Page 208
Selena smiles as she looks down at her. “Hi, Diana.”
Hearing her name while she's lying against Selena's chest does something to me. She's not just the pup we've been waiting for anymore. She's here. She's ours.
“Diana Laurent,” I whisper, running one finger over her tiny hand. “Welcome to the world.”
Diana's fingers tighten around mine. My Lycan rumbles inside me, completely captivated by her.
Our Diana.
"Yeah. Our Diana."
Selena leans against me, and I wrap my arm around her while we stare down at the little girl we made. For a few minutes, the rest of the hospital disappears. I kiss Selena, then Diana, holding both of them as close as I can.
“I love you.”
Selena smiles through her tears. “I love you too.”
Diana squirms against Selena's chest, and Selena lowers her head to kiss her.
A roar explodes through the hospital so violently the walls shake around us. The lights above us tremble, something metal crashes in the hallway, and Diana startles against Selena's chest. I immediately curl myself around both of them as another wave of power rolls through the building.
My Lycan surges forward. I know that aura. I know that voice.
“Darian.”
Selena goes completely still. Her eyes find mine, and whatever she sees on my face drains the happiness from hers.
“Rylan...”
I don't answer. I can't. Because I've heard a male lose his mate before.
Selena's face drains of color as she clutches Diana closer against her chest. “Arlene.” Her eyes shoot toward the door. “Can you find out how she's doing?”
I start to open the pack link, but a knock sounds at the door. The doctor who enters isn't one of the people who delivered Diana, and the moment I see his face, my stomach drops.
Selena straightens. “Arlene?”
I tighten my arm around her and Diana as the doctor steps farther into the room. “Alpha. Luna. Beta Darian is stable. His energy levels are dangerously low, but he's awake and being monitored.”
Selena barely reacts to the news. Her eyes stay locked on the doctor. “And Arlene?”
He doesn't answer immediately. Selena's fingers close around mine as she looks between us.
“And Arlene?” she asks again.
His eyes lower. “I'm sorry. Beta Arlene died moments ago.”
48
Darian's POV
Pain rips me from unconsciousness.
It tears through my chest so violently I fall from the hospital bed before I know where I am. My shoulder slams into the floor, but I barely feel the impact. Agony claws through my chest, squeezing around my heart, ripping through something deeper than flesh and bone. I roar, curling onto my side as both hands clutch my chest.
I can't fucking breathe.
Sweat pours down my face. My heart pounds so hard it hurts, every beat sending another wave of pain through me. I drag in a breath, but my lungs refuse to fill. Another roar tears from my throat as I press my forehead against the cold floor and fight for air.
