CHAPTER 178: NO TRACE OF LUPINE IN HIS BODY.

Hiro called him through their link, but there was no response. He could feel Kael close by, so why wasn’t he answering? Was he too weak to reply? That was the only thing that made sense.

At first, Hiro thought Kael had gone missing, but the bond told him otherwise. His Beta was still within the hospital grounds. Hiro stood at the entrance, scanning the place with sharp eyes. He could handle things if they turned bad, but still, he texted Renn to come.

Just as he turned to go back inside, he froze. Kael was standing by the door. Hiro had told himself he wouldn’t be scared, but that was a lie. His heart leapt so hard it almost left his chest. The shock that should have been relief sent a wave of panic instead.

He stepped back, needing to be sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him, that the person before him was truly Kael.

"Are you okay, Alpha?" Kael asked, already guilty for startling him. "I didn’t mean to—"

"No, it’s fine. I just... I wasn’t expecting to see you when I turned around," Hiro said, still staring at him like he was seeing a ghost. He should have been happy, even pulled his Beta into a hug, but instead, unease weighed heavy in his chest. "Where were you? I searched everywhere, even with the nurse."

Kael shrugged. "I didn’t go anywhere. I was at the hospital park for a while, then I came inside. You weren’t in the room, so I stepped out to find you."

"You shouldn’t have left without telling me. You had us worried," Hiro said. He wanted to remind Kael that he was still supposed to be weak, yet the one before him looked perfectly fine. It made no sense—yesterday he could barely stand, and now he stood tall, steady as if nothing had ever been wrong.

"You look better this morning. No pain?" Hiro asked carefully. He had expected to drag Kael back to bed, but instead, he found himself staring in disbelief at his Beta’s sudden recovery.

"No. I feel nothing," Kael replied with a smile. "Can we go to the dorms? I’m already tired of this place."

Hiro studied him in silence. Everything about Kael this morning felt strange. The strength, the calmness—it was too sudden, too perfect. But he swallowed his doubts.

"We’ll see the doctor. If he says you can be discharged, then yes," Hiro said, forcing a smile to mask his unease.

"Good. Can we see him now?" Kael asked, already turning back inside. Hiro nodded and followed.

They returned to the room. Kael sat on the bed casually, as though nothing had happened. "Where is he?" he asked.

"He’ll be here soon," Hiro replied, his eyes heavy with questions he couldn’t even form. "So you really don’t feel sick anymore?"

"No, Hiro. I told you already. I’m fine," Kael said, leaning back on the bed with an easy grin. "Why do you keep asking me questions like I’m your girlfriend?"

Hiro chuckled and shook his head, but the uneasiness inside him refused to go away. When the door opened, he quickly looked up, expecting the doctor. Instead, it was Renn.

"Hey, what’s up?" Renn greeted as he walked in, shaking Hiro’s hand. His eyes moved to Kael, and surprise flickered on his face. "Man, you got better overnight?"

"Yes. I wasn’t that sick," Kael replied, stretching out his hand. Renn shook it, forcing a small smile. It felt strange, but at the same time, he was relieved to see Kael on his feet this morning.

"It was probably just fever, I guess," Renn said, stepping back a little.

The nurse returned with the doctor, and the man went straight to Kael, asking polite questions about how he felt. After a short check, the doctor turned to Hiro and Renn.

"He will be discharged soon," he said, before looking at them both seriously. "Can you two come with me for a moment?"

"Of course," Hiro answered at once.

The doctor led the way out of the room while the nurse stayed with Kael. They followed him down the hall until they reached his office. He motioned for them to sit, then adjusted his glasses, his eyes sharp as they moved from one to the other.

"His results are out. But before I explain them, I need you to be completely honest with me," he said, his voice low and firm. "What really happened last night? Because I saw the scar from an injection on Kael’s neck."

Renn exchanged a quick glance with Hiro, then leaned forward. "There’s no point lying to you, doc. But you need to promise us that no one finds out about this, do you understand?"

"Like I told you earlier, I won’t say a word. Not even to Aunt Valois," the doctor assured, his tone steady and his eyes full of sincerity.

"Aunt Valois?" Hiro’s head turned sharply. The name caught him off guard. He wasn’t expecting that at all. Just how many of Miss Valois’ family members were in this academy, working or studying in secret? Marcus had once mentioned her son.

"He’s Hailey’s cousin," Renn explained quickly. "I met Dave through her." It was true. Months ago, Hailey had introduced him, but Renn hadn’t cared much at the time. He only started turning to Doc Dave when his roommate got injured and he needed someone trustworthy. Taros wasn’t around then, so he had no choice but to seek Dave’s help.

"But Hailey didn’t act like she knew him last night," Hiro said in confusion. If she had a brother or even a cousin she cared about, why would she hide it? Hailey had always been close to them, and this was something she would have shared. He was certain even Taros had no idea about Dave.

"I wanted it that way," the doctor answered quietly, lowering his head as though ashamed. "My family has been broken for a long time. We don’t want to be close to one another anymore."

"I understand," Renn said with a slow nod. But when he turned, he found his brother staring at him as if he had done something wrong. "What?"

"I don’t understand," Hiro said honestly. He could not see why Hailey would introduce Renn to Dave in the first place. Renn had dated her sister briefly, and it was nothing serious. Why would Hailey bring Renn into her family matters while her sister did nothing at all?

"Can we go back to the results?" Renn asked, looking between them. He wondered if anyone else was even on the same page as him. When they nodded, he explained, "Last night we were attacked on our way back, and Kael was kidnapped. They injected him with lupine sedative, but instead of passing out, he stayed awake. It threw them off, and they didn’t know what to do."

"That’s strange," the doctor muttered, shaking his head. "The results didn’t show any trace of lupine in his body. Instead, there is something else."

Their faces froze with shock, but the doctor had no choice but to continue. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Kael has the same rare gene as Evan. His cells are not like ours. They’re... different. The doctor who studied Evan’s case said it was werewolf, but I don’t think that’s the whole truth. I believe someone is trying to create a new kind of werewolf. A different species altogether."