Chapter 160
Chase‘s POV
Not with words—Wynter couldn't form words anymore, couldn't send coherent thoughts through our connection. What flooded through was pure, animal terror. Pain. The desperate, fading pulse of a life being extinguished.
I was running before conscious thought caught up, my wolf surging forward with such violence that my partial shift happened mid-stride—claws extending, canines lengthening, eyes burning gold as I tore through the Academy grounds toward the east woods.
Hold on, I sent desperately into the void where her presence should have been strong and bright. Just hold on, Wynter. I'm coming.
Behind me, I heard Jax and Rosalie struggling to keep pace. I'd woken them both—bursting into their rooms with the kind of urgency that didn't allow for questions. They'd followed without hesitation, trusting my panic.
The old chapel appeared through the trees like a nightmare made stone. Moonlight streamed through gaps in the roof, and even from outside I could smell it.
I hit the door with my shoulder, the rotten wood exploding inward, and the scene stopped my heart.
Wynter lay on the stone floor, her body convulsing with violent seizures. Her lips were blue, foam flecking the corners of her mouth, her eyes rolled back. Her fingers clawed at the stone, leaving bloody scratches.
And standing over her, calmly gathering papers, was Dr. Silas Vane.
"Ah," he said, looking up with mild annoyance. "Lord Sterling. I'm afraid you're too late. The poison has already done its work—"
I was across the room before he finished, my hand closing around his throat with enough force to lift him off his feet. My claws punctured skin, drawing blood.
"What did you give her?" I snarled, my voice more wolf than human.
Behind me, Rosalie's strangled sob cut through the air. She dropped to her knees beside Wynter, her hands hovering uselessly. "Wynter! Oh God, Wynter, no—please—"
Jax stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring at Wynter's seizing body. Then his face went blank—completely, terrifyingly blank. When he spoke, his voice was flat, dead.
"Chase," Jax said. "Let me handle him. Get Wynter to the medical wing. Now."
Through the Bond, I felt her slipping further away, felt the thread connecting us growing thinner.
"Jax," I said, not releasing Vane's throat, "take her. You and Rosalie—get her to Dr. Reeves. Tell him poison. Fast."
Jax gathered Wynter into his arms, and I heard his sharp intake of breath at her condition. "Sis," he whispered, voice shaking. "Come on, Sis. Stay with us. Please."
"She's burning up," Rosalie gasped. "Chase, she's burning—"
"Then RUN!" I roared, and the Alpha command sent them stumbling toward the door.
I watched them disappear—Jax moving with careful speed, Rosalie running beside him with tears streaming—then turned my full attention back to Vane.
"Who hired you?" I asked, voice cold and deadly.
Vane gasped for air. "I—professional discretion—"
I tightened my grip, feeling his windpipe compress. "Try again."
"You're going to kill me anyway—"
"Maybe," I agreed. "But I can make it quick, or I can make it last for hours. Your choice depends on how cooperative you are in the next thirty seconds."
I threw him backward. He hit the stone altar hard, and before he could recover, I was on him again.
"Talk. Now."
Vane's resistance crumbled. "Lord Aldric," he gasped. "Lord Aldric Sterling hired me. Three weeks ago. Said his son had formed an unsuitable attachment. Wanted it handled discreetly."
The words hit like physical blows.
My father. My own father had tried to murder Wynter.
"He didn't want direct involvement," Vane continued desperately. "Wanted it to look like an accident. I was supposed to lure her here with promises of transformation, give her the poison, and let nature take its course."
"What poison?"
"Wolfsbane extract mixed with a paralytic agent. It suppresses the Bond connection first, then paralyzes the body, then stops the respiratory system—"
I hit him. Not calculated, but pure rage. "The antidote. Tell me there's an antidote."
"There is, but it's too late. The poison works too fast. Even if you had it now, her system is too far gone—"
I hit him again. Each blow punctuated by the terrible truth.
My father did this.
My phone buzzed. Jax. One word: Hurry.
I looked down at Vane, bloodied and broken. "You're going to confess. Everything. In front of witnesses who can testify before the Council."
I called campus security. "This is Chase Sterling. Old chapel in the east woods. Man here who attempted to murder a student. Send guards immediately."
Then I ran toward the medical wing.
---
The antiseptic smell hit me before I reached the door. I burst through to find Jax and Rosalie outside an examination room, both shell-shocked.
Rosalie's face was blotchy, hands shaking. "Chase," she whispered. "She—when we got here, she stopped breathing. Dr. Reeves had to—"
Jax stood with arms crossed, expression carved from stone. The muscle in his jaw jumped.
"Where is she?"
"Dr. Reeves is with her," Jax said carefully. "He kicked us out five minutes ago."
Through the door, I heard urgent movement, Dr. Reeves' sharp commands. "More adrenaline! I'm losing her—"
I reached for the Bond.
Nothing.
Not the terrible, fading pulse from before. Just... silence. An emptiness where she should have been.
"Is she—" I couldn't finish.
"She's alive," Rosalie said quickly. "When we got here, she was still breathing. Barely. But alive."
The door opened. Dr. Reeves emerged, stripping off bloodied gloves. His face was grim.
"She's alive," he said before I could ask. "Barely. But alive."
Relief stole my breath. "Can I see her?"
Dr. Reeves' expression shifted, becoming graver. "Lord Sterling, the poison—it wasn't designed to kill quickly. It was designed to sever the connection between a wolf and their human side."
"What do you mean?"
"Her wolf is gone," Dr. Reeves said quietly. "Not dead, but dormant. Locked away so deeply she can't access it. I can still detect trace amounts of wolf essence, but the bond between her human consciousness and her wolf has been completely severed."
The floor tilted. "Can you fix it?"
"I don't know," Dr. Reeves admitted. "The connection can be rebuilt. But it takes time—months, maybe years. And there's no guarantee. Some wolves never fully recover."
Through the window, I could see Wynter on the examination table, hooked to monitors. She looked so small, so fragile.
"Can I see her?"
Dr. Reeves nodded. "She's unconscious. But yes."
I moved into the room. The monitors beeped steadily, but through the Bond—
Nothing. Just terrible, echoing silence.
I took her hand, brought it to my lips. Her skin was cold.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I should have protected you."
But apologies weren't enough.
I stood there for five minutes, then turned to leave.
Jax and Rosalie waited in the hallway.
"I need you both to stay with her," I said, voice flat. "Don't leave her alone."
"Where are you going?" Rosalie asked, frightened.
I met her eyes. Whatever she saw made her step back.
"Chase," Jax said carefully, blocking my path. "Whatever you're planning—"
"I'm going to Silvermoon. I'm going to confront my father."
"Chase, no—"
"He tried to kill her," I said, voice cracking. "My own father hired someone to murder my mate. And I'm going to make him answer for it."
"Then we're coming with you," Jax said firmly.
"No. Wynter needs you here. When she wakes up, she's going to reach for her wolf and find nothing. She'll need you both."
Jax wanted to argue. Finally, reluctantly, he nodded. "Okay. But Chase—don't do anything stupid. Don't let your anger make you into something you'll regret."
I didn't answer. Couldn't promise something I might not keep.
Instead, I turned and walked away.
---
The journey to Silvermoon passed in a blur of rage and grief.
In wolf form, I became a blur of fur and fury, the chapel scene searing into my brain with each footfall.
Wynter convulsing. Her lips blue. Her eyes rolled back.
My father did this.
I found him in his office, reviewing documents, looking utterly untroubled.
He looked up as I entered without knocking. "Chase. I wasn't expecting you. Shouldn't you be at the Academy?"
"You tried to kill her," I said quietly. "You hired someone to murder Wynter."
My father didn't deny it. He leaned back in his chair.
"I did what was necessary," he said calmly. "For Silvermoon. For your future. That girl was a liability, Chase. An unsuitable match that would have weakened our bloodline."
"She's my mate."
"The Bond can be broken," my father said, as if discussing a minor inconvenience. "With time and distance, you would have moved past this infatuation. Found someone appropriate."
The casual dismissal shattered something inside me.
"You're right about one thing," I said, my voice taking on Alpha command. "The Bond can be broken. But not the one between me and Wynter. The one between father and son."
Understanding dawned in his eyes.
"I, Chase Sterling, heir to Silvermoon, challenge you for leadership of this Pack," I said, the formal words making the air thicken. "You attacked my mate. You forfeit your right to lead."