Chapter 304
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Third Person’s POV
Riley’s hand trembled as she lifted her skeletal fingers, fragile and cold, brushing away Carmen’s tears with the last strength left in her body. Her voice was hoarse , faint as smoke in the wind.
“Don’t… cry.”
The more she tried to soothe them, the more unbearable the grief in the room became.
Carmen, curled against the edge of the hospital bed, could no longer restrain herself. Her sobs shook her slender frame, her shoulders rising and falling with violent rhythm, her breath quick and ragged like she might collapse at any second from sheer sorrow.
Around them, the others–Lucien, Duke, Caelum Knox, Mia – stood stricken in silence, their eyes glistening red, their jaws clenched, unable to contain their grief. Even hardened warriors of the Stormridge Pack had moisture in their eyes, as if the sight of Riley’s suffering tore something deep within them.
Riley herself felt torn in two. She had not expected to be here, lingering in this half–state between life and death. She had thought the poison–the brutal, unforgiving draught of pesticide she had swallowed- would end everything quickly. That was why she had chosen it. Pesticide was nearly impossible to recover from. No healing salve, no wolf’s accelerated regeneration could combat it fully. She had drunk the whole bottle with grim determination, expecting to leave this cruel world behind at last.
But fate had mocked her. The Moon had mocked her. She had been dragged back into the land of the living, her agony prolonged.
Now, instead of fading quietly, she had to watch the devastation in the faces of those she cared for most. The sight cut her deeper than any blade, the guilt and sorrow clawing at her soul until she wanted to
scream .
She opened her mouth to whisper something–anything–but instead of words, thick gouts of blackened blood burst forth, spilling from her lips in a torrent.
The stench of iron filled the air.
Her body convulsed violently as blood streamed not only from her mouth but from her nose, her ears, even her eyes. The crimson and inky liquid seeped across the pristine sheets, a grotesque contrast against the white, spreading in cruel blossoms of scarlet. Her face twisted in agony, painted with blood, until she looked like a revenant risen from the abyss, a tormented soul clawing out of the underworld.
“Riley-!” Carmen’s scream ripped the air, raw, feral, like the howl of a wolf who had just lost her mate. Her voice cracked, shredded by the pain. She lunged forward, but her grief overwhelmed her, and her body gave way beneath it. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed unconscious to the floor.
Lucien —Alpha prince of Stormridge–staggered, every muscle trembling. His usually commanding voice now cracked with terror. “Doctor! Healers–now!”
His shout pierced the sterile air, summoning every medic on duty.
Riley’s consciousness dimmed. Through the haze of her pain, she saw Carmen’s crumpled form, lifeless
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on the tiles . She saw Lucien’s face–ashen, wild with despair. She saw Duke’s wide eyes , Caelum’s rigid stance , Theo and Jace standing hollow with helplessness. The world blurred, slipping away as the last threads of awareness tore .
Then –blackness.
Chaos erupted in the ward. The sound of boots on the tiles, the sharp command of healers, the squeal of the bed’s wheels as they rushed Riley’s limp body down the hall.
The others could only watch as she was wheeled into the surgery chamber.
Time dragged, every second an eternity. The red light above the operating room glowed like an unholy omen, casting the hallway in a deathly huc.
Lucien sat in his wheelchair, his once–proud figure slumped, his body motionless. The Alpha prince who once commanded armies and bent wolves to their knees now looked more like a hollow husk. His tears had long since dried, his muscles numb, his soul suspended in torment. He stared at the light above the door as though sheer will could force it to change.
The others lingered in silence, every pair of eyes fixed on the same red glow, every breath tight in their lungs.
Finally–after what felt like centuries–the light flickered and went out. The door creaked open, and the surgeon stepped out, his robes stained with sweat, his face drawn with fatigue and quiet dread.
Lucien’s heart clenched. A wolf’s instinct told him before the words were even spoken: the truth would shatter him.
Still, his voice, ragged and trembling, broke the silence. “Doctor… how is she? Tell me Riley’s alive.”
The surgeon lowered his gaze, his voice soft, heavy with finality. “We… did everything we could. I’m sorry. She’s gone. May the Moon guide her spirit.”
The words struck like lightning.
Lucien’s chest constricted as if a steel claw had pierced through his ribs. His lungs burned, and his heart convulsed violently.
“No. No! That’s a lie! Riley can’t be dead!” He surged forward, wild and desperate, shoving the surgeon back with a strength born of madness. “You’re the healer of Stormridge! You’ll go back in there and bring her back! She’s not gone! She promised–she promised me she’d marry me! I haven’t claimed her before the Moon, I haven’t taken her home. You will save her!”
His voice, once regal and commanding, was now the raw cry of a wolf stripped of everything, a howl of loss and denial.
Duke lunged forward, grabbing his shoulders, but even the loyal aide’s voice cracked. “Alpha, stop! Please
Caelum Knox closed his eyes briefly, grief heavy in his features. His voice, low but steady, broke the final truth into the silence. “Lucien… Riley has gone.”
The words twisted through the air like blades.
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Lucien’s entire body seized. He coughed violently, and blood erupted from his lips , staining his robes, his strength giving way beneath the weight of despair..
And it was then, as if the Fates had orchestrated the cruelty, that Carmen awoke. She stumbled forward just in time to hear Caelum’s words.
Her steps faltered. She froze, her eyes locked on the still–swinging doors of the surgical chamber , For a long moment, she didn’t breathe, didn’t move.
Then, like a ghost drawn by an unseen force, she began to walk forward. Step by step, until she passed Duke without so much as a glance, ignoring his trembling hand reaching for her.
“Carmen” Duke whispered, but his voice broke in futility.
She did not stop. Her eyes were fixed only on the doors, on the place where Riley had been carried away, where her soul had been torn from the world.
She crossed the threshold and disappeared into the chamber.
Behind her, silence thickened.
The wolves of Stormridge–proud warriors, heirs, sons of Alphas – stood defeated, staring into the abyss Riley’s death had left behind.
And the Moon hung silent in the heavens, merciless, offering no comfort.
This was no ordinary death. This was the cruel end of a girl who had been abandoned by her own families, cast aside into the Rogus settlemnet. Brought back home only to suffer cruelty, betrayal, false accusations, and years imprisoned in the dungeons of the Wolf prison..
Released, only to be hounded again, scapegoated, cornered at every turn until despair finally drove her to poison.
The Fates had toyed with her life. The Moon had shown no mercy.
And now Riley–good, pure–hearted, strong, and undeserving of such torment–was gone.
The pack whispered their silent questions, rage burning beneath their grief.”
Why?
Why would the Moon forsake her?
Why would such cruelty befall one who bore no malice, who carried kindness in her veins?
Why would the spirits take Riley when monsters still walked free?
No one could answer.
Not even the Alpha Prince of Stormridge, broken and bloodied, could understand.
Only the silent Moon knew, and she did not speak.
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