Fell for the Alpha-less Queen

"Are we really going to give up?" Samuel murmured, pressing a hand to his

throbbing forehead. The nonstop, high-intensity work was finally breaking even

him.

"Take an hour to rest. I'll keep watch," Tessa said, giving him a light shove. "We'llnoveldrama

hold out in shifts. Better than both of us dropping."

Samuel wanted to argue, but her eyes stopped him cold.

She was right, and he knew it. So he stood. "I'll relieve you in an hour."

Tessa lay down on the makeshift hospital sofa almost instantly.

and fell asleep

But not even an hour later, she jolted a deep sense of dread gripping her.

She bolted to the lab.

pounding,

The moment she opened the door, her pupils shrank in horror-Samuel had

collapsed beside the workstation, his face tinged with the sickly gray-blue hue

unique to virus infection.

"Samuel!" Tessa ran to catch him, her voice trembling.

Even an S+ level werewolf medic had fallen. This virus was far more aggressive

than they'd ever imagined.

Samuel forced his eyes open, weakly pushing her away. "Stay back... I'm

infected... Don't touch me."

His voice was faint. Though his healing ability was leagues above other

werewolves, it wasn't enough to stop the virus from invading.

Tessa snatched up his phone. "Get Dr. Samuel to the isolation unit-maximum

containment!"

As he was wheeled away, a group of doctors surrounded her, faces pale as death.

"Ms. Tessa... if even Dr. Samuel's infected... is there really anything we can do

against this virus?"

Samuel had been their anchor. Now that he'd fallen, panic rippled through the

team.

"You're giving up just because you're scared?" Tessa's glare swept across them

like shards of ice. "You're going to sit back and watch this virus destroy

Montedra's genetic future? You think that white coat you wear is for

show?"

The doctors lowered their heads in shame, none to speak again.

Outside, the council's defense squads stood guard. No one was allowed in or out.

They couldn't run even if they wanted to. But staying meant risking infection.

"I'll stay with you." One woman stepped forward. Her nametag read "Rosa." "I'll be

your assistant."

She shot a scornful glance at the others-backing out now was a disgrace to

everything their profession stood for.

"Good." Tessa nodded and turned back into the lab.

Rosa followed closely, moving efficiently through the prep work. Every task Tessa

assigned was handled with precision, saving time and energy.

10:29 Sat 2 Aug

Chapter 573 Collapse and Resolve

Eventually, Tessa lifted her head from the microscope. Her

"I've extracted the pathogen."

eyes gleamed.

Rosa's heart skipped. She stared at the writhing genetic strand under the lens in

awe. "That's incredible. The gene sequence is insanely complex. I studied it for

three days and couldn't figure it out."

"Just borrowed from what I had," Tessa said calmly, fingers flying over the

keyboard. "Samuel had a werewolf genome map in his notes. I used it to find a

weak point."

What she didn't mention was that she'd spent hours translating those advanced

medical terms while

running experiments in real-time-tearing through that wall with sheer grit.

Rosa watched Tessa's focused profile and finally understood why Samuel had

trusted her so deeply.

This first-year med student carried a composure and resilience far beyond her

age. No matter how heavy the sky got, she could stand under it and hold it up by

sheer force of will.

estate.

While Tessa was piecing together the cure with blood and willpower, chaos had

broken out at the Sinclair

Yardley stormed toward Walter's bedroom with Lila, Winona, and a lawyer in tow.

The head of the security detail stepped in front of the door. "Apologies. Before

leaving, the Alpha gave strict orders-no one enters without his permission."

422

"What the hell do you mean?" Yardley's voice rose. "This is the Sinclair home!

That's my father in there! Landon might be the Alpha King, but he has no right to

interfere in family matters!"

The guard stared him down coldly. "If you've got the guts, take it up with the

Alpha. But right now, you either walk away-or don't blame us if things get ugly."

The mèn Nathaniel sent were Nightshade Pack's, elite. They weren't about to

back down to a bunch of opportunists.

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