Chapter 5: Fractures

Daniel's POV

I stood before the full-length mirror in the dressing room, making one final adjustment to my tie.

Tonight marked the global launch of Sterling Group's advanced intelligent medical care project—a venture that had consumed countless resources and effort, finally ready to debut before the world. I studied my reflection with a satisfied nod. Tonight demanded perfection.

This launch would signal to the entire werewolf market that it was about to fall squarely into my hands.

"Mr. Daniel, the car is ready. We can leave at your convenience," my assistant announced, pushing open the door and standing aside respectfully.

"Let's go."

I had barely turned around when my phone buzzed insistently in my coat pocket. The name flashing across the screen made my brow furrow instinctively.

Della.

I pressed the answer button, but before I could speak, a woman's broken, hoarse sob poured through the speaker. "Daniel, save me. I'm in so much pain."

"Della? What happened?" My voice dropped as my sharp hearing caught the heavy, bestial panting on her end—the unmistakable sound of a struggling wolf.

"I don't know. I don't know why I'm suddenly shifting. I can't control it! It hurts so much... my bones feel like they're shattering. Daniel, please, help me..."

Her anguished whimper struck me like a hammer blow, rooting me in place.

She was the sister of the omega who had died saving my life years ago. I had sworn to protect her for the rest of her days.

"Don't be afraid. I'm on my way." I pocketed my phone without hesitation and turned to my assistant.

"Change of plans. Caesar Hotel."

My assistant froze, his face draining of color in an instant.

"But Mr. Daniel, global media and investors from major Packs are already assembled at the venue. If we reroute now, you'll never make it in time for the opening!"

"Alyia's there. The launch won't fall apart," I cut him off coldly, striding toward the exit with long steps. "She's more than capable of handling the media. Right now, Della needs me more."

In my mind, Alyia had always been unshakable—the perfect Vice President, my secret luna, a woman who never required my concern.

But Della was different. She was fragile.

The moment I pushed open the door to the presidential suite, a wave of uncontrolled, volatile werewolf energy slammed into me.

The room was in ruins. Expensive curtains hung in shredded tatters. Della huddled in the corner by the floor-to-ceiling window, her slender frame wracked with violent tremors. Gray wolf fur had begun sprouting uncontrollably along her arms and neck, her nails sharpened into vicious claws.

"Daniel!"

The instant she saw me, she lunged forward like a drowning woman grasping for a lifeline, practically crawling into my arms. She clutched desperately at my shirt collar, her entire body shaking with sobs.

"I'm so scared. Am I dying? Am I... about to join Lucy?"

Hearing her mention her sister Lucy made my heart clench painfully, guilt crashing over me in overwhelming waves.

I locked my arm around her narrow waist and forced out the gentle, commanding presence of an Alpha King, wrapping her completely in my scent. Lowering my head, I examined the shifting patterns spreading across her neck, my voice steady and soothing.

"Don't talk nonsense. You're not dying. This is just a normal loss of control over your wolf form. It happens. The doctor's already on his way. Once he arrives, this will be resolved."

"Mmm, so hot..."

Della burrowed into the crook of my neck like a frightened pup seeking security, tilting her face upward. Her long, pale throat lay exposed and vulnerable beneath my gaze as she instinctively, greedily inhaled my cool, woodsy scent.

The presence of an Alpha King held absolute calming power over lower-ranking werewolves. Enveloped in my embrace and scent, her ragged breathing gradually steadied, and the wild gray fur receded slowly from her skin.

Half an hour later, my private physician finally arrived and swiftly administered a powerful sedative serum to Della, who now lay collapsed on the bed.

The medication worked quickly. Della had fully returned to her human form, her face ashen as she sank into unconscious sleep beneath the covers.

"What's her condition?" I stood at the bedside, my expression dark as I addressed the doctor.

The doctor put away the syringe, his face graver than I had ever seen it.

"Mr. Daniel, this isn't ordinary loss of control. Della is suffering from Lupine Dysregulation Syndrome—an extremely rare and lethal genetic disorder among werewolves. With current medical technology, there's no known cure."

"No cure?" Shock flickered through my green eyes. If even Sterling Group's technology couldn't treat this, then she...

The doctor sighed, glancing at me with visible reluctance.

"However, fortunately, by the time I arrived, Della's genetic chaos had already been significantly mitigated. Mr. Daniel, during future episodes, you could allow her more exposure to—or rather, more reliance upon—your Alpha scent. Only your superior presence can forcibly suppress her instability."

My brow furrowed sharply.

More exposure? My scent?

I was a married Alpha. Though this marriage existed only because of the Moon Goddess's decree, though Alyia and I shared no emotional bond, the fact remained that staying alone with Della throughout her episode, using my scent to soothe her—this had already crossed a line.

Sensing my resistance, Della's long lashes fluttered on the bed. She opened her eyes weakly.

"Doctor, please stop."

Her eyes reddened as tears slid down her temples, her voice trembling with guilt.

"How can you put Daniel in such a difficult position? Lucy saved his life willingly all those years ago. These past two years, Daniel has done more than enough for our family, for me. I absolutely cannot burden him further. I can't trouble him like this."

Even as she spoke, she struggled to sit up, her frail body swaying precariously.

Watching her torment herself with guilt and self-reproach, the last remnants of my hesitation evaporated.

"It's no trouble." I stepped forward and pressed my hand firmly on her shoulder, my voice resolute.

"Focus on recovering. Whenever you feel unwell from now on, come to me immediately."

"Really? Daniel, you're so good to me." Della's tears turned to smiles as she looped her arms around my neck.

"Ring ring ring—"

A sharp, insistent ringtone suddenly shattered the intimate atmosphere in the room.

Irritated, I gently pushed Della aside and pulled out my phone. It was my assistant calling from the launch venue.

I answered, but before I could ask about the event's progress, my assistant's voice—frantic to the point of breaking—exploded through the speaker.

"Mr. Daniel! We have a catastrophe! The media screens at the launch just broadcast footage of you and Miss Della in the hotel room together! The entire venue has erupted!"

What?!

My expression turned thunderous in an instant, my grip crushing the phone. Della's face went pale with shock.