At Mooncrest Second Hospital, the tension was suffocating, the doctor had barely walked out of the emergency ward before his temper exploded.


    Finished


    “What kind of pack family are you?” he barked, eyes zing as he looked at Lucien and the others. “Do you know what you’ve done? This girl only has one kidney! And you still let her drink like that? Were you trying to kill her?”


    The words hit like thunder.


    “One kidney alone already puts massive strain on her body. Now, her blood alcohol level is dangerously high. If the remaining kidney hadn’t been so healthy, she could’ve suffered multiple organ failures–maybe even died.”


    “You got her here just in time. She’s stable for now, but this is still extremely serious. We’ll do our best to keep her safe.”


    Matriarch Duskgrave staggered, nearly copsing, and had to be held up by Mrs. Beck.


    Mia’s eyes widened in shock, her whole body frozen. One kidney?


    How could that be? Their Luna, their beloved Riley–how could she only have one kidney?


    The doctor returned to the ward, leaving a stunned silence behind him.


    Matriarch Duskgrave turned with trembling lips and a broken voice. “Mia… How could Riley only have one kidney?”


    Mia was still in shock. “That’s impossible… When she was sentenced to the rogue prison five years ago, she waspletely healthy…”


    That sentence fell like a bomb in the middle of the room.


    Lucien, Matriarch Duskgrave, and Mrs. Beck all froze.


    Healthy before prison. One kidney after.


    There was only one horrifying conclusion.


    Lucien’s mind flicked back to the confidential documents Duke had retrieved. There had been no mention of a missing organ, but the abuse Riley had endured during those years… it all made sense now.


    Who could harbor such hatred against such a fragile, young woman? What kind of twisted cruelty could take this from her?


    Even Lucien, a hardened Alpha who had seen the worst of war and betrayal, felt a bone–deep fury rising


    inside him.


    But with that fury came something else–something that chilled them all to the bone.


    “She only has one kidney…” Mrs. Beck whispered, voice trembling. “But… we’ve seen her shift.”


    回 X


    Finished


    The room went deathly still.


    “She’s a wolf,” Mia confirmed, voice full of awe. “I saw her that day in the ward–bleeding, cornered, barely conscious–and then she shifted. I didn’t believe my own eyes.”


    “But that shouldn’t be possible,” Matriarch Duskgrave whispered, almost reverently. “A wolf needs both kidneys functioning to channel the energy required for transformation. It’s… it’s a biologicalw of our kind.”


    And yet, Riley had done it.


    In the face of everything–imprisonment, torture, betrayal, and now this devastating revtion–she had still awakened her wolf.


    Lucien lowered his gaze, hands clenched into fists at his sides. His jaw was tight, his chest heaving.


    She had no business surviving. No reason she should have be a wolf.


    And yet… she did.


    Not just a wolf–a white wolf.


    A miracle.


    A warrior.


    “She’s stronger than any of us,” Lucien murmured, voice heavy with guilt and awe. “We should’ve protected


    her.”


    No one argued. No one could.


    Because they all knew–Riley wasn’t just another Alpha.


    She was the one who had endured the unendurable and still rose, still shifted, still howled under the moonlight with the blood of warriors running through her veins.


    A survivor. A legend in the making.


    Meanwhile, at Mooncrest First Hospital…


    Kael Vale looked nothing like the proud heir he once was. His beard was unkempt, eyes hollow with regret. He dragged himself toward his father’s recovery room like a ghost.


    Just as he reached the door, Dean Elira ckthorn stepped out. Her face was flushed and her lips oddly swollen. She jumped, clearly startled to find Kael at the entrance.


    “Young Alpha Kael,” she greeted with an awkward smile, avoiding eye contact.


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    Kael merely grunted, not even sparing her a nce. His mind was drowning in chaos. He brushed past her and entered the room<b>. </b>


    Inside, Alpha ric Vale was fastening his robe, looking rather… satisfied. Kael thought nothing of it–he assumed his father had juste out of the bathroom.


    He sank into a chair like a man defeated.


    ric frowned. “Still no sign of that ungrateful girl?”


    Kael’s jaw clenched. “Her name is Riley. And she’s your daughter.”


    ric scoffed. “She tried to kill me. She’s no daughter of mine.”


    Kael turned toward him, disbelief in his eyes. “She’s missing, possibly dying somewhere alone in the wild. And you don’t care?”


    “Let her die. Maybe then I’ll finally have peace.” ric waved him off.


    Kael stared at him, stunned by the inhumanity.


    “She gave everything to this family. You used her and cast her aside. Now you want her dead just to avoid guilt?”


    ric leaned back, cold and dismissive. “She was never valuable. Even if she threw herself at Lucien Duskgrave, he wouldn’t want her. What Alpha wants a damaged she-


    Kael’s hands tightened into fists.


    “Forget her. Focus on getting Duskgrave to back the Eastern Border development. That’s what matters.”


    Kael looked at his father like he was seeing a stranger. “Dad… if you’d given even half the love you gave to Tessa to Riley, she might not have ended up this broken.”


    At the mention of Tessa, ric’s face darkened.


    “She’s the one who caused all this. Don’t act like I’m the viin.”


    Kael’s voice trembled now, barely above a whisper. “Was it true… what I suspectedst night? You always knew Riley wasn’t the one who lured Tessa to the Darkwoods. You knew she wasn’t the reason the rogues attacked.”


    ric flinched, his eyes betraying the truth Kael had feared.


    “You knew,” Kael whispered. “You knew it was a lie, and you let her take the me. You made me testify against my own sister.”


    “You’re being dramatic. That was years ago. Let it go.”


    “Let it go?!” Kael’sugh was hollow, bitter. “You told me to say she was guilty. You made me look her in the eye and call her a traitor.”


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    “She is my sister. And I destroyed her with my own hands.”


    Kael wiped away the tears that now ran freely down his face. “No wonder she can’t forgive me. No wonder…”


    ric mmed the table beside him. “Enough! We can’t change the past. Focus on the deal with Duskgrave. That’s all that matters now.”


    Kael looked up, his eyes colder than ever. “That’s all that’s ever mattered to you, hasn’t it?”


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