Rise of a Silenced Wolf

Attempt murder

July

When I finally came to, I was trapped in a web of wires. Monitor leads snaked across my chest, fingertips, and arms, anchoring me to the intensive care bed. The rhythmic, mechanical hiss of the ventilator forced oxygen into my lungs.

I couldn't feel my legs. Everything below my neck felt numb and heavy, save for the slight twitch of my right index finger. Panic surged through my chest like a tidal wave.

My baby... what happened to my baby? Did my selfish determination end up killing us both?

Tears welled in my eyes as fear squeezed my heart. But before full panic could swallow me whole, a distinct, rhythmic sound cut through the quiet hum of the ICU.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

It was a fast, delicate, fluttering sound, amplified softly by a fetal heart monitor sitting right beside my bed.

The curtain pulled back, and Enya stepped in. The moment she saw me open my eyes, her face broke into a radiant smile.

"You're awake!" she whispered gently, stepping forward to brush a strand of hair from my forehead. "You made it, ma'am. And so did your little miracle."

My breath caught in my throat.

"Dr. Vance pulled off the impossible," Enya said, her voice filled with awe. "It was an incredibly tough surgery, but your baby's heartbeat is strong and steady. You both survived. Do take a good rest, I will see other patients."

Once she was out, tears spilled fast from the corners of my eyes, soaking into my pillow.

Against all odds, my baby had survived a ninety-meter drop and a high-risk spinal surgery. This tiny, fragile fighter was still alive inside me.

I looked up at the ceiling, feeling a fierce fire ignite deep within my soul.

I was wolfless, battered, and temporarily paralyzed, but I was no longer hopeless. Joseph had thought he could destory me.

He was wrong. My child was alive, and so was I.

I closed my eyes, offering a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess. I had a reason to fight back now—and I would stop at nothing to get our justice.

Then the hospital door creaked open, and Joseph walked in. The harsh hallway light cut through the dark room from behind him, stretching his long shadow across the floor like a jagged black c***k.

In his arms was a bouquet of white lilies. He set my favorite flowers on the nightstand, looked down at me, and leaned over to press a kiss against my forehead.

"July," he murmured, his voice dripping with tenderness.

I wanted to shove him away, to tell him to drop the act, but I was completely paralyzed. The only part of my body that actually listened to me was my right index finger. It was a pity it wasn't my middle finger, or I would have loved to give him a proper welcome.

Joseph pulled up a chair and sat down, positioning himself perfectly to block the view from the door. He reached out and took my hand. A wave of goosebumps erupted across my skin.

"The surgery was a success. The doctor says you’re out of the woods for now," he said, his eyes darting toward the small glass window on the door.

I followed his gaze. Outside that rectangular pane of glass, doctors and nurses occasionally passed by.

He’s scoping out the place, I realized.

He's tracking their schedule, looking for the perfect moment to finish me off.

My heart seized with panic.

Joseph’s fingers mindlessly stroked the back of my hand while he kept his eyes glued to the window. The exact second the hallway emptied out, his gentle expression vanished, replaced by pure malice.

"You know, July, you really are a thorn in my side," he whispered, looking down at me like I was dirt. "Falling from a cliff that high and you're still kicking? Talk about having nine lives." A twisted, cruel smirk spread across his lips. "Do you have any idea how shocked I was to find you alive? I almost bolted right then and there. Good thing I didn't. Look at you now—lying here, unable to speak a single word. You're basically a breathing corpse."

His hand slid toward the oxygen line feeding into my nose, pinching it shut with a firm grip, cutting off my air supply. My lungs immediately panicked. The air grew dangerously thin and dry, and the blood oxygen numbers on the monitor began to tick downward.

"If they find you with a flatlined heart, and a dead brain, nobody is going to bat an eye. A trauma patient who plunged off a ninety-meter cliff, quietly slipping away in the ICU—it’s just a tragic complication, right? Don't worry, I'll shed plenty of tears for you."

He smiled down at me. That smile used to make my heart skip a beat; now, it made my blood run cold. I couldn't let him win. I couldn't just sit back and take it. As my vision blurred from the lack of oxygen and my mind began to slip, Joseph whispered coaxingly, "Just go to sleep, July. Close your eyes and wait a few minutes. All the pain will disappear."

At that exact moment, any lingering thoughts of giving up vanished completely. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live, to survive at all costs, and to drag this monster down to hell with me.

Come on, July, I urged myself, battling the encroaching darkness. Think! There has to be a way out of this...

Then it hit me. My only weapon was my own body. I couldn't run, but I could make a scene. If I could just throw myself onto the floor...

Catching the split second Joseph turned to check the window, I rallied every ounce of strength hidden inside my broken body and forced my entire weight to roll to the right.

I plummeted straight out of the bed.

Agony exploded through my body, from the base of my spine straight up to my skull and I nearly blacked out from the sheer shock of it. But against all odds, it worked. The impact was deafening. As I fell, I dragged the IV stand down with me. The heavy metal frame crashed onto the hard tile floor with a violent, resounding clang. The monitor leads ripped clean off my chest, triggering a sharp, frantic alarm that echoed through the room.

Joseph spun around, staring at me with a mix of utter shock and boiling rage. Hearing footsteps outside, he scrambled to release the oxygen tube just as the door burst open. Enya rushed into the room, her brow furrowed in deep concern. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

Joseph was quick on his feet. The split second Enya stepped inside, his mask slammed back into place. Once again he became the panicked husband. "Oh my God—July!" he cried out, dropping to the floor. He slipped his arms under my knees, scooping me up in a bridal carry.

He laid me back onto the mattress with meticulous care, acting as if I were a piece of priceless porcelain. He even took an extra second to adjust the pillow beneath the back of my head.

My mind flashed back to our wedding night. He had swept me off my feet in that exact same princess carry. Back then we were surrounded by the cheers and applause of our loved ones.

My dad had been clapping proudly.Teddy had rolled eyes, muttering about how dramatic it was and my mom had playfully chided him, saying a little romance never hurt anyone. I giggled like a schoolgirl, watching the confetti rain down, completely convinced I was the luckiest woman on the planet.

"I'm so stupid! I just stepped out to use the restroom, and when I came back—" Joseph choked out, wiping fake tears. "She just woke up and realized she's paralyzed. She’s completely distraught. I should have known better than to leave her alone... it's all my fault!"

What a phenomenal actor. Honestly, this man missed his calling—he should have gone straight to Hollywood. I would bet good money he’d have a bright future there. Heck, he’d probably be the first werewolf to win an Oscar. My stomach turned violently. His sickening hypocrisy made me want to throw up.

Enya didn't even grant him a reply. She was busy reconnecting my monitor leads, checking my IV lines, and readjusting the oxygen tubing back under my nose. Her lips were pressed into a hard line, and her furrowed brow only smoothed out when the monitor beeped back to life. She straightened up and turned to Joseph. "We need to run a secondary examination on the patient to make sure her spinal pins didn't shift during the fall."

"Shifted pins?" Joseph stammered, caught off guard. "There's no way, right? She just slid off the bed. It’s barely a drop—"

"When a post-op patient falls out of bed, the height doesn't matter," Enya countered firmly. "There is an immediate risk of pin displacement, hardware loosening, and secondary nerve damage. If you're doubting me, I can happily print out the post-op complication guidelines for you to review. But in the meantime, shouldn't your priority be making sure your wife gets the best possible care?"

Joseph opened his mouth to protest, but when he couldn't find a leg to stand on, he swallowed his words and forced a grateful look. "Of course. You're completely right. I was just worried about stepping on the hospital staff's toes. Thank you for being so thorough."

Enya gave a brief nod and asked casually, "The assessment might take a little while. Do you want to wait outside?"

"I'd prefer to stay, nurse," Joseph said quickly. "My wife needs me. I want to be right by her side."

"Fine," Enya replied. She paused, staring blankly into space for a few seconds. She was clearly mind-linking someone.

Within minutes, Killian stepped into the room. The moment he crossed the threshold, Enya brought him up to speed. "The patient fell out of bed. We need to check if her spinal hardware has shifted."

Killian’s dark green eyes narrowed in a tight frown. He looked at the high safety rails on the bed, then down at me. "She's virtually paralyzed," he noted, his voice carrying an analytical edge. "Throwing herself out of bed shouldn't even be physically possible for her. How did she—"

"Because my wife tried to hurt herself," Joseph cut in smoothly, taking center stage again. "It’s all my fault. She woke up, realized she was completely spiraled. I never imagined that in the short time I took a bathroom break, she would throw herself off the bed..."

"For a fresh spinal surgery patient, a fall like that can lock in permanent paralysis," Killian interrupted. "If you actually care about your wife’s survival, I suggest you stay on your toes."

Joseph’s jaw clenched so hard I could hear his teeth grind. He finally said, "You're right, Doctor. It was a massive oversight on my part. I promise it won't happen again."

Killian turned to Enya. "Support her back."

Enya gently propped me up. Killian's hand slid beneath my gown, tracing the line of my spine. The moment his fingers brushed against my skin, there was a bizarre shock pulsed through my body. The feeling lasted less than a second. Before I could figure out what that pleasant shiver was, it was gone.

After a thorough check, Killian let out a sigh of relief. "The pins are perfectly intact." He withdrew his hand, his gaze locking directly onto mine with fierce intensity. "You got incredibly lucky, July. Don't scare us like that again. Rest now. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you make a full recovery. Trust me."

Joseph's face darkened significantly. He stood in the corner, staring at the doctor with a brooding, uneasy expression.

He’s sweating bullets, I thought with a grim sense of satisfaction. He was terrified that if Killian actually managed to fix me, I would get my voice back and blow his perfect little world to pieces.

Right on cue, the heavy door burst open again. A young intern poked his head in, breathless and panicking. "Dr. Vance! There's a massive complication in OR 3. They need you stat!"

"On my way," Killian replied without a second thought, already striding toward the exit. He glanced back at the nurse. "Enya, page me if anything changes with her."

"Will do," Enya said quickly, trying to catch his eye. "Hey, are we still on for dinner tonight, or—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the heavy door clicked shut behind him, leaving the room dead silent once more.

Enya sighed, throwing her hands up. "Never mind."

Joseph turned to Enya, his tone shifting instantly into an easy, casual drawl. "Man, Dr. Vance really lives in the fast lane. Is he the big boss around this department?"

Enya was kneeling on the floor, picking up the shattered remnants of my IV stand. She replied without even looking up. "He's the finest trauma surgeon this hospital has ever seen. He's always swamped, but he guards his patients like a hawk."

"Impressive," Joseph mused. "You sound quite proud of Dr. Vance and he seems to look out for you quite a bit, too. Is he your boyfriend?"

Enya choked out a laugh and pulled a face. "No, no." She stood up and said. "He's my brother."