Chapter 83: Chapter 83 The Lost Sister
Victoria
The midnight moon cast long shadows across the courtyard as our convoy pulled into the Shadow Pack fortress. My hands were trembling, stained with my brother’s blood despite Leo’s best efforts to clean them during our frantic escape from the abandoned temple. The taste of fear still lingered on my tongue—metallic and bitter.
"He’s still breathing," Leo reassured me as warriors rushed forward to carefully extract Enzo’s battered body from the vehicle. My half-brother looked like a broken doll, his skin ashen where it wasn’t bruised or lacerated. The image of finding him chained to that altar, his chest carved with strange symbols, replayed in my mind like a horror film.
Leo’s arm around my waist was the only thing keeping me upright as we followed the medical team rushing Enzo toward the pack’s infirmary. "You need rest," he murmured against my hair, his voice rough with concern.
"I can’t," I whispered back, watching Enzo’s limp form disappear through swinging doors. "Not until I know he’ll survive."
"Victoria." Leo turned me to face him, his amber eyes searching mine with an intensity that made my heart stutter despite our circumstances. "What happened back there—"
"I don’t know," I admitted, cutting him off. "I felt something inside me snap, and suddenly the plants were... responding. Like they were extensions of my body." I lowered my voice. "Is that... normal for someone with Fae blood?"
Leo’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "We’ll figure it out," he promised, though I could sense his unease. "Right now, Enzo needs medical attention, and you need—"
"Victoria!"
We both turned to see Lilith running toward us, her normally perfect appearance disheveled, eyes red and swollen from crying.
"Please," she begged, her voice cracking. "Tell me he’s alive. They won’t let me see him."
Leo stepped forward protectively, but I squeezed his arm to hold him back. Lilith’s anguish seemed genuine, and despite everything, I couldn’t bring myself to turn away from her pain.
"He’s alive," I confirmed gently. "But it’s bad, Lilith. They’re doing everything they can."
Her knees seemed to buckle, and I caught her reflexively. To my shock, she clung to me like a drowning woman to driftwood. "This is all my fault," she sobbed against my shoulder. "If I hadn’t—if he hadn’t tried to help me—"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, pulling back to search her tear-stained face.
Leo cleared his throat. "Perhaps this conversation should happen somewhere private," he suggested, his gaze sweeping the gathering crowd of curious pack members.
I nodded, guiding Lilith toward a small waiting room adjacent to the infirmary. Leo followed at a respectful distance, positioning himself near the door—close enough to intervene if needed, but giving us space to talk.
Once inside, Lilith collapsed onto a leather sofa, her usual poise completely abandoned. I sat beside her, waiting as she struggled to compose herself.
"My family was drowning in debt," she finally managed, twisting her engagement ring nervously. "Three generations of bad investments, and the bank was going to take everything—our lands, our home, our status within the pack hierarchy." Her eyes, when they met mine, were filled with shame. "Enzo found out when we first started dating. He... he offered to help."
Understanding dawned slowly. "The money he embezzled from the Howlthorne accounts," I murmured. "It wasn’t just for gambling debts."
Lilith shook her head miserably. "Some was, yes. He has... problems with control. But much of it went to saving my family from ruin." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "That’s why I could never condemn him, no matter what he did. He sacrificed so much for me."
I sat back, trying to process this new information. The brother who had tormented me for years, who had sold me to Leo to clear his debts, had also sacrificed his inheritance to save the woman he loved. The contradiction made my head spin.
Before I could respond, a doctor appeared in the doorway, his scrubs splattered with blood—Enzo’s blood. Leo immediately straightened, every inch the commanding Alpha.
"Report," he ordered tersely.
The doctor bowed his head slightly. "We’ve stabilized him, Alpha. The next few hours will be critical, but if he makes it through the night, his chances improve significantly."
"And the markings?" Leo asked, his voice lowering.
The doctor’s expression darkened. "Unlike anything I’ve seen before. They appear ritualistic in nature, but I’m not familiar with the specific symbols. I’ve taken photographs for our researchers to analyze."
Lilith stood shakily. "Can I see him now?"
After a moment’s hesitation, the doctor nodded. "Briefly. He’s heavily sedated, but—" He paused, looking surprised. "Actually, he was asking for Luna Victoria before we put him under."
I felt as though I’d been doused with ice water. Leo’s hand found the small of my back, steadying me as he sensed my shock.
"Go," he encouraged quietly. "I’ll be right outside if you need me."
Entering the sterile room where my brother lay felt like stepping into another dimension. Machines beeped steadily, monitoring his vital signs. Bandages covered much of his torso, spots of crimson still seeping through in places. His face, once handsome in a sharp, predatory way, was now swollen and discolored, barely recognizable.
I approached hesitantly, lowering myself into the chair beside his bed. For a long moment, I simply watched the shallow rise and fall of his chest, evidence that he still clung to life despite Marcus’s best efforts.
"Vic..." His voice was so faint I almost missed it.
I leaned closer, surprised to find tears stinging my eyes. "I’m here," I whispered, unsure whether to take his hand. After years of his cruelty, touching him voluntarily felt wrong somehow.
His eyelids fluttered open, revealing bloodshot eyes cloudy with pain medication. "You... came for me," he mumbled, disbelief evident even through the drugs.
"Of course I did," I replied, the words surprising me as much as him. "You’re my brother."
A ghost of his old smirk crossed his features before fading into a grimace. "Not... a good one."
"No," I agreed softly. "You weren’t."
Silence stretched between us, broken only by the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Finally, Enzo moved his hand slightly, fingers stretching toward mine. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it, shocked by how cold and fragile it felt.
"Need to tell you," he slurred, fighting to stay conscious. "About Aurora... and the truth..."
I squeezed his hand gently. "Save your strength, Enzo. We can talk when you’re stronger."
He shook his head weakly, agitation making the monitors beep faster. "No... need to know now. In case I..." He left the possibility unspoken, but it hung in the air between us.
"Aurora contacted me," he continued, each word seeming to cost him. "Month after Father died. Said he tried to kill her... said Marcus saved her."
I frowned, trying to make sense of his disjointed confession. "Aurora told you our father tried to kill her?"
Enzo nodded slightly. "Said it was because... of your mother." His breathing grew more labored, but he pushed through. "Said your mother stole Father from her... that her baby died because of it."
My blood ran cold. "What baby?"
"My sister," Enzo whispered. "Aurora lost the baby... blamed your mother."
The revelation hit me like a physical blow. A sister—a half-sister I never knew might have existed.