Chapter 296 Blackwood Genes
Dr. Chatmory gave a solemn nod. He signaled for his nurse to re-enter the room, preparing to draw the necessary vials from the sleeping Lycan newborn. The war with the High Council was looming in the capital, but in this sterile hospital room, the Blackwood pack was facing a terrifying, silent battle entirely of Damon's making.
As the nurse quietly re-entered the room and began preparing the small, pediatric needle for Iggy's blood draw, Leela gave Ginny's hand one last, deeply reassuring squeeze before letting go.
"I'm going to step out and call Fenn," Leela announced softly, keeping her voice calm and steady to help ground the anxious parents. "I need to let him know exactly what's going on."
Jax’s head snapped up. The towering Beta was currently vibrating with lethal, protective instincts, his inner wolf practically clawing at the surface after learning that his mate and son had been quietly targeted for months. He pinned the Luna with a dark, incredibly stern look.
"Do not walk away from Sarah," Jax ordered, his deep voice thick with absolute, unyielding authority. "You stay exactly where you can see this office door at all times, Leela."
Instead of bristling at the Beta's commanding tone, Leela just offered him a soft, understanding smile. She knew exactly where the fierce paranoia was coming from; his entire world was sitting on that examination table, and he was completely on edge.
"Breathe, Jax," Leela said gently, her soothing, elemental presence actively pushing back against the heavy tension in the room. "Everything is okay. I'll be right outside the door."
She flashed a quick, affectionate smirk to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "Sarah and I can talk about pregnancy cravings after I get done talking on the phone."
Jax let out a rough, ragged exhale, the deep lines of stress around his eyes softening just a fraction of an inch. He gave her a sharp nod of acknowledgment, turning his full attention back to Ginny and the baby.
Satisfied that her best friend was firmly anchored by her mate, Leela slipped quietly out of the office. She closed the heavy wooden door behind her, stepping out into the sterile hallway where Sarah was standing perfectly still, her sharp eyes scanning the corridor. Leela moved to lean against the wall right beside the eighteen-year-old warrior, pulling her cell phone from her pocket to bring the Alpha King up to speed on the newest nightmare his father had left behind.
The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind Leela, immediately muting the tense, clinical atmosphere of the examination room.
Sarah, who had been standing with absolute, stoic stillness in the hallway, immediately shifted her weight. The eighteen-year-old warrior’s sharp eyes flicked to the Luna, immediately reading the heavy, troubled expression on Leela's face with a silent, questioning intensity.
Leela pulled her cell phone from her back pocket, holding up a single finger to the young guard. "Give me just a sec, Sarah," Leela whispered softly, actively fighting to keep her own elemental anxiety in check. "I'll tell you exactly what's going on as soon as I get Fenn on the line."
Sarah gave a single, tight nod, immediately returning her focus to securing the perimeter of the hallway so her Luna could make the call.
Leela hit the speed dial. The phone barely rang twice before the line clicked open. Fennigan didn't bother with a standard greeting; his protective instincts were already dialed up to a ten, and a sudden call during a routine medical appointment was an immediate red flag.
"What's going on, Lee?" Fennigan's deep voice rumbled through the speaker, laced with a sharp, undeniable edge of Alpha concern.
Leela leaned her head back against the cool hospital wall, closing her eyes as she delivered the agonizing news. "Fenn... it's your father."
A heavy, dangerous stillness fell over the line.
"He was using Magda," Leela breathed, the absolute horror of it creeping back into her tone. "He was pumping some type of synthetic Lycan DNA directly into Ginny."
The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening, the sheer, apocalyptic weight of Damon's betrayal violently expanding. When Fennigan finally spoke, his voice was a lethal, vibrating growl that promised absolute destruction.
"What?" Fennigan demanded, his breath catching with sudden, terrified urgency. "Is she okay?"
"The doctor is saying that it looks like her mortal biology is successfully fighting it off," Leela explained quickly, desperately needing to ease his immediate panic. "Because Magda is gone and the injections stopped, Ginny's system is naturally flushing the serum out."
Leela paused, swallowing hard against the lump forming in her throat as she looked at the closed office door.
"But Fenn..." Leela's voice cracked perfectly down the middle. "He is taking blood samples from Iggy right now. We don't know if the serum crossed the placental barrier... or what it might have done to Iggy."
"The doctor told us earlier he is big for a preemie, especially being only two weeks old," Leela continued, her voice dropping to an anxious whisper as she pressed the phone closer to her ear. "They are hoping it's just your guys' Blackwood genes causing the rapid growth. But Fenn... what if it's not?"
A heavy, jagged breath crackled through the phone speaker. Leela could practically feel the lethal, devastating rage radiating from her mate miles away.
"If it's not," Fennigan rumbled, his voice dropping into a cold, absolute vow of protection, "then we deal with it. Whatever it is, Lee. Iggy is a Blackwood, and he is pack. We will fight it, we will fix it, and we will not let my father's sick legacy touch that boy."
Beside Leela, Sarah had gone completely rigid. The elite teenage warrior had heard enough of the hushed conversation to piece together the absolute nightmare. Her hand instinctively drifted down to rest protectively over her own slightly rounded stomach, her sharp eyes widening with a sudden, horrifying realization. Magda had been the pack healer. Magda had had access to all the females.
Leela immediately reached out, wrapping her free hand firmly around Sarah's wrist and giving it a grounding, fiercely reassuring squeeze. She met the young, pregnant warrior's terrified gaze and shook her head slightly—a silent, absolute promise that they would make sure Sarah and Toby's pup were completely safe, too.
"I need you to stay strong for Ginny and Jax right now," Fennigan instructed through the phone, his commanding tone pulling Leela's attention back to the immediate crisis. "Sparky, you and Sarah lock that hallway down. Do not let anyone else in or out of that office. The exact second Dr. Chatmory has those blood results, you call me back. Understood?"
"Understood," Leela promised softly, the unshakable strength of her Alpha King flowing through the line and steadying her own racing heart. "I'll call you the minute we know."