Ember's pov

I woke up to the sound of William calling out my name, and reached out to cling to William's shirt,


"Paris," I said again, and this time William shook his head,

"William," he said as he helped me sit up,

"I know it's you, but, I … I'm not sure Paris is okay." just as the words left my mouth, my phone rang and I scrambled to get it from my purse.


"Hello?" I said into the receiver and froze for what felt like a lifetime, as the man on the other line relayed his message, "Thank you, I'll be there soon." I said when the call was over and slowly brought the phone away from my ear.

"my God, Em. What is it? You're as pale as a ghost."


I looked up at him, my heart in my throat, "it was the police. William, Paris was in an accident."

I struggled to stand, and wobbled so that William had to support me,

"you aren't in the right condition at the time, Ember," he said firmly and I shook my head,

"I'm not sure there is a right condition for this one. The police sounded serious, William. If I don’t go, who will? Kate?" I asked weakly and looked at him with desperation, and watched him finally relent.

"fine. Just fine. But, I'm taking you."

He drove us to the hospital where Paris was, and I met Luna Lara at the ICU. According to the nurse, the accident had been so serious and required surgery. So he needed to be in the ICU until he was completely out of danger. I did my best to look brave, but on the inside, I was slowly falling apart.

"you!" she said angrily outside the doors of Paris's ward.

I grit my teeth at the sore sight of her and have to remind myself that this was neither the place nor the time for a brawl with Lara. But even then, I could not help the death glare that escaped me.

"you're the reason my son is in this place, and you have the audacity to show up here?"

"I didn’t put Paris in here. And believe me, I'm just as heartbroken as you are." I said, trying to be calm,

"heartbroken? You? I believe to be heartbroken, you would actually have to have had a heart In the first place. But the likes of you are only fit for one thing, and that's to take and take, and try to leech off people of a high status."

"be careful, Lara," William said and she turned to him,

"don’t tell me what I will and won't say. That tramp is nothing but a gold digger, and I'm more than sure that she's pleased with the situation. As it stands, I'm sure she sees all of this as working in her favor, because she would get to have all of Paris's belongings, should something happen to him. But I promise you, not one dollar will you get, as long as I'm breathing."

I could only look at her, shocked that at a time such as this, she would be able to spit out such an amount of vermin. But William wasn't so patient, he took her by the elbow, and by the look in her eyes, I was sure he caused her pain,

"You let me go, right this instant."

"I warned you to be careful."

"I rushed to William's side and put a hand on his shoulder,

"Not here, William. Not now. Please let her go." I said quietly. The last thing I wanted right then was a bloodbath.

He growled, and I saw the anger in his eyes, but he finally relented and let her go.

"animals." Lara spat, rubbing at her arm, but I simply ignored her, and watched as a nurse approached us with a friendly smile,

"Hello, are you all here for Alpha Paris?" she asked, and William and I nodded,

"I'm his mother," Lara announced, and the nurse nodded,

"It's my pleasure to tell you that his surgery was successful. At the moment he is out of danger and The doctors are on clockwork to keep him stable," she said happily and sighed in great relief.

"Thank God." I breathed out and the nurse's smile turned compassionate,

"you keep hope alive, okay?" she said and I nodded.

"please excuse me," she said, and went to her duties and I turned to William,

"We might not be able to see him at the moment, but that's very good news, hm?"

"that he's out of danger? Certainly," he said and I nodded, thought for a moment, and got up,

"Let's go. Perhaps I could come to see him another day."

"good riddance." Lara spat, and I barely spared her a glance as William led me out of the ICU.

I didn't exactly hate hospitals, but sometimes, I couldn't help the sadness I felt whenever I was in one. Especially with passing through the ICU. Perhaps it was the subconscious understanding that there were a lot of people in that place that were going through so much. And now Paris was in there, and although he was out of danger, my pain was ten times worse.

I sighed when we got on the elevator and William put his arm around me, as though he could sense my sadness,

"he's going to be okay," he said, and in that moment I was grateful for a friend like William. He knew I wanted a divorce from Paris but didn't judge me for caring about him regardless.

"I know." I said, quietly. "but still."

"I know," he said too and sighed, led me out of the elevator when we reached our floor,

"Tell you what, how about, we leave our funk here at the front doors of this hospital and I find you something delicious to eat."

A giggle escaped my lips and I found myself nodding, "I'd like that a lot."

He took me home after we ate, and it was safe to say that we had a good time. But even then, my mind stayed on Paris, so that days later I took it upon myself to visit Paris at the hospital. He had been transferred to the recovery wing, and looked alive and vibrant, if only a little bit strained.

"I didn't really think you’d come again." he said, as I stood at the door, "come on in, don’t be a stranger."

"you know I came before?" I asked, walking in and taking the seat by his bedside,

"Mother told me."

"ahh," I said and nodded,

"She also told me about your friend."

There was a bite when he said 'friend' but I chose to ignore it.

"William. He brought me here."

"figured," he said and we were both quiet for a while.

I brought my bag closer to my chest, thinking about the divorce documents that were in them. I considered bringing them out and asking him to sign them so that we could be done once and for all. But for the life of me, I just couldn't bring myself to do it, not with how injured and beaten he was.

And wasn’t I just a bloody coward?

In any case, the sight of him had my wolf hurting and in pain.

"Are you in pain?" I asked softly and he shrugged,

"just a bit. But I'm healing nicely," he said, and I nodded,

"But, if you could help me with a bottle of water on the table?"

I turned to the table and nodded. I poured some water into a glass cup and got him a straw, fixed it, before bringing it to him.

"Here you go," I said, bringing it to his lips. He didn't open his mouth but stayed, looking into my eyes,

"problem?" I asked, tilting my head and smiling,

"It's just been a while," he said gently and brought his lips to the straw. "That's enough," he said when he had drunk the glass halfway, and I placed the glass on the table.

He held my hand before I sat once again, and smiled,

"It's also been too long since I had anyone fluff my pillows," he said, and I shook my head lightly, before indulging him, and my wolf purred at the close proximity I found myself in with him.

"You know, I'm really glad you're here. It's like you're here, and my wolf has the strength to finally begin to heal." he took my hand and gently drew circles around my hand with his thumb.

I wanted to withdraw, but my wolf was much too happy, much too content to be with Paris's wolf. Much like before.

But wasn't that the problem?

I once let my wolf have its way, and I only ended up with a broken heart. How was I to let myself fall into such a trap again?

Seeing Paris hurt might have made me keep from handing him the divorce papers, but I wasn't allowed to forget how much he hurt me. I wasn't allowed to forget the years I spent longing for his touch only for him to give it freely to Kate.

Perhaps I was unwilling to give him the divorce papers just then. But I was not ready to let go.

PARIS's POV

I didn’t lie about my wolf needing her to heal. Until she came, I think my wolf had simply been too weak, too unhappy to start my healing process. But now she was here, and it was as though every vibrant cell in my body had come alive.

“Like I’m here and your wolf feels alive? Did your head get hurt paris?” She asked with a light smile

“Maybe. Or maybe life just feels a whole lot better when you’re here.”

She turned to look at me and I saw the strain. It told me I was venturing into muddy waters , but I couldn’t help myself. My wolf missed her desperately.