Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 07

Born One Minute Too Late, But I Was the True Alpha Chapter 07

### Declan

I led my first border exercise without Arden six days later.

Father offered to postpone it.

I refused.

I was the future Alpha.

I did not need my sister to read a map for me.

Thirty warriors waited near the eastern forest. I gave them the route Arden had prepared months earlier.

The river crossing was marked in blue.

The old mine road was marked in red.

I thought red meant the fastest route.

Arden had always added notes in the margins. This copy had none.

We entered the mine road before noon.

The first trap opened beneath our lead vehicle.

Silver wire snapped across the road.

The second trap exploded.

Metal tore through my side.

My wolf screamed.

I shifted before I hit the ground, but the silver moved with me. It burned through fur, muscle, and blood.

The last thing I heard was a warrior shouting Arden’s name.

Not mine.

Arden’s.

I woke in Greyhaven Medical Center.

Father sat beside the bed.

His shirt was stained with my blood.

“The others?”

Alive.’

“The silver?”

“Removed.”

His answer came too slowly.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

The doctor entered.

Silver poisoning had damaged my kidneys and bone marrow. My wolf could heal ordinary injuries, but not while traces of silver remained in my blood.

I needed a transplant and stem cell treatment.

Close relatives had the best chance of matching.

Brielle stood outside the room.

Lenora held her shoulders.

“You need to test her,” Father said.

Brielle stepped back.

“No.”

“It is only a blood test.”

“And if I match?”

No one answered.

Her face went white.

“You expect me to give him part of my body?”

“He is your brother,” Father said.

“Half-brother.”

Lenora whispered her name.

Brielle began to cry.

“Why should I risk my health because Declan made a mistake?”

Father ruse.

“Watch your words.”

“It isn’t fair!”

The room became still.

Father stared at her.

Brielle wiped her face.

“You always said what belongs to one child shouldn’t be taken for another. My body belongs to me.”

Father slapped her.

The sound cracked through the hospital room.

Brielle held her cheek and looked at him in shock.

“What did I say that was wrong?”

Her voice shook.

“You taught me that.”

Father’s hand dropped.

I closed my eyes.

Arden’s watch breaking beneath my boot returned to me.

Now no one has it.

That’s fair.

I had said those words.

I had believed them.

Lenora pulled Brielle into the hall.

Father sat again.

For a long time, neither of us spoke.

“Call Arden,” I said.

Shame made the words difficult.

Father looked at me.

She will come for you.”

He sounded certain

I was not.

“What if she doesn’t?”

Father opened the contact saved under Arden’s name.

His first call went unanswered.

So did the second.

On the third, she picked up.