#Chapter 72: Not Enough

DEREK I’d been through a lot of things in my life—rogue ambushes, pack betrayals, the death of my father—but nothing compared to standing there in a fluorescent-lit hallway, watching the woman I loved come undone in front of a stranger in a lab coat. Elena’s voice was low at first. Quiet. Her posture stiff, her eyes locked on the doctor like he was the only thing keeping her upright. But I could see it—the way her hands twisted in the hem of her sweatshirt, the way her chest kept rising and falling in shallow bursts. The doctor’s words were measured, clinical, but something about the cadence made my skin itch. Elena’s face changed. Her brows pinched. Her lips parted. She asked something, too soft for me to hear. The doctor shook his head. I took a step forward, instinct roaring in me, but I stopped. I didn’t want to crowd her. Then she flinched—visibly. Her hands flew up like she was trying to bat something away. Her whole body jerked. And then she said it. Screamed it.