Chapter 11: The Brother Who Began to Regret

Axel POV:

I couldn't stop looking at the records.

Every file I opened made things worse.

Every answer created two more questions.

For ten years, I believed I was helping Ember.

Now I wasn't sure of anything.

The hospital was nearly empty when I returned to the archive room.

Only the soft hum of computers filled the darkness.

I reviewed every prescription connected to Ember.

Every injection.

Every treatment.

Every authorization.

Hours passed.

Then I found it.

A discrepancy.

One tiny inconsistency hidden among hundreds of records.

"What the hell?"

A prescription had been altered.

The original medication was designed to stimulate wolf activity.

The version Ember received was a suppressant.

My blood ran cold.

I checked another file.

Then another.

Then another.

The pattern repeated.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Someone had been replacing her medication.

Systematically.

Deliberately.

For years.

My hands started shaking.

A memory surfaced.

"Can you sign these forms?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Axel."

Willow.

Always Willow.

She handled paperwork constantly.

Medical requests.

Research approvals.

Supply orders.

I trusted her.

Blindly.

"No..."

I opened the authorization history.

Every suspicious request traced back to one account.

One user.

One person.

Willow.

The room suddenly felt too small.

I leaned against the desk.

Nausea rolled through my stomach.

"What have I done?"

Across town, Ryker sat alone in his office.

The notebook still rested on his desk.

Ember's notebook.

Her handwriting.

Her hopes.

Her disappointments.

Every page felt like a knife.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Enter."

Axel stormed into the room.

His face was pale.

His eyes looked haunted.

"We need to talk."

"About Ember?"

"About everything."

Something in his tone immediately put Ryker on edge.

"Sit down."

"No."

"Tell me something first."

"What?"

"Did you ever read Ember's medical records?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you should have."

Ryker slowly stood.

"Axel."

"What happened?"

For several seconds, Axel couldn't speak.

Then he finally whispered:

"I think we were wrong."

Silence.

Complete silence.

"About what?"

"Everything."

Ryker's stomach dropped.

"Explain."

"Ember's wolf wasn't permanently damaged."

"What?"

"The records were altered."

"Someone suppressed her wolf."

"Someone prevented her recovery."

"Someone changed her treatment."

"For years."

The room spun.

"That's impossible."

"I thought so too."

"Who?"

Axel looked away.

For the first time in years, he looked ashamed.

"Willow."

The name hit like an explosion.

"No."

"I verified everything."

"No."

"The evidence is overwhelming."

"NO!"

Ryker's Alpha aura exploded outward.

Furniture rattled.

Windows shook.

The room trembled.

"You're telling me Willow sabotaged Ember?"

"I'm telling you somebody did."

"And all the evidence points to Willow."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Every memory suddenly looked different.

Every argument.

Every accusation.

Every punishment.

"The Moonlight Grass," Ryker whispered.

"The birthday."

"The hospital."

"The room."

"Goddess..."

His legs nearly gave out.

"What if she was telling the truth?"

"I think she was."

"What if we were wrong?"

"I think we were."

For the first time, neither brother had an excuse.

Neither brother had someone else to blame.

Only themselves.

Later that night...

Willow sat alone in her bedroom.

She knew something had changed.

Ryker avoided her.

Axel refused to answer her calls.

The atmosphere inside the house felt different.

Dangerous.

Unstable.

A knock sounded.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Ryker stepped inside.

For the first time in years, there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Ryker?"

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"Look at me and answer honestly."

Fear flashed through Willow's face.

"Of course."

"Did you interfere with Ember's treatment?"

Silence.

"What?"

"Answer me."

"No."

"Are you lying?"

"Why would you even ask that?"

"Because I need the truth."

"I am telling the truth!"

But something was wrong.

Her scent changed.

Anxiety.

Fear.

Panic.

Ryker could smell it.

And for the first time...

He didn't believe her.

Meanwhile, in the Shadowlands...

I stood on a balcony overlooking the city.

Snow drifted slowly through the night sky.

Sera was stronger now.

Healthier.

More awake than ever.

"He's coming," she murmured.

"Who?"

"The Alpha."

"Ryker?"

"No."

"Mate."

A familiar scent drifted toward me.

Pine.

Snow.

Storm clouds.

Derek.

"Thinking too much again?" he asked.

"Always."

"Dangerous habit."

"You already used that joke."

"Still accurate."

I smiled.

He smiled back.

And suddenly the mate bond pulsed stronger than ever.

Warm.

Bright.

Unbreakable.

"Ember," Derek said quietly.

"Yes?"

"No matter what happens next..."

"You're not facing it alone."

For the first time in a very long time...

I believed him.