Alpha’s Regret After His Pregnant Luna Left Chapter 190

(Audrey’s POV)

“Elder!” I cried out as the elderly she-wolf collapsed in my arms, her frail body suddenly heavy against mine.

Florian Stormhowl moved with blinding speed, catching her before she could fall to the floor. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, staining her pale lips crimson.

“Get the pack healers!” Florian commanded, his voice cutting through the shocked silence that had fallen over the room.

The Beta wolf by the door immediately snapped to attention. “Is there a medical team available?” he asked, already moving toward the exit.

“The wolf healers are already waiting outside,” Mr. Shadowcrest responded, his voice oddly detached. “They were here for… Serena’s needs.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me-healers brought to tend to a fake Serena would now fight to save the real Serena’s grandmother.

Within moments, the room filled with pack healers in their traditional white robes. They worked with practiced efficiency, checking Elder Shadowcrest’s vitals and preparing her for transport.

“We need to get her to the Wolf Medical Center immediately,” the head healer announced, her voice tense with urgency.

I watched helplessly as they transferred the unconscious elder onto a stretcher. Her face had gone ash-gray, the lines of age suddenly deeper, more pronounced.

“I’m coming with you,” I insisted, moving to follow the healers.

Florian grasped my arm. “We’ll take my car,” he said quietly. “We’ll be right behind them.”

The drive to the Wolf Medical Center passed in a blur. I stared out the window, my mind racing with possibilities and fears.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.

Florian’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel. “Elder Shadowcrest is stronger than she looks,” he replied, but I could hear the concern beneath his confident tone.

By the time we arrived, Elder Shadowcrest had already been whisked away to the emergency healing chamber. The waiting area was eerily quiet, the scent of wolfsbane and healing herbs heavy in the air.

I paced anxiously, unable to sit still. “I should have noticed something was wrong,” I muttered, guilt gnawing at me. “She didn’t look well even before opening the report.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Florian said firmly. “Something else is at play here.”

Before I could respond, the medical center doors burst open. The Shadowcrest family-Mr. Shadowcrest, Mrs. Shadowcrest, and Emma-strode in with the entitled air of powerful pack wolves.

Emma’s eyes locked onto me immediately, her beautiful face contorting with hatred. She stalked forward and shoved me hard.

“You!” she spat. “You’re a curse upon our pack! Ever since you appeared, everything has gone wrong!”

I straightened my shoulders and met her gaze coolly. “The wolf in trouble is my grandmother. What business is it of yours?”

Emma’s laughter was sharp and mocking. “Your grandmother? Based on what? Some questionable bloodline verification from the Stormhowl Pack’s healing center?” Her eyes flicked to Florian with obvious suspicion. “And how can we trust this Northern Wolf Council test either? Who knows what fur samples Alpha Stormhowl provided them with!”

Mrs. Shadowcrest stepped forward, positioning herself beside her daughter in a unified front.

“You should know your place, outsider,” she said coldly. “This is a Shadowcrest pack matter. You have no standing here.”

I turned to Mr. Shadowcrest, looking for some support, some recognition-anything that might indicate he felt a connection to me.

His expression remained distant, unreadable. “We need to be cautious about accepting such extraordinary claims,” he said diplomatically. “There have been too many deceptions already.”

Something cold and heavy settled in my chest. These wolves-who might be my birth parents-looked at me with nothing but hostility and suspicion.

“Enough,” Florian interrupted, his Alpha presence filling the room. “Elder Shadowcrest’s condition is what matters now. We can resolve identity disputes later.”

Emma wasn’t deterred. “She shouldn’t even be here! This is a family matter! She’s clearly responsible for what happened to our elder!”

Florian’s golden eyes flashed dangerously. “What was going to happen would happen eventually,” he said, his cryptic words sending a chill down my spine.

The next hour crawled by with excruciating slowness. I sat apart from the Shadowcrest family, acutely aware of the invisible divide between us. Florian remained standing, his tall figure like a sentinel between me and the others.

Finally, the pack healer emerged from the emergency healing chamber. His face was grave as he approached Mr. Shadowcrest.

“Alpha Shadowcrest,” he began, his voice low but carrying clearly in the silent waiting area. “The elder hasn’t suffered a relapse of her old condition-she’s been poisoned with silver extract.”

Gasps echoed through the room. Silver extract-one of the most dangerous substances to wolves, attacking our very essence.

“Are you certain?” Mr. Shadowcrest demanded, his composure cracking for the first time.

The healer nodded grimly. “The toxicity levels are unmistakable. We’re still identifying the exact formulation, but it’s attacking her nervous system and causing significant damage to her liver and kidneys.”

“Will she…” Mrs. Shadowcrest’s voice faltered.

“We’ve stabilized her condition,” the healer explained. “But had a wolfsbane antidote been administered within thirty minutes of ingestion, her prognosis would be much better. As it stands, she’s in a healing sleep. We can’t predict when-or if-she’ll regain consciousness.”

A heavy silence fell over the room as the implications sank in. Someone had deliberately poisoned Elder Shadowcrest-likely someone in this very room.

Emma’s accusing eyes found me instantly. “It was her!” she shouted, pointing a trembling finger in my direction. “She must have poisoned our elder when no one was looking!”

Something snapped inside me. Before I could think better of it, I crossed the room and slapped Emma Shadowcrest hard across the face.

The sharp crack of skin against skin seemed to echo in the shocked silence that followed.

“You know better than anyone who benefits from the elder’s poisoning!” I snarled, my wolf rising dangerously close to the surface.

I had seen Emma’s hand relax at the exact moment Elder Shadowcrest collapsed. I had noticed her barely concealed satisfaction. She had expected something different from the Stormhowl Pack’s bloodline verification ritual-perhaps another false result like the first one. When Florian outsmarted her by arranging a second verification, she panicked.

The timing of the poisoning was too convenient. I was certain Emma had planned to secretly administer the wolfsbane antidote after securing her position in the pack, playing the hero while eliminating any threat to her status.

Mrs. Shadowcrest lunged forward, her claws extending instinctively. “How dare you touch my daughter!” she shrieked. “If Alpha Stormhowl wasn’t here, the whole pack would tear you apart!”

I stared at her, suddenly struck by a profound question: Could this hateful she-wolf truly be my birth mother? The very thought made my stomach turn.

“The Shadowcrest pack is truly rotten inside,” Florian remarked, his voice deceptively casual as he stepped between us. “Come, Audrey. Let’s check on Elder Shadowcrest.”

He led me away from the seething Shadowcrest wolves and toward the healing chambers. The pack healer, clearly recognizing Florian’s Alpha status, didn’t try to stop us.

Inside the healing chamber, Elder Shadowcrest lay still and pale against the white sheets. Various tubes connected her to healing herb infusions. The steady beep of monitoring equipment was the only sound in the quiet room.

I approached the bed hesitantly, my heart aching at the sight of her vulnerable form. She had shown me kindness when no one else did, accepted me without question.

After a few minutes of silent vigil, Florian gently touched my shoulder. “Let’s get some food,” he suggested. “You need your strength.”

In the elevator, I voiced my concerns. “Should we leave her like this? They might try to harm her again.”

Florian’s expression was calculatingly calm. “Though Mr. Shadowcrest manages the pack business, Elder Shadowcrest is the true owner of the hunting grounds. She’s devoted to wolf charity and has left a pack will with unknown contents. No one would dare let anything happen to her until they know what’s in that will.”

I stared at him, suddenly understanding the complex web of pack politics at play. Even in her vulnerable state, Elder Shadowcrest was protected by self-interest.

A strange courage filled me as I met Florian’s golden gaze. “I really am Serena Shadowcrest, aren’t I?”