Chapter 19 I'll stay!

Chapter 19 I'll stay!
Azrael’s POV
I didn’t leave.
Even when the room grew quiet. Even when the machines settled into their steady rhythm. Even when Kael took the chair closest to her bed and crossed his arms like a wall no one asked for.
I stayed.
Alpha Lani lay there, pale against the sheets, lashes resting on her cheeks like she’d finally given up the fight. Her breathing was soft. Too soft for someone who carried the weight she did.
Kael glanced at me after a while. “You should get some rest.”
“I’m good.”
He scoffed quietly. “You’ve been up since yesterday.”
“So have you.”
He looked back at her. His expression softened in a way I rarely saw. “I’m her Beta, she’s my responsibility, not yours. Also, if I’m not mistaken, you have an meeting in the early hours of tomorrow.”
I frowned. “This isn’t the time.”
“It is,” he said calmly. “The meeting has to do with your pack, isn’t it?”
I knew that.
And I didn’t know how I was going to manage it all, but I knew I wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
“I’ll stay,” I said.
Kael sighed. “Your majesty?”
“I said I’ll stay.”
He studied me for a long second. Then shook his head. “At least sit.”
I did.
Time stretched.
At some point, Kael stood and leaned over her. Adjusted the pillow. Careful. Gentle. Like she might break if touched wrong.
Her head settled better. Her breathing eased.
She looked… peaceful.
I shook my head. “How can someone be that stubborn… and still look this gentle?”
Kael looked at me, but didn’t say anything at first.
“You need to rest,” he said. “You should go. I’ll call if anything changes.”
I hesitated. Looked back once more.
She didn’t stir.
I left.
My room felt wrong.
Too big. Too quiet.
I showered. Changed. Sat on the edge of the bed and stared at nothing.
I slept for less than an hour and then I gave up after that.
Morning came too fast. I didn’t even bother with breakfast.
I went straight to the ward.
She was still asleep.
My chest tightened.
The machines hummed. Same rhythm. Same soft beeping.
Kael stood near the window, phone pressed to his ear, his free hand clenched into a fist.
That was never a good sign.
I walked closer. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer. Just shook his head slightly and turned away, lowering his voice.
“…you’re sure?” he said. “All of it?”
Pause.
“…I understand.”
He ended the call and turned to me.
His face said it before his mouth did.
Something was wrong.
“What?” I asked.
“The doctors just finished another scan,” he said. “The poison.”
My jaw clenched. “What about it?”
“It’s still spreading.”
The room tilted a little.
“I thought they got it out.”
“They did,” he replied. “But not all.”
I looked at her. Still. Unmoving.
“So what does that mean?” I asked slowly.
Kael hesitated.
I hated that.
“Say it.”
He exhaled. “Honestly, I have no idea. I just hope she’ll be fine.”
The doctor walked in almost immediately. I turned to meet his gaze.
“What do you intend to do now? How can we stop the poison?” I asked, worried.
He hesitated.
The doctor chose his words carefully. “We’ll keep flushing the poison to make sure that nothing remains. But the possibility of getting it all out is slim.”
“Do whatever you have to, just get it out of her!” I ordered..
“We’re doing everything we can,” he replied. “But she’s not responding the way we expected.”
That wasn’t good enough.
Kael ran a hand down his face. “She needs Cyrus.”
The doctor looked at him. “The Sorcerer?”
“The only one I trust with her life,” Kael said.
“We need to move her back to our pack.” He continued.
The doctor frowned. “Transporting her in this state—”

“It’s better than letting her lie here while the poison eats her alive,” Kael snapped.
Kael stepped forward. “You’ll let us borrow an ambulance.”
It wasn’t a request.
The doctor studied me. And I nodded. “Do it!”
“We’ll prep her.” He said.
They moved fast.
Machines disconnected. Reconnected. Monitors switched to portable.
I watched every step like if I blinked, something would go wrong.
They lifted her carefully but quickly.
The ambulance pulled away.
And for the first time in a long time…
I prayed.
The silence left behind by the ambulance was deafening. I stood on the asphalt of the hospital bay, the morning air biting at my skin, but I couldn’t feel the cold. All I could feel was the phantom weight of her hand in mine from the night before— almost seeming lifeless, slipping further away from the fierce Alpha who had dominated the arena just days ago.