Allison's POV
Blinding lights seared through my eyelids as I slowly blinked awake, the sharp tang of antiseptic clinging to every breath I took. Beneath me, stiff hospital sheets rustled as I shifted, only for a jagged bolt of pain to cut through my abdomen.
"Luna Allison?" A nurse with kind eyes approached my bedside. "You're awake."
I tried to sit up, feeling a sharp stab of pain that forced me back down. "What happened?" My voice came out raspy, my throat dry.
The nurse's expression shifted to one of practiced sympathy—the kind reserved for delivering bad news. "I'm so sorry, Luna, but you've lost your pup. The hemorrhaging was severe, but we've managed to stabilize you."
Those words echoed through my mind like a haunting melody. My hand instinctively moved to my now-empty womb, the loss of my pup creating a void I wasn't sure could ever be filled.
*Ally, our pup... our little one...* Jasmine's mournful voice resonated within me, my wolf's grief mirroring my own.
"I know," I whispered aloud, "I know, Jas."
Tears slid down my temples as I lay frozen, arms locked around my waist like I could somehow hold onto what was already gone. That baby… she had been hope. Not just mine, but a lifeline—proof that maybe, just maybe, Lucian might finally see me.
Not the woman who saved his grandfather—that he might recognize me as his true Luna.
With trembling fingers, I reached for my phone on the bedside table. Lucian needed to know about our lost pup. Maybe in this moment of shared grief, we might find a real connection—maybe his wolf would finally acknowledge the bond that should exist between mates.
*He won't care,* Jasmine growled softly. *He never has. Fenrir doesn't feel our bond. We've known it from the start.*
"We still have to try," I murmured, dialing his number.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three.
He picked up, but his voice was ice. "What is it, Allison?"
"Lucian, I'm in the hospital," I managed, my voice breaking. "I—"
He sighed. Not shocked. Not heartbroken. Just… annoyed.
"I'm in a meeting," he cut me off sharply. "Don't disturb me unless it's important."
"But Lucian, I lost the—"
"Handle it yourself." The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, disbelieving. My pulse roared in my ears. Two years of marriage, and this—this was the maten I'd tried to love?
*He left us alone,* Jasmine whimpered inside my mind. *Even now.*
"He never wanted me," I murmured, setting the phone aside with shaking hands. "He never wanted her either."
Three years past I've tried so hard to bridge the gap between us, but nothing works. He believes I'm the obstacle standing between him and his true destined mate—our marriage only happened because his grandfather demanded it.
The worst part? I hadn't expected more. Not really.
I thought back to the day that had changed my life forever. Three years ago, I had been walking through Riverside Park, lost in thought after another day of being the invisible bookworm at university.
A commotion near the water had caught my attention—an elderly man collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest. Without thinking, I had rushed forward, performed CPR, and called an ambulance.
Only later did I learn I had saved Victor Storm, the legendary founder of Storm Industries and Pack Elder. His gratitude had been effusive, and within weeks, his grandson Lucian was courting me—if you could call formal dinners and business-like conversations "courting."
*You've always had a crush on him,* Jasmine reminded me gently. *Ever since high school when he stood up for you against those bullies.*