She took my place "The Alpha's decision"

slid in and out of consciousness, each flash of awareness bringing a fresh wave of nausea, not from her woun

er life for a future that, clearly, had already been snatched away from her. The mating connection, once

air of the hospital was a sharp reminder of her reality. She was motionless on the mattress, the bandages tight around her ches

ts frail human shell, testimony of the depth of her injuries and, maybe, the shock that had seized

and trembled as she reached for it, her fingers brushing against the cold por

rsations of other patients. It looked as if the entire world had forgotten he

e. Not only replaced but replaced with

down the walls that held her captive in this purgatory. But she was too frail. Her b

, but she steadied herself against the wall. She had to get out. She couldn't stay here,

ents. They hung loosely on her body, a harsh reminder of how much weight she'd dropped, how vulnerable she felt. But

nt, slid under the aperture. Thorne. He was close. Her heart, despite everything,

d she endure to see them together again, now with the full, horrible weight of

una of the Moonstone Pack, not a discarded toy to be

door open, br

are. Today, everything was uncomfortably quiet. Footsteps resonated from deeper down the corridor,

ep was a defiance, a fierce reclaiming of her turf. She sprinted towards the sounds, towards the main ro

ll, a wide, bright room that generally buz

oviding orders, his voice strong and forceful. Elara was seated close on a soft mat, petting a tin

nd unburdened. She looked nothing like the wounded, ragged creature Lyra believed herself to be. She w

, an invisible ghost. She watched Thorne's powerful shoulders, the familiar posture of h

and caught sight of Lyra standing there. His eyes enlarged, his li

friendly, were chilly, almost distant. For a small second, Lyra thought she saw a flash of something she couldn'

There was no innocent misunderstanding this time. Instead, a faint, almost microscopic smirk

eral, yet it transmitted volumes. It was hardly the expression of an innocent, i

ifying understanding that Elara may be far from the innocent victim she seemed to be. A new, terrifying conce

mask of his normal Alpha authority. "Lyra," he mu

. He wasn't concerned.

hoarse, trembling yet contained a

ting through the silence of the hallway. "She needs to understand, Alpha," she mumbled, her eyes

ut at that time, offered by her, it seemed

her mate,

thing worse, something orchestrated. The ultimate foe may not be the rogues she had faced in the woods, but th

ot the end. This was only the be

to understand. And she