Chapter 597: Losing Him

Alaric didn’t feel the pain at first. Not until Violet’s face crumbled in terror, her golden eyes wide with horror. Then he looked down.

Not just one, but two gaping holes stared back at him from his chest.

It turned out Patrick’s men hadn’t all been killed. One had survived, and in the single moment the pack let their guard down, he did the one thing left since they had failed to destroy the North pack: kill its heir. Without hesitation, he fired two silver bullets straight into Alaric’s chest.

The crowd froze. Shock slammed into them like ice water.

Hannah was there when it happened. Like everyone else, she had been stunned into silence at the sight of Violet and Alaric floating in the air, darkness and lightning curling around them like gods.

For the first time in her life, she had felt real hope. This was the savior she had been waiting for. Violet was the one who could end Ziva’s tyrancy. That was the moment Hannah decided: she would tell Violet the truth, no matter the cost.

But before that thought could bloom, she saw the bullets fly past her eyes and slam into Alaric. Hannah felt Violet’s pain crash into her own chest. Without thinking, she moved. Fury and instinct carried her forward as she seized the bastard by the neck and snapped it in one brutal motion. His body hit the dirt with a sickening thud.

Violet barely registered the sight of that strange maid from earlier. She saw only Alaric.

"Alaric!" She was already moving, catching him as his legs gave way—though Griffin reached them first, lowering him gently to the ground.

Violet dropped beside him, hands cradling his cheeks. Her voice shook, ragged with panic. "Hey, you’re going to be alright... you hear me? You’ll be fine."

Griffin ripped his shirt open, revealing the wound. Violet’s stomach churned at the sight of blood pouring from the holes.

"Why isn’t he healing?!" Her voice trembled with fear.

Griffin’s jaw tightened. He looked her dead in the eye. "Silver."

The words hit her like a slap across the face. Violet froze, horror etched across her face. "No... no, no, no..." She turned and screamed at the pack, her voice raw, and desperate. "He needs a healer! Bring me a healer now!"

But the pack members only exchanged helpless glances. Their faces were pale, their eyes wet with grief. They had no healer. They relied on science, not magic.

"Make way!" Ace shouted as he made his way over, dropping to his knees beside his brother.

"Hold him still," he barked, his voice hoarse as he pressed both hands down hard on Alaric’s chest, the blood welling between his fingers. Violet sobbed beside him, trying to help, but her trembling hands only slipped uselessly against the gore.

Alpha Caspian appeared at that moment. "Alaric, son!" He crouched down on the other side, the deep line carved into his brow betraying the fear he usually never showed. But even as Ace fought to hold the bleeding, the blood kept soaking through.

Alaric’s lashes fluttered. His lips parted into the faintest smile as his gaze found Violet. It wasn’t the cocky grin he often wore, but a bittersweet one. "Don’t cry... " he rasped, his voice thin, barely audible over the ringing in her ears. "I’ll be okay..."

But Violet only shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. She knew he wasn’t okay. Not at all.

Frustrated, Griffin ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Shouldn’t you move him to the pack hospital already? You’re the damn North Pack, your healthcare is topnotch!"

Ace and Caspian exchanged a look. Both men knew the truth but didn’t want to say it aloud. Finally, Caspian did. "We move him now, he dies faster."

Griffin’s jaw clenched. "So what then? We just watch him bleed out?"

"We have to remove the silver first,"

Ace snapped his head toward him. "And with what, Father? We don’t have the tools here. No clamps, no sterilizers, nothing. You know that. It would take time to go back to get that and Alaric doesn’t have that."

"I don’t care!" Caspian thundered, veins bulging in his neck. "I’ll pull it out with my own hands if I must—"

"I’ll do it."

They froze at Violet’s voice. She lifted her hand, and it lengthened into sharp black-tipped claws. "Silver doesn’t affect me."

Ace and Caspian both sucked in a breath. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. They knew what those claws meant. Violet wasn’t human. She was just like them.

Caspian gave a stiff nod. "Do it."

Ace turned to Griffin. "Hold him down. No matter what, don’t let him move."

Violet’s throat bobbed as she looked down at Alaric, her voice breaking. "I’m so sorry, love..." She straddled him to pin him steady, tears dripping onto his bare chest as she pressed a claw against the wound. "I’m so sorry."

The moment her claw pierced his flesh, Alaric screamed. His back arched violently, lightning crackling across his skin as if his body itself rebelled against the pain. Violet sobbed through it, whispering the same words again and again. "I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Just hold on."

Her claws scraped against the metal, and with a wet, sickening sound, she pulled out the first silver bullet. She dropped it, the chunk of cursed metal sizzling against the ground. Blood gushed in its wake.

Violet searched for the second one immediately while Alaric’s roar in pain, veins bulging against his temples as Griffin gritted his teeth, holding his brother’s shoulders down. Violet finally hooked the second bullet and yanked it free.

Breathless, Violet grabbed Alaric’s hand, her tear-streaked face lifting in fragile hope. "There, it’s out. You can heal now. Please heal."

But her hope shattered when nothing happened. The wounds bled heavier, because the silver had already spread, poisoning his blood. Removing the bullets hadn’t saved him, it had only unleashed the bleeding.

Alaric’s skin was pale, drained of color. His lips turned blue while his chest heaved in shallow, ragged jerks, as if breathing was a war. His fingers, once gripping Violet’s hand, slipped loose.

"No, no, no..." Violet shook his hand furiously, trying to force life back into him. "Don’t you dare leave me!"

Ace recognized it immediately, the terror in his own voice breaking as he shouted, "He’s going into shock! Keep pressure on the wound, NOW!"

Caspian growled through clenched teeth.

"We’re losing him!"