But I wasn''t fine.


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    My heart was racing, my pulse drumming too loud to ignore. Something in me — something tied to the bond I was desperately trying not to think about was pulling me toward the emergency bay like a ma.


    Before I even realized what I was doing, my legs were moving.


    I pushed through the double doors into the emergency ward- and everything hit me


    at once.


    Blood. Antiseptic. The sharp smell of adrenaline in the air.


    Nurses shouted orders. Equipment ttered. The lights seemed too bright, reflecting harshly off crimson-streaked uniforms.


    And in the middle of the chaos-


    Nn.


    My breath caught.


    Hey on a gurney, shirt cut open, skin ghostly pale. A bandage wrapped around his arm was soaked through, blood seeping between the medic''s fingers as he tried to apply pressure. His breathing was shallow, uneven.


    Cassian stood beside him, his hands bloody, his face carved with fear.


    The world around me went silent.


    All I could hear was my own heartbeat


    the bond roaring inside me so fiercely it hurt. Behind my eyes, something shed


    a vision of the ck wolf from my dreams, fur matted with blood, standing between me and a shifting darkness.


    Itsted only a second. Then it was gone.


    And all that remained was Nn, broken and bleeding, reaching for consciousness.


    "Ellie-" Cassian''s voice cracked. "He took a de meant for me."


    He looked lost, for the first time since we were kids. I could see it there, in his eyes. The guilt, the doubt. I could practically hear his thoughts.


    It happened again. I failed to protect my family, again.


    I barely processed the words. My body moved on instinct. Iushed past the medics, my hands trembling.


    "You didn''t do this," I said firmly, my voice sounding more like amand for him to understand than a reassurance. "It''s not your fault."


    Cassian''s words seemed to stick, but he nodded once,


    That was enough for the moment. I turned to Nn. My heart ached at the sight of


    the blood still seeping from his arm, his face still and pale as death.


    “Get him to surgery!” I heard myself shout. “His pressure dropping!”


    “Ma''am, you can''t-" an orderly began.


    Cassian cut him off sharply. "She works here. She stays."


    I pressed my hand to Nn''s shoulder, feeling the faint tremor of his breath. The moment of contact jolted with


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    the power of the bond, like it always did. That shock of contact like our souls were touching and not just our flesh.


    It stole what little breath I had left. It felt strong, alive.


    Hisshes fluttered weakly, and then-miraculously-his gaze found mine. His stormy eyes hazy, but fixed on my face.


    "Ellie..." The sound was barely a whisper.


    Gods. That voice.


    "I''m here," I whispered, my throat tight. “You''re going to be okay. Just stay with me.”


    He attempted a smile - small, broken, and so painfully fragile it made something inside me unravel.


    "Couldn''t let your brother get hurt," he rasped weakly. "You''d never forgive me."


    Then the monitors spiked.


    "Heart rate unstable!"


    "We need him prepped now!"


    "Move!"


    Hands pulled at me, guiding the gurney toward the operating room. I stumbled back, breath catching as the doors mmed shut, sealing Nn inside.


    It felt like being cut in half.


    Cassian steadied me before I fell. His grip was strong, but I could feel the tremor in his hands.


    "He''ll make it," he said-too quickly, too desperately. "He''s strong. He''ll be okay."


    I swallowed hard, pressing my palm against my chest as if that could calm the frantic, spiraling pull of the bond.


    “He took that hit for you?" I asked quietly.


    Cassian nodded, guilt etched into every line of his face. "It should''ve been me."


    My eyes were locked on the operating room doors. I''d seen enough emergencies to know things could go either way. But this was Nn. This was-


    Stop. Don''t think it.


    But the goddess''s whisper threaded through my thoughts anyway, soft and merciless.


    He protects what he loves. But even a wolf can bleed.


    I shivered.


    Cassian shifted beside me, studying my face with an expression I didn''t understand.


    "You felt something, didn''t you?" he asked softly. "A message, a sign?"


    I opened my mouth - then closed it. My hand pressed harder against my chest, right


    above where the bond was beating like a second heart.


    "I don''t know what I felt," I lied.


    But I did.


    I knew exactly what it was.


    And I wasn''t ready to admit it.