Chapter 38 Dream Messages (cont'd)
Two weeks," Mason repeats. "I can work with that."
"Can you? Because you look like you might not survive two hours, let alone two weeks."
"Then I'll need some help." He looks at Mark. "Is there anything—any medical intervention—that can stabilize me long enough to complete Sage's trial?"
Mark exchanges a glance with me, then nods. "Dr. Chen might be able to create a temporary stabilization treatment. It won't heal the bond damage, but it could slow the deterioration. Give you the time you need."
"Do it."
"It'll be painful. The treatment essentially forces your body to sustain itself despite the mate bond rejection. Every moment will hurt."
"I don't care. I'll endure anything for a chance to know my daughter. To prove myself to Sage."
Rory has been quiet through this exchange, watching both of us carefully.
Now she speaks. "If Mama gives you two weeks, what will you do with them?"
"Spend every moment proving I'm worthy of being your father." Mason's voice is steady despite his weakness. "I'll teach you pack history, help you control your abilities, protect you from any threat. I'll show you the man I should have been three years ago."
"And if you fail?"
"Then I'll die knowing I tried. Knowing I gave everything I had to make amends." He looks at me. "I know I can't undo the past, Sage. Can't take back the rejection or the pain I caused. But I can try to build a different future. If you'll let me."
I want to say no. Want to protect myself from potential heartbreak.
But Rory's hand finds mine, squeezing gently.
"Give him a chance, Mama," she whispers. "Please."
How can I say no to that?
"Two weeks," I say finally. "You get two weeks to prove yourself. But Mason—if you hurt her, if you disappoint her, if you fail in even the smallest way to put her needs first—I will end you myself. Mate bond or no mate bond."
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
Mark helps Mason to his feet. "Let's get you to the medical center. Dr. Chen will need to start treatment immediately if you're going to survive until tomorrow."
As they leave, Rory turns to me. "You did the right thing."
"Did I? Or did I just set myself up for more pain?"
"Maybe both. But at least you'll know. At least you'll have tried." She takes my hand. "Come on. Let's go have dinner. You need to eat. And I want to tell you about the new friend I made today. Her name is Lily and she can shift into a black wolf and she's teaching me how to hunt rabbits and—"
She chatters on, leading me toward the dining hall, and I let myself be swept along by her enthusiasm.
Two weeks.
In two weeks, I'll either have given Rory a father and myself a second chance at love.
Or I'll have watched Mason die while breaking my own heart all over again.
But as Rory said—at least I'll know. At least I'll have tried.
And sometimes, that's all we can ask for.
\---
That night, the dreams come again.
But this time, they're different.
Mason isn't alone in the forest anymore. He's in a medical room, tubes and wires connecting him to machines. Dr. Chen works over him, administering the stabilization treatment.
"This will hurt," Dr. Chen warns.
"I know."
"The pain might make you wish for death. Make you want to give up."
"I won't." Mason's voice is firm. "I have two weeks to prove myself. Two weeks to earn back what I threw away. Pain is nothing compared to that chance."
The treatment begins.
Mason screams.
The sound rips through the dream space, through the mate bond, directly into my consciousness.
I feel it—not the physical pain but the emotional toll. The determination. The desperate hope that he might, somehow, earn redemption.
"Sage." He gasps my name between waves of agony. "If you can hear me—if this bond still connects us even in sleep—know that I'm fighting. For you. For Rory. For the future we should have had."
"I hear you," I whisper into the dream.
His eyes find mine across the distance. "Two weeks. I'll prove it in two weeks. I'll prove I can be what you need."
"You'd better. Because I'm not strong enough to watch you die. Not again."
"Again?"
"Our son. I watched him die in my arms. I won't survive watching you die too."
The confession hangs between us, raw and painful.
"I'm sorry," Mason breathes. "For him. For everything. I'm so, so sorry."
The dream begins to fade, reality pulling us apart.
"Make the two weeks count," I call out as he disappears. "Make them matter."
"I will. I promise."
I wake with tears on my face and Rory standing beside my bed.
"You dreamed of him again," she says.
"Yes."
"Is he going to make it? Through the treatment?"
"I think so. He's strong. Stubborn." I pull her into bed with me. "Like someone else I know."
She snuggles against my side. "Do you think he'll pass your test?"
"I don't know, baby. I honestly don't know."
"But you hope he will."
Not a question. An observation.
"Yes," I admit. "Despite everything, I hope he will."
"Good. Because hoping means you haven't given up. And Mama—you taught me that we never give up. No matter how hard things get. No matter how impossible they seem."
I hold her close, breathing in her scent, marveling at this wise old soul in a child's body.
"When did you get so smart?" I ask again.
"I told you. I've always been this smart. You're just finally listening."
We fall asleep like that, wrapped around each other, two survivors holding on against whatever comes next.
And in my dreams, Mason fights through the treatment, screaming but never giving up.
Just like Rory said.
We never give up.
No matter how hard it gets.
No matter how impossible it seems.
Morning comes with a knock on the door.
Mark stands on the porch, looking exhausted. "Mason made it through the night. Dr. Chen says the treatment worked. He's stable. Weak, but stable."
Relief floods through me. "Can we see him?"
"He asked that you wait. Says he needs to be stronger before he faces Rory again. Doesn't want her first real memory of him to be of weakness."
"That's..." I don't know how to finish that sentence.
"Smart? Considerate? The kind of thing a good father would think about?" Mark supplies.
"All of that."
"He's changed, Sage. I don't know if it's enough. Don't know if two weeks is long enough to prove fundamental change. But he's different from the man who rejected you three years ago."
"People don't change that much."
"Don't they? You did. You went from omega to fierce protector. From pack wolf to rogue survivor. From broken to strong." Mark meets my eyes. "If you can change that much, why can't he?"
It's a fair point.
"When will he be ready to see us?"
"Tomorrow, if all goes well. He wants to be able to stand on his own. To greet Rory properly."
"Tell him..." I hesitate. "Tell him we'll be ready when he is."
After Mark leaves, Rory appears in the doorway of her room, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Is he okay?"
"Yes, baby. He made it through the treatment."
"Good." She climbs into my lap. "I want to meet him properly. Want to see if he's really worth saving."
"And if he's not?"
"Then we tried. That's all we can do. Try and hope and see what happens." She looks up at me with those too-wise eyes. "But Mama? I think he might surprise you. I think he might actually be worth it."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because anyone who'd endure that much pain just for a chance to know their daughter—that's someone who's serious about change. That's someone who might actually follow through."
God, I hope she's right.
Because I'm not sure I can survive being wrong again.
Not about this.
Not about him.
The next twenty-four hours will determine everything.
And somewhere in the medical center, Mason fights to get strong enough to meet our daughter properly.
To prove he's worth the second chance I'm terrified to give him.
To show us both that redemption is possible.
Even for someone who's failed as completely as he has.