Chapter 256 The Diagnosis

Author

The weekend finally showed up. Blue sky. Cool breeze.

The kind of Saturday that made you wanna grab an iced coffee and sit on someone’s porch doing absolutely nothing.

Instead, Alpha Dominic drove Elara to a public hospital forty-five minutes outside pack territory.

Elara watched the buildings roll by. "You sure about this place?"

"Yeah." Alpha Dominic kept his eyes on the road. "You’re half human. Every pack doctor we’ve got? They specialize in wolf biology. Which is great if you’re a pureblood. But you’re not."

He glanced at her. "I want someone who knows the human side too."

Elara hadn’t thought about it that way.

"And," he added, "no one from any pack is gonna be hanging out at a random human hospital. It’s off the grid. Safer for you."

She nodded. He’d planned this out.

--

They pulled into the parking garage and found a spot near the elevator.

The hospital was nothing special. Fluorescent lights. Linoleum floors. A guy in the corner coughing into his elbow. Normal human stuff.

They checked in at the front desk. The receptionist had bright red nails and chewed gum while she typed. "Fill these out. Have a seat. Someone’ll call you."

Alpha Dominic stared at the clipboard like it had personally insulted his mother.

"Welcome to the human world," Elara said, taking it from him. "Sit. I got it."

They found two chairs in the corner.

Elara filled out the forms while Alpha Dominic sat next to her, arms crossed, scanning every person who walked by.

A guy with a cough got a ten-second stare. A woman pushing a stroller got a full visual sweep.

"Relax," Elara said without looking up.

"I am relaxed."

"You’re sitting like you’re about to fight someone."

"That’s how I sit."

Forty minutes later, a nurse called Elara’s name. They followed her to a small exam room on the third floor.

The doctor who came in was a woman in her late forties with short gray hair and reading glasses on a chain. Her name tag said Dr. River.

"Mrs. Wolfe?" She shook Elara’s hand, then Dominic’s. "I’m Dr. River. I’ve been doing OB for about fifteen years now. We’ll take good care of you."

Dr. River clicked through a few screens. "Okay. Just need to confirm a few things for our records. You conceived naturally, right?"

Alpha Dominic opened his mouth.

Elara shot him a look that could’ve stopped a freight train.

"Yes," she said. "Natural. No IVF. No medical intervention."

Alpha Dominic closed his mouth.

Dr. River nodded and typed something. "Great. Everything looks good so far. Your next appointment will be at eight weeks. We’ll do an ultrasound then to check viability and make sure everything’s progressing normally."

She ran through a few more questions. Diet. Exercise. Any medications. Elara answered while Alpha Dominic sat there quietly, for once keeping his mouth shut.

When Dr. River left, Alpha Dominic let out a breath. "That wasn’t so bad."

"You did good. I’m proud of you."

"I still don’t like it."

"You don’t have to like it. You just have to show up."

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Fine. But I’m keeping an eye on that nurse with the red nails. She looked suspicious."

"She was chewing gum, Dominic."

"That’s what they want you to think."

They walked down the hallway together, Dominic’s arm around her shoulders.

Neither of them noticed the woman standing near the elevator until she spoke."Elara?"

Elara turned. Her stomach dropped.

It was Nadia, standing by the elevator bank, pressing the button for the upper floors.

She hadn’t seen her in months.

The woman looked terrible. Hollowed out. Her cheekbones were too sharp. Her skin had a grayish tint, like she hadn’t eaten properly in weeks.

Nadia’s eyes flicked between them, then landed on the direction they’d come from. The maternity wing sign was clearly visible behind them.

"You were in the maternity wing." Her voice was flat. "Are you pregnant?"

Elara’s face went cold. She didn’t answer.

Nadia’s jaw tightened. "I’m not here to cause trouble. I had an appointment too." She paused. "I left the Grant Pack. I can’t see pack doctors anymore. So I come here now."

The words hung in the air. Elara didn’t know what to say to that.

"Congratulations," Nadia added quietly.

The word sat there. Heavy.

Elara turned to Dominic. "Let’s go."

Alpha Dominic tightened his arm around her. They walked past Nadia without another word.

Nadia stood there, watching them disappear around the corner.

Her chest was tight. Her back was on fire. She pressed a hand to her mouth and coughed. Hard.

Blood splattered across her palm.

It wasn’t the first time this week.

She wiped her hand on a tissue and shoved it into her pocket.

Then she turned and walked toward the elevator. Pressed the button for the fifth floor.

Oncology.

The doors opened. She walked down the hallway to the last office on the left.

Dr. Morrison was already there, sitting behind his desk, a manila folder open in front of him.

He gestured to the chair across from him. "Sit down, Ms. Nadia."

She sat.

He pulled up her CT scans on the monitor. The image was gray and blurry, but she could see it. A dark mass. Right there in her left lung. Bigger than she’d expected.

"Your results are back." He pointed at the screen. "You have a malignant tumor in your lung. It’s advanced. Late stage."

Nadia stared at the screen. She didn’t feel anything. Not shock. Not fear. Just a weird kind of emptiness, like she’d known this was coming for a long time.

"The tumor has metastasized," the doctor continued. "Surgery isn’t an option at this point. Your best bet is targeted drug therapy or chemotherapy."

He folded his hands on his desk. "I’d recommend contacting your family. This isn’t a decision you should make alone."

Family.

Nadia almost laughed out loud.

Anthony wouldn’t take her calls anymore.

Enzo? He’d made it crystal clear he wanted nothing to do with her.

Her father had locked her out of the family estate. Told her never to come back.

And Elara. Her daughter. Her own blood. Elara hated her. And honestly? Nadia couldn’t blame her.

Nadia shook her head. "I don’t have any family, doctor. Whatever treatment we do, the decision is mine."

Dr. Morrison’s expression softened. He’d probably heard this before. Probably seen a lot of patients sitting in that chair with nobody to call.

"Alright. Then let me be straight with you." He closed the folder. "If you go with chemotherapy, and if your body responds well, you could have six months. Maybe a little more."

"And if I don’t?"

He paused. "Three months. Maybe less."

Nadia let that sink in. Six months of poison in her veins. Losing her hair. Throwing up until she couldn’t stand. All for what? A few extra weeks? A few extra days of being alone in an empty apartment?

She already knew her answer.

"I’ll skip the chemo." Her voice was calm. Steady. "Just give me something for the pain."

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