Chapter 8

Elena Cruz

Elena needed air. She’d been in her room for two hours, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what was happening to her. The scent thing. The way something inside her had reacted to Dr. Alex in the car. The way Lila said her wolf might be waking up.

None of it made sense.

She grabbed a hoodie and headed downstairs. Mrs. Parker was in the kitchen prepping dinner. Vivian’s voice drifted from somewhere deeper in the house, talking on the phone in

Elena slipped out the front door before anyone could ask where she was going.

The evening air felt cool against her skin. She started walking down the driveway, then turned onto the sidewalk that ran along the estate’s perimeter. There was a small park a few blocks away. She’d seen it on the drive to school. Maybe walking would clear her head.

She made it half a block before it started.

Voices.

Not out loud. Inside her head.

…forgot to pick up milk…

…meeting ran late again, she’s going to be pissed…

…can’t believe he said that to me…

Elena stopped walking to see if someone had a microphone to her ears or the universe playing tricks on her. Her hands went to her temples. The voices were coming from people passing by. A woman walking her dog. A man on his phone. A jogger with headphones in.

But they weren’t speaking. Their mouths weren’t moving.

Elena was hearing their thoughts.

“No. No, that’s not possible “ she thought

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out. But closing her eyes made it worse. The voices got louder, overlapping, crowding into her head until she couldn’t tell where one ended and another began.

…dinner at six…

…should have taken the other route…

…hope she didn’t notice…

Elena’s breathing came faster. She pressed her hands harder against her temples.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Stop, stop, stop.”

But they didn’t stop. A car horn blared somewhere close. Tires screeched. Someone shouted.

Before she opened her eyes.

She was standing in the middle of the street. She didn’t remember walking into the street. Didn’t remember moving at all.

Headlights rushed toward her.

She tried to move. Tried to get her legs to work. But her body wouldn’t respond, wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t do anything except stand there frozen while the car got closer.

The impact wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The driver had slammed on the brakes. But the bumper still caught her hip and sent her sprawling onto the pavement.

Pain exploded up her side. Her palms hit the asphalt hard, skin tearing. Her knee hit next, then her shoulder.

The car stopped and the door opened. Footsteps ran toward her.

“Oh my god, are you okay? I didn’t see you, you just walked right into the street…”

Elena pushed herself up, gasping. Her hands were bleeding. Her knee was bleeding. Everything hurt.

“I’m calling an ambulance,” the driver said, pulling out his phone.

“No.” Elena’s voice came out shaky. “No, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, you’re bleeding…”

“I said I’m fine.” Elena got to her feet, stumbling slightly. Her hip throbbed. Her hands burned. But she needed to get away from this man and his concerned face and the voices still echoing in her head.

“At least let me drive you somewhere…”

“I’m fine.” She yelled

She turned and walked away before he could argue more. Each step sent pain shooting up her leg but she kept moving, kept putting distance between herself and the accident until she couldn’t hear the driver calling after her anymore.

By the time she made it back to the estate, her hands had stopped bleeding. The cuts on her palms were still there but they weren’t as deep as they should have been. Weren’t bleeding anymore.

Elena stared at them as she walked up the driveway.

That wasn’t normal.

Nothing about this was normal.

She let herself in through the front door as quietly as she could. If she could just get upstairs without anyone seeing her

“Elena?”

She froze.

Dr. Alex appeared from the hallway, still in his work clothes. His eyes went immediately to her hands. To the blood on her palms. To the tear in her jeans where her knee had hit the pavement.

“What happened?” His voice went sharp.

“I fell. It’s nothing.”

“That’s not nothing.” He crossed the space between them in three strides and took her wrist, turning her hand over to look at the cuts. “What happened?”

“I was walking and I tripped. It’s fine.”

His jaw tightened. He didn’t believe her.

“Come on.” He guided her toward his study, hand firm on her elbow.

Elena didn’t have the energy to argue.

Inside his study, he directed her to a chair and disappeared into an adjoining bathroom. He came back with a first aid kit and knelt in front of her.

“This is going to sting,” he said, opening a bottle of antiseptic.

Elena nodded.

He cleaned the cuts on her palms carefully, his touch surprisingly gentle for someone with such large hands. Elena watched his face while he worked. The concentration in his expression. The slight furrow between his eyebrows.

Then he froze. His eyes fixed on her palm. On the cuts that were already starting to close.

Elena looked down.

The wounds were healing. Not slowly. But Fast. Faster than they should be. The torn skin was knitting itself back together while they both watched.

“What…” Elena’s voice trailed off.

Dr. Alex’s expression went blank. He wrapped gauze around her hand anyway, covering the healing cuts.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

“That’s not nothing. My hands are healing and I don’t know why…what’s happening to me?”

“You’re fine, Elena.”

“I’m not fine! Something’s wrong with me. I keep hearing things that aren’t there and my scent is changing and now this…”

“Elena.” His voice cut through her rising panic. “You’re fine. I promise. You just need to rest.”

He stood abruptly and walked to his desk. Opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of supplements.

“Take two of these,” he said, shaking out two pills. “They’re vitamins. They’ll help.”

“Vitamins aren’t going to…”

“Elena.” He crouched in front of her again, the pills in his palm. “Trust me. Please.”

Something in his voice made her stop arguing. She took the pills. Swallowed them dry.

Dr. Alex’s hand closed around hers, the one he’d just bandaged. His grip was firm but not painful.

Then something happened. Warmth spread from his hand into hers. Not regular warmth. Something else. Something that felt like it was reaching inside her and wrapping around whatever had been stirring all day.

The voices in her head went quiet. The restless feeling under her skin settled. Everything inside her that had been awake and alert and wrong suddenly went still.

Elena’s eyes grew heavy. The panic faded. She tried to fight it but her body wouldn’t cooperate.

“What…” she mumbled.

“Shh. You’re okay. Just sleep.”

Her head fell forward. Dr. Alex caught her, guiding her to rest against the back of the chair.

Elena’s eyes closed. Everything went dark. The door to the study opened. Alexander didn’t turn around. Didn’t let go of Elena’s hand.

“What,” Vivian said quietly from the doorway, “is going on here?”

Alexander looked up and realized what he had done