Chapter 4

Renzo’s POV

“JADE!”

Her name ripped out of my throat before I even understood what was happening.

She toppled backward, her knees buckling, her eyes unfocused, her lips parting in a soft, strangled gasp. And before my mind could catch up, my body moved.

I lunged forward.

My chest collided with hers just as the side of her head nearly slammed into the hard floor. I caught her, barely. Her head dropped against my shoulder, her limbs limp, her skin cold.

“Fuck, Renzo, is she....?!” Ryder’s voice cracked.

“I don’t know,” I snapped, lowering her carefully, “I have no idea what is wrong with her.”

Ronan stood frozen for a split second, horror and guilt twisting his usually arrogant expression.

“Get the physician. NOW!” I barked at him.

Ronan jolted as if electrocuted and dashed out of the room.

My heart hammered violently, too violently. I laid Jade gently on the bed, pulling the blanket over her trembling body. Her breathing was shallow. Her lashes fluttered weakly, but she didn’t wake.

Ryder hovered near the bedside, voice low and tight. “Brother…. what’s wrong with her? Is she alright?”

I didn’t answer.

Couldn’t answer.

My wolf was pacing, no, growling, circling inside me like a caged animal ready to tear down walls. Every time Jade’s chest rose too slowly, my wolf snapped. Every time her breath hitched, he snarled.

It made no sense.

I hate her. I despise everything about her.

She betrayed us. She ruined us. She broke us.

The sight of her disgusts me.

So why does my chest feel like someone is squeezing it?

Why does my throat feel tight?

Why am I terrified?

I leaned closer. Her face looked.… peaceful. Innocent. Too innocent. It pissed me off just looking at it.

“That’s not real,” I muttered under my breath. “Don’t act like you’re harmless. You’re not.”

My wolf disagreed by growling loudly in my chest.

Damn him.

The door burst open. Ronan rushed back in with the physician, a middle aged man with graying sideburns, a balding crown, and sharp worried eyes. He smelled of herbs, antiseptic, and old books. His hands trembled slightly as he took in the sight before him.

Ryder immediately stepped forward, sounding breathless. “She just collapsed, we don’t know what’s wrong with her. She won’t wake up.”

The physician’s gaze flicked from Ryder to Jade. “How did she collapse?”

Ronan swallowed hard. His voice was stoic, but I heard the guilt under it. “I… I yanked her head up by her hair. She was being spanked. Then she just…. fell.”

The physician shot him a look, part shock, part frustration, but I stepped forward, cutting off whatever judgment he was about to spit.

“Listen carefully,” I said, my voice iced steel. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, and I don’t care. What I know is that if she dies right now.…” I leaned closer, my eyes narrowing, “…you die with her. Immediately.”

The man froze. He swallowed once. Twice.

Then he nodded briskly and rushed to her side.

He examined her, pulse, pupil reaction, her head, her breathing. His hands moved quickly, muttering small observations under his breath.

“Step out,” he said firmly. “I need space.”

At first, I wanted to refuse. My wolf growled again.

But I forced myself to move.

We stepped out of the room, and the door clicked shut.

Instantly, Ronan began pacing, long strides back and forth, running his hands through his hair until it stood on end. Ryder leaned against the wall, staring at the floor with unfocused eyes.

For three boys who supposedly hated Jade Knight…

we looked like we were waiting to hear if our hearts would restart.

Ryder finally muttered, “We look pathetic. She’s just unconscious, it's not like...."

“She’s not ‘just anything,’” Ronan snapped. “She... she fucking collapsed, Ryder. What if...”

“Shut it,” I said sharply. “Both of you.”

They grew quiet, but the tension was suffocating.

Minutes passed. Or maybe it was hours. My wolf hadn’t stopped pacing once.

Finally, the door opened. The doctor stepped out, wiping his hands on his coat.

“Well?” I demanded.

“She seemed to have had a recent trauma to her head,” he said.

My jaw tightened.

When we went to inspect the hall we had told her to clean earlier in school, we met her on the floor, she claimed she slipped while cleaning the hall. But we didn't listen. We thought she was just being dramatic as usual. We ignored her.

“And?” Ryder pressed.

“She’s extremely stressed,” the physician continued. “Overworked, sleep deprived, and severely hypoglycemic. Her body collapsed because it couldn’t keep up. I’ve administered IV fluids. She should wake up soon, but we need to take her for an MRI scan to ensure the head trauma didn’t cause lasting damage.”

He bowed slightly and hurried off, as if afraid we’d ask more questions he didn’t want to answer.

Silence filled the hallway we stood as he left.

Ronan finally whispered, “What if she dies?”

“She’s not dying,” I said flatly.

Ryder looked at me, eyebrows furrowed. “You sound… sure.”

“I am.”

“Why?” Ronan asked. “Why are you so certain?”

I stepped toward them, my voice low. “Because she owes us.”

They both stared at me.

“She is indebted to us for what she did,” I continued. “She cannot die until we say she can. She cannot leave this world without our permission.”

Ryder exhaled slowly. “We shouldn’t feel… this unsettled.”

“No,” I said firmly. “We shouldn’t.”

Ronan lowered his gaze briefly. “But… we do.”

My teeth clenched. I hated hearing that out loud. Hated feeling it. Hated knowing my wolf reacted to her pain more violently than to any threat we’ve ever faced.

“She is nothing,” I forced out. “She is a liar. A betrayer. A stain on this pack.”

“Then why did we panic when she collapsed?” Ryder whispered.

No one answered.

Because none of us had an answer.

Because deep down, buried under everything we built up to hate her….

the old bond wasn’t dead.

It was wounded, bleeding, but not gone.

Ronan let out a shaky breath. “Brother… what do we do when she wakes?”

My jaw flexed. I inhaled deeply once. Twice.

“When she wakes,” I said in a cold, controlled voice, “we remind ourselves who she is. What she’s done. The pain she caused us."

I met both their eyes, firm.

“There is no room for pity here.”

Ryder nodded slowly. “Understood.”

Ronan choked down whatever emotion lingered in his throat. “Right.”

I turned back toward the closed door.

“She will wake,” I murmured.

“And when she does, we will not falter again, cause she doesn't deserve to see us like this."