Chapter 7 I Can't Donate

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since I lost consciousness, but when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital room. The first thing I did when I came to was to call out for Nova, but there was no response. I had been in the hospital for three days, and the silence in the room felt unsettling—no visitors, no one to talk to. The only contact I had was a phone call from Margaret, whose gentle voice was a small comfort. "Darling, has someone wronged you? Don't keep your feelings bottled up; you need to share them with me. I owe your grandma everything, and the Blacks always repays their debts. I'll make sure Lucas understands your worth and accepts you. You will always be the matriarch of the Blacks, the Luna of the Obsidian Pack." Her comforting words made a lump form in my throat, and tears started to gather in my eyes. I knew she meant well, but I had already made up my mind. I was ready to leave, and I planned to tell her my intentions. But just as I was about to speak, I heard a few faint coughs from her end of the phone. I hesitated, and in the end, not wanting to worry her, I simply told her to take care of herself. After hanging up, I went through the motions of discharging myself from the hospital. As I walked down the stairs, I suddenly heard Nova's weak voice calling my name. "Aly ... " It was soft, almost a whisper. "Nova, I'm sorry ... " I whispered back. "No, Aly ... you ... you didn't ... do anything wrong." Nova's voice was barely audible, and before she could say anything else, she fell back into a deep sleep. I had just reached the door when I saw Lucas standing outside, his face unreadable, his voice firm. "Come with me." Before I could process what was happening, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the car. The rest of the morning was spent with him dragging me around—shopping, having lunch, and even going to a movie. While we waited in line for the movie, his phone rang. After answering, his face hardened. "Just what did you do to make Grandma like you so much?" I had just heard Margaret's voice on the phone, and it hit me—Lucas had been forced into this situation. I wanted to leave, but the sound of Margaret coughing stopped me. I couldn't just walk away. The movie lasted for 90 minutes, and every few minutes, Lucas would glance at his watch. His phone kept buzzing, and the people around us started murmuring in annoyance. I couldn't help but find it ridiculous. I tugged at my lips and muttered under my breath, "Is it really that painful to be with me?" He didn't respond. When the movie ended, the crowd surged as we exited the theater. There were stores promoting deals, and I didn't notice one until I almost bumped into it. Lucas instinctively grabbed me just in time to stop me from colliding with it. Before I could react, I heard Evelyn's voice behind me, trembling with emotion. "Lucas, you said you were busy today, but you're on a date with her?" Lucas and I turned, only to see Evelyn running away in tears, with Alexander standing nearby, his eyes full of rage. Lucas's face changed in an instant, and he shoved me aside with force before chasing after her. Alexander, standing in front of me, glared at me with such anger that I flinched. He followed Lucas out. The shove had been so hard that I fell to the ground, my hand scraping painfully against the pavement. It took me a moment to steady myself before I stood and walked toward the exit. As I stepped onto the sidewalk, I saw Evelyn, crying so hard that her voice was hoarse. She was surrounded by two men who were trying to comfort her. No matter how much they apologized, Evelyn wouldn't listen. In the end, she pushed Lucas away and ran off. I recognized this as one of Evelyn's tactics, and I couldn't help but scoff inwardly. I wished Nova could see how absurd all of this was. At that moment, a car suddenly sped toward Evelyn, heading straight for her. In an instant, Alexander didn't hesitate. He shifted into his wolf form and pushed Evelyn out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the car. The sound of the crash was deafening as Alexander was thrown a dozen feet away, blood spilling across the pavement in a dark pool. I didn't expect it to happen, and I froze in place. Half an hour later, a doctor rushed out of the emergency room with his hands covered in blood. "The patient has lost too much blood. He's Rh-negative, and our blood supply is low. What do we do?!" Without a second thought, Lucas grabbed my wrist. "You're the same blood type, aren't you? Alicia, you and Alexander share the same rare blood type—you can save him!" I hesitated but nodded. I knew exactly what Lucas was trying to do. But just as I agreed, Evelyn suddenly lost control, her voice shaking with anger. "Why do you have the same blood type?!" I stayed silent, remembering how Evelyn had discovered I was the true daughter of the Whites in my past life because my blood type matched Alexander's. But Lucas didn't notice Evelyn's outburst. All he cared about was saving his friend, Alexander. He quickly took over the conversation. "Since you're the same blood type, you need to donate blood to Alexander right away!" "I can't donate." I immediately refused. Lucas's anger flared, his voice cold as ice. "Why?" I looked at him, my lips pressed into a thin line. I silently repeated the reason in my head. It wasn't a question of why. It was because Alexander and I were siblings by blood. The Moon Goddess had decreed that no blood should ever be exchanged between family members—doing so would result in both of them dying.