Claudia

There was a distant beeping sound that continued to thrum in my ears. Why it had to be so shrill, I didn’t know. I stretched, feeling my body ache as my eyes slowly fluttered open.

Groaning, I looked around the hospital ward. I was in the room designated for the beta of the pack. It was private, with a chair to my side and a small bathroom, complete with a robe and towels hanging off the door. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a golden glow across the room. From here, I could see out over the pack's territory.

The pack’s buildings were always a sight to behold. Tall structures with narrow, cobbled streets, slanted roofs, and crooked chimneys tightly packed throughout the center of the territory. The hospital was perched on a hill, giving me a wide view of the pack. The worn buildings with moss creeping up the bricks gave a sense of history and stability. People went about their day, kids heading off to school, adults to work, and guards patrolled the streets, ensuring order.

Frowning, I noticed there were far more guards than usual. Something was off. Normally, they only guarded the Alpha’s house or patrolled the borders. But now, I saw them on street corners and rooftops. The more I looked, the more uneasy I felt.

I felt a pinch on my arm and turned to see Braden, asleep in the chair beside me. His head rested on the bed, and his hand reached out for mine. The IV cord connected to my arm was pressed beneath him. Wincing, I moved my arm to ruffle his dark hair gently. He stirred, blinking slowly before sitting up, releasing the cord and scraping a hand down his face. His hair was a tousled mess, and his dark blue shirt was crinkled from sleeping in it all night. “You should be resting,” he chided softly, a small frown pulling at his lips.

“I lost a lot of blood,” I murmured, nodding in agreement. “The beeping woke me up.” I gestured to the annoying machine that had interrupted my sleep.

Braden stretched, his muscles flexing as he reached toward the ceiling. His shirt lifted, revealing a glimpse of his toned abs before he turned to me with a smirk. “I’ll get you some water,” he offered, leaning down to kiss my head. His sharp, angular face softened in that moment, his dark blue eyes intense as they gazed into mine.

I was still weak, but I could feel my strength slowly returning. Even my wolf hadn’t stirred, which told me she was busy healing me from the inside. Braden walked over to the table, where a jug of water sat, and filled a glass. He took a sip, grinning mischievously as he did.

“Braden,” I teased, trying not to laugh at his playful mood despite everything that had happened. He chuckled, finishing the water before filling another glass. This time, he handed it to me.

I took a sip, savoring the cool liquid as it soothed my parched throat. But even as I drank, I could feel the tension between us thickening. I licked my cracked lips and asked quietly, “What did the doctor say?”

Braden’s expression shifted. His playful grin disappeared, replaced by a somber look. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand finding mine. “Baby, I don’t know how to tell you this,” he began, his voice strained, his knuckles bruised and raw. The image of the man in the woods flashed through my mind—the stranger, the fight.

“What happened to the man?” I asked suddenly, unable to stop myself. My heart raced as I clung to the hope that maybe talking about something else would prolong the inevitable news I feared was coming. “You fought him… what happened?”

Braden’s face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger. “There wasn’t a man, Claudia,” he said firmly, his fingers tightening around mine. “When I found you, it was almost too late. You lost so much blood. There was no one else there.”

His words didn’t match what I remembered. The handsome stranger, the fight—how could it have not been real? My brow furrowed in confusion, but I decided to let it go for now.

“Just tell me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible as my hand moved to rest on the small bump of my belly.