Fated to the Alpha Who Killed Me (by Sherry) novel Chapter 199

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“Linda was out of line,” Aiden cut me off. “Physical altercations during work hours are absolutely not

acceptable.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Though I have to ask–did you know about Celeste’s

condition?”

“No. I had no idea.”

“Are you really going to let Linda resign?”

Aiden shook his head slowly. “No. I’ll talk to her once she’s calmed down. But Violet, you need to be more

careful about workplace relationships, okay?”

“I understand,” I said, though privately I thought it was rich that I was being warned when I hadn’t asked

for any of this drama.

“Go home for the rest of the day. Get some rest. I’ll handle the office gossip.”

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I didn’t argue, just collected my things and made my way out. By the time I reached my car, my hands were

trembling badly.

Celeste had a heart condition. Serious enough to require ICU care. And Daemon was arranging for her

treatment, essentially tying himself to her through a debt that made my own claims seem pathetically

insignificant.

I was so lost in thought that I almost didn’t notice Evan’s car until I saw him leaning against it, arms

crossed.

“Why are you here?” I asked as I climbed out.

He pushed off from the car. “Do you know about Celeste’s heart condition?”

“I just found out. Linda confronted me at work.”

“Come on. Let’s go upstairs. I know the full story, and you need to hear it.”

The elevator ride was silent. When we passed Daemon’s apartment, I felt an irrational spike of something

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17:26 Mon, Jun 8

Chapter 199

that might have been disappointment or relief. Kael’s door opened just as I was unlocking mine, and he

emerged with trash, his eyes widening when he saw Evan.

“Evan,” he said slowly. “You and Violet…”

“I need to discuss something important with her,” Evan said, tone leaving no room for speculation.

I gave Kael a brief nod, then opened my door and gestured Evan inside.

“Sit,” Evan said, and I obeyed, sinking onto the couch while he remained standing.

“Celeste is currently at the hospital where one of my colleagues works,” he began. “He’s a cardiothoracic

surgeon, and he mentioned her case to me. She has severe congenital heart disease, Violet. She needs a

heart transplant, and the situation is extremely complicated.”

The words pressed down on my chest. Heart transplant. The kind of catastrophic failure that required

someone else to die so she could live.

“How severe?” I heard myself ask.

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“Critical enough that once she stabilizes, Daemon is arranging for her to be transferred to Northern Summit

Pack territory.” Evan’s clinical detachment cracked slightly. “She’s waiting for a human heart donation, or

possibly an artificial heart implant. Either way, it’s complex, expensive, dangerous. And the stress could

have genuinely pushed her into cardiac failure.”

I stared at him, struggling to process the implications. Celeste was dying. Had been dying all along. And

Daemon was now promising to save her life.

“So his ‘hardship‘ was this?” My voice came out brittle. “The reason he protected her–it was because she

might die?”

“A heart condition doesn’t excuse manipulation,” Evan said carefully. “It’s possible to be both genuinely ill

and genuinely calculating.”

“She pursued him first,” I said flatly. “Zane confirmed it yesterday. And Daemon let himself be villainized to

protect her.”

Evan’s expression flickered. “That’s consistent with what I’ve observed. Daemon has always been protective

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Chapter 199

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of people he perceives as needing rescue. It doesn’t mean he loves her. It might just mean he can’t stand

being responsible for someone’s death.”

The distinction felt meaningless. Love, guilt, protective instinct–what did it matter when the end result

bound him to her forever?

My head swam suddenly, the room tilting sideways as exhaustion and stress crashed over me. I’d been on

my feet since before dawn, had barely kept down breakfast, had weathered Linda’s attack and this

conversation and the relentless emotional whiplash.

“Violet?” Evan’s voice came from very far away. “Are you okay?”

I tried to answer, but my tongue felt thick. My vision narrowed to a tunnel of darkness rimmed with sparks

of light.

The last thing I registered was Evan’s hands catching me as I pitched forward, his alarmed shout muffled by

the roaring in my ears.

Then everything went black.

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