Marcus’s heart hammered against his chest as heard Lucas murmured in his sleep
The moonlight filtered through the window, casting long shadows across the sterile hospital room. The rhythmic beeping of the monitors filled the silence, but it did nothing to soothe Marcus’s fraying nerves.
He gently paused in wiping Lucas’s forehead with a damp cloth, his gaze shifting to the boy’s pale face.
A single tear trailed down from the corner of Lucas’s closed eyes, a sign of the deep turmoil in
his dreams.
“Don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I don’t want to leave. Please come back, Mommy.”
Lucas’s tiny hand reached out, grasping Marcus’s tightly, his small voice trembling and fragile. laced with the grief of someone too young to fully understand their pain.
“Mom… where are you? You don’t want me anymore? I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll be good.”
Marcus’s heart clenched as he heard the sobs, soft and pitiful, escaping from Lucas’s lips. It was as if the boy were reliving the loss of his mother all over again, a loss that left a mark deeper than any wound.
Marcus gently scooped Lucas into his arms, holding him close. His voice was low, steady, laced with the warmth of a father’s reassurance.
“It’s okay, son. Your mom will come back for you. I promise!
Lucas’s body relaxed against Marcus’s chest, the tension in his small frame melting as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep once more.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Night after night, Lucas’s cries echoed in the dark hours, calling for his mother, his tiny body wracked with sobs that went unheard in his dreams.
The trauma of her absence haunted him, leaving him unable to wake.
At first, Alpha Marcus chalked it up to time, assuming Lucas simply needed more rest.
But as the days passed and his son showed no signs of improvement, worry gnawed at him relentlessly.
Desperate, Marcus called for a doctor, a healer who was known for working with both humans and the supernatural. When the doctor arrived, his solemn expression spoke volumes.
“Physically, your son is fine,” the doctor began, his voice carrying the weight of something darker. “There’s no immediate concern with his health. But spiritually… there’s something amiss. He refuses to awaken as if he’s avoiding something in reality. As if he fears it.”
Marcus felt a chill run through him, the supernatural energy in the room thickening.
He frowned, trying to understand.
“What could he possibly fear so much that it keeps him trapped in this state?”
The doctor adjusted his glasses, his eyes dark with concern.
5:01 pm G D
“It could be that your son is subconsciously avoiding waking up because he’s afraid of facing a world where his mother isn’t there. The bond between them is… powerful, especially for a child of his age. And it appears that her absence has left a wound deep in his heart, one that’s almost impossible to heal without her.”
For countless times since Lucas’s collapse, Marcus’s chest tightened again.
He knew the bond between his son and Brianna was strong, especially considering the extraordinary bond of their wolf souls. Lucas had never been a typical human child, not with the latent power of a future Alpha stirring in his blood.
He thought about it–how Lucas had called for Brianna in his sleep, how he had wept for her, and how Marcus had come to realize that he had never truly known how to protect the boy.
And, worse, how he had begun to feel something he hadn’t expected–something dangerous, something tied to Brianna.
It was the pull of the moon. The call of his own Alpha nature, recognizing the one who had always been meant for him.
The doctor’s words echoed in his mind.
Bring Brianna back.
She may be the key to waking Lucas up.
Marcus hesitated, his hands trembling slightly. He had not seen or heard from Brianna since she left.
After the betrayal, after the harsh words exchanged, she had vanished from his life–no texts, no calls, not even an attempt to reach out.
It had shattered him more than he had allowed himself to admit.
But now, his son was slipping away, and Marcus couldn’t afford to let pride stand in the way of his child’s future.
He hadn’t realized how deep his feelings for Brianna had run until now.
He had buried them beneath anger, beneath grief, and the weight of his duty.
But the wolf inside him–his Alpha blood–had always known.
Always recognized her.
What could he do? His son needed her.
With a resigned sigh, Marcus reached for his phone, his fingers trembling as he dialed the
number he never thought he’d call again.
There was no turning back now.
He needed to bring her home.
5:01 pm G
Brianna’s POV:
