Chapter 41

~ Rufus’s POV

Fear gnawed at my insides as I ran closer to the pack’s clinic. The second I stepped inside the clinic, the doctor’s words hit me like a cold wave.

“We did everything we could, but..." His voice trailed off, but I already knew. No. It couldn't be.

My mom exploded. Tears streamed down her face as she grabbed the doctor’s coat, her voice ragged with a mix of disbelief and desperation.

"No! Please, you have to try again! Look at him one more time!" she pleaded, her voice cracking with every word. I stared at my dad, whose face etched with a deep, silent pain, and remained rooted to the spot, his gaze locked on Dolph's lifeless body.

Ignoring the tears blurring my own vision, I bolted towards the doctor. My voice, barely a choked whisper at first, rose in pitch as I pleaded, "Please, you have to save him! Don't you see, that's my brother!"

But the doctor’s reply was a gentle but firm punch to my gut. He explained, his voice heavy with sympathy, that by the time Dolph arriv