3. Gareth
Four hours into the surgery, and so far, all the updates had been positive.
The riskiest part of this whole thing was repairing the valve and creating one from her own tissue.
Nurse Harlow had just left after sharing the good news—it worked.
Now, all that was left was to put everything back where it belonged and get her heart beating on its own again.
The police chief hadn’t arrived yet, letting us know they’d caught a lead and were running it down.
Honestly, I didn’t want the chief to show up here because that meant he wasn’t out there looking.
Something in my gut told me they wouldn’t find him, at least not today.
There was so little time from him leaving, the ambulance showing up, and cops being called with zero trace of where he’d disappeared to.
None of that mattered, though, not right now, at least. What I was praying for over and over again like a fucking mantra, willing it into existence, was the chance to look my baby girl in the eyes and know she was still here with me.
I thought losing Callie was going to break me, but that was nothing compared to this ache I felt in my chest. The power of determination was keeping me from shattering into a thousand pieces, but if Nurse Harlow steps foot in here with that look on her face, that would be it for me—everything would be over, and there would be no point in existing in this world without Bailey-Rose in it.
Before, when people talked about the bond between an Alpha and their scent-matched Omega, it sounded absurd. How could one moment, one whiff of a scent change your life forever? It didn’t make sense.
Until it happens to you.
Then you wonder how you ever questioned the bond that filled the emptiness inside you.
Bailey-Rose changed everything for me, our pack, and the trajectory of our lives.
Now, all of that was at risk of being taken from us before there was ever a chance to enjoy this new adventure.
I had so many things I wanted to share with Bailey-Rose, and that was the hope I chose to cling to.
There would be a day I get to take her to Watson Ranch, introduce her to my mother, roast s’mores over a fire, and stare up at the stars you could see so clearly away from the city.
That was the life she could have now with this surgery.
I have no doubt the recovery from this surgery will take time, and she will need time to adjust. However, once the doctor cleared her, there was no more holding back.
We would show Bailey-Rose the world that had been kept from her, making millions of new memories to wash away the bad.
Hell, I didn’t care if I had to quit my job to make that dream a reality.
I had more than enough money in my trust and what I’d saved preparing for the day our pack had an Omega to spoil.
All I knew was I never wanted to live with an ounce of regret or missed moments with my Bailey-Rose.
And if anyone dared to fuck with my Omega ever again, there would be no hesitation in the hell I would rain down on them.
I lost one person I loved with all my heart because I wasn’t there for her, and that wasn’t going to happen again.