I Returned the Heart, but the Wolf King Gave Me His Chapter 08

I Returned the Heart, but the Wolf King Gave Me His Chapter 08

Alpha Michael’s pov

“Patricia Moore!”

My heart seized. The pain was so fierce I thought I might die from it.

Then I heard someone speak.

“That woman’s got the Moon Goddess watching over her, I swear. She’s alive!”

“I heard she jumped out right before the truck hit.”

“Yeah! I saw her when they were loading her into the ambulance.”

“Just some scrapes and bruises. Nothing major.”

The words loosened the fist clamped around my heart. The frantic pounding in my chest eased- just barely.

I spun around and ran for my car.

I drove straight to Wolf Pack Hospital.

But when I pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine, I couldn’t move.

I didn’t know how to face Patricia Moore anymore.

All this time, I’d used Elizabeth’s heart as my excuse. My excuse to hurt her, over and over.

Now she had given it back.

What excuse did I have left?

I sat in the car for a long time. Until I saw Patricia Moore walk out of the hospital.

My hand moved to the door handle on instinct. But just as she was about to see me-

I ducked behind the corner and listened as she made a phone call.

“Mom, I have good news. I’m coming home soon.”

“The pack doctor said you can stop chemo. I’m coming to take you home.”

“I’ll be with you for the next year. We’ll go to Brightmoon Pack together, just like you always

wanted.”

“Mom, I’m not crying. I just haven’t seen you in so long. I missed you so much.”

Patricia Moore’s voice cracked at the end.

I stood there, frozen.

I remembered a night when Patricia Moore knelt on the floor, sobbing, begging me.

“Alpha Michael-my mother has terminal cancer. She doesn’t have much time left. Please-just let

me go take care of her.”

I thought she was faking it. I said no.

Now, listening to her on this call-

Something hit me so hard I couldn’t breathe. I turned and stumbled away.

I pulled out my phone and called Jack.

“Jack, I need you to find out what stage Patricia Moore’s mother’s cancer is at. Now.”

After I hung up, I sat in the car and waited. An hour.

Then Jack called back.

“Alpha Michael… Patricia Moore’s mother is end-stage. Chemo’s not working anymore. It’s just a

matter of time now.”

I didn’t hear the rest.

My ears were ringing. My mind kept pulling me back to the first time I ever saw Patricia Moore.

She and Elizabeth had just finished dance practice. She stood beside Elizabeth, eyes bright with laughter, and called me her big brother.

That was the first time I ever felt my own heart beat.

What have I done?

These three years—

What the hell have I done?

The countless ways I’d hurt Patricia Moore crashed over me in waves.

I tilted my head back. Tears slid down my face.

I made a decision.

“Jack, I want you to make sure Patricia Moore gets home safely. And find a way to get her money-a

lot of it. Make it look clean.”

My voice came out raw. When I finished, I looked back toward Patricia Moore’s room.

I didn’t leave that night. I sat in the car and watched until the sun came up.

For the next two weeks, I drove to Wolf Pack Hospital every single day. Parked. Watched. Waited,

Until the day Patricia Moore was discharged.

My car followed her all the way to the airport. There, I gave my pack guards explicit orders.

“Your only job now is protecting Patricia Moore. Nothing else matters.”

“I don’t want her to get so much as a scratch. If anything happens-anything at all-you contact me

immediately.”

“I don’t care what time it is. You call me.”

I watched Patricia Moore until she disappeared from sight.

Then I turned and dialed Wolf Pack Hospital.

Elizabeth’s heart-I’d already sent it to the hospital.

But the pack doctor told me it was useless. After too long at room temperature, after too much jostling, the heart couldn’t be transplanted anymore.

The call connected. I didn’t waste time.

“Is my heart a match for Patricia Moore?”

“Alpha Michael, yes-it’s compatible.”

“But you’re not seriously planning to give your heart to Patricia Moore?!”

“That’s out of the question!”

“You’re the Alpha. Coldcreek Pack cannot risk losing you!”

The pack doctor was frantic, trying to talk me down.

“Do not disobey an Alpha’s command.”

I hung up.