Chapter 54

Simon's POV I had always respected strength, the kind that came with sharp claws and quicker reflexes. But watching Aisha command the pack Hospital made me realize there was another kind. A quieter, steadier strength. One that didn't roar or bare teeth, but healed and endured. She moved like the eye of a storm, calm and centered, even as chaos whirled around her. Patients sobbed, screamed, and sometimes even lashed out, too consumed by pain to think clearly. And yet, Aisha never flinched. "No one dies in my hospital," she had said earlier that day, her voice like steel wrapped in velvet. I had heard it from the hallway—those words weren't shouted. They were a promise. Something in me shifted when I heard that. I'd always seen myself as the protector. The one who charged in, teeth bared, ready to fight off whatever darkness dared touch those I cared about. But here she was, fighting a different kind of war, armed with scalpels and stethoscopes, and winning. That kind of courage? It floo