Elara POV:
Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the high-tech medical facility inside the Alpha's private estate.
*The air was astringent, thick with the competing scents of harsh bleach and bitter tinctures, an assault that made the sensitive membranes in my nose ache.*
In the center of the room lay Kaelen.
His physical body was tethered to dozens of machines, his broad chest rising and falling only by the grace of the ventilators.
He was incredibly handsome, with a chiseled jawline and dark hair, but his skin was pallid and lifeless.
Seraphina wiped a tear from her cheek as she stood beside me.
"The Healers have done all they can with herbs and medicine," she whispered.
Healers were our Pack doctors, employing both modern science and ancient wolf remedies.
"But an Alpha needs more than poultices. He needs emotional companionship. He needs a presence to call his Inner Wolf back to his body."
That was why they refused professional human nurses.
Only a wolf could comprehend the primal needs of another wolf.
I nodded, feigning attention, while my gaze was fixed on the corner of the room.
Kaelen's spirit wolf was curled upon the cold floor, a portrait of defeat and exhaustion.
*"Why have they brought this scrawny Omega?" the spirit wolf grumbled to himself, resting his great snout on his paws. "A reek of lye soap and desperation clings to her. Selena may have broken my heart, but they send me a scullery maid to mend it."*
I bit the inside of my cheek to still my reaction.
Through my Spirit-Sight, I could see the gossamer-thin thread that connected his astral form to his physical shell.
I needed a strategy, and I needed it swiftly.
"Luna Seraphina," I said, my voice steady and professional.
"I require his daily Pack territory reports, a tablet with the morning business news, and some fresh forest herbs."
Seraphina blinked, her expression one of clear astonishment.
The spirit wolf lifted his head, his gray ears twitching in confusion.
"An Omega does not comprehend high-level Pack affairs," Seraphina said gently.
"I do not need to comprehend them," I replied. "He does. His mind needs to hear the architecture of his power, the things that make him an Alpha."
Seraphina hesitated, but desperation was a powerful motivator. She agreed and left to gather the materials.
The next morning, I wasted no time.
*The Healers kept his body immaculate, but the room reeked of sterile chemicals that offended my wolf's senses-and surely his. I brought a basin of warm water mixed with soothing pine and mint leaves. I carefully washed his body, not to clean it, but to replace the scent of the hospital with the scent of the forest. The Healers had kept him clean-shaven, so I simply massaged his tense jaw, hoping to restore the commanding presence of a billionaire leader to his face.*
Then, I set up a tablet on the bedside table.
I played audio documentaries of his Pack's history, letting the sounds of ancient battles fill the room.
At exactly nine in the morning, I sat by his bed and read the Nasdaq financial news aloud, mimicking the crisp, clear tone of a news anchor.
To mask the terrible hospital smell, I brewed a pot of wild forest berry tea and left it steaming on the counter.
When evening came, I did not leave.
I dragged a small, uncomfortable folding cot into the corner of the room and laid my blanket on it.
Seraphina came in to check on us and stopped in her tracks.
"You are sleeping here?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"I must be here twenty-four hours a day," I explained, smoothing out my thin blanket.
"Constant proximity will strengthen the bond and help ground his spirit."
Seraphina's eyes filled with tears again, deeply moved by my dedication.
She thanked me softly and closed the door, leaving me alone with the sleeping Alpha and his ghost.
I sat on my cot and glanced at the spirit wolf.
He was sitting up now, his glowing gaze fixed on me with an intense curiosity.
"Selena would have never touched a washbasin," the wolf muttered, his tail giving a small, hesitant wag.
"She would have complained about the smell and left to go shopping."
He walked over to my cot and sniffed the air around me.
"Perhaps this little Omega is not so bad after all," he whispered.
I turned off the lamp, a small smile playing on my lips in the darkness.
Step one was complete. The Alpha was beginning to accept me.
