Chapter 113

Knox's POV I couldn't take my eyes off her. Even as the medical team bustled around us with controlled urgency, all I saw was Aubrey's face—pale as death beneath the dirt and blood, her once vibrant features now hollowed by suffering. Her body felt impossibly light in my arms, as if the past weeks had stripped away not just her strength but her very substance. "Alpha, we need to start treatment immediately," Dr. Chen said firmly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The silver poisoning alone could be fatal if we don't act quickly." I nodded mechanically, still cradling Aubrey against my chest. Her breathing was shallow, her pulse erratic under my fingertips. The mate bond between us pulsed with renewed strength, but it was threaded with her pain, her exhaustion. "Knox," Dr. Chen said, gentler now, using my name rather than my title. "You need to let her go so we can help her." With excruciating reluctance, I laid Aubrey on the treatment table. The moment we lost physical contact, the bond