Rage.

The doctors rushed out of the hospital room soon after Luciano dragged the nurse away.

In all their glory, three Alphas eyed the terrified men, wondering what might have gone wrong.

“Could we speak to the King, please?” The older male stuttered yet managed to force the words out in a somewhat understandable manner.

His forehead was covered in sweat, eyes darting between the terrifying men. The reaction and behavior weren't anything out of the ordinary - most of the servants and staff members felt intimidated by the men.

Living under one roof with the King was quite stressful, but everyone had three powerful Alphas on top of that. As soon as the men moved in, many questioned how their life would change. Clearly, the dominant men would keep competing about anything. Right?

“The King is busy; you can talk to us,” Ryder stepped closer, more than ready to follow Luciano's commands.

As an Alpha, he didn't enjoy being told what to do, but this time he would - for as long as it concerned Seth's safety. The woman in that room was the center of their universe, no matter what or how they did, the men had to push themselves to step aside whenever she needed that.

And right now, Seth needed them all following the King's demands.

“Noted. We need to perform surgery on the young lady, and someone has to give us permission. Since she's unconscious, we can't ask for her consent, so we have to ask those close to the puma. If we don't get her into the surgery now, the consequences could be lethal.” Sighing, the doctor leaned against the wall, fearing how the men could take in the news.

Nobody really knew what was happening between all five of them, but one thing was more than clear - the men did everything in their power to save her.

“What are you waiting for, do it!” Dominic and Vlad spoke in unison as if their answer was staged long ago, waiting for the right moment to use it.

Both doctors nodded their heads and rushed back to the hospital room, informing the staff that some of them had to prepare the surgery room. After that, everything happened in a blur.

The Alphas sat down, waiting for any news in silence. The only sounds they could hear were the chatter from the surgery room and an occasional scream from downstairs - Luciano had left the door open intentionally.

The King made sure that everyone heard the woman's screams. No one was safe from his wrath anymore. Whoever had anything to do with endangering Seth's life had to face the consequences.

After an hour, there was no news, but unlike the Alphas who were too stressed out and tired to do anything besides waiting and staring at the wall - the King didn't stop. He gladly took his time, giving the woman a minute or two of a break before he got back to his sick, wicked games.

Another hour passed by, and finally, one of the nurses left the surgery room and ran towards the Alphas. “Gentlemen, I need to find out your blood types,” the woman appeared to be calmer than others, yet her heart rate could be heard from at least a mile away.

It was one of those things they learned at college - staying calm under any circumstances. Even if the lives of their loved ones were at stake, they had to walk around as if nothing moved them.

The young doctors and nurses would have to face many terrifying views in the hospital, especially after an attack or a battle.

“Which one do you need?” Ryder questioned the woman, avoiding wasting any time on all of them trying to recall the blood types. It was easier if they knew what the nurse sought from the get-go.

“We need any negative type right now; if any of you have it, please follow me,” the woman motioned towards the room that was a few steps away from where Seth was undergoing surgery.

Ryder and Vlad followed the woman, eager to help however they could. Luckily, a more considerable percent of wolves had negative blood types, so finding a donor around the castle wouldn't be difficult at all.

In the meantime, Dominic mind-linked Luciano, trying to find out if the King could be one to help. The Alpha himself had a positive blood type, so thus far, he was the only one without any input there.

“What's your blood type?” Dominic's voice echoed in Luciano's mind, sounding way too calm to spark up any worry. His main intention was to seek answers, doing his best to avoid making his friend freak out over the surgery. If anyone, Luciano had the ugliest anger - his emotions came at a cost. For others, of course.

“I'm busy here, no time for casual shit conversations, okay?” The King replied nearly instantly, angered because of the distraction.

There was only one thing in his mind now - revenge. At this point, a slight suspicion of the nurse's involvement was enough for the King to express his rage.

“I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it was negative. Remember the time when we fell down that cliff, and you needed blood? I couldn't give any because I'm positive, well, also I was just a child, but that doesn't matter. That's how I remember. I think. Anyway, get your ass up here; she needs blood.” Dominic wanted to cut the mind-link, yet Luciano wouldn't let him go. Perks of being the King and holding everyone on a short leash.

“You idiot, you should have started with the last part. I'm going to kick your ass later, dumbass,” Luciano growled, dropping everything he wanted to do and running to the hospital.

On his way, the King didn't forget to warn his guards to keep an eye on the traitor. He couldn't let the woman escape before he had finished his job. Besides, there were plenty of questions he still wanted to ask.

Rushing to the hospital, Luciano dismissed everyone on his way, ensuring that the servants knew that this was not the right time to challenge the King. As soon as he arrived, Dominic pointed at the room without saying a thing, letting his friend know where he would head first.

Luciano nodded his head and ran to the room, kicking the door open and eyeing both Alphas, who already held a tiny piece of cotton wool on their forearms. The King didn't have to say anything; he sat down and rolled up his sleeve, clenching his fist and letting the nurse do her job.

“Is she going to be okay?” Luciano finally spoke up, focusing on the bag slowly filling up with his blood. The process happened in a blur; he didn't register when the nurse took the needle, let alone slid it into his arm. He wasn't the person who would gladly walk around and have small talk with everyone; the new King preferred avoiding unnecessary conversations.

“I think so. And Abby, is she going to be okay?” The nurse smiled.

Despite her efforts, it was far too easy to notice the sadness and pain in her eyes. The woman was worried about her co-worker. Were they friends? Family? But then again, it wasn't like the King cared about the relationship between both women, one of them was about to die anyway.

“Abby as the nurse who met us here?” Luciano faced the woman, raising an eyebrow.

She didn't dare to speak anymore; just a slight nod of her head was the only answer she could give.

The King chuckled: “No, she won't. Let's be honest with each other. She tried to kill my Queen; I'm sure I have all rights to repay with the same treatment. What do you think? Or should I have mercy over someone who decided that they have the right to kill someone I love?” As soon as the words left his lips, the nurse's eyes widened.

She had prepared many scenarios of his answer in her mind, but none of them stood even close to his confession. Who would have thought that the King managed to fall in love with a puma shifter?

What was it about that woman that made her so special? Besides the King, she had three more men, eagerly waiting next to the room, praying to the Gods to help her go through the surgery.

“I think that the King's words are the law, but I also think that I might help to get some information if the King decided to have mercy on my friend. She isn't the brightest star in the sky, but I know that there is no way my friend would ever come up with such a vile plan alone. Besides, there is no way that she, alone, could do so much damage to a puma. That is impossible. If Abby ever faced a grown puma shifter, she would probably pee her pants in fear. That girl has seen nothing but home, school, and the hospital. Hell, she even cries if there is a spider in the room - imagine her reaction to a shifter that is more than capable of ripping her into shreds.”

Listening to the nurse's rant, Luciano thought about her words. What were the odds that the woman could manage to get those names?

Who said that the guilty nurse would break and confess in everything? Of course, the offer was quite tempting, but the King didn't feel merciful enough to agree.

As the woman withdrew the needle from his arm, she placed the same cotton wool on the needle's exit. She knew that shifters would take less than thirty seconds to heal, especially when the skin's damaged surface was so small, but she had to follow the protocol.

“Let's hope this works,” the woman whispered under her breath, zoning out and forgetting that the King was still in the same room as her.

“The fuck did you said?” Dropping the politeness and diplomatic approach of a Royalty, Luciano jumped on his feet, stomping closer to the woman. Anger lit an unknown fire in his heart, encouraging him to get rid of more than just one nurse.

"Please, calm down. This is all I can do for now, but none of us know if the puma's body will accept the blood. Werewolves and pumas might be similar in their shifter antics, but they're still different. We don't have access to puma blood, and the last reserves of human blood are gone. For now, this is the best way to win some time. However, if her body won't reject it - we can expect a fast recovery. Now, I'll have to ask you to excuse me; the doctors are waiting for me in the surgery. They need this blood now.” The nurse grabbed all three bags of blood and bowed before she ran out of the room.

Perhaps that was the best decision she had ever made - sticking around with Luciano, especially when he was this angry, wasn't the best idea ever. Not even the King himself knew the possible outcome.

Only when the woman left, Luciano understood that her action wasn't an attempt to escape. The woman was there to help Seth, and she couldn't waste any time arguing with the King.

There was nothing he could do to help anymore, so he headed back to the cells, ignoring the three Alphas. As he was getting closer to the cell, he slowed down, thinking that if she used a mind-link to communicate with someone, the King would catch her off guard.

He did.

When Luciano neared her cell, the woman's eyes lost color, reminding mist, completely lost.

As he took a closer look, the King realized that she was communicating with someone from his lands. Otherwise, the color in her eyes would slightly change, but it never did.

“You tell me who it was, and I might set you free. If you don't, well - I prefer playing rough anyway. I will get the names, and then you will beg me to kill you. But I won't. I will take months, if not years, using you as my little, precious punching bag, making you wish you died before I caught you.”

The King entered her cell as if he had spent his whole life there. As if he knew what each little corner and edge hid behind the darkness.

His eyes traveled over her body, a slight smirk grew on his lips. The things he could make her feel, the fear he would seed in her, would go beyond any expectations.

At this point, Luciano kind of hoped that she would try to hide the others. Eventually, he would find out the only difference was if she chose the easiest or the hardest way out.

To keep himself away from the hospital while Seth recovered, the King needed a distraction. The nurse would be good enough for that.

“I don't understand what you are talking about, my King,” the nurse averted her gaze, spitting blood on the dirty cell floor.

The woman studied medicine for years; she was well aware of the things that might happen next. First of all, she would probably face inner bleeding and perhaps blood poisoning, if he were to use any dirty objects to penetrate the flesh.

The King didn't seem to care about how sterile or clean his weapons were, especially those he used only on the rogues.

Then, as a shifter, she would heal over and over again; in time, her healing ability might slow down, but it didn't change the fact that eventually, she would feel healthy.

She knew that the King would keep coming.

Even if the puma made it through the night, he would keep on returning - torturing her however he pleased. Each injury might make her spirit weaker. The woman didn't risk only her health but the possibility of losing her inner wolf, leaving her to rot in the cells as nothing but an empty shell.

The thought terrified her, but the woman knew that it would happen eventually, especially with all those things the King had planned. There was nothing worse for a shifter than losing the inner beast.

If the nurse survived by some miracle - she would become an outcast one way or another. A woman without a wolf, one that hurt the woman their leader seemed to care for.

“It was Amy,” the nurse whispered under her breath, struggling to keep her eyes open for longer.