Chapter 193 You Didn’t Think She’d Leave

Ethan was asleep with a warm body curled against him when the hospital called.

Alpha Sebastian Hale had been admitted with severe abdominal pain.

Ethan knew Alpha Sebastian’s stomach history. Years ago, ulcers and bleeding had been routine until Eira rebuilt his life around regular meals, medication, and a strict list of foods to avoid. He had been stable for years.

So what the hell had happened?

And where was Eira?

A call like this should have gone to her first, then the Hale household, and only after that to him. If the hospital had called him directly, something in that chain had already fallen apart.

Ethan eased himself out of bed, pulled on yesterday’s jeans and a sweatshirt, and drove to Mercy General.

Alpha Sebastian was unconscious when he arrived, pale beneath the harsh hospital lights.

Ethan spent the night chasing down test results, speaking with the on-call physician, and making sure Alpha Sebastian received the medication he needed. By dawn, he had fallen asleep in the visitor’s chair beside the bed.

An hour later, a phone buzzing on the nightstand dragged him awake.

Not his phone.

Alpha Sebastian’s screen showed one name: Serena.

Ethan rubbed his eyes and answered.

"Hey, Serena."

"Ethan? You’re with Sebastian? Is he at the hospital?"

"Yeah. Severe abdominal pain. He’s been out since last night."

"Which hospital?"

"Mercy General. Text me when you’re close, and I’ll come down to meet you."

Serena didn’t ask whether she could see Alpha Sebastian. She simply hung up.

A moment later, Alpha Sebastian stirred.

"Ethan."

"Well, look who’s back." Ethan reached for the water pitcher. "What happened? You eat something that didn’t agree with you?"

"Water. Please."

Ethan filled a plastic cup and helped him sit up. Alpha Sebastian drank slowly, then sank back against the pillow.

Ethan folded his arms.

"Your stomach’s been fine for years. What happened?"

Alpha Sebastian stared at the ceiling.

"I went to see Eira."

Ethan’s expression changed.

"She dissolved our bond."

That was the piece Ethan hadn’t seen coming. He’d known their relationship was headed for a cliff, but not that Eira would take the final step so suddenly.

"You landed in the hospital because Eira dissolved the bond?"

"It’s already done."

"Did you sign?"

"She got me to sign."

Ethan frowned.

"Sebastian, nobody forced you to put your name on those papers."

"She got my father to push it through the Pack Council. The registry’s been updated. The bond is gone."

His voice cracked.

"She lied to me for a month. She said she was staying at the Thorne estate, but she was at Southridge the whole time. She even sent someone else to the fertility classes I arranged."

He pressed a hand to his stomach as another cramp twisted through him.

"A whole month, Ethan." His voice was thin. "She planned all of it."

Ethan reached for the call button.

"I’m fine."

"You’re sweating through the sheets."

"It’s not the ulcer."

Ethan paused, then leaned back in the chair.

Alpha Sebastian stared at the ceiling.

"She got me to sign. She kept me out of the house, had my father push the dissolution through the Pack Council, and never said a word."

"She was done talking."

Alpha Sebastian turned his head.

Ethan shrugged. "What did you want her to do? Ask permission?"

Alpha Sebastian looked away.

"I didn’t think she’d actually leave."

"No," Ethan said. "You didn’t."

The monitor beeped steadily between them.

"She was my mate," Alpha Sebastian said.

"You knew that when you let Serena back in."

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

"That’s not fair."

"I’m not trying to be fair. I’m trying to understand why you’re surprised."

Alpha Sebastian said nothing.

Ethan didn’t want to push Alpha Sebastian while he was already falling apart, so he changed the subject.

"I’ll get you some broth."

"I’m not hungry," Alpha Sebastian murmured.His lips were pale, his eyes vacant.

Ethan sighed and left anyway. He ordered chicken soup from a nearby twenty-four-hour diner through DoorDash, then took the elevator down to the lobby to meet Serena. The driver could leave the food with the front desk.

She was already pacing near the reception desk, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

"How does someone even get a stomach spasm?" she demanded. "I thought his ulcers were under control. What happened?"

"Stress," Ethan said. "A lot of it."

Her pacing stopped.

"Stress over what?"

"Eira dissolved the bond."

Serena’s eyes widened.

"She did? And Sebastian let her?"

"He didn’t exactly have a choice."

A flicker of relief crossed her face.

"If the bond is dissolved, then the baby is safe."

Ethan’s gaze dropped briefly to her stomach.

"So that’s what you’re worried about?"

Serena’s expression softened immediately.

"He’s sick, Ethan. What else would I be worried about?"

He said nothing.

She looked toward the elevators.

"But why would Eira walk away from Sebastian? He’s an Alpha. A woman with no pack behind her doesn’t just throw away a bond like that."

Serena stopped herself.

Lainey’s warning came back to her—the rumors about Eira and Alpha Killian. The Sterling estate. The old bloodline. The powerful name that carried influence all the way to the Pack Council.

Serena’s mouth tightened.

The idea of Eira ending up with Alpha Killian was unbearable. She had spent months treating Eira like an outsider, only to watch her land beside one of the most powerful men in the country.

It had to be a rumor.

Alpha Killian was probably just using her.

"Did Sebastian sign?" Serena asked.

"Eira got his signature. His father pushed the dissolution through the Council afterward. The registry’s already been updated."

Serena’s relief vanished.

"She got him to sign?"

"Not exactly willingly. That’s why he’s upstairs."

Her eyes widened.

"What does she have on him? Or did Alpha Killian step in and force the issue?"

Ethan gave her a tired look.

"I thought you wanted Sebastian free. Why do you look like someone just stole your car?"

Serena rolled her eyes.

"He’s in the hospital, Ethan. I’m not going to stand here and celebrate."

"Right."

He handed her the visitor badge.

"Go see him."

Serena took it, but her hand tightened around the plastic.

If Alpha Sebastian had truly lost Eira, then she needed to know exactly what he planned to do next—and whether the pup she carried still had a place in his life.

--

When Serena stepped into the hospital room, Alpha Sebastian turned his head.

He looked pale and exhausted, his face drawn beneath the fluorescent lights.

"Why are you here?"

The words held no warmth. No relief. Not even surprise.

Serena’s face went white, but she kept her voice gentle as she approached the bed.

"Sebastian, how are you feeling? I came as soon as I heard you were sick."

"Who told you?"

His gaze shifted to Ethan.

Ethan immediately shook his head.

Serena frowned. She had assumed the hospital had called her, but when she opened the message, she recognized the number.

It was the same number that had texted her six weeks earlier, telling her Alpha Sebastian was drunk at a dinner party and needed someone to pick him up.

She had called back then.

No one had answered.

Since Alpha Sebastian had asked, she held out her phone.

Alpha Sebastian recognized the number instantly. He had been messaging it constantly for the past month. He knew it by heart.

"Eira?"