Chapter 102
-Ava’s POV-
The air felt heavy as Grayson’s bloodied body was carried through the estate doors. My stomach churned, a knot of dread tightening with every second. Time seemed to slow down, the world blurring at the edges as I stared at him. His face, usually so strong and commanding, was pale, streaked with blood and dirt.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. I stood there, frozen in place, watching as Rickon shifted back into his human form, taking the clothes offered to him by the omegas before striding off to find Isabellá. Liam had left with the backup, so… what happened?
What the hell had happened?
The pit in my stomach grew heavier as they rushed Grayson toward his room, the estate buzzing with movement. Healers swarmed him, shouting instructions, their hands already working to stabilize him.
Finally, I willed my feet to move, following them into his room. My heart pounded so loudly it drowned out the noise around me. He couldn’t be like this. He was Grayson. He was strong. Invincible.
“What–what happened?” I managed to whisper, my voice cracking.
The oldest healer, a woman with silver–streaked hair and an air of calm authority, turned to me, her hands bloodied from tending to him. “Luna,” she said softly, “I promise you we will take care of him. He is our King, but you must leave the room so we can work.”
“No,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “I’m a doctor. I can help–I can-”
But the words caught in my throat as I looked at Grayson again. He wasn’t healing. The gashes on his chest were still open, blood pooling beneath him. His breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising and falling.
The healer placed a firm but gentle hand on my shoulder. “Luna,” she said, her tone firm but kind, “he will be fine. I swear it But you need to step out.”
My mouth opened, then closed. I wanted to argue, to scream, to tell her that I had to stay, but the look in her she wouldn’t budge. Slowly, she guided me toward the door, her touch steady but insistent.
Before I knew it, I was outside. The door shut softly behind me, cutting me off from the chaos inside.
eyes
told me
I stood there, staring at the wooden panel as if I could will it to open. My mind raced, thoughts colliding into each other like
a storm.
*Why wasn’t he healing? What had happened out there? When I left him, he was winning. He was always winning.
My arms wrapped around myself as if to keep the pieces of me from falling apart. My legs felt unsteady, but I didn’t dare sit down. I needed to stay close, to be ready for any news.
The hall was eerily quiet, save for the faint murmurs of the estate’s staff moving about. I had no idea how much time had passed when Liam’s voice broke through the haze.
“He’s going to be okay,” he said gently.
I looked
to see him standing a few feet away, his face etched with worry. His clothes were torn, his knuckles bloodied, but his eyes were focused entirely on me.
up
I shook my
head, unable to believe him. “He doesn’t look like he’s going to be okay, Liam.” My voice was barely above a
whisper. “When I left him, he was winning. He was fine. I don’t I don’t understand.”
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Liam sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “I don’t know what happened,” he admitted, his voice low. “By the time we got there, he was in his human form. Wolves were all over him, and-” He paused, his jaw tightening. “And we couldn’t get to him fast enough.”
I took a shaky breath, trying to process his words. “But… why was–he was winning.”
In his human form? That doesn’t make sense, Liam. He
“I know.” His voice was heavy, filled with the same confusion and frustration that I felt. “Something must have gone wrong. I don’t know what, but the healers-” He stepped closer, his eyes searching mine. “The healers know what they’re doing. He’ll pull through. He’s Grayson.”
I shook my head again, the lump in my throat growing. “What if he doesn’t?”
“He will,” Liam said firmly, though the doubt in his eyes betrayed his words. “Ava, maybe you should go sit with Isabella for a while. I’ll deal with the fallout from this.”
“No.” My voice was steady now, even though I felt anything but. “I’ll wait here.”
Liam hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. But try to rest, Ava. He’d want you to take care of yourself.”
I didn’t answer. Instead, Í sank down to the floor outside Grayson’s door, leaning back against the wall. It was my silent declaration I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he woke up.
As the minutes dragged into hours, my thoughts spiraled.
*Why wasn’t he healing? What had gone wrong?
I replayed the moments before the battle in my mind, searching for anything that might explain it. He was strong, unstoppable. So how had it come to this?
And then there was the memory of his voice in my head, commanding me to leave. The raw urgency in his tone still echoed in my ears. I pressed my palms against my knees, my nails digging into my skin to keep myself grounded. The alternative was giving in to the panic threatening to consume me.
I felt my wolf stir in my head which she had been doing and while the feeling felt foreign and I wished I could concentrate on the fact that I actually had wolf…
my
I just couldn’t think or focus on anyone that wasn’t him.
The door creaked open, and one of the younger healers stepped out. She glanced at me, then quickly looked away, her expression unreadable.
“Wait,” I called after her, my voice sharper than I intended. “How is he?”
She hesitated, then said softly, “He’s stable. But it’s… it’s taking time. The injuries are deep, and his wolf isn’t responding the way it should.”
My chest tightened. “Why not? What does that mean?”
“We’re doing everything we can, Luna,” she said before hurrying away.
I sat back against the wall, closing my eyes as a wave of helplessness washed over me. I had faced impossible situation. before but this, this was different.
Grayson “Strength had always been a constant, an unshakable duth Seeing him like this felt like the ground benean tr
rumbling
froth my „pôt, not even when the hou, sucich
ving right here for him.
the night I diâm fcare Pmy leg.
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Liam sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “I don’t know what happened,” he admitted, his voice low. “By the time we got there, he was in his human form. Wolves were all over him, and-” He paused, his jaw tightening. “And we
him fast enough.”
couldn’t get to
I took a shaky breath, trying to process his words. “But… why was he in his human form? That doesn’t make sense, Liam. He was–he was winning.”
“I know.” His voice was heavy, filled with the same confusion and frustration that I felt. “Something must have gone wrong. I don’t know what, but the healers-” He stepped closer, his eyes searching mine. “The healers know what they’re doing. He’ll pull through. He’s Grayson.”
I shook my head again, the lump in my throat growing. “What if he doesn’t?”
“He will,” Liam said firmly, though the doubt in his eyes betrayed his words. “Ava, maybe you should go sit with Isabella for a while. I’ll deal with the fallout from this.”
“No.” My voice was steady now, even though I felt anything but. “I’ll wait here.”
Liam hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. But try to rest, Ava. He’d want you to take care of yourself.”
I didn’t answer. Instead, Í sank down to the floor outside Grayson’s door, leaning back against the wall. It was my silent declaration: I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until he woke up.
As the minutes dragged into hours, my thoughts spiraled.
*Why wasn’t he healing? What had gone wrong?*
I replayed the moments before the battle in my mind, searching for anything that might explain it. He was strong, unstoppable. So how had it come to this?
And then there was the memory of his voice in my head, commanding me to leave. The raw urgency in his tone still echoed in my ears. I pressed my palms against my knees, my nails digging into my skin to keep myself grounded. The alternative was giving in to the panic threatening to consume me.
I felt
my
00
wolf stir in my head which she had been doing and while the feeling felt foreign and I wished I could concentrate on the fact that I actually had wolf…
my
I just couldn’t think or focus on anyone that wasn’t him.
The door creaked open, and one of the younger healers stepped out. She glanced at me, then quickly looked away, her expression unreadable.
“Wait,” I called after her, my voice sharper than I intended. “How is he?”
She hesitated, then said softly, “He’s stable. But it’s… it’s taking time. The injuries are deep, and his wolf isn’t responding the way it should.”
My chest tightened. “Why not? What does that mean?”
“We’re doing everything we can, Luna,” she said before hurrying away.
I sat back against the wall, closing my eyes as a wave of helplessness washed over me. I had faced impossible situations before, but this… this was different.
Grayson’s strength had always been a constant, an unshakable truth. Seeing him like this felt like the ground beneath me was crumbling
I didn’t move from my spot, not even when the hours stretched into the night. I didn’t care if my legs were numb or my back ached. I was staying right here. For him.
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Chapter 102
Please wake up, Grayson. Please.
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The first thing I became aware of was the ache in my back and the coolness of the floor against my skin. I blinked, disoriented, and realized I had fallen asleep right outside Grayson’s door. I shifted, pushing myself upright, and froze when I noticed Elaine sitting beside me.
For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. Elaine wasn’t the type to sit quietly, least of all next to me. And yet, there she was, her arms resting on her knees, her gaze fixed on the opposite wall.
I pushed myself up straighter but didn’t speak. She didn’t look at me either, and the silence between us stretched, heavy and unfamiliar.
It was Elaine who broke it, her voice so soft it barely sounded like her. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
I turned to her, surprised by her tone. There was no trace of the sharpness or venom I had come to expect from her. She wasn’t looking at me, her focus still somewhere far away.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, the words heavy on my tongue. “I hope he will be. He has to be because…” My voice trailed off, unable to finish.
Elaine glanced at me for the first time, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Because he’s Grayson,” she said, finishing the sentence for me.
I nodded, feeling the weight of those words. It wasn’t just wishful thinking. It was a belief, almost a law of nature. Grayson was supposed to be unbreakable.
Silence fell between us again, but it wasn’t as tense as before. It felt… different. Shared.
Then Elaine spoke again, and her words caught me off guard. “I miss the days when he was just that. Just Grayson.”
I turned to her, frowning. “What do you mean?”
She let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. “The days when he wasn’t so full of hate. When I wasn’t so bitter that I could make others taste my misery just by being around me.”
I stared at her, unsure of how to respond. This wasn’t the Elaine I knew–the sharp, biting woman who seemed to take joy in making others uncomfortable. This was someone else entirely, someone raw and vulnerable.
For once, I stayed silent, letting her words hang in the air.
The sound of the door opening shattered the moment, and we both jumped to our feet, our focus snapping to the healer
ago. Her who stepped out. It was the oldest of them, the woman who had gently pushed me out of the room hours expression was grave, her hands stained with blood that I tried not to focus on.
“How is he?” Elaine and I asked in unison, our voices filled with urgency.
The healer looked at us, her eyes heavy with sorrow. She shook her head, her voice trembling as she spoke. “He’s not healing. His Highness has been injured far worse before. He always heals, no matter what. But this. She trailed off, her eyes darting to the floor. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
My heart sank. My knees felt weak, and I had to steady myself against the wall. Elaine’s breath hitched beside me, her mask of composure slipping for just a moment.
The healer hesitated, her lips pressing together as if debating whether to speak further. Finally, she looked at me, her voice barely above a whisper.
Something is blocking his wolf. If we can’t figure out what it is.. we might lose him.
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