Chapter 293

AURORA

I had started pacing up and down in the hall outside Dane’s room, my mind working riot over all sorts of speculations, all coming down to the same point: we had less time to spend. Muffled voices from inside Dane’s room echoed; the physicians sounded urgent and hopeless. The door opened or closed, each time carrying the faint scent of herbs and despair.

“How is he?” I asked the moment the head physician appeared in the hall, the lines of exhaustion etched deep into his face.

The man hesitated, wiping his hands on a cloth. “The poison is spreading faster than we anticipated. It’s unlike anything we have come across.” The knot in my stomach tightened.

“So you’re saying there is nothing you can do?”

He shook his head. “We’re treating the symptoms, but the poison itself… there’s only one person who might know the cure.”

My heart fell as his words verified my worst imaginings. “Still Kaida,” I whispered.

Chapter 293

The storm waited, poised to cut loose in the council chamber, crackling with electricity in the very air. Trajan stood at the head of the table, his grim expression speaking volumes for the wolves gathered.

“She is a risk to approach,” he said, his voice firm and measured. “She has already demonstrated that she will not hesitate to use our weaknesses against us.”

“What option do we have?” I snapped, the sharpness in my tone slicing through murmurs. “Dane doesn’t have time for us to debate the risks. If she’s the only one who can save him, then we need to act.”

“Act how, Aurora?” one of the council members challenged. “March into her territory and beg for mercy? She’ll use this to further humiliate us.”

I fisted my hands. The urge to lash out was barely contained. “We wouldn’t be in this position if Dane hadn’t acted so recklessly.”

Trajan’s gaze gentled as he turned to me. “That may be true, but blaming him doesn’t solve our problem. We need a strategy.”

“I have one,” I said, my voice cold. “I’ll head a team to find her. We will try to negotiate if we can; otherwise, we shall take what we need by force.”

The room erupted into a riot of uproar. Voices tumbled over each other in a din of fear and uncertainty.

Chapter 293

“Enough!” I thundered, slamming my hand onto the table. “We’re wasting time. Piper, Warrick, you’ll stay behind, overseeing the pack. The rest of you will secure the defenses. I’ll take a few with me, and we head out at dawn.”

“And I shall come with you, Luna.”

I furrowed my brows as I heard a familiar voice by the door. I raised my gaze to see Evelyn, walking inside towards me. My eyes widened in surprise; she smiled and reached me. “Missed me?”

I parted my lips but couldn’t make out words; I shook my head. She chuckled and gave me a hug.

“I came as soon as I heard,” she said. I sighed and sank into her arms. I needed this hug.

Piper’s face scrunched into a frown, her brow furrowed. “Evelyn?”

I looked up and met her smiling gaze. Evelyn and I pulled back from the hug, and she took a seat beside me.

“You are back?” a council member asked. “We heard you found a mate and went away to start a family.”

I turned to Evelyn. “Yes… did you come with him?”

Evelyn shook her head, rolled her eyes, and said to me in a low voice, “The fvck cheated on me so many times… I couldn’t stand him anymore. Then, when I heard of Dane’s injuries, I knew it was time to come back home.”

I nodded, and we had a little more discussion before ending the meeting.

Chapter 293

I walked into Dane’s room through a slightly ajar door. Yet it was enough to see his labored breathing—every intake of breath caught. This man, who I’d seen fight for victory over so many battles, was faltering, felled by a small arrow.

I shifted to his bedside, hesitated, and reached for his hand. His skin was clammy, pale against the dark blanket covering him. That sure strength felt fragile; the grip in mine was weak but still searching for reassurance.

“Dane,” I whispered, leaning closer.

His eyelids fluttered, his lashes heavy with exhaustion. Slowly, his eyes met mine, and for a moment, I saw the man I knew, the determination and fire that had drawn me to him in the first place. But it was short-lived, replaced by a vulnerability that left me shaken.

“I know that look,” he rasped, his voice barely audible. “You’re planning something.”

My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall. “You’re not giving me any other choice,” I repeated, my voice harder than I meant. “You don’t get to die on me, Dane. Not like this.”

He smiled faintly, a shadow of his usual smirk. “Stubborn as ever.”

“Oh, look who’s talking,” I snapped, my voice shaking. “If you’d only listened…”

“I couldn’t wait, Aurora,” he interrupted, his words slurred but firm. “I couldn’t stand by and watch while everything we’ve built was threatened… the same way I waited years ago and my entire family and pack were killed, by your foster parents.”

His words hit me like a blow. I knew he was scared; my frustration bubbled over. “And now look at you! You’re barely holding on, and the pack is falling apart because of it.”

Dane’s hand tightened around mine, surprising me with its strength. “Aurora,” he murmured, his voice cracking. “Don’t leave me.”

My breath caught at the weight of his plea. My heart twisted, torn between anger and love, between the need to hold him accountable and the desperation to save him.

“I’m going to fix this,” I said, my voice cracking despite myself. “I’ll find her, I’ll get the cure. But don’t you dare give up on me.”

His lips parted to speak, but his energy gave out. His eyelids dropped, shutting; his breaths were shallow but regular.

Chapter 293

I stood smoothing my fingers through his damp hair, speaking low, “You have to fight, Dane. Just hold on.”

As I turned to go, his weak voice came up one last time, barely above a breath. “Be careful… Aurora.”

It clung to me as if those were his last words behind the now-closed door.

Blood & Silver: Rise of the Alpha’s Rejected… 1/7