<h4>Chapter 491: She was my mother</h4>


    "Gabriel, she can’t be saved," Casaio stated. "The most we can hope for is that she rallies, just long enough to see Carlos onest time. He is already broken, Gabriel, grieving a loss that hasn’t fully arrived."


    Gabriel didn’t look up, instead slumping into a heavy, leather-bound chair in the silent hospital lobby. His words were a whisper, "Why does this happen to the kindest among us? Why his grandmother?"


    Casaio settled next to him, cing aforting, heavy hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. "It is her time, brother. She is very old, and her body is simply failing. It is a mercy, in a way." He paused, his expression softening with pragmatic sympathy. "Carlos is resting well, thankfully. But the moment he wakes, we must prepare him. We need to take her back home. They deserve a quiet, peaceful farewell. She is suffering too much here."


    Gabriel gave a low hum, a sound of heavy understanding. It was time to manage the leaving, not the saving.


    "I will take Carlos back to our kingdom if—" Gabriel choked on the word, "If she doesn’t survive. There is nothing left for him here. No family hase. I haven’t seen a soul offerfort to either of them."


    Casaio leaned in and began, "I heard a different tale at their house. The butler told me Carlos has refused all entry. Apparently, Carlos is the most powerful sorcerer in this whole region. People expect him to step up, to lead the way his family has done for generations. But Carlos is actively rejecting his destiny. He’s trying to run from his fate."


    "Yeah, that I know," Gabriel asserted, shaking his head dismissively. "But still, if people truly wished him well, they would be here. They would be camped outside this hospital, offering what littlefort they could. They want a leader, not a friend. Carlos doesn’t belong in a ce where his power defines his worth." He repeated the thought, more to himself than Casaio, a conviction settling over him.


    "This is still his home, Gabriel. His bloodline is rooted here. I don’t think he will simply agree to abandon it," Casaio stated, his tone cautious, eyeing the inherent difficulty of convincing the powerful sorcerer to leave everything behind.


    Gabriel remained silent. He didn’t confide in Casaio about the things Amelie had told him that Carlos shared with her once. He felt keeping that specific knowledge quiet would be better, for now.


    A heavy sigh escaped Casaio, shifting the focus from Carlos to their own, equallyplex predicament. "I was wondering... how are you and Amelie going to confront your pasts now?" His expression turned grim. "Apparently, only Carlos’s grandmother knew the way, the truth of it all. Once she dies, that knowledge dies with her. And then, there’s the danger of Ophelia. We have no idea what she might attempt once her greatest restraint is removed. As far as I know, she even stopped Ophelia’s attempt to harm any of you."


    "You’re right," Gabriel admitted. "That’s not a reason to worry for us anymore. Whatever Carlos’ grandmother did for us so far is more than enough. At least, she protected us from Ophelia’s lingering threat over us with these protective rings. I do hope for a magic to take ce and Carlos’ grandmother survives, though I know it won’t happen."


    ~~~~~


    Katelyn cut the call after talking with her mother. She didn’t share with her what was going on in Sage’s pack as she found it was private matter of the pack.


    Turning to go inside the house, she saw William.


    Her eyes humbled as she greeted him and he, too, greeted her in respect.


    "Your Highness, it would be wrong of me, but I can’t help asking you," William began. "Could you please tell Sage to release Blythe? He has arrested her without any charges," he requested.


    "Sage doesn’t listen to me on pack matters, Sir," Katelyn replied. "And besides, I am not obliged to interfere. Mrs. Blythe is a prime suspect in a serious crime." Katelyn acknowledged the injustice, but countered it with a pointed question. "I know the arrest was made without concrete proof, relying solely on Vance’s testimony. But you should also consider why your wife’s name has surfaced in connection with such a crime. Why would she involve herself in the killing of petty vegetable sellers?"


    William immediately countered, his loyalty and suspicion evident. "Perhaps Vance is doing this on someone else’s orders," he suggested, implying a conspiracy aimed at framing Blythe.


    Katelyn simply inclined her head, epting the possibility while offering a measure of reassurance about Sage’s principles.


    "Sage has gone to interrogate Mrs. Blythe personally. He is not a tyrant; he won’t hold her in the cell once the truthes out and absolves her. I don’t pretend to know much about your family dynamics, William. But one thing I am certain of is that your wife isn’t as innocent as she appears."


    Thement was harsh, yet Katelyn feltpelled to say it.


    William was struck silent by Katelyn’s pointed remark, but the sudden arrival of the butler saved him from having to reply.


    "Master William," the butler announced. "Alpha Sage has asked that you and your daughters leave immediately to the prison."


    "Your Highness, I’ll see youter," William said, offering a quick, deferential bow before hurrying inside the house.


    Katelyn also continued into the house, but she didn’t join the movement toward the prison. Instead, she lowered herself onto the couch and pulled out her phone. Messaging Amelie, she requested some new pictures of Noah.


    Just as she was typing, a voice pierced through her mind. It was Sage’s voice, profoundly fractured, carrying a note of anguish.


    <i>’She was my mother and you killed her!’</i>


    The gentle smile that had touched Katelyn’s lips moments earlier vanishedpletely. She looked up and saw William and his daughters already moving with swift steps.


    "I’lle too," Katelyn stated, rising quickly to her feet. That shattered tone in Sage’s voice, one thing she knew for sure was that Sage would need her now.