I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**ARIA**

The pack infirmary was a whirlwind of activity, a cacophony of anxious voices and hurried movements, as Nina ushered me through the heavy doors.

“Take a seat here,” she instructed, gently guiding me to a bench that hugged the wall. “I’ll find someone to tend to your wounds.”

“I’m fine,” I insisted, attempting to rise. “I need to see Kael—”

“Aria, you’re bleeding through your clothes,” Nina’s voice was a soothing yet unwavering force. “You won’t be able to help him if you collapse from blood loss. Just give us five minutes. Let us treat you, and then you can go to him.”

A part of me wanted to argue, to fight against the confines of her care, but she was already signaling to one of the younger healers—a woman named Sarah, whose kind eyes and steady hands radiated reassurance.

“Nina, what’s going on?” Sarah asked as she approached, her brow furrowed in concern.

“Nightwalker attack,” Nina replied swiftly. “Check her over thoroughly. Their claws can carry infection.”

Sarah knelt before me, her fingers deftly cutting away the tattered fabric of my pants to reveal my leg. I winced as the cool air brushed against the wounds, sending a jolt of pain through me.

“Three deep lacerations,” she noted, her voice calm as she began to clean the wounds with an antiseptic that stung like fire. “You’re fortunate, really. A few inches higher and you could have hit the femoral artery.”

Fortunate. The word felt hollow, a cruel joke. I had danced on the edge of death, and the only reason I was still breathing was because a cursed Alpha had thrown himself in harm’s way to save me.

As Sarah continued her work, the sounds of chaos from the main treatment room where Kael had been taken seeped into my consciousness. Healers shouted commands, the metallic scent of blood mingled with the palpable tension in the air, and somewhere, a soft sob broke through the din.

“How is he?” I managed to ask, my voice barely a whisper, trembling with fear. “The Alpha—is he—”

“They’re doing everything they can,” Sarah said, but the uncertainty in her tone was unmistakable. “The wounds are deep, and nightwalker attacks are notoriously difficult to treat. Their claws carry a toxin that disrupts normal healing.”

My heart sank, dread pooling in my stomach. “What does that mean for him?”

“It means that even with our best healers, his wolf cannot heal as it normally would. And with the curse already draining his strength…” She trailed off, the weight of her unspoken words hanging heavily in the air.

I didn’t need her to finish. I understood all too well.

Kael was dying.

He had saved my life, and now, because of that very act, he was fighting for his own.

“I need to see him,” I said, urgency lacing my voice. “Please, I need—”

“Let me finish bandaging these wounds,” Sarah interjected, moving to the gashes on my shoulder. “The nightwalkers did a number on you, but the cuts are clean. No signs of toxin in your system—you must have been lucky, or the Alpha took them out before they could inject you properly.”

Lucky again. While Kael lay fighting for his life in the next room.

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