Chapter 91 Converging at the Hospital
LISA'S POV
I checked myself out of the hospital against direct doctor's orders. The nurses protested but I signed the papers anyway because I was stable enough to leave and everyone I cared about was falling apart without me. I could not stay in bed while my world burned down around me and the people I loved suffered alone.
Emma helped me dress in silence. The tension between us was thick and heavy but she did not pull away when I needed her support to stand. "Thank you for not pressing about the baby's father," Emma finally said as she handed me my shoes.
I paused and looked at her carefully. "We'll talk about it. Later. When things aren't so insane and we can actually think clearly."
We arrived at the main hospital where Ryan's father was dying. The waiting room was packed with people I recognized from the Blackstone pack. Ryan's mother sat sobbing into her hands while pack members tried to comfort her. Ryan stood near a window looking lost and human and scared in a way that made my chest ache. Adrian stood apart from everyone else and he looked sicker than I had ever seen him before. His skin was gray and his hands shook slightly. Then Daniel walked in looking rough and smelling like alcohol and he looked off.
We were all here. All broken in different ways. All carrying wounds that might never fully heal.
Ryan saw me and rushed over immediately. "You shouldn't be here. You need rest and the doctors said—"
"Your father is dying. Where else would I be?" I touched his face gently and felt him lean into my palm like he was drowning and I was air. "How bad is it?"
"Bad. They're saying hours, maybe a day at most." Ryan's voice cracked and the sound broke something inside me. "He keeps asking for me. He keeps saying the Blackstone Beta line can't die with him. That I need to find a way to get my wolf back before it's too late."
My heart broke for him. Ryan had given up everything for me and now he was watching his father die knowing he could never be what that man wanted him to be anymore. The guilt I felt was crushing and I wondered if Ryan's mother was right. Maybe I had destroyed their family legacy by accepting Ryan's sacrifice. Maybe loving him had been selfish after all.
Ryan's mother approached us with her face hard despite the tears streaming down her cheeks. "This is your fault. You made my son give up his wolf. You destroyed our family legacy for your selfish love."
The words hit like physical slaps. Each one stung and left marks I would carry forever. Adrian stepped forward to defend me but Ryan's voice cut through first.
"That's enough." His tone was firm and final. "Mom, stop. I chose this. Lisa didn't make me do anything I wasn't willing to do."
His mother's face twisted with rage and grief mixed together into something ugly. "You chose HER over your family, your duty, your wolf, and everything we raised you to be."
"I chose love," Ryan said simply and turned to look at me with eyes that held no regret. "And I would do it again without hesitation."
The honesty in his voice made tears burn behind my eyes. This man had sacrificed everything and he still stood here claiming he would make the same choice over and over again. I did not deserve him. I did not deserve this kind of unwavering loyalty and devotion that asked for nothing in return but here he was offering it freely anyway.
Ryan's mother made a sound of disgust and stormed off down the hallway. Her footsteps echoed on the tile floor and several pack members followed her to offer comfort she would probably refuse. The hallway felt colder without her anger filling the space.
The doctor came out from a room at the end of the hall with his face grave and troubled. "Family of Richard Blackstone?"
Ryan moved forward immediately. Daniel and I followed close behind with Adrian trailing slowly. His breathing was labored and I made a mental note to check on him after this crisis passed. If it ever passed.
"He's asking for all of you specifically." The doctor looked at his chart with obvious confusion. "The Beta, his son, and also the silver wolf Alpha and her brother? He says he has confessions to make before he dies. Something about Lisa's mother's death that you all need to hear immediately."
I went completely cold. My blood felt like ice in my veins and my heart stopped beating for several seconds. Ryan looked at me with confusion written across his face. Daniel froze beside me and his hand found my elbow to steady me. Adrian murmured, "What could Ryan's father possibly know about your mother's murder?"
We followed the doctor down the hallway that seemed to stretch forever. Each step felt heavy and wrong. My shoes squeaked on the clean tile and the sound echoed too loudly in the quiet corridor. We entered the room and the smell of death and antiseptic hit me immediately.
Richard Blackstone looked terrible in the hospital bed. His skin was pale and waxy and he was barely conscious with machines beeping steadily around him. But his eyes were clear and desperate when he saw us enter the room together. He tried to sit up but failed and fell back against the pillows with a pained grunt.
"Good. You're all here." He coughed wetly and the sound was horrible. Blood flecked his lips when he finished. "I don't have much time left. I need to confess before I face what comes next. Lisa, your …mother. The coalition of Alphas who killed her. I wasn't just aware of it happening. I helped plan it from the beginning."
My legs nearly gave out completely. Daniel caught me before I could fall and held me upright with strong hands. Ryan looked absolutely stricken and his face went white. "Dad, what are you saying right now?"
"Your father Marcus wasn't the only one who wanted her dead. I did too. Because she discovered something about the Blackstone bloodline. Something that would have destroyed us completely if she had revealed it to anyone."