Chapter 96 False Alarm
LISA'S POV
The burned wolves being wheeled in looked like something from a nightmare and my heart raced so fast I thought it would burst through my chest. My hand went protective over my belly without thinking and I stepped closer to Ryan instinctively.
The carved words on their skin screamed threat and danger and everything I had been fighting against for months.
But as the doctors examined them and nurses rushed around with equipment and medication, the truth started emerging in fragments that did not make sense at first.
This was not an attack. It was an accident at a rogue rehabilitation facility where former Viktor followers were learning trades to reintegrate into society. Electrical fire and terrible timing and someone's dark sense of humor had carved that message as a prank thinking it would be funny.
They were being arrested right now for causing mass panic. Pack security confirmed no active Coalition threat existed anywhere. There was no conspiracy. No enemy coming for my baby. No danger at all.
The relief was so overwhelming I could not breathe for a second. My knees went weak and I collapsed into a chair in the hallway with Ryan dropping down beside me immediately. His hand found mine and squeezed tight and I could feel him shaking slightly from the adrenaline crash.
"It is over," I breathed out and the words sounded strange in my mouth. "Viktor is dead and Sophia is gone and no Coalition is coming for us. It is actually over this time."
Ryan pulled me close and I could feel his heart pounding against my shoulder through his shirt. "So what do we do now?"
It was a genuine question and not rhetorical at all. We had been fighting for so long and living crisis after crisis and running from one disaster to the next without pause. What did life look like without constant danger hanging over our heads? What did normal even mean for people like us who had only known survival mode?
Daniel appeared with coffee from the hospital cafeteria and handed cups to both of us with careful movements. "You two need to rest. Build a life together. Be boring for once."
He grinned and it was the first real smile I had seen on his face in weeks. "I will handle pack security and make sure no real threats emerge from anywhere. You just focus on that baby and figuring out how to be together without the world ending every five minutes. You have earned some peace after everything you have been through."
I looked at Ryan and really saw him in this moment. Human now and vulnerable in ways he had never been before when he had his wolf strength. Mine in ways that terrified and thrilled me at the same time because this was real now. "I do not know how to do normal," I admitted quietly and felt embarrassed by the confession.
"Neither do I," Ryan said and his voice was raw with honesty. "But maybe we can learn together? Maybe we figure it out one day at a time and make mistakes and fix them and just try to be happy for once in our lives instead of constantly preparing for the next battle?"
The simplicity of it made my throat tight with emotion. Happy. Such a small word for something that felt impossible to reach after years of pain. But looking at him now with his hand on my stomach and hope in his eyes despite everything he had lost, maybe it was not impossible after all. Maybe it was just difficult and required work and commitment and choosing each other every single day even when it got hard.
"I want that," I whispered and meant it with everything in me. "I want boring and normal and happy with you. I want to wake up without fear and go to sleep without planning escape routes. I want to decorate a nursery and argue about baby names and complain about swollen ankles like regular pregnant women do."
Ryan laughed and it was the most beautiful sound I had heard in forever. "We can do all of that. We can be disgustingly domestic and happy and make everyone around us sick with how cute we are together."
Dr. Morrison approached with her clipboard tucked under one arm and her expression was professional but warm in the fluorescent hospital lighting. "Lisa, I need to discuss your pregnancy care plan in detail when you have time. The silver wolf genetics mean this will be high risk throughout the entire nine months. You will need monthly ultrasounds at minimum and specialized vitamins that I will prescribe today and constant monitoring of both your health and the baby's development to catch any complications early."
She checked her notes quickly and flipped through pages. "And you need to make a decision about whether you want to give birth in the pack medical facility or a human hospital. Both options have risks we should discuss thoroughly so you can make an informed choice."
Ryan and I exchanged glances and this was the first of many decisions we would make together as parents. The weight of it settled on my shoulders but felt lighter somehow because I was not carrying it alone anymore. I had him beside me and Daniel supporting us and a whole pack ready to help.
"We have time to decide though, right?" I asked and tried to keep my voice steady.
Dr. Morrison's expression shifted to something carefully neutral and that made my stomach clench with worry. "You are twelve weeks along as of today. Technically entering your second trimester very soon. But there is something else on the ultrasound I would like to discuss with you both. Nothing dangerous or concerning medically but just surprising in a way I think you should hear together. Can you come back tomorrow with Ryan? Both of you should hear this information at the same time and we can go over all the details and options then."
She left before we could ask any follow up questions and disappeared back into the chaos of the emergency room. Ryan's face was worried and he turned to me with fear in his eyes that he was trying to hide poorly.
"What do you think it is?" he asked and his voice was tight.
"With my life? Could be anything." I tried to joke but my voice shook and gave away how scared I actually was. "Maybe the baby has silver fur already or glowing eyes or something equally impossible to explain."
Ryan squeezed my hand tighter. "Whatever it is, we handle it together. No more facing things alone for either of us."
I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder and let myself feel safe for the first time in months. The hospital sounds faded into background noise and I focused on his heartbeat and the warmth of his body next to mine and the tiny life growing inside me that was ours. A future I had never let myself imagine was suddenly possible and terrifying and wonderful all at once.
Emma appeared then and she had stayed even after Adrian left for the Western Pack to deal with his condition privately. She sat down in the chair across from us and her presence was comforting in its familiarity. "Whatever it is, you are not facing it alone this time. I am here. Daniel is here. The whole pack is here and we will help you through anything that comes next because that is what family does."
But her phone buzzed loudly in her pocket and interrupted the moment. Emma pulled it out and checked the screen and her entire face softened reading whatever message had come through. I noticed immediately because Emma never looked like that. Soft. Vulnerable. Open in a way she usually kept hidden behind walls.
"What did he say?" I asked gently.
Emma hesitated for a long moment and then showed us the text from Marcus Krane. The words were simple but hit hard with their sincerity. "I am not giving up on you. On us. On our family. Take all the time you need but know I am here. Waiting. With love, Marcus."