Third POV

The hospital waiting room was quiet except for the occasional echo of footsteps down the corridor. Stella sat hunched in her chair, the left side of her face wrapped in white gauze. Her cheeks still burned from the scald, but she forced herself to sit upright. Her eyes glistened, but she refused to let the tears fall.

Damien stood near the window, his hands in his pockets. He hadn’t looked at her once since they arrived.

When she finally spoke, her voice trembled. “Alpha… ...