Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. His parents and Wilson tried their best to keep Max calm, but the more time passed without news, the more he feared the worst.

By the time Doctor Kalisten came back, Max was ready to cave in the walls of the small room. Everybody stood at once.

“We found a donor in Toronto,” she said to Max before turning toward Wilson. “Nurse Nelly is sending you the information you need right now.”

“On it,” Wilson said as his cell phone chimed. He moved to the corner where he started making calls.

“How’s the situation?” Max folded his arms across his chest, tucking his hands under his armpits to still the tremors he couldn’t hide any longer.

“Amber Rose isn’t stable any longer.” The doctor pressed a finger against her temple where a vein visibly throbbed against the pale skin. “Her condition has worsened in the last few minutes.”

“But she got the transfusion. She should be better.” If possible, an even heavier weight than the rock sitting on Max’s chest dropped on his lungs. How long before his heart would shatter in a million pieces?

“She might need more than a transfusion.” The doctor moved to the chair Max’s father had vacated and slumped down onto it. “Please, sit.” She waved at the empty seats.

Max waited for his mother to take a chair before lowering himself to the low sofa he had occupied earlier.

The doctor placed both palms against her thighs and straightened her back, raising her face to look at Max. “If Amber Rose’s heart functions keep deteriorating, we’ll need to intervene.”

Silence fell into the room like a cold blanket. The doctor’s words numbed Max’s thoughts but not the pain cleaving his heart.

“Amber Rose will need more blood,” the doctor said. “We hope that the supply coming from Toronto will be enough.”

“How’s Vivienne?” Max’s voice was a choked whisper.

“Still alive.” The doctor raised one hand to her hair to move a stray lock that had escaped her ponytail. “She’s a fighter if I ever saw one.” She briefly rubbed the corner of her eye. “Her wolf has managed the impossible so far.”

Max heard the silent “but” the woman didn’t say out loud. “I want to see Vivienne.”

The doctor shook her head. “We’ve kept her in the waiting room because we couldn’t move her. But it’s at the other end of the first floor. We’ll have to cross the communal areas where police and reporters are waiting for you.”

“I don’t care.” Max stood on unsteady legs. The room spun all around him. He braced himself against the wall. “I need to see her.”

“I understand.” Pushing herself up, the doctor stood, too. She didn’t look more stable than Max when she took her first step toward the door. When Wilson and Max’s parents made to follow, she raised one hand. “It’s better if only Mr. Prize comes with me.”

Max nodded at them. “I’ll be fine.”

Doctor Kalisten led him through the Pediatric Ward and across deserted hallways until they reached the common area’s entrance. Placing one hand on the large door, she said, “Unfortunately, there’s no other way to reach the waiting room.”

“That’s okay.” Max would mow down anyone in his path if necessary.

As soon as the doctor opened the door and Max emerged from behind the minute woman, flashes and questions went off at the same time. Like grenades, they hit Max at once, leaving his dragon disoriented. The mix of too-bright lights and shouts irritated the beast who bellowed in Max’s mind, demanding to be released to burn down the journalists. They blocked the hallway to the waiting room, while a cordon of policemen kept the horde from crowding around Max and the doctor.

One of the cops left the line. Max recognized him as the detective who had questioned him at his apartment. The man walked the few steps to the door where Max stood with one arm raised to his face to shield his eyes from the flashes.

“Maximus Prize, you are under arrest for the murder of Lauren Green,” Detective Welder said, reaching for his handcuffs.

“I don’t have time for this.” Max stepped forward, towering over the man who was the tallest of the group and barely reached his Adam’s apple. “My daughter and my soulmate are fighting for their lives. I’m not going to leave them alone.” He then walked to the center of the room and straightened to his full height. “Move.” His alpha voice parted the crowd, police and reporters alike.

Although the press kept firing their questions, nobody dared to stop him, and Max led the way for the doctor. Outside the waiting room, two cops guarded the door alongside Mrs. Lanetti, who sat in one of the plastic chairs in the hallway.

Usually impeccably dressed, his lawyer’s outfit showed a few wrinkles on her white shirt, and it looked like the same suit she had worn earlier at his apartment. A smidge of mascara darkened the corner of her eye. It seemed like days since he had seen her last, but only a few hours had passed.

“Max.” Mrs. Lanetti nodded. “Mr. Saints redirected me here from the precinct in case you needed me.”

“Thank you.” Max nodded back and turned to face the two men standing between him and the waiting room’s door.

Before he could say anything, Doctor Kalisten stepped in front of him. “We’re going inside,” she said.

The bigger of the two men looked down at her. “You can go in. He’s under arrest and comes with us.”

Max had enough already. “Out of the way.” His order was a low growl that reverberated in the hallway like a rumble.

Hit by the full power of Max’s alpha voice at such close quarters, the two men could only bow and step aside to let him through.

“I need a moment alone with her,” Max said as he entered and saw there were two nurses in the room.

The man and the woman looked at the doctor standing behind Max.

“It’s fine,” Doctor Kalisten said.

Max let the nurses through and closed the door behind him, taking in the sight of Vivienne’s wolf. Her shivering body lay on a blanket, while portable heaters kept the room toasty. He knelt by her, sinking his hand into her fur. Someone had cleaned her and wiped away the blood from the floor. The small wolf smelled of antiseptic and felt cold under his fingers despite the heat from the radiators. Her breathing was ragged.

“I don’t know if you can hear me,” he said. “But I want you to know that I’ve just told the detective that you are my soulmate.” The wolf’s shivers lessened, giving him the strength to keep talking. “You should’ve been the first to know.” He smiled. “I’m sure you’re furious with me about it, but the word just slipped out of my mouth and there’s no putting it back in. It’s funny how two of the biggest revelations of my life happened in the last two days. First Amber Rose, and now you. A daughter and a soulmate, all at once. Talk about a life change… and I would not have it any other way because I can’t think of a life without the two of you in it.”

Leaning in, he rested his forehead against her fur, taking care not to apply any pressure. Her labored breath resonated loud in his ears.

“Now that I’ve told you, you can’t leave me,” he whispered, tears welling in his eyes. “You know what happens to soulmates. It would be very selfish of you to leave me all alone for the rest of my very long life.” He tried to keep it together but hurt inside from the effort. “Vivienne, fight for me.” A sob was followed by another. “You must be strong for the two of us because I don’t think I can bear to lose you or Amber Rose.”

The door opened, and the doctor peeked in. “Mr. Price, the nurses need to check Vivienne’s vitals.”

“Give me one more moment,” he said. “Please.”

“Five more minutes.” The doctor closed the door.

“Vivienne, I’m new to this soulmate thing, but I’ll try to do the right thing by you.” He wiped the trail of tears from his face. “I wish we’d had time for a proper mating ceremony.” The ache in his heart intensified. “And you better wake to tell me how much I’m screwing up everything.”

The idea of mating had been a distant concept until a few days ago for Max. He had never thought he would settle before his forties. Then this little she-wolf entered his life, changing everything.

“Vivienne, I am yours. There won’t ever be another woman for me.” He leaned closer to her and let his dragon fangs lower in his mouth. Gently, he grazed the spot where the wolf’s neck and shoulder met. “With this bite, I bind myself to you.” He broke on the last part but forced himself to say the final word of the mating ceremony. “Forever.”

Max bit down, piercing the wolf’s fur and flesh, marking her with his dragon essence.

His dragon roared, and an image formed in his mind. Vivienne’s tan wolf and a pup with her same coloring and traits lay in a field of tall flowers. Max’s dragon sheltered them under his wing, licking Vivienne’s fur.

Max felt his consciousness slip away as his dragon took control.

“Mr. Prize!” the doctor called from far away.

The room disappeared as darkness embraced Max.