Chapter 66 Chapter 66
_Kayden’s POV_
I caught her before she hit the ground.
Her body was limp in my arms. Her head fell against my chest. Her breathing was shallow.
“Leah!” My voice broke. I shook her lightly, hoping she would open her eyes. “Leah, stay with me. Please.”
Nothing.
Her skin was cold, and the glow in her veins had already faded. I scooped her up without thinking. My heart was racing. My wolf, Leo, was howling in my head.
“She is slipping from us!” Leo growled. His voice was raw with fear. “Do something, Kayden! Do something now!”
“I’m trying,” I whispered under my breath as I took the stairs two at a time.
I pushed open the door to my room and carried her to the bed. My chest was tight. My arms were trembling even though I held her close. Laying her gently on the sheets, I brushed the hair from her face. Her lips were pale.
I grabbed the jug of water on the nightstand and sprinkled droplets over her cheeks. “Leah, wake up. Please wake up,” I begged.
Her lashes fluttered once, but her eyes didn’t open. Her breathing was so faint I had to lower my head close to her mouth to feel the air.
Panic gripped me harder.
“Fred!” I roared.
Within moments my Beta rushed in. His eyes widened at the sight of Leah lying still. “Alpha, what happened?”
“She collapsed. She is not waking up. Call the doctor. Now!”
Fred didn’t waste time. He turned and ran.
I sat on the edge of the bed and gripped her hand in mine. “Don’t leave me, Leah,” I whispered. “Not now. Not after everything. You can’t.”
“She’s dying!” Leo snarled inside me. His claws scratched at the walls of my mind. He was restless and wild. “We can’t lose her. Not again. Not like this!”
“Shut up,” I hissed back, though the truth was that I feared the same thing. I had just kissed her. I had just felt her bond snap alive like fire through my veins. And now… she was fading before my eyes.
The door burst open and the doctor hurried in with a black case in his hand. Fred followed close behind. His face was lined with worry.
The doctor leaned over Leah, checked her pulse, then pressed his ear against her chest. His brows furrowed. “Her pulse is weak. Very weak.”
“I know that!” I snapped. “Fix her!”
The doctor didn’t argue. He pulled out a syringe and injected her arm with trembling hands. I watched while holding my breath. I hoped for any sign, anything, that she would stir. But nothing happened. Her chest rose only faintly.
The doctor shook his head slowly. “This is not good. Her condition is… strange. I have never seen anything like it.”
“What do you mean, strange?” I demanded. “She was fine one moment, and then....” My voice cracked, and I had to swallow the lump in my throat. “And then this.”
The doctor packed away the syringe. “The medicine should have helped her stabilize. But it hasn’t. We need to take her to the pack hospital for further tests.”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. I picked her up again and cradled her against my chest. Her head lolled against my shoulder. I turned to Fred. “Come with us.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
We rushed through the halls. Pack members stared as we passed. They were whispering and their faces were pale with fear.
At the hospital, the doctors swarmed around us. They laid Leah on a bed, attached tubes and pricked her with needles to take vials of blood. Machines beeped and screens lit up, but every face in the room was the same.....confused.
Hours passed. I paced the floor like a caged beast. My chest ached. My wolf was restless.
Finally, the doctor came out. His eyes avoided mine.
“What is it?” I demanded.
He hesitated. “Alpha… we don’t know what is wrong with her.”
The words cut deeper than any blade.
“You’re supposed to be experts,” I snarled. “You’ve trained for years. And you’re telling me you don’t know?”
The doctor bowed his head. “We ran every test. Her blood is normal. Her heart is weak, but we don’t know why. Her brain is active but… unstable. I can’t explain this. I am sorry.”
Rage surged inside me. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to tear apart every useless machine in that room. But I couldn’t....not when Leah lay so fragile on that bed.
“She’s dying,” I whispered.
Fred stepped forward, his expression grim. “Alpha. There is one more option.”
I turned sharply to him. “What?”
“The Seer,” Fred said quietly. “She might know what is happening.”
I shook my head instantly. “No. If doctors can’t help her, how can a Seer? I won’t waste time chasing fairy tales.”
Fred stood tall. “This is no fairy tale. The Seer has real power. She has helped before, in times when nothing else worked. If anyone can save Leah, it’s her.”
I growled in frustration. “And what if she can’t? What if this is just false hope? I can’t lose her, Fred! Don’t you understand?”
Fred met my gaze. “I do understand. That’s why I’m saying this. You can’t give up. You can’t sit here and watch her slip away while we do nothing. The Seer is our only chance.”
I ran a hand through my hair. I tugged hard at the roots. My chest was heaving.
Leo’s voice came again. “He’s right, Kayden. We need her. We can’t lose our mate. Go to the Seer. Do it now!”
“I don’t trust her,” I muttered under my breath.
“Trust doesn’t matter. Saving Leah does!” Leo snapped.
I looked back at Leah through the glass window. Her face was so pale. Her lips were barely moving with each shallow breath. My heart cracked.
Fred put a hand on my shoulder. His voice was steady. “Alpha. Please. We must try.”
For a long moment, I said nothing. My throat was tight and my eyes were burning. Finally, I nodded. “Fine. Bring her.”
Fred bowed and left quickly.
I sat by Leah’s side and gripped her hand. “You’re not leaving me,” I whispered to her unconscious form. “I won’t let you. Not again. Not ever.”
“Hold on, Leah,” Leo murmured, his voice breaking. “We’ll find a way. I promise.”
Minutes turned into hours, and her breathing grew weaker. My chest felt like it was being crushed. Every second was torture.
Then, the door opened. Fred entered, followed by an old woman with long gray hair and eyes like silver. She walked slowly but with a power that filled the room.
I stood as she entered. I was trying to control the storm inside me. “Seer,” I said respectfully.
But before I could say more, her gaze landed on Leah’s pale body. Then she turned sharply to me. Her eyes blazed with fury.
Her voice rang out like thunder. “You!” she shouted while pointing her thin and trembling finger straight at me. “You are the reason her life is in danger!”
Her words struck me like a blow. The room fell silent. My chest clenched and I stopped breathing for a few seconds.
“What?” I whispered.
The Seer’s eyes narrowed. Her voice was cold and merciless. “Because of you, she is dying.”
And the world tilted beneath my feet.