Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Ethan looked at Keith, the fury in his face tightening into something more personal.

“How is my brother?” Ethan asked.

Keith nodded quickly, because that was the one part he could offer without adding more pain.

“He sounded fine; the only people injured were your mother, step-father and Ashley,” Keith said.

Ethan’s jaw worked. Relief and anger crossed his face together. His brother was alive. His mother was hurt. Levi and Ashley were hurt. Whitewood was under an enemy’s shadow. It was too much for any man to take lying down, but Ethan had no choice. Not yet

“Dr Rosenberg must be detained until he is cleared. Since Sebastien owns the pack on the surface, we must regroup and train. We have to take the bastard down before he verifies the document,” Ethan said.

Even from bed, he gave orders like an Alpha. There was no trembling in his voice. No uncertainty. Keith felt something in him settle. This was why they needed Ethan. Not just because of bloodline. Not just because Whitewood belonged to him. Because even now, with his body not yet whole, his mind moved towards strategy.

Keith looked at Ethan’s legs, then back at his face. The heaviness in the room needed air, even if only for a second.

“Can’t believe you will be walking into battle,” Keith said, making light of the situation.

Ethan smiled, and that smile held teeth.

“I can’t wait to destroy that bastard,” Ethan said.

Keith was glad the truth was out. Not because it was easy, but because hiding it would have been worse. Ethan deserved to know. He deserved to decide. He deserved the dignity of facing what had happened to his pack as Alpha, not as a patient being protected from

bad news.

“Tell Dr Camila I won’t take the detox treatment for now. Let us be sure that James is in the clear,” Ethan said.

Keith shook his head. He had expected that reaction, but he could not agree. Not fully.

“I believe Dr Rosenberg,” Keith said.

Ethan frowned at him, curiosity cutting through anger. Keith stepped closer, lowering his voice even though there was no one there who should not hear. It still felt like the kind of thing that needed to be spoken carefully.

“You needed to see how Dr James was behaving, It was as if he knew something was about to happen, and he needed to be as far

away as possible,” Keith said.

Ethan watched him, still unconvinced.

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Chapter 197

“I am telling you,” Keith continued.

Keith’s mind went back to Dr James leaving, to the nervous energy the man had tried and failed to hide, to the way fear had sat on

him like sweat. It had not been normal. A doctor who had done a difficult surgery should have been tired, maybe relieved, maybe

proud. Dr James had been afraid.

“I know that bastard was afraid of something. It showed. So I wrote the plate number of his friend’s car, and I can recognise his

friend because I got a good look at the friend’s face,” Keith said.

Ethan nodded slowly, but Keith could see he was still struggling with it. He did not want to believe’Dr James had done that and then fixed it. Keith understood. It did not make sense at first glance. Why would a man commit such a betrayal and return years later to undo it? Why remove the same silver he had placed? Why give Ethan a chance to rise again if he had been part of the reason Ethan

fell?

Ethan’s mind went elsewhere. Keith could almost see him searching through possibilities. Ethan believed Rosenberg might have suspected that James would help him out, so Rosenberg chose to rope him in at the last minute. That explanation would be easier. Cleaner. It allowed James to remain the doctor who saved him, not the one who had damned him first. But Keith had seen Dr James’s fear. There was something there.

While Ethan was still searching his mind, Elaine knocked on the door even though the door was wide open. The gesture was small, but it was very Elaine. Respectful. Careful. She waited to be asked to enter because Ethan was still Alpha, injured or not, and this was his room. Ethan looked towards the doorway.

“Come in,” Ethan said.

Elaine entered with a small white envelope in her hand. Her eyes moved over Ethan with gentle concern, and for a moment, the hard talk in the room softened just a little.

“How are you feeling, Alpha?” Elaine asked.

Ethan smiled at her.

“Better than I felt yesterday,” Ethan said.

He was not lying. Keith could see that too. The general weakness that had clung to him before was fading. Not gone entirely, but fading. His eyes were clearer. His voice stronger. His presence more solid. The man in that bed was still injured, but he no longer looked like someone trapped under years of poison.

Elaine held up the envelope slightly.

“I got restless and decided to fix Dr James’s room. I found this on the nightstand, and it is addressed to you, Alpha,” Elaine said.

She handed Ethan the sealed white envelope. Indeed, Dr James had addressed it to him. The room went quiet again. Keith stared at the envelope as if it might bite. Ethan took it, his expression guarded. Meadow moved closer. Something about that small white envelope felt heavier than paper had any right to feel. Dr James had left. Dr James had behaved like a man running from something. And now there was a letter waiting in the room he had used.

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Chapter 197

Ethan managed to cut the envelope open. His movements were a little awkward, but his hands were steady enough. He pulled out the letter and unfolded it. Keith watched his face as his eyes began to move over the words.

Then Ethan started reading.

“Alpha Ethan McCloud,” the letter began.

“If you are reading this, then it means the operation is successful; and you are out of the woods. I wish you the best and hope you

recover sooner than I predicted.”

The words were formal, but there was something strained beneath them. Keith could almost hear Dr James speaking fast, quietly, like a man trying to leave truth behind before fear caught up to him.

“I have had an issue weighing on my mind for years, and I am glad the goddess allowed me to fix my mistakes. When Camily came to see me in my office and described her patient, I knew it was you because I was your surgeon seven years ago.”

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Underwater: The Silent Luna