Chapter 265: Work Together

​Leo’s POV

​"No! No, no, no!" I screamed, my voice bouncing off the dark stone walls.

​I didn’t waste a single second. I didn’t wait for the healers to come down into this filthy, damp hole. I leaned down and scooped Scarlett up into my arms. Her body was so light, so cold, and completely limp. Her head fell back against my shoulder, and her beautiful eyes remained shut. The slight thumping of the mate bond in my chest was completely dead.

​"Leo, wait! Don’t move her yet!" Leonard yelled, his face pale with fear as he tried to stop me.

​"We are getting her out of this hellhole right now!" I roared back, my chest heaving.

​I turned and ran. I carried her up the dark, twisting stone stairs of the dungeon, holding her tight against my chest. Liam and Leonard ran right beside me, using their bodies to shield us as we broke out into the main hall of the castle.

​The war outside was ending, but the stench of blood and smoke was everywhere. Our Full Moon fighters were standing over the corpses of the dead vampires, their fur coated in gray ash.

​"Marcus! Get over here now!" Liam screamed at the top of his lungs.

​Our pack healer, Marcus, ran over to us with his team. His eyes went wide when he saw Scarlett’s pale face and the deep, bleeding punctures in her neck.

​"Lay her down on the grass! Quickly!" Marcus shouted, pointing to a patch of green lawn just outside the shattered castle gates.

​We sprinted out of the vampire castle, leaving the dead place behind. I gently laid Scarlett down on the cool grass, my hands shaking so violently I could barely let her go.

​Marcus and two other medical wolves rushed forward. They placed their hands over her heart and her neck. Green, glowing healing magic emanated from their palms, illuminating the dark night. They tried to channel their own life force into her body to make her heart beat again.

​We stood in a tight line, watching them. I gripped Liam’s arm, and Leonard pressed his shoulder against mine. For the first time in our lives, there was no anger or jealousy between us. We were just three broken brothers terrified of losing the same girl. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

​Minutes passed. The healers were sweating, their faces turning pale as they exhausted all their energy. But the green light just slid off her skin. Her body was rejecting the magic.

​Finally, Marcus stopped. He dropped his hands and looked up at us, his eyes brimming with heavy tears.

​"Alphas... I am so sorry," Marcus whispered, his voice trembling. "The King is dead, but his bite carried a dark poison. It has fractured her life force. She is not fully dead yet—her soul is still hanging on by a thread—but normal healing cannot save her. Only a miracle can save her now."

​"A miracle?" Liam roared, his wolf eyes flashing with frantic terror. "Fix her!"

​Suddenly, the air around us grew freezing cold. The green magic from the healers vanished completely. A soft, glowing red mist drifted out of Scarlett’s chest, swirling into the air above us.

​The healer speaks the truth, a deep, ancient voice echoed right inside our minds. It was the Red Wolf. Her voice was weak and tired, but it still rumbled like thunder. The poison did its job to kill the king, but it shattered her life force. I am holding her soul, Alphas. But I cannot hold it much longer.

​What do we do? Leonard asked through the link, his mind-voice crying out in agony. Tell us how to save our mate!

​There is only one way to pull her soul back to this world, the Red Wolf said, the red light drifting closer to the three of us. You three must invoke the mate bond together. You must bind your three souls to hers at the exact same time.

​The red mist flared up, pressing against our chests.

​But this is your ultimate test, the ancient wolf warned. You must completely cast aside your jealousy. You must break the toxic cycle of your fathers’ past rivalry. If there is even one drop of pride or resentment in your hearts about sharing her, the bond will snap, and she will die forever. You must choose to share her fully, out of pure, selfless love. Are you ready to surrender your pride for her?

​Liam, Leonard, and I looked at one another. In the past, we had fought, let our pride divide us, and argued over who would possess her. But looking at her pale, unmoving body on the grass, none of that mattered. Our pride was nothing. Our rivalry was foolish.

​"We don’t care about the past," I said aloud, looking at my brothers with absolute clarity.

​"She is our everything," Leonard said, his voice steady and completely certain.

​"We choose her. Together," Liam stated firmly.

​The moment we uttered those words, the red mist flared brilliantly, wrapping around the three of us one last time. Then, with a soft rush of wind, the Red Wolf vanished back into Scarlett’s chest. The freezing air began to warm up, and the deep silence of the woods returned.

​I didn’t lose any time. I leaned down and carefully took Scarlett back into my arms, holding her close to my chest.

​"Let’s go home," Liam said, his voice rough but totally steady.

​We turned away from the ruined vampire castle and began our long journey back to the Full Moon Pack. I kept my human form, walking with long, rapid strides while our pack fighters moved in a tight perimeter around us to keep us safe. My arms felt tight around her, but I didn’t care about the weight. I just kept staring down at her pale, beautiful face. Her skin was still far too cold. Looking at her, a wave of dark dread hit my chest. I had almost lost her. If we had stayed in our quarters, if we hadn’t come to these woods, she would be gone forever.

​Minutes later, we finally arrived at the Full Moon Pack border.

​The rest of our pack warriors were waiting there, guarding our territory. They began to cheer when they saw us approaching, but the noise died down instantly when they spotted Scarlett in my arms. Their eyes went wide, and they lowered their heads, hiding their faces out of respect and sorrow when they saw how still she was.

​We didn’t stop to speak to anyone. We walked straight through the crowd and marched up the hill toward the grand pack mansion. The front doors were wide open. Inside, the house staff and maids stood in the hallway, waiting for news. The moment we walked past them, their faces fell. Some of the maids covered their mouths, tears welling in their eyes as they saw her limp body.

​We carried her up the stairs, straight to her bedroom. I walked over to the large mattress and gently placed her down on the soft sheets, straightening her ruined clothes.

​As soon as her head hit the pillow, something incredible happened. The dark, ugly bite marks on her neck began to close up. The skin smoothed over, leaving nothing behind. Every single scratch on her arms and face faded away into flawless skin. The Red Wolf’s poison was gone, and her body was perfectly healed on the outside.

​Except she wasn’t waking up.

​She lay there like a sleeping doll, her chest completely still, not moving up or down. There was no breath leaving her lips.

​I stood by the side of the bed, my hands shaking as I looked down at her. I looked up at my brothers. Liam and Leonard were standing across from me, both staring at me with heavy, solemn expressions. The old walls between us were completely gone. The petty fights about who would claim her didn’t matter anymore.

​"We are going to do exactly what the Red Wolf said," I said, my voice clear and firm as I looked at them. "No more fighting. No more jealousy."

​Liam and Leonard looked at each other, and then they both nodded their heads.

​"Exactly what she said," Liam agreed, stepping closer to the bed. "Whatever it takes to bring her back."