Jason

Jason

When the ambulance drove off with her inside, I turned to look at my Beta and Gamma. They looked at me with questioning eyes—full of thoughts I had no answers for. Through mind link, I immediately asked them to take Jessica home. Of course, Erik had to complain that he didn’t want to be stuck with “that red-haired witch.” I didn’t even have to scold him—before he finished his thought, Hunter smacked him hard on the back of the head. I didn’t look back at Jessica. If she had gotten even the slightest idea that I was about to leave her with Erik and Hunter, she would’ve latched onto my arm, and I wouldn’t have been able to get away.

So instead of turning back to her, I ran straight out of the pub.

I heard Jessica shouting something behind me, but I was too focused on scanning the street for a taxi to hear what she said. Luckily, I quickly found one that could take me to the hospital.

I didn’t stop at reception—I just followed her scent. That’s the convenient thing about hospitals: if you look like you know where you’re going, no one stops you.

I found her quickly—she was still being examined in the emergency room. I sat down in the waiting room and waited patiently. It didn’t take long before I saw two nurses wheeling a bed with Elizabeth down the hallway.

“How is she?” I asked as I approached them.

The nurses looked hesitant. I could tell they weren’t sure whether they were allowed to share anything. “I’m her mate,” I blurted out. Even I was surprised. I could have just let my Alpha aura flare slightly and they would’ve submitted to my authority. But instead, I lied about being her mate. The nurses looked at each other and began communicating silently through a mind link. Eventually, they seemed to come to a decision.

“I’m sorry, sir. You’ll need to report to the front desk and show identification,” said the nurse at the head of the bed. Just before they were about to move on, I stopped her.

“Please take her to a private room—I’ll pay for it immediately at the desk.” She nodded, and they continued down the hallway. Now I had to find that damn front desk.

Convincing the nurses at the desk turned out to be harder than I thought. Eventually, I had to reveal my identity.  Once I had their approval and her room number, I immediately washed them over in my Alpha aura and gave a direct order forbidding them to reveal who I truly was. No omega could resist such an Alpha command.

Thankfully.

A minute later, I was in her room—and the question hit me again. What was I doing here? Why had I come?I had no answer. I just stared at her. Helios hovered at the surface of my consciousness, watching with me. He didn’t understand it either. We walked from the foot of the bed to the chair beside her and sat down.

I carefully placed my hand on her arm—and immediately felt warmth radiate from it. Good. She had enough energy to keep herself warm. That was a good sign.

Just then, the doctor walked in. I stood up immediately but kept my hand on her arm.

“Can you keep me updated on her condition, doctor?” I heard myself ask. The doctor looked at me skeptically. It was obvious I was too young to be her parent, and since it was now clear she wasn’t marked, there was no way she’d believe I was her mate. I let a hint of my Alpha aura slip through. Her face changed—panic.

"That’s against the rules! I could lose my job!” she said, a bit too loudly. The fear in her voice was real.

Damn. I wanted to keep my identity as quiet as possible today, but clearly, that wasn’t going to happen.

I sighed and fully released the Alpha aura I’d been keeping hidden.

“Don’t worry, doctor. If anyone questions you, tell them Mr. Moon requested the information. Your job is safe,” I said with a smile.

She immediately realized who I was—shock crossed her face. “Oh... okay. I’ll keep you updated if anything changes,” she replied.

I looked at Elizabeth once more and then pulled my business card from my wallet, handing it to the doctor.

“Thank you,” I said before lifting my hand from Elizabeth’s arm and walking tp the door. Suddenly Elizabeth started to scream. She still wasn't consious but something was very wrong. I emmediatly grabbed her hand and suddenly she stopped screaming. I stayed for a little while, watching the doctor check up on her. When the doctor was done she nodded before she left te room. I knew I had to go. I stood up slowly and kissed Elizabeth's forehead before i walked out of the room. I could feel Helios resisting, wanting to go back in. Only when I pointed out the obvious scent in the hallway did he realize why we couldn’t stay. The waitress and bartender were at the front desk. The waitress was arguing that they were her emergency contacts. If that was true, it meant Elizabeth had no other family. The nurses tried to calm the waitress down, but she wouldn’t have it.

Just as I was about to walk past them, I saw the bartender place his hand on her shoulder—and immediately, her entire body relaxed. “Can you check her file?” he asked the nurse behind the desk, handing her his ID. For a moment, I felt jealous. It was obvious they were mates. Seeing what just one touch could do between true partners... it hurt. It was too late for me. I would never experience that. I felt Helios put up a wall to retreat behind. It was too painful for him sometimes. He understood why I never had time to look for our true mate—but he’d always held out hope we might still find her. When the deadline passed, it broke something in him—in us. I knew I had responsibilities. Taking care of Annabelle and Samuel always came first. The hard work that got me to where I am now—Head of the Council—that was part of it too. We had to live with it. Helios knew that. But that didn’t make it any easier to see others with their mates.

I hadn’t even realized I was still standing in the hallway, staring at them. Not until the waitress looked me dead in the eyes. Damn. I didn’t want them to notice me. I stared back, expecting her to recognize me instantly—but her expression was hard to read.

Suddenly, she turned her head down the hallway. Her eyes went wide and she gasped, then ran.

“Lizzy, you’re awake!!” she cried out.

I hesitated for a moment—should I go back? But instead, I rushed toward the exit. I needed to get out—before I ruined my own plan to keep my identity secret.

Once I got home, I finally realized how exhausted I was. It had been a long day with an unexpected turn of events. Hunter was sitting on the bench next to the marble staircase. He’d clearly been waiting for me.

Hunter looked up from his phone as I closed the door behind me. “Alpha, don’t ever do that to us again. That woman doesn’t know when to quit,” Hunter sighed. It was obvious he was talking about Jessica. I chuckled under my breath. “Yeah, now you know what I deal with every time she shows her face around here lately.” Hunter laughed too, but then his expression turned serious. “What was that? One minute you were going to pay the bill, the next you had a girl in your arms and were running off.”

I knew he’d have questions. I had hoped he’d wait until morning—then at least I could’ve come up with a decent explanation. Right now, I didn’t even know why I had gone after her. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. “To be honest, Hunter… I have no idea why. She was staring at me while I was paying, and I talked to her briefly. Then, just as I was about to leave, she screamed in pain and passed out. Before I knew it, I had caught her. I didn’t even realize I’d moved toward her—Helios must’ve partly taken over.”

I shrugged sheepishly. That didn’t explain why I’d followed the ambulance to the hospital, but I hoped Hunter would let it go with that answer.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. “You’re not seriously telling us we got stuck with that red-headed demon for someone you don’t even know,” Erik said, clearly irritated.

Perfect. I could use this.

“Yeah, Erik. I just didn’t want to deal with Jessica anymore—and I was more than happy to use the situation as my escape.” Hunter looked at me suspiciously—he knew I was lying. But Erik didn’t seem to notice.

Those two might look like brothers on the outside, but inside? Not so much. “Well then, next time you need an escape, give us one too,” Erik said, now half-joking. “Deal,” I replied with a grin.

Hunter looked like he wanted to say something else, but before he could, we heard someone at the top of the stairs.

“Dad?”

Samuel stood at the top in his pajamas, clearly just woken up. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, Sam?” I asked sternly, crossing my arms. Sam looked a bit surprised, but then that mischievous spark lit up in his eyes.

“Weren’t you the one who was supposed to put me to bed and read me a story so I wouldn’t get back up?” he teased. I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re absolutely right,” I said as I walked up the stairs toward him.

Perfect. Now Hunter couldn’t ask any more questions—and I’d have time to figure out what to say tomorrow. I had just tucked Sam in when he fell right back asleep. I stayed by his bedside a little longer, waiting until I couldn’t smell Hunter in the entryway anymore.

Before heading to my own room, I peeked in on Annabelle. I knew she didn’t like that, but it had become part of my nightly routine—making sure Sam and Annabelle were safe and sound before I could sleep. If she got mad about it tomorrow, she could use that energy during training. Sunday was training day for our family. Ever since I had to raise Annabelle and Samuel on my own, I had made Sunday our training day. When I realized my goal—to rise as high as I could in rank—I also knew I’d become a target. As long as no one knew our identity, they were safe. But I knew my identity wouldn’t stay hidden forever. I would eventually be expected to attend important events and public functions.

Once in bed, my thoughts drifted back to Elizabeth. “What’s your opinion, Helios?” I asked my wolf. Helios looked surprised. “About what?” he asked back. “That girl. Is she really that important—or are we just fooling ourselves?” Helios paced back and forth, clearly frustrated. “I think we should let it go. We won’t see her again,” he finally said. I growled softly in response. I knew he was probably right. But there was something about her—something I couldn’t explain.

I grabbed my phone and texted Erik:

“I want every piece of information you can find connected to the name Duchesse—by tomorrow.”

Not long after, I drifted off to sleep.