CHAPTER 6

Chapter 6: No Way Out

The steady beeping of the heart monitors matched the rhythm of my pulsing. The air in the hospital room had become thick, choking with tension. The expression on Bryan’s face was a mask of shock, his hands shaking still, hovering just inches away from the medical chart. Sandra forced her eyes open as if denying the truth that was staring right back at her, but no word had left her lips.

Every syllable was tinged with urgency as Mark’s voice crackled across the thick silence. “Jessica, we have to move. Now.”

I could hear the commotion outside: the shuffle of hurried feet, the crackle of radios, the unmistakable growl of wolves almost held back from attacking. They weren’t waiting. The Rivera enforcer had come, and he was not alone. If I didn’t get out of here in the next few minutes, this hospital would be a battlefield.

Ethan tightened his hold on the wheelchair and the bundle in my arms, his free hand sliding protectively over the twins. “She’s hemorrhaging,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “She’s not going to last long unless she gets medical assistance.”

Bryan stepped forward one shaky step. “Jessica—”

“Don’t.” The word was little more than a whisper, but it bore the full freight of everything he’d done. Everything he’d thrown away.

He opened his mouth, as if to say more, but before he could get anything else out of his mouth, a new sound sliced through the tension—the shrill ring of his phone. He paused, unsure, eyes darting between me, the babies and the screen. Closing his jaw tight, he swiped and accepted the call.

“Sandra,” he said, a strange control in his voice. “Get out.”

Sandra turned to him, eyes wide. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” His voice was measured, his posture stiff as he turned to look at her directly. “This is no longer your fight.”

Sandra gave a sharp, incredulous laugh. “Oh, I think it is. “ Her eyes flicked to me, poison in every word. “She is not leaving this place with them. ”

I instinctively tightened my grip around the twins; my body protested at the movement. My vision went hazy for a moment, a wave of dizziness almost knocking me off my feet, but I fought through it. There was no time for being soft. No time for pain.

The hospital lights flickered, and the air changed. I sensed it before I saw it — the swell of power coursing through the building like an approaching tempest.

Mark’s radio crackled. “East wing compromised. Six hostiles. Orders?”

Ethan didn’t give me a chance to answer. “Plan B.”

Mark swore under his breath, already heading for the door. “We’re not getting out the front. Too many eyes. “We go underground route.”

Bryan turned sharply. “Wait—what?”

I didn’t have time to be upset about his confusion. I hoisted myself into the wheelchair, and my legs buckled beneath me, my arms on fire from either holding my babies, one in each arm. Ethan was right by my side, shoving something in my hand.

A small vial of clear liquid.

“It’s a coagulant,” he told me. “It won’t stop the bleeding, but it’ll slow it down enough to get you out of here.”

I hesitated, looking at the vial, then up at him. “Why are you doing this?”

His eyes held mine, unwavering and steadfast. “Because I know what it means to lose everything.”

There was no luxury of time for me to digest what he said. I removed the cap and swallowed the bitter liquid, scarcely noting the sting as it went down my throat.

Mark opened the door, looking down the hall. “Coast is clear—for now. Move.”

Ethan wheeled the chair ahead. My body felt as if it were splintering apart, but I held on. For them.

Sandra didn’t attempt to dissuade me, but she trailed me down the hall with a voice as acidic and sharp as the Benchmade I held. “You thought you could run and it would save you? You think he will?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I wasn’t running for salvation.

I was running to end this.

The underground tunnels below the hospital were damp and cramped, the smell of antiseptic only slightly masking the stale air. Mark pressed on, his gun out, his stance taut. Ethan pushed the wheelchair gingerly, aware that my body was still fragile, but each bump sent a new wave of agony shooting through my bruised form.

I clenched my teeth. Keep moving. Keep breathing. 

There was a noise at the other end of the tunnel, a low growl so deep and guttural that my blood ran cold.

Mark froze. “Damn it.”

“What?” Ethan, already angling himself between me and whatever was about to whack us.

Mark’s voice was tight. “They sent hunters.”

I sucked in a breath. “Human or wolf?”

A new voice responded from the gloom. “Does it matter?”

A man suddenly appeared in a tactical black dress. His posture was far too relaxed for someone with a silenced gun. I recognized his scent very well.

Knox Pack.

“Going somewhere, Jessica?”

My stomach churned. I knew who he was—Victor Hale, one of Bryan’s most devoted enforcers. A cold smile sent shivers down my spine

Ethan’s muscles were coiling next to me. “Step aside.”

Victor tilted his head. “See, I could do that. Genetic testing wouldn’t prove anything, of course.

The twins squirmed in my arms, as if they sensed the danger. My wolf bristled.

Victor sighed dramatically. “Listen, I’m not ordered to kill you. But those babies? They belong to the pack.”

Something inside me snapped. 

“They are mine and mine alone.”

I acted before the thought could enter my mind — clutching the wheelchair’s armrests, propelling my body forward. It was searing, blinding pain, but I used it. Let it fuel me.

Victor’s cocky grin slipped when I acted more quickly than I should have, leaping up from the chair with a feral growl. He lifted the gun, but Ethan was already there, swatting it from his grasp. Mark caught Victor from behind and slammed him into the wall.

“Go!” Mark barked.

Toward the end of the walk, Ethan caught me before I could fall, scooping me into his arms like I weighed nothing. I lay my head on his chest and breathed sharp, ragged inhales.

“We’re close,” he said, quietly.

Victor groaned on the floor, looking up at me. “You can run, Jessica. But the moment you stop? We will find you. ”

I barely flinched, my body quaking, but my voice even.

“Then I won’t stop.”

And with that, Ethan pulled me through the final length of the tunnel, toward

whatever future lay beyond the blackness.

The only certainty?

This wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.