By the time Claudia arrived at Blackwood Clinic, the tension had shifted from chaos to careful vigilance. Sera lay on a crisp white hospital bed, her usually vibrant skin pallid. Painkillers had taken the edge off, smoothing her agony into a dull roar beneath the surface.
Her eyes fluttered closed as a nurse adjusted the blankets around her, but even sedated, the strain of carrying a shadow wolf etched deep lines across her brow.
"She needs her wolf, Eric," Claudia said sharply. "Even with a wolf, carrying a shadow wolf is already a pain—a real, relentless pain."
Eric sat beside the bed, fingers brushing tenderly through Sera's hair, the weight of his own anxiety pressing down on him.
"I have had professionals come see her," Charles said from the doorway. His eyes didn't meet anyone's directly, flicking between Sera's fragile form and Eric's taut shoulders. "She is currently working at length with one to get her wolf back. She's…progressing."
