The Unwanted Omega: Claimed by the Shadow Alpha Chapter 13

The Unwanted Omega: Claimed by the Shadow Alpha Chapter 13

Ember POV: 

The phone rang at 3:00 AM. 

It was the hospital. 

“Mrs. Blackwood?” the nurse asked. She used my married 

name. “It’s your brother, Axel. He’s in critical condition. Multiple organ failure. The doctors say… this is it.” 

I sat up in bed. Derek was already awake, his hand on my 

shoulder. 

“Do you want to go?” he asked. 

I thought about it. Did I? 

“Yes,” I said. “To finish it.” 

We drove through the snow. It was falling thick and heavy, 

just like the night I left. The world was white and silent. 

When we arrived at the ICU, the smell of antiseptic and death was overwhelming. 

Rykker was in the waiting room. He was pacing. When he saw me, he stopped. He looked like a skeleton. His eyes were red–rimmed and wild. 

“He waited,” Ryker choked out. “He refused to let go until 

you came.” 

I walked past him into the room. 

Axel lay on the bed. He was hooked up to a dozen 

machines. His skin was gray, translucent like parchment. He looked eighty years old, though he was only forty. 

I stood by the bed. 

His eyelids fluttered open. He looked at me. 

He tried to speak, but there was a tube in his throat. His hands, covered in IV lines, twitched on the sheets. 

He moved his lips. I read the words. 

I’m sorry. 

He mouthed it again. I’m sorry. 

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, running down 

into his ears. 

I looked at his hands. These were the hands that used to 

bandage my scraped knees when we were children. These were also the hands that had slammed the door in my 

face. 

I took his hand. It was cold. 

I didn’t feel the spark of family. I felt the pity one feels for 

a stranger 

“You don’t have to fight anymore, Axel,” I said softly. 

His eyes widened, pleading. He wanted forgiveness. He 

wanted me to say, ‘It’s okay, I love you.‘” 

! couldn’t lie to a dying man. 

“Go to sleep,” I said. “Go find Mom and Dad. Tell them 

what happened. Maybe they can forgive you.” 

The light in his eyes flickered. The hope died, replaced by a terrible, crushing resignation. He knew he wouldn’t get 

the absolution he craved. 

He squeezed my hand one last time. Weakly. 

Then, the monitor let out a long, high–pitched whine. 

Beeeeeeeeeeep. 

The line went flat. 

I let go of his hand. I watched the doctors rush in, 

checking the time. 

“Time of death, 4:12 AM.” 

I walked out of the room. 

Ryker was standing by the door. He heard the flatline. He 

collapsed against the wall, sliding down until he hit the 

floor. He buried his face in his hands and howled. It was 

a sound of pure, unadulterated agony. 

I buttoned my coat. Derek was waiting for me at the 

elevator. 

I walked over to Ryker. I looked down at the last 

remaining member of my old family. 

“The funeral arrangements are your responsibility,” I said. 

Ryker looked up. He looked like a child lost in the dark. 

“Ember… don’t leave me. You’re all I have left.” 

“You have the Pack,” I said. “You are the Alpha.” 

“I am nothing,” he whispered. “I am alone.” 

I looked at him one last time. The brother who promised 

to protect me. The brother who failed. 

“Goodbye, Alpha Ryker,” I said. 

I 

dn’t call him ‘brother’. I didn’t use his nickname. I used 

his title. It was the ultimate wall. 

I turned and walked to the elevator. Derek stepped in with 

1. me. The doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of Ryker’s 

sobbing. 

We walked out of the hospital into the snow. 

The air was crisp and clean. I took a deep breath. The 

weight in my chest, the one I had carried for twenty years, 

was finally gone. 

“Are you okay?” Derek asked, opening the car door for me. 

I looked up at the sky. The snow was stopping. The 

clouds were breaking, revealing the moon. 

“I’m free,” said 

I got into the car. We drove away, leaving the hospital, the 

brothers, and the pain behind us in the white, silent dark. 

I reached for Derek’s hand. He squeezed it fight. 

We were going home.