CHAPTER 15: Alpha's Blood

The bathroom door clicked shut, the sound sharp in the silence. Raymond’s gaze lingered on it longer than he should have, the faint hiss of running water pressing against his ears. He clenched his jaw, tearing his eyes away just as a buzz vibrated in his pocket.

He fished out his phone with a lazy motion.

A message from the pack head doctor, Elena.

‘You’re late for your checkup.’ The message read.

Raymond groaned, shoving the phone back where it belonged. His hand went to the closet, grabbing the one jacket that fit him like a second skin, black, frayed at the edges, the kind of jacket that made people think bad news before he even opened his mouth. He slid it on, tugged the zipper halfway, and left the room without another thought.

The late afternoon air carried a bite, but he didn’t feel it. The restlessness under his skin had nothing to do with the weather. It was his wolf, always pressing, always clawing, always waiting.

The walk to the infirmary was short, but Raymond made it longer with his deliberate, slow strides. His boots scuffed the sidewalk, eyes fixed on the horizon as though something out there could tame the storm inside him. The building rose ahead, neat and harmless to anyone who didn’t know better. To the students, it was just the school clinic. To the pack, it was a fortress, a laboratory and the pack infirmary, a place where secrets wore masks of white coats and stethoscopes.

He pushed through the glass doors, ignoring the faint squeak of the hinges. The receptionist glanced up, recognized him, and looked away as if she hadn’t seen him. Raymond didn’t break stride. He knew the rules here, his bloodline didn’t wait, didn’t knock, didn’t ask.

Elena’s door loomed, and without hesitation, he shoved it open.

The scene waiting for him was one he should have expected. Elena sat behind her desk, leaning back slightly, her glossy hair spilling over one shoulder. Perched on the desk in front of her was a guy, definitely human, probably a student, his body bent low, lips close to her ear. Whispering things that drew a low laugh out of her throat.

Neither of them flinched at his intrusion, and Raymond’s lips twitched with something caught between amusement and disgust. He strode to the chair opposite her desk and sank into it, spreading his frame with careless authority.

It took Elena a moment before her eyes flicked up and met his. A slow smile curled on her lips, deliberate, practiced. She pressed a kiss, quick, teasing against the student’s mouth. “Later,” she murmured to him, dismissing him with a lazy wave.

The boy slid off the desk, tossing her a wink and a mouthed ‘call me’. He left without sparing Raymond a glance.

Raymond leaned back, his voice flat. “Another human?”

Elena arched a brow, unfazed. “What more can a woman with a dead mate do? I make my own happiness where I can.”

He didn’t bother to answer. He wasn’t here for her grief or her excuses.

The playful spark in her eyes dimmed as she straightened. “Has your body temperature been stable or still swinging from ice to fire?”

“Normal. For a week.” His tone was clipped, factual.

Her shoulders eased. “That’s progress. The antidote is doing its work.”

“I need more.”

Elena’s brow lifted. “What happened to the vial I gave you? That was the last one.”

“My roommate tampered with it.” His voice was careless, but his eyes were steel.

That, at least, made her pause. “So now you have a roommate?” she asked lightly, though her curiosity gleamed. She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Never mind. We’ll need a fresh blood sample. Alpha blood precisely, if we want to create another antidote.”

Without hesitation, she crossed to the painting behind her desk. A firm push, and it swung aside, revealing a door. Cold, sterile air wafted out, thick with chemicals and something darker, older.

Raymond rose and followed her.

The lab stretched wide, humming with fluorescent lights. Machines beeped steadily, monitors flickering with data only Elena could read. The shelves lining the far wall glistened with containers, jars filled with specimens floating in pale liquid. A witch’s head, her nose hooked and grotesque, her cloudy eyes staring blankly through the glass. Severed fingers, toes, fragments of fur and bone, each labeled with precise handwriting.

Raymond didn’t flinch. He’d seen worse.

“Sit,” Elena ordered, gesturing to the examination chair.

He dropped onto it, muscles tense, but his face gave nothing away. The bright lamp above clicked on, flooding his skin with harsh light. Elena’s gloves snapped as she pulled them on.

The machines came alive around them. A cuff squeezed around his arm, the monitor beeping as it registered his vitals. His pulse thudded strong, steady, too steady, too restrained. The wolf inside him prowled against the cage of his ribs, testing, pushing.

Elena’s brows furrowed. “Your heartbeat is stronger than last time even though ur body temperature is normal. It’s not just the antidote. Your wolf is pressing harder.” She glanced at him. “You need to control it, Raymond. If you lose grip…”

“I won’t.” His voice cut across hers, low and sharp.

She studied him a moment longer, then sighed and reached for a syringe. The cold swab pressed against his arm, a sting following as the needle pierced skin. Dark red blood flowed into the vial, thick and potent. Alpha blood, volatile, precious.

Raymond’s jaw tightened, eyes fixed on the overhead light.

When she was finished, Elena carefully sealed the vial and carried it across the room. She slotted it into a rack of others, each pulsing with secrets too dangerous for human eyes.

“You’ll have your antidote in three days,” she said, tugging off her gloves. “Until then… don’t tear anyone apart.”

Raymond stood, pressing cotton to the puncture. His expression was unreadable, his voice flat. “No promises.”

He tossed the cotton into the bin on his way out.

The air outside was sharper now, dusk settling in soft shades of amber and gray. His phone buzzed again, reminders of classes long finished. He ignored it. His chest tightened, restless, the wolf clawing harder than before.

He turned his steps toward the woods.

The trees rose behind the infirmary, shadows stretching long and quiet. The deeper he walked, the quieter the world became, campus sounds fading until there was only the whisper of wind through branches and the steady, hungry pound of his heart.

The wolf surged beneath his skin. His breath came heavy, teeth grit, as bones cracked and shifted. The seams of his jacket split as black fur rippled across his body. His hands bent, reshaped, claws bursting through fingertips.

A snarl tore from his throat, raw and wild, shaking the stillness of the forest.

The wolf was free.

And tonight, nothing would cage him.