45 Chapter 45


    45 Chapter 45


    Seraphina’s POV 1


    The medical bay in the back of the training facility was a sterile contrast to the industrial warehouse space we’d just left.


    Riley worked with practiced efficiency, pulling medical supplies from cabs and setting up triage stations on the examination tables. Her earlier friendly demeanor had been reced by the focused intensity of someone who’d done this before, too many times.


    “Sera, I need you to help me get these IV bags ready,” she called out, her hands already busy with gauze and surgical tape. “The healing elerants work faster when they’re administered directly into the bloodstream.”


    I moved to help her, trying to push down the growing knot of anxiety in my stomach. Through the facility’s windows, I could see vehicles arriving-trucks and SUVs filled with warriors heading toward the border conflict. The sound of engines and shouting voices created a backdrop of urgency that made my wolf pace restlessly in my mind.


    “How often does this happen?” I asked, hanging IV bags on the mobile stands Riley had wheeled over.


    “More frequentlytely,” Riley admitted grimly. “The rogue activity has been escting for months. Usually it’s just probing attacks, testing our defenses. But this…” She gestured toward the wounded messenger who was now being treated by one of the facility’s medics.


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    Before I could respond, the main doors burst open again. This time, it wasn’t a messenger-it was a parade of carnage.


    Warriors streamed through the entrance carrying their woundedrades, their faces grim with exhaustion and barely controlled fury. The scent of blood filled the air sopletely that I had to fight not to gag. My wolf whimpered in my mind, overwhelmed by the pain


    and trauma radiating from the injured wolves.


    “Here!” Riley called out, directing the first group of carriers toward the examination tables. “Most critical injuries first! Anyone who can


    walk gets treated after we handle the life-threatening cases!”


    I watched in horror as theyid out the casualties. The first warrior they brought in was barely conscious, his tactical vest torn away to reveal massive w marks that had raked across his chest from shoulder to sternum. Blood seeped through the field bandages someone had applied, and his breathing was shallow andbored.


    “Internal damage. Riley muttered, her hands already moving over his injuries with practiced assessment. “Possible punctured lung. Sera, I need you to hold pressure here while I get the surgical kit.”


    My hands shook as I pressed the gauze against the worst of the wounds, feeling the sticky warmth of his blood seeping through the


    fabric. The warrior’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused and ssy with pain.


    “Am I gonna make it?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.


    “You’re going to be fine, I told him, though I wasn’t sure I believed it myself. “Just stay with me, okay? Help ising.”


    More injured wolves were brought in, creating a chaotic symphony of groans, urgent medical conversations, and the constant shuffle of feet as the medics worked to save lives. I found myself moving from patient to patient, following Riley’s terse instructions, doing whatever I could to help.


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    That’s when they brought in Lucas.


    Damien’s beta was unconscious, his usually perfect sandy brown hair matted with blood, his left arm hanging at an unnatural angle that suggested multiple fractures. But it was the massive wound on his thigh that made my breath catch-deep gashes that looked like they’d been made by ws the size of kitchen knives.


    Riley’s sharp intake of breath told me everything I needed to know about how serious it was.


    “Oh no,” she whispered, her professionalposure finally cracking as she took in Lucas’s condition. “No, no, no. Not Lucas.”


    I watched her face crumble with an emotion that went far beyond professional concern for a fellow pack member. Her hands trembled as she reached out to check his pulse, and tears spilled down her cheeks despite her obvious efforts to maintain control.


    “Riley?” I asked gently, though I already suspected what I was seeing.


    “The wound isplicated,” she managed, her voice thick with tears as she began cutting away the torn fabric of his tactical pants to get a better look at his injuries. “God, Sera, look at him. Look what they did to him.”


    The wounds were even worse once exposed-deep, ragged tears that had severed muscle and possibly nicked the femoral artery. Blood was seeping steadily despite the field dressings, and Lucas’s skin had the pale, mmy look of someone going into shock.


    “He needs surgery,” Riley said, her voice hollow with desperation. “We need to get him to Silver Moon Harbor General, and even then…”


    She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to. Even with werewolf healing abilities, injuries this severe could be fatal if not treated immediately.


    I stared down at Lucas’s unconscious form, this man who’d been nothing but kind to me, who’d weed me into the pack and defended me against those who questioned my presence. The thought of losing him made something fierce and desperate rise in my


    chest.


    That’s when it happened.


    Just like the night I’d fought Valerie, something stirred deep inside me-not rage this time, but something warmer, more purposeful. My right hand began to tingle, then grow warm, then actually glow with a soft white light that seemed to emanate from my palm like


    captured moonbeams.


    “What the hell-” Riley started, but her words died as the light pulsed brighter.


    I didn’t understand what was happening, didn’t question the impossibility of what I was seeing. All I knew was that Lucas was dying, Riley was breaking apart, and something inside me was responding to their pain with power I’d never felt before.


    Without conscious thought, I ced my glowing hand over the worst of Lucas’s wounds.


    The effect was immediate and miraculous. The ragged edges of the deepest gash began to knit together, flesh regenerating at a speed that defied everything I thought I knew about healing. The bone fragments in his shattered arm shifted and fused, the unnatural angle straightening as fractures healed. Even the blood loss seemed to reverse, color returning to his pale cheeks as his body somehow replenished what had been lost.


    “Oh my God,” Riley breathed, her tears forgotten as she stared at the impossible healing taking ce beneath my hands. “Sera, what are


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    you doing? How are you doing this?”


    I couldn’t answer her, couldn’t do anything but focus on the warm light flowing from my hand into Lucas’s damaged body. It felt natural, like breathing or blinking-something I’d always been capable of but had never known how to ess.


    Around us, the chaotic noise of the medical bay had gonepletely silent. Every medic, every wounded warrior, every person in the room had stopped what they were doing to stare at the omega girl whose hands glowed with healing light.


    The transformation continued for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. Lucas’s breathing deepened, bing strong and regr. The massive wounds closedpletely, leaving only faint pink scars that would probably fade entirely within days. His broken arm straightened and solidified, good as new.


    Finally, the light began to fade, and I swayed on my feet as exhaustion crashed over me like a tidal wave. Whatever I’d just done had drained something essential from me, leaving me feeling hollow and shaky.


    Lucas’s eyes fluttered open just as thest of the glow faded from my palm.


    “Riley?” he said groggily, his voice stronger than it had any right to be. “What happened? Why are you crying?”