fierce,manding. “This is not your fault.”
I cried until I had no tears left, until my chest ached from the force of my sobs. Damien held me through all of it, his presence steady and warm and safe. Eventually, the tears slowed to hups, then to shaky breathing.
“It was Valerie.” I lifted my head to meet his eyes, seeing my own pain reflected back at me. “She’s working
with the rogues. She’s their new Luna.”
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