My Alpha Wanted My Heart Ripped Out—Then Begged Me to Live

Iris's POV: The girl made no move to take back the questionnaire. Instead, her voice softened. "But the healer was the one who made the mistake. You were injured too, weren't you?" I didn't answer. She pressed a packet of tissues into my hand before asking hesitantly, "The girl's family didn't blame you afterward, did they?" I shook my head. Not at first, anyway. After the surgery, I kept dreaming about Carmelita Hicks, Cornell Hicks's younger sister, trapped inside the wreckage of that mangled car. Every time I woke with a start, Cornell would be there beside my bed, holding my hand with weary tenderness. Whenever I told him, "Cornell, I miss you," he'd fly home overnight, even if he was attending a conference in a different city. My inner wolf, Skye, had been poisoned by silver, leaving her trembling in pain through the night. Cornell would hold me close and soothe us both, whispering the same reassurance over and over. "Carmelita wouldn't blame you, Iris. Live a good life for her." Eventually, we fell in love. One night, beneath the moonlight, he kissed me and asked, "Iris, will you stay with me forever?" I'd believed he truly loved me. Then came the night we were supposed to celebrate the first anniversary of our meeting. I returned to the estate early and found the master bedroom door ajar. A woman I'd never seen before was sitting on Cornell's lap, wearing my nightgown. The anniversary gift I'd wrapped for him lay beside the bed, its ribbon crushed beneath her high heel. "Why?" I stood in the doorway, shaking with humiliation. "You promised we'd spend tonight together..." Cornell looked up. There was no panic, no guilt at being caught. Instead, he frowned as though I'd interrupted something he was enjoying. "If you hadn't been wearing Carmelita's coat, would the healer have mistaken you for her?" I froze. "She'd been afraid of pain ever since she was little," he continued. "Even the smallest cut on her finger would send her running to me." His voice hardened. "Iris, have you ever stopped to think how much it must have hurt when they took her wolf heart?" "My dress was dirty. Carmelita just lent me her coat!" I protested, my voice trembling. "I didn't know the healer would identify us by the family crest. I had no idea they'd mistake me for her!" Cornell said nothing. He simply reached out, yanked down my collar, and stared at the surgical scar across my chest. "She died, and you got to live with her heart. And somehow, you still expected me to love you. "Iris, you'll spend the rest of your life paying for Carmelita's death." Skye growled furiously inside my mind. 'Let's go, Iris.' I clutched my collar, but my feet wouldn't move. The moment I lowered my eyes to that scar, all my hurt gave way to guilt. I even convinced myself that if I let Cornell take out his anger on me, perhaps he'd eventually become the man I remembered. From that day forward, he began bringing different women home and forcing me to stay in the room while he kissed them. They locked me inside a sauna filled with silver dust and listened as Skye howled in agony. Once, they fastened heavy iron weights around my ankles and shoved me into a frozen lake. Cornell always appeared at the last possible moment. He wouldn't let me die. But he wouldn't let me leave, either. Once, I packed my suitcase and made it all the way to the estate gates before a guard stopped me. When he saw the bruises on my face, he couldn't meet my eyes. "I'm sorry, Iris. The Alpha's orders are clear. You're allowed to go into town, but you can't leave Black Ridge territory." By now, Skye could barely respond to me anymore. And I was exhausted. If Cornell hated me so much for having Carmelita's heart, then I'd give it back. I handed the questionnaire to the girl and walked into Moonbay Hospital on the corner. The hospital operated independently of every pack. I'd once asked my healer, Silas Rowe, whether anyone from Black Ridge could gain access to my medical records. "No one can obtain them without your consent," he'd assured me, placing my file inside a cabinet and locking it. Today, the moment he saw the surgical consent form in my hand, his brow furrowed. "Iris, this is the third time you've come to me about this," he said. "You're pregnant. If we replace your heart now, you'll lose the baby. I can't perform the operation under those circumstances." I slid the abortion consent form across his desk, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "I'm terminating the pregnancy today." Silas fell silent. After a moment, he said, "An artificial heart can keep a werewolf alive for a year at most. It can sustain your body, but it can't preserve your connection to your inner wolf." He looked at me gravely. "Once you're dependent on it, you won't be able to hear Skye anymore." I rested my hand over my chest without answering. Silas let out a weary sigh. "Will you have someone to look after you following the surgery? What about the pup's father?" My fingers tightened around the appointment slip. A few days earlier, I'd gone to Cornell's study with my ultrasound report, hoping to tell him we were expecting a pup. But before I could knock, I'd heard his Beta laughing inside. "If Iris got pregnant with your pup, would you really have the heart to keep tormenting her like this?" Cornell had paused for a few seconds. Then he'd laughed too. "Wouldn't that be perfect? She owes Carmelita a heart. Once the pup is born, I'll use its heart to settle the debt." "That's a vicious joke, even for you," someone had said with a laugh. Cornell had merely added, in an almost leisurely tone, "I'll make her watch." Outside the study, I'd quietly folded the ultrasound report, hiding the tiny shadow in the image. Now Silas was still waiting for my answer. I lowered my head and gently touched my abdomen through my clothes. "My pup has no father."