Chapter 38
LEAH
The IV in my arm pumps in a saline solution now. But there is another bag of yellowish liquid that they’re waiting to administer.
Chemotherapy.
Adam came in with an oncologist and they outlined a treatment plan. I didn’t pay attention to the specifics of it. I trust that Adam will guide me toward the best treatment. And they seem to have a plan mapped out and the chemo ready to go. They’re waiting on some last blood tests that Adam ordered and then I’ll begin treatment.
I stare at that bag of chemicals like it’s an enemy-and yet it’s my only hope.
My chances of survival are low. The oncologist that visited with me was very clear about that. I appreciate the honesty.
He talked about treatment options, timelines, percentages of success and failure.
This is an advanced form of liver ca ncer and it is Stage IV.
There is less than a 5% chance of survival. 5% is something I suppose. But I’m not optimistic of beating those odds.
It’s more about buying time. There’s a chance this can halt the progression for a few months. And for now, I’m wiling to take that.
My father and my pack have been manipulated by Aaron and the events he set in motion forced my father to take his own life.
There has to be reparation for this.
Aaron can not get away with what he did.
I’m going to undergo treatment because I need to live long enough to make Aaron pay.
My brother sits at my bedside. “The pack wants to conduct the ceremony to bury father. I told them to go ahead and make the arrangements.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
That doesn’t leave much time. The sun is already setting. “You should head home then, to prepare.”
Liam nods. He squeezes my hand for a moment. “I’m sorry, Leah. About all of this.” He means the ca ncer too. “We can try and turn you…”
“You heard what Adam said after the oncologist left. I’m not strong enough to survive it.” And I think he’s right. I feel so
weak. “If this treatment works, if it pushes the discase back, then, yes. I will undergo the ritual and be thankful for it.”
He grimaces. Because even though he proposes that I undergo the transformation, that’s not to say that it will work either.
Even for the healthiest of humans, only a handful have been successfully ‘turned’.
It’s a death sentence, more than likely.
“Go home. The pack’s bound to be in an uproar. They need you there.”
He nods. “I’ll come back for you well before midnight. Or I’ll send someone.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t want to miss the funeral ceremony.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Leah.”
“How long have you known that my marriage isn’t valid?” I ask him. I’ve lived among Aaron’s pack for a decade and it’s news to
I wonder who else knows. My gods, Aaron has made a fo ol of
“I only just discovered it.” He stares at where he holds my hand. “I should’ve done something. I shouldn’t have let father pledge
you in the first place. All those years ago, we should’ve found another way.”
I swallow hard. “It’s in the past.”
And really, it doesn’t matter now. But memories surface. Of calling my dad and Liam, begging them to let me come back home. I’d been an angry, scared, heartbroken thirteen year old girl. And though I begged and pleaded that I missed them and needed them…
My dad said no. I needed to do my part for the pack.
Then neither he nor my brother accepted my calls for almost a
year.
I force a smile. “You’re a good man and you’ll make a great Alpha. Don’t waste your time here. Pack comes first.”
“Always,” he agrees.
Which makes me think, he might talk about feeling bad about my marriage to Aaron, but if he’d been in my father’s shoes, he would’ve done the same da mn thing.
