Chapter 3

Karter's fever spiked during the night, his small body burning like a furnace. He thrashed in bed, moaning softly, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Panic, sharp and metallic, tasted in my mouth. His heart condition made every fever a perilous journey.

I scooped him up, his skin radiating heat, and rushed him towards the community clinic. It was a small, local place, perfect for immediate care. My mind raced, calculating dosages, possible complications. My nurse's training kicked in, overriding the primal fear of a mother.

As I burst through the clinic doors, the familiar scent of antiseptic and sickness hitting me, I collided with someone. My head snapped up. Greyson. And beside him, Kennedy, her hand possessively intertwined with his. Emil was right there too, clutching a brightly colored toy.

My heart seized, a cold, hard knot in my chest. Of all the places. Of all the times.

Karter, despite his feverish state, stirred in my arms. His blurry eyes caught sight of Greyson. "Daddy?" he whispered, a faint flicker of hope in his glazed gaze.

He pushed away from me, his tiny legs wobbling, and stumbled forward, a pathetic, desperate attempt to reach the man who was supposed to be his father. "Daddy, I forgive you," he choked out, his voice hoarse. "Please, just stay with me. Please, Daddy."

Greyson recoiled, a look of discomfort flashing across his face. He instinctively stepped back, putting Kennedy and Emil between himself and his own son. His right arm went around Emil, pulling the boy closer, as if protecting him from a threat.

"Annette, what are you doing?" Greyson's voice was sharp, accusatory. "Why did you bring him here? You know Emil is trying to rest after his... ordeal."

My blood boiled. Emil's ordeal? My son was dying.

Before I could respond, Emil, emboldened by Greyson's protection, lunged forward. His small hand pushed Karter, who was already weak and unsteady. Karter tumbled backward, hitting the hard tile floor with a sickening thud. A sharp cry, filled with pain and surprise, escaped his lips.

"No!" I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat.

Emil, encouraged by the lack of immediate reprimand from Greyson, raised his hand to strike Karter again. Pure, unadulterated rage surged through me. I moved like lightning, grabbing Emil's arm mid-air, squeezing just hard enough to stop him without causing harm.

I pulled Karter back into my arms, his cries turning into heart-wrenching sobs. His arm was scraped and bleeding from the fall. I glared at Emil, then at Greyson. "Emil, apologize. Now." My voice was low, dangerous.

Greyson stepped forward, his eyes blazing with fury. "Annette! How dare you lay a hand on Emil? He's delicate! You just hurt him!" He pulled Emil protectively into his side. "You're always so aggressive, trying to cause trouble!"

I held Karter tight, his small body shaking. "Aggressive? He just pushed his sick, injured brother to the ground! Look at him, Greyson! Look at your son!" I pointed to Karter's scraped arm, then to his fever-flushed, tear-streaked face.

Greyson didn't even glance down. He turned his back, murmuring soothing words to Emil, who was now dramatically whimpering into his chest.

Kennedy, ever the picture of false sincerity, stepped forward. "Oh, Annette, I'm so sorry. Emil can be a bit spirited. But you know, Karter is so... fragile. Maybe you shouldn't bring him to public places when he's not feeling well." Her words dripped with condescension, a thinly veiled insult to Karter's congenital heart defect.

Emil, hearing his mother's words, puffed out his chest. He stuck out his tongue at Karter. "You're weak! My daddy says I'm strong!"

My head snapped up. I looked at Greyson, who was still cradling Emil, his back to us. My eyes were cold, hard chips of ice. "Greyson," I said, my voice barely a whisper, but it cut through the clinic's hushed air like a blade. "Are you going to let them insult your son? Are you going to let them call your blood weak?"

He finally turned, his face a storm of irritation. "Annette, enough! Karter is weak! And it's because of you! You're an Omega! He inherited your flimsy constitution!" His words were a direct assault, a cruel, emasculating blow.

The last vestige of our mate bond, already fractured, shattered into a million invisible pieces. It wasn't just cold now; it was a vast, desolate emptiness, a void where warmth and connection once lived. It felt like a deep, internal tearing, a final, irreparable severance from the man I had once loved.

Greyson, oblivious to the irreversible damage he had wrought, pulled Kennedy and Emil closer. "Come on, champs. Let's go. We don't need this drama." He ruffled Emil's hair. "My little champion deserves a reward, doesn't he? What do you want, Emil?"

Emil's eyes lit up. "My special heart medicine! The one that makes me strong like you!" He pointed a small, greedy finger at Greyson's chest.

My blood ran cold. Heart medicine? Karter's special, custom-compounded heart medication, procured through a long-standing, rare prescription, locked away in our home safe. The one Karter needed to prevent complications from his congenital defect. The one Greyson had absolutely no right to touch, let alone give away.

Greyson chuckled, a warm, indulgent sound. "Anything for my champion! You'll be the strongest Alpha one day, just like me." He beamed at Emil, then pulled his new 'family' out of the clinic, leaving me standing there, clutching my sick, injured son.

Karter coughed, his small body wracked with shivers, his eyes, still filled with tears, looking up at me. His little scraped arm, the burns, the tremor in his tiny limbs.

My world imploded. All hope, all patience, all love I had ever held for Greyson Baker evaporated in that single, crushing moment. It was gone, irrevocably, leaving behind only a searing, icy rage. He had taken Karter's life-saving medicine. He had chosen Emil's whim over our son's life.

My breath came in ragged gasps. My eyes, once filled with tears, were now dry, hard, and utterly devoid of emotion. No more. The voice in my head was calm, resolute. No more.

"It's over," I stated, the words flat, emotionless, but filled with absolute finality. I looked at the empty doorway where Greyson had disappeared. "The mate bond is dissolved. I am filing the papers."