The Suspect – 1

Sebastian’s POV

“What do you mean she’s in a coma?” Maximus’s voice trembled visibly.

My heart slammed against my ribcage again, feeling like it was going to fucking burst right through my chest. I tried to keep my thoughts clear, but my brain refused to function properly. Time seemed to slow down as the physician spoke. All I could hear was a buzzing echo in my ears.

I staggered backward, collapsing into the seat I’d just vacated. Damien and my father put their hands on my shoulders, but I shrugged them off. I didn’t need their comfort. I just wanted the physician to tell me the surgery had been successful and Thea would wake up in a few hours.

“She was hit by three silver bullets in total. One struck her head, the second her abdomen, and the last her thigh. We successfully removed two of them, except for the one lodged in her skull. It’s embedded too deeply, and forcibly extracting it would cause her cranium to shatter,” the physician paused. “In cases where the patient has a wolf, we could extract the bullet during a shift because the expanding wolf form creates space around the bullet, which remains the same size. But being wolfless…”

Fuck. I didn’t know what to feel or think about this shit. Was he telling us that Thea would have to live with a silver bullet in her head? How was that even possible? She’d been fine this morning; how could things suddenly get so fucking terrible?

“At least she’s still alive,” my wolf murmured.

I ignored it. Yes, she was alive, but would she stay that way? That was the fucking key question.

“We’ve stopped the bleeding, both internal and external. We’ve administered the necessary medication to help reduce the swelling around her brain injury. Her heart stopped twice. It was after the second cardiac arrest that she fell into the coma.”

If I thought nothing could be more painful than watching Thea get shot, I was dead wrong. Hearing we’d nearly lost her twice completely shattered me. It felt like being stabbed with a thousand sharp knives. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone. Not even my worst enemy.

“Will she wake up?” I asked, my voice hoarse. “Will she recover?”

“We can’t say for certain right now. This isn’t a medically induced coma, so we can’t guarantee she’ll wake up within days. She might wake up tomorrow, in a few days, in a few months, or she might not wake up at all. For now, we’ll observe for a few days to see if there are signs of consciousness returning.”

The possibility that she might never wake up nearly brought me to my knees.

I pushed those thoughts away. I couldn’t think like that. She was strong; she would wake up. In a few days, she’d be awake and glaring at me.

“What about the silver bullet in her brain? What effects will it have?” Seraphina asked, tears streaming down her face.

I couldn’t imagine how hard this was for her. I could never imagine facing the possibility of losing Leo. It was too fucking heavy to contemplate.

“Since we’ve never dealt with a wolfless carrying a bullet, we don’t know what consequences it might have. She could have memory difficulties, or develop speech or hearing impairments like humans do. These are just a few aspects her brain injury might affect. But we can’t be certain now. We have to wait until she wakes up.”

If she wakes up.

He didn’t say those words out loud, but they were written in the way he looked at us. That uncertainty was right there in his eyes.

Seraphina nodded, more tears sliding down her face. Maximus pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.

The powerful Alpha couple I knew was gone. In their place stood two anxious, heartbroken parents.

The physician glanced at his watch and carefully said, “Alpha Ashworth, we’ve arranged special visitation permissions for you to Thea’s room. However, her condition has just stabilized, and the medical team still needs to do some follow-up procedures. I suggest the other family members go home and rest, then return tomorrow. It’s not that we’re restricting visits, but even if they stay, they won’t be able to see her until tomorrow when her condition is more stable.”

His words were respectful, but the fatigue in his eyes told me that even hospitals have their limits.