Chapter 0309

"You can't do this... I'm the pack physician. I know what's medically best for him."

My hands rest firmly on her shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze. She needed to feel my presence, to understand she wasn't facing this darkness alone.

Alexander moves with grim determination, switching off the ventilator that had been breathing for Julian. The heart monitor goes silent next, its steady beeps replaced by deafening stillness.

Isabella's sobs break the silence as we watch, waiting for any flicker of life. Nothing happens. No movement. No twitch of fingers. No faint heartbeat.

She collapses to her knees, her breathing becoming ragged and panicked. Her chest heaves with desperate, gasping breaths.

"GO!" I command Alexander and Lucas, pulling my mate tightly against me.

Isabella claws at her own chest, and I have to lock my hands over hers to prevent self-injury. She thrashes wildly, pounding her fists against me with frantic energy, trying to escape the unbearable pain. I hold her steady, knowing this was the brutal moment of accepting her twin was truly gone.

Time loses meaning as we remain on the cold floor. Minutes or hours pass before her struggles cease. She stares blankly at Julian's still form. "Alexander turned off the machines," she whispers, her voice broken.

"He was already gone, Isabella."

"He took my brother from me."

"No. This was Seraphina's doing." She had to remember who truly caused this tragedy. Seraphina made Julian try to kill his Wolf. Seraphina weakened him until nothing remained. Alexander merely performed what should have been done weeks earlier.

"Seraphina," she whispers, the name tasting like poison.

"Seraphina twisted him into something unrecognizable. You witnessed the change yourself. Remember who he was before her influence."

"He loved life completely," she says softly. "He was vibrant. He was joyful. An absolute nuisance sometimes, but always happy."

Her tense body gradually relaxes against mine. "Revenge destroyed him, Isabella."

"Why did he stay with her?"

"From what Brianna revealed, I doubt he had any choice. Seraphina forced him into the life she designed. She likely saw him as her opportunity." She pushes herself up from my lap and approaches Julian. With trembling hands, she removes the breathing tube and gently closes his eyes. Cupping his face, she whispers her final goodbye. A single tear traces down her cheek as she draws the sheet over him.

Isabella returns to me, her gaze lowered. "I need to sleep," she murmurs. "Midnight needs to rest."

It had been too long since she willingly sought rest. "Then let's go home."

As we exit the pack medical facility, Alexander waits by the doors. He immediately pulls his sister into an embrace, though she remains unresponsive in his arms.

Part of me wishes he hadn't prolonged this suffering, but I understood his motives. He had been trying to preserve Isabella's hope.

Theodore passes by with a solemn nod and enters the facility. Likely to prepare Julian for cremation. Little remained to be done except placing him in the casket Alexander had prepared over a month ago.

"Let's get you home," Alexander whispers gently to his sister.

An eerie silence blankets the pack territory as we walk toward the house. Wolves pause as we pass, respectfully lowering their heads. The unusual quiet feels unsettling. No chatter, no children playing. Everyone feels the loss deeply. Perhaps they sense Alexander's grief, though he conceals it well.

Whatever the reason, their profound respect for their Alpha is unmistakable.

Isabella ascends the stairs alone, insisting I remain behind. "I just need to crash," she offers a weak smile.

"I'll check on you soon."

She shrugs and continues upward.

"She requires time," Alexander tells me, turning toward his office.

"Time? Says the man who kept his brother on life support indefinitely. Isabella's depression could have been addressed long ago instead of watching her deteriorate before my eyes."

"Everyone grieves differently."

"Including you?"

"I accepted his death long ago."

"Did you? What I witnessed suggests otherwise."

"How I feel is none of your concern!"

A crash from above interrupts our confrontation. I'm out the door before him, taking the stairs two at a time with Alexander close behind. I sprint toward our room while Alexander bursts through his bedroom door.

Isabella lies unconscious on the bed. She didn't even undress before collapsing starfish-style across the blankets. I quietly close the door just as Alexander calls out to me.

In Alexander's bedroom, he stands frozen before Athena with wide eyes. But Athena isn't in human form.