Leave that ruthless Alpha

The anesthesia slid into my veins like ice water. My muscles went slack, pinning me to the cold steel of the operating table.

I had just survived a massacre. My blood still coated the forest floor outside the Nightveil Pack borders. I tore the throats out of three rogue wolves to protect my home. To protect Alpha Anson.

Now, I couldn't even twitch my fingers.

But my mind remained sharp. The drugs paralyzed my body, not my hearing. The rhythmic beep of the heart monitor echoed in the sterile room.

"Are you absolutely certain the nerves are severed?" Anson asked.

His voice drifted from the corner of the surgical suite. It sounded level. Calm.

"I followed your instructions, Alpha," Dr. Miller replied.

"No chance of recovery?"

"The damage is permanent," the doctor said. "But I must ask you again—are you truly going through with this?"

"Do it."

"She fought for this pack today," Dr. Miller argued. "She nearly died defending your borders. Crippling her... it’s a permanent mutilation."

"I will provide for her," Anson stated.

His tone held no warmth. No grief.

"If she needs a wheelchair, I will push it myself," he continued. "But if she walks out of this hospital whole, she will slaughter everyone at the Luna ceremony. I cannot allow her to disrupt it."

"This is just about making Diana your mate. Why must you destroy Wendy in the process?"

A tear slipped from the corner of my eye, tracking hotly into my hairline.

Diana.

"Wendy is too proud," Anson said.

"She has earned her pride. She has been by your side for five years. She built this pack's defenses."

"And now she will enjoy the safety of those defenses from the comfort of the Pack House," Anson countered.

"The elders will ask questions."

"Tell them the rogue's bite infected the bone," Anson instructed. "Tell them you had to sever the nerves to save her life. You are the chief medical officer. They will believe you."

"And if she seeks a second opinion?"

"She trusts me. She won't look further than what I tell her."

"If she is broken, she will finally accept she is unfit to carry an heir," Anson added. "That paves the way."

"For what?" Dr. Miller demanded.

"So I can bring Judy into the Pack House. My daughter with Diana needs a proper home."

The monitor continued to beep steadily, masking the silent shattering of my heart.

He planned this. While I bled for his pack, he plotted to break my legs so he could move his mistress and their bastard pup into my home.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Alpha," the doctor warned.

"Just finish the procedure. Keep her asleep."

Darkness finally pulled me under.

***

Harsh fluorescent lights burned through my eyelids.

"Wendy? Sweetheart, open your eyes."

I blinked. Anson hovered over the bed. He wore a clean shirt, his hair perfectly styled. Not a drop of my blood remained on him.

"You're awake," he murmured.

"Water," I rasped.