Chapter 361: I’m Sorry Alpha

Day three of Lilith’s coma felt like the end of the world.

Nicholas stood at the window of Lilith’s room watching the sun rise over the destroyed estate grounds and felt absolutely nothing.

Numbness had become his default state. The only way to function when everything inside him was screaming that his mate was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Behind him, Dr. Aldric was examining Lilith with the quiet efficiency of someone who had seen too much death to be surprised by it anymore. Sebastian sat in the chair beside the bed holding Lilith’s hand like letting go would kill her immediately. Lucian paced near the door, unable to sit still, Zev’s restless energy making it impossible for him to be calm.

And Victoria stood at the foot of the bed with dark circles under her eyes and her hands clenched into fists, watching Dr. Aldric work with an expression that looked like she was preparing for war.

"Vital signs?" Nicholas asked without turning from the window.

Dr. Aldric was quiet for a moment. "Deteriorating. Heart rate is erratic. Blood pressure dropping. Body temperature below normal. And..." He stopped.

"And what?" Nicholas demanded.

"The necklace," Dr. Aldric said quietly. "It’s almost dead."

Nicholas turned from the window and looked at the crystal around Lilith’s neck.

Three days ago it had been glowing bright silver...pulsing with power strong enough to hold back a divine curse. Two days ago it had dimmed to pale grey. Yesterday it had faded to barely visible.

Now it was almost transparent. The light inside it so faint Nicholas had to look directly at it to even see the glow.

It was dying.

And when it died, Lilith would die with it.

"How long?" Sebastian asked, his voice rough.

Dr. Aldric looked at him with sympathy. "Hours. Maybe less. When the magic fails completely, her body won’t be able to sustain itself. The curse will finish what it started."

Sebastian’s grip on Lilith’s hand tightened. "There has to be something we can do. Some way to extend the necklace’s power or..."

"There isn’t," Dr. Aldric interrupted gently. "I’m sorry, Alpha. The magic in that crystal is beyond my ability to affect. All I can do is monitor her and make her as comfortable as possible."

"Comfortable," Lucian said bitterly from the doorway. "You mean prepare her to die."

Dr. Aldric didn’t deny it.

Nicholas felt rage surge through him...hot and violent and absolutely useless. He wanted to destroy something. Wanted to tear apart the room or the estate or the entire world until something gave him answers that did not end in Lilith’s death.

But rage would not save her.

Nothing would save her except the witch Victoria had contacted. And they had no idea when or if she would arrive.

"Leave us," Nicholas said to Dr. Aldric. "We’ll call you if anything changes."

Dr. Aldric nodded and left quietly.

The door closed behind him and the four of them were alone with Lilith’s unconscious body and the sound of her shallow breathing.

Nicholas moved to the bed and looked down at her.

She looked like she was sleeping. Peaceful. Like any moment she might open her eyes and smile at him and everything would be okay.

But through the bond Nicholas could feel the truth.

She was fading. Slipping further away with every hour that passed. The connection between them stretching thinner and thinner until soon there would be nothing left.

"The pack is falling apart," Lucian said into the silence.

Nicholas looked at his youngest brother. "What?"

"The pack," Lucian repeated. "They’re mourning. Seventeen warriors dead. Callum is organizing funerals but morale is..." He stopped. "They need to see their Alphas. Need to know we’re still standing. Still leading. But we’re all in here watching Lilith die and they don’t know what to do."

"What do you want me to do?" Nicholas asked. "Leave her? Go address the pack while she’s..."

"I want you to figure out how to be Alpha and mate at the same time," Lucian interrupted. "Because right now you’re neither. You’re just a man standing in a room waiting for someone he loves to die."

The words hit Nicholas like a physical blow.

Because Lucian was right.

Nicholas had been so focused on Lilith, on watching her breathe, on waiting for help to arrive, on desperately trying to hold onto the bond between them, that he had completely abandoned his responsibilities as Alpha.

The pack needed him. The estate needed to be rebuilt. The dead needed to be honored. And Nicholas had done none of it.

"The funerals," Nicholas said quietly. "When?"

"This afternoon," Lucian said. "Callum arranged everything. Pyre ceremony for the warriors. Coven rituals for Victoria’s people. The allied forces have already been returned to their territories."

Nicholas nodded mechanically. "I’ll be there."

"Will you?" Lucian challenged. "Or will you stay in this room staring at her until the necklace fails and she dies in front of you?"

"Lucian...." Sebastian started.

"No," Lucian interrupted. "Someone needs to say it. We’re all falling apart. Nicholas is abandoning the pack. You’re sitting in that chair like a statue. I’m so angry I can barely think straight. And Lilith is dying while we do nothing useful to stop it."

"We’re waiting for Elena," Victoria said sharply. "The witch I contacted. She’s the only one who might be able to save Lilith."

Sebastian’s head snapped toward her. "When is she coming?"

Victoria’s expression flickered with something that looked like desperation. "Soon."

"Soon?" Sebastian repeated. "That’s all you have? Soon?"

"She said she was preparing to come," Victoria said. "That she needed time to ensure she wasn’t followed by the vampire hunting her. But she’s coming. I know she is."

"When?" Sebastian demanded again. "Give me a timeline. Hours? Days? Weeks?"

"I don’t know!" Victoria snapped. "The portal communication doesn’t work like a phone call! I can’t just ask follow-up questions! She sent her response and the portal closed and now we wait!"