Chapter 173 The Price

Chapter 173 The Price
Pete’s POV

The moment the car slowed in front of the hospital, I was already pushing the door open.

“Alpha…”

I didn't wait for the driver to finish. I jumped out before the car had fully come to a stop and broke into a run, my heart hammering so violently against my ribs that every breath felt like it was tearing through my chest.

I didn't know what I was going to find. I didn't know what had happened, but the sound of Prisca's sobbing was still ringing in my ears.

Something is wrong. And whatever it was, I was terrified that I was already too late.
That thought followed me through the hospital entrance.

I ran faster.

People turned to look at me, some stepping aside when they saw the expression on my face, but I barely noticed them. All I could think about was Mike.

Mike was supposed to be alive.

He was supposed to be lying in that hospital bed, irritated about being stuck there, complaining about the food, making some stupid joke whenever I walked into the room.

He was supposed to be there.

My best friend, my brother.

Alive.

“Goddess,” I whispered, my breathing becoming heavier. “Please.”

I reached the elevator and slammed my hand against the button.

The doors opened.

I stepped inside and pressed the floor number repeatedly, as though doing it harder would somehow make the elevator move faster.

The doors closed and I stared at the numbers above me. They were moving too slowly. Far too fucking slowly.

“Come on.”

The elevator continued climbing.

My fingers curled into fists.

“Please, Goddess.”

I had never been a man who prayed much. I believed in strength, in preparation and in controlling what could be controlled. But right then, I found myself praying like a desperate man.

Please…Let him be alive.

Let Prisca have been crying about something else.

Let me be wrong.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and I stepped out. Then I stopped. The corridor ahead of me seemed impossibly long, and for one terrible second, I was afraid to take another step.

I started running again. Halfway down the corridor, I stopped. I couldn't do it. I couldn't wait. I turned toward the stairwell, pushed the door open, and started climbing.

One flight…Then another.

My lungs burned, but I didn't slow down.

“Please…”

The words kept leaving my mouth between breaths.

“Please, Goddess…”

I didn't know whether I was praying for Mike or for myself.

Maybe both.

By the time I reached the floor, my chest was heaving violently.

I pushed through the door, and then I saw them.

Shantel was sitting outside the room. Her face was buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking. Beside her were several people…Mike's parents.

His mother was crying so hard that she could barely breathe, while his father sat beside her with his head lowered, tears running silently down his face.

I stopped walking.

My stomach dropped.

No.

No.

I didn't need anyone to tell me.

I already knew.

My chest tightened so suddenly that breathing became difficult. Their faces told me everything their mouths hadn't yet said.

Still, I forced myself forward.

My legs suddenly felt heavy.

I looked at Shantel.

“What happened?”

She lifted her head. The moment her eyes met mine, she broke down again.

“Pete…”

My heart cracked.

I stepped closer.

“Where is Mike?”

She covered her mouth, trying desperately to hold back another sob.

“Shantel.”

My voice shook.

“Where the fuck is my friend?”

She looked toward the hospital room.

“He…”

Her lips trembled violently, but whatever she was trying to say refused to come out.

I stared at her.

“He what?”

Mike's mother began crying harder and I turned toward her.

“Please…”

My voice dropped.

“Someone tell me what happened.”

Shantel stood, but her knees nearly gave out beneath her.

“He…he's gone.”

For a second, I couldn't feel my hands.

The words barely registered.

I stared at her.

“What?”

She wiped desperately at her tears.

“Mike is gone.”

“No.”

The word left my mouth before I could stop it.

Shantel shook her head.

“Pete…”

“No.”

I stepped backward.

“No, he isn't.”

My eyes moved toward the hospital room.

“I spoke to him.”

I could barely hear my own voice.

“He was here.”

Shantel cried harder.

“He was alive.”

“I know.”

“I was supposed to come back.”

My throat tightened.

“I was supposed to stay.”

“Pete…”

“I left him.”

The words came out broken.

“I left him here.”

Shantel reached for me, but I stepped away.

My eyes remained fixed on the door.

“How?”

Nobody answered.

“How did this happen?”

Nobody could look me in the eyes.

I walked toward the door. A hospital attendant standing nearby quickly stepped in front of me.

“Alpha, we're preparing to move the body….”

“Move.”

He hesitated.

“Alpha, we need to….”

“I said move.”

Something in my voice made him step aside.

I pushed the door open. The room was too quiet.

The machines that had surrounded Mike were still there, but the sounds that had filled the room were gone. No beeping, no movement. Nothing.

And then I saw him.

Mike was lying on the bed still and lifeless.

For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.

I waited for his chest to rise, but it didn't.

I waited again…Nothing.

I stood in the doorway, staring at him.

This wasn't Mike…It couldn't be. Mike was never still. Even when he was asleep, he somehow managed to make noise.

He'd complain about everything. He'd laugh at the worst possible moments. He'd tell me when I was being an idiot. He'd stand beside me when everyone else walked away. But the man lying on that bed wasn't doing any of those things.

He was simply there.

Gone.

My knees almost gave way.

I slowly walked toward him.

“Mike…”

Nothing.

I reached the bed and stopped beside him. His face looked strangely peaceful.

I hated it. I hated how peaceful he looked when everything inside me was screaming.

I reached for his hand and it was cold.

My fingers tightened around his.

“No.”

My voice cracked.

“You don't get to do this.”

Silence.

“You don't get to leave me like this.”

My vision blurred.

I blinked rapidly, but the tears came anyway. One fell onto the back of his hand. Then another.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd cried.

Years. Maybe longer.

I had buried grief so deeply inside myself that I had forgotten what it felt like to let it out, but standing beside Mike, I couldn't hold it back anymore.

A broken sound escaped my throat.

I lowered my head.

“I'm sorry.”

My shoulders began shaking.

“I'm so fucking sorry.”

I pressed his hand against my forehead.

“I should have stayed.”

The words came faster now.

“I should have been here.”

My breath hitched.

“If I had stayed, this wouldn't have happened.”

I squeezed his hand desperately.

“You were supposed to be safe.”

My voice broke completely.

“I told you to stay here. I told you I'd be back.”

I laughed bitterly through my tears.

“And you listened to me.”

My eyes squeezed shut.

“You always fucking listened to me.”

Memories came rushing back. And suddenly, I wasn't seeing the man on the bed anymore. I was seeing every version of the friend I'd known all my life.

Mike standing beside me during my first fight. Mike taking a blow meant for me. Mike sitting outside my office until three in the morning because he refused to let me deal with something alone. Mike laughing when I told him he was an idiot. Mike telling me that if I ever needed him, he would be there.

And he had been.

Every fucking time.

Even today. Even when being there meant putting himself between danger and the people I loved. Even when he knew the danger might cost him his life.

He had stayed behind because I needed someone to protect my family.

And now he was dead, because of me.

A scream tore out of my chest.

I gripped the edge of the bed, my entire body shaking as the grief finally broke through everything I'd spent years building around myself.

“I should have been here!”

My voice echoed through the room.

“I should have fucking been here!”

I bowed my head again.

“I'm sorry, Mike.”

The tears wouldn't stop.

“You gave your life for me.”

My voice became quieter.

“And I swear to you…”

I slowly lifted my head.

The grief in my chest was still there, but something else had begun burning beneath it. Rage….Cold, violent and absolute.

“I will not let this go.”

I looked at his face.

“I don't care who did this.”

My jaw tightened.

“I don't care how powerful they are.”

I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

“I don't care if I have to tear apart every pack in this territory to find them.”

My grip tightened around his hand.

“Everyone responsible for this will pay.”

I swallowed hard.

“And I promise you, Mike…”

My voice dropped to a whisper.

“I will find them.”

I leaned closer.

“And when I do, they will wish they had never touched my family.”

For a long moment, I simply stared at him. Then there was a knock on the door.

I didn't turn around.

“Alpha Pete.”

I recognized the voice. It was one of my guards.

He knocked again.

“Alpha, we have Richard.”

My entire body went still.

Richard.

For a moment, I remained beside Mike. Then I slowly released his hand and stood straight. The tears were still wet on my face, but I no longer cared.

I looked at Mike one last time.

“I'll be back.”

My voice was quiet.

“And when I return, it will be with the truth.”

I turned toward the door.

My grief was still there…It wasn't going anywhere. But neither was my anger.

I walked out of the room.

Richard was waiting.

And this time, I wasn't going to ask him questions….I was going to make him tell me everything.

For Mike.

For Diya.

For Matt.