Chapter 92: ⁹²: Morthen

Kael’s pov:

"But, Alpha..."

I knew Ryan would never admit to that, so I stopped him before he could say anything else. "It isn’t dangerous anymore. Give it to the Investigation Department if they want to keep it for their records."

I turned around and started walking away. I had to reach the hospital as soon as possible now.

The first step was done. But the second and far more crucial step was still pending.

"Alpha, where are we going now?" Ryan asked as he caught up with me when I reached my car. "We haven’t even taken the full briefing from Mr. Jayes yet."

"Get in the car." I opened the driver’s door and settled into the seat.

Ryan quickly followed me inside, fastening his seat belt before looking at me with a confused expression. "Alpha, is there something I’m missing here?"

"We have to reach the hospital as soon as possible." I started the engine and immediately began maneuvering the car toward the exit, not even bothering to check whether the rest of the convoy had caught up.

"Hospital?" Ryan asked, staring at me. "Why? It was just an explosion. The officers are trained werewolves. Those injuries shouldn’t be fatal to them, especially since they’re already under expert medical care."

I shook my head. As the main gate of the base opened for my car, I accelerated through it. "If it had only been the explosion, I wouldn’t be this worried, Ryan."

I glanced at him briefly, the concern I had been trying to suppress finally showing on my face. "I’m worried because of that orb."

"Orb?" Ryan repeated, his brows furrowing. "But, Alpha, haven’t you already destroyed it?"

"I have." My eyes returned to the road. "But by the time I destroyed it, it had already done its work on the people who were injured."

Ryan’s expression changed immediately.

"That orb feeds on the vitality of injured people around it. Those seventy-five people who were taken to the hospital..." I tightened my grip around the steering wheel. "They’re in far more danger than anyone realises."

Ryan’s face paled. "But how? If the orb has already been destroyed—"

"It doesn’t matter anymore. The damage has already begun." I pressed harder on the accelerator, pushing the car faster down the road.

"If I don’t reach them soon enough, the dark magic that seeped into their bodies through their injuries will continue feeding on them."

Ryan stared at me, finally understanding the urgency in my voice. "You mean the dark magic is still inside them?"

"Yes." My jaw tightened. "And if it isn’t removed quickly, it will use their wounds as an entry point and consume their vitality from the inside."

Ryan went silent for a few seconds, processing everything. "That orb feeds on people’s injuries?" he finally asked. "Is that why it tried to injure your hand when you were destroying it?"

I nodded.."Exactly." I looked ahead, my expression turning grim. "That wasn’t just an attempt to defend itself. It was trying to create an injury it could use to feed from."

Ryan’s eyes widened. "And you still grabbed it with your bare hand..." He stopped letting the question hang in between us.

"Yes," I replied. " It had tried its last resort, but it didn’t know that along with my injury, it would also have to deal with my blood. That’s where it went wrong."

"Alpha, just an orb has this kind of intelligence?" Ryan asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "To know it was in danger and actually try to injure you while attempting to save itself?"

"It is the type of dark magic inside it, Ryan." I turned the car as the hospital finally came into view. "The orb is merely a vessel for it. It is that fucking magic that is capable of adapting to its surroundings and adjusting itself according to the situation until it completely consumes its target."

Ryan remained silent for a moment before finally speaking again. "Alpha, I know my position as Beta doesn’t allow me to ask you this, but still..."

I glanced at him.

"How do you know about this magic?"

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Ryan hesitated before continuing, almost as though he was carefully choosing his words.

"You reacted strangely the first time you saw that orb too. Have you seen something like it somewhere else before?"

I didn’t answer immediately. The hospital was now right in front of us. I brought the car to a stop and took a slow breath.

"It is the same magic that killed my mother." The words came out quieter than I expected. My gaze hardened. "It’s called Morthen."

I opened the car door and stepped outside before Ryan could ask anything else. I didn’t want to discuss it right now.

I didn’t have time to dig through memories I had spent years trying to bury. There were people inside this hospital who needed me, and every second we wasted could make their condition worse.

The moment I stepped outside completely and the people recognised me, the already chaotic surroundings became even more frantic.

Whispers spread through the crowd as heads turned toward me.

The bodyguards immediately surrounded me, clearing a path through the people so I could reach the emergency floor as quickly as possible.

"Why is the hospital so crowded, Ryan?" I asked as soon as we entered the elevator.

"They’re the family members of the injured, Alpha. We don’t know exactly how they got word about the explosion. Maybe, given the scale of the incident, the authorities simply couldn’t keep it contained."

I closed my eyes, irritation building inside me. This was the last thing I needed. "Call the head of security."

Ryan immediately took out his phone.

"Tell him to clear the hospital grounds. Arrange temporary accommodation for the families somewhere close to the hospital and assure them that their relatives are receiving the best possible treatment."

"Yes, Alpha." Ryan began giving the orders on his phone as the elevator continued upward.

The doors finally opened with a ding.I stepped out immediately. The scene in front of me made me stop for half a second.

The entire emergency floor looked like a battlefield.

Doctors and nurses rushed from one room to another, medical staff shouting instructions while others tried to manage the sheer number of patients who had suddenly been brought in.

The smell of medicine and blood hung heavily in the air. I clenched my jaw. This is because of that fucking orb.

An attending doctor hurried toward me the moment he noticed who had arrived.

"What is their condition?" I asked immediately.