Chapter 3

Madison welcomed him to the emergency room. After being alerted by the paramedics, she had insisted on taking care of her colleague herself, along with her team.

Mu Yang was taken to the operating theatre, and the bullet was extracted. Fortunately, no vital organs had been damaged, though two bags of blood were needed to compensate for the loss.

Madison removed her scrubs and gloves and joined her colleague's family waiting in the adjoining room.

There she found his mother, father, and a young woman looking at her with frightened eyes and pale faces.

She gave them a reassuring smile. "Your family member is going to be fine. The wound didn't affect any organs. You'll be able to see him shortly."

The mother burst into tears, and the father held her to comfort her. The young woman stepped closer. "Thank you for saving my brother."

"You don't have to thank me," Madison replied with a smile. "A nurse will come for you as soon as he's moved to a room."

---

Mu Yang blinked. His eyelids felt heavy, just like the rest of his body.

When his vision came into focus, he recognized the hospital where he worked—only now from the perspective of a patient lying in a bed.

"Didi!" his sister's voice made him turn his head. His mother and father were there too, their eyes glassy and their faces filled with concern.

What had happened?

Then it all came back to him: the werewolf who had shot him, the pain, the blood… the vampire who had rescued him…

"Mama, bàba, jiejie… I'm fine," he said, trying to reassure his family.

His mother came closer, took his hand—the one without the IV—and stroked it gently, sniffing back tears.

His father, standing behind her, looked at him with a relieved expression, while his sister leaned in and hugged him softly.

Then the door opened, and Dr. Silver entered.

"Glad to see you awake, Dr. Mu," she greeted him with a smile. "I'll need to ask your family to step out so I can examine you, and then I'll give you a few more minutes to say goodbye."

Once they were alone, the doctor came over and checked the IV and the machines beeping at his bedside.

"The gunshot wound didn't hit any organs. You had lost a lot of blood, so we gave you a transfusion. If the vampire hadn't arrived, you would have bled to death."

Mu Yang let out a sigh of relief at the news of his recovery, then paused at her final words—a vampire had saved him.

He remembered the scent of fresh night breeze and heather, the eyes like his, serious but concerned.

She hadn't hesitated to help him, despite the natural distrust between their two communities, and that moved him. Without thinking of possible consequences for herself, she had carried him to safety.

"Who is she?" he asked. "I'd like to thank her."

"I don't know her name, but I'll ask the pack leader and let you know."

"Thank you."

"There are some people who would like to ask you a few questions about what happened, if you're up for it."

"Yes, of course. Though I'm afraid I won't be of much help."

"Don't worry. Shall I let them in now?"

He nodded, and the doctor went to open the door. A man and a woman entered.

He was tall, with short brown hair and green eyes. She was a head shorter, with brown hair tied back in a ponytail and green eyes as well.

Both were dressed in black. From the way they carried themselves, Mu Yang guessed they were armed beneath their vests—likely two of the pack leader's warriors.

The man stepped forward and smiled. "My name is Michael Barclay. I'd just like to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight."

Mu Yang nodded.

"Were you able to see who shot you?"

"He was coming from the opposite direction. Dressed in black—jacket and trousers—with a hood over his head that kept his face in shadow. He was tall, strongly built, and definitely a werewolf."

He paused. "He didn't come close… I think he ran off after shooting me."

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful."

"You've been very helpful," Michael replied, rising to his feet. The woman, who had observed him in silence with an unreadable gaze, followed.

Of the two, she was probably the more intimidating.

After they left, his family came back in.

Mu Zhen kissed his forehead and reminded him to follow the doctors' orders and rest, while his father gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and said they would return the next day.

Once they were gone, Mu Yang turned to his sister.

"You should go home too, jiejie."

But she had already moved the small chair closer to his bed, settled into it, and pulled a blanket over herself.

"I'm not going anywhere, didi," she said, caressing his face.

He leaned into her palm and closed his eyes.

Even when he was little and sick, his sister would lie next to him until he fell asleep, feeling safe.

With a smile, soothed by those memories, he drifted off.