TWENTY SIX

Ciara's POV

I let Lucas walk me back to the ward and then we stood outside while we talked some more. In that moment, he was the best friend I had made when I arrived in the pack and I badly needed to hang onto him because with so many changes in my life, I needed something to remain as it was. After a while, he patted my shoulder and sent me a sad smile.

"Old Man Heartfield is a strong man, you should know he'd never let this thing keep him down for long. Before you know it, he will recover."

I nodded, clinging unto his every word wanting it to be true because I wanted Gramps to be okay. We stood like that and then his hands went around me and I hugged him, grateful for his presence. I didn't realize how much I wanted someone to reassure me that everything would be okay until he showed up today. Even though ideally, I didn't want to talk to him, I was happy he had come to show his support. It showed that despite everything he cared about me and I couldn't count on him.

He pulled bac