Hands on the Alpha’s Heart

​Winnie’s POV

​The Royal Hospital wing was unlike anything I had ever seen. Back at the pack hospital, if you could even call that run-down clinic a hospital, we were lucky if the floors got mopped twice a day. The air there always smelled of wet fur, old bandages, and the metallic tang of despair.

​Here, everything was pristine. The floors were white tile so polished they reflected the glowing crystals in the ceiling. The walls were lined with cabinets made of dark, polished mahogany, filled with vials of every color imaginable, vibrant blues, glowing greens, and deep, blood reds. The healers moved with a quiet, practiced efficiency, their white robes snapping as they walked. They didn’t talk; they communicated in quick nods and sharp gestures. It made me feel like a clumsy pup in a china shop, my heavy boots sounding like thunderclaps on the quiet floor.

​“Miss Godfrey?”

​I jumped, nearly tripping over my own feet. A tall, elegant woman with graying hair and a kind face approached me. She had a certain grace that suggested she had been part of the palace for decades.

​“I’m Head Healer Elara. Mrs. Halden sent word you were coming.”

​“Yes, ma’am. I’m here for the Alpha’s… neutralizers?” I asked, clutching the strap of my bag. I still felt like I was in a dream, or perhaps a very vivid nightmare.

​Elara’s expression turned serious, the kindness in her eyes replaced by a professional gravity. She led me to a private preparation area. “The Alpha was injured during the raid on the southern border three weeks ago. The rebels used a refined strain of wolfsbane, concentrated and aerosolized. He inhaled an exceptionally high dose while protecting the civilians.”

​My heart sank. Wolfsbane was a nightmare for our kind. For a human, it was just a toxic plant. For a wolf, it was a slow, agonizing death that burned the soul.

​“It’s a miracle he’s still standing, let alone leading the pack,” Elara continued, her voice low. “But the poison is stubborn. It’s reached the deep tissue of his lungs. It clings to the cells and flares up whenever he’s stressed, angry, or overexerted. If we don’t draw it out, it will eventually paralyze his wolf.”

​She handed me a silver tray. On it were several small vials of a shimmering silver liquid and a bundle of fresh, glowing herbs that smelled of rain and old earth.

​“This is a blend of lunar-lily and crushed silver-root,” she explained. “It needs to be applied topically to his chest every evening. It creates a drawing effect, pulling the toxins to the surface so the neutralizers in the vials can work. You must be careful, Winnie. The contact might be… intense.”

​Topically. To his chest.

​My brain briefly short-circuited. I had to touch him. I had to put my hands on the bare skin of the Alpha, the man I had kissed, the man who was currently my mother’s benefactor and my own personal source of terror.

​“Is something wrong, dear? You’ve gone quite pale,” Elara asked, tilting her head with concern.

​“No! No, nothing. Just… a lot to take in,” I stammered, gripping the tray so hard my knuckles turned white. “I’ve just never… I’ve worked with basic injuries, but never wolfsbane of this grade.”

​“You’ll do fine,” Elara said, patting my arm. “The Alpha chose you for a reason. He’s very particular about who he lets into his space.”

​I made my way back to the Alpha’s wing, my heart doing that annoying thumping thing again. Every step felt like a march toward a cliff. When I reached his chambers, the guards stepped aside without a word. They didn’t even check my tray; they just stared straight ahead, their faces like masks. I took a deep breath, centered myself, and knocked.

​“Enter.”

​The voice was muffled but still carried that heavy, resonant power. I pushed the door open. The Alpha was sitting by the large window, staring out at the pack lands as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, golden-purple shadows across the room. He had removed his shirt, and I nearly dropped the tray.

​His back was toward me, and it was a map of power and pain. Thick, corded muscles rippled under bronzed skin, but they were marred by several jagged, dark veins that seemed to pulse just beneath the surface of the wolfsbane. It looked like black lightning trapped under his skin.

​“You’re late,” he said, not turning around.

​“I had to consult with Head Healer Elara, Alpha,” I said. I was proud of how steady my voice sounded. Professional Winnie had finally shown up, thank Selene. I needed her. I couldn’t afford to be the girl from the bar right now.

​I walked over and set the tray on a small table near him. The cinnamon scent was even stronger now, mixed with the metallic tang of the poison and the earthy smell of the herbs. It was a strange, heady combination that made my head swim.

​“Sit,” he commanded, gesturing to a stool beside him.

​I sat, my hands trembling slightly as I began to mix the herbs into a thick, glowing paste. I could feel the heat radiating off him. He finally turned, and I had to force myself to keep my eyes on the tray and not on the broad, scarred expanse of his chest. He was beautiful in a way that felt dangerous, like a jagged mountain peak.

​“Elara says this will help with the inflammation,” I whispered, dipping my fingers into the cool paste.

​“It burns,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “Like liquid fire in my veins. Every breath feels like swallowing glass.”

​“I know. I’ve seen what wolfsbane does to… to people,” I said, thinking of the way my mother struggled for air, her lungs scarred from a different kind of sickness, but the pain was the same.

​I hesitated for a heartbeat, my hand hovering in the air. Then, I reached out. As soon as my fingertips touched his skin, he let out a sharp, hissed breath. His skin was hot, too hot and I could feel the frantic, heavy beat of his heart beneath my palm. It felt like a war drum, echoing the rhythm of my own.

​I began to spread the paste over the dark veins, my movements slow and rhythmic. He leaned his head back, his eyes closing, a low groan escaping his throat that made my stomach flip.

​“You have steady hands, Winnie,” he murmured, his voice sounding strained. “For someone who claims to be so afraid of me.”

​“I’m not afraid of the work, Alpha,” I said softly, focusing on the way the paste seemed to soothe the angry, dark lines on his skin. “I’m just… not used to being this close to the hierarchy. In my world, we don’t look at Alphas. We just survive them.”

​“The hierarchy is just made of people, Winnie. Some are just better at hiding their scars than others.”

​I looked up at his face. His eyes were still closed, his jaw relaxed for the first time. For a moment, he didn’t look like the terrifying Alpha Silas. He just looked like a man in pain, someone who carried the weight of thousands on his shoulders.

​“Why me?” I asked before I could stop myself. The question had been burning in my mind since I woke up. “Mrs. Halden said you needed someone who wouldn’t crumble, but there are dozens of experienced healers in this pack. Why choose me? Why choose the girl with no wolf?”

​His eyes snapped open, and for a second, the obsidian was replaced by a flash of brilliant, glowing gold of his wolf, Silas, was watching me.

​“Because, Winifred,” he said, his voice vibrating through my very bones, “a wolf reacts to another wolf. Instinct, dominance, aggression all get in the way of healing. A wolf would feel my weakness and try to exploit it, or they would be so cowed by my power they couldn’t think straight. But you? You are quiet. You have a different kind of strength. A silenced strength.”

​He reached out, his hand covering mine where it rested on his chest. His fingers were large, calloused, and overwhelmingly warm. He didn’t pull my hand away; he just held it there, pinning me to his heartbeat.

​“And besides,” he added, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips, the gold in his eyes softening. “I wanted to see if you’d try to kiss me again.”

​My heart nearly jumped out of my throat. The professional mask shattered. “I told you, Alpha, that was a mistake,” I whispered, my breath hitching as he leaned in closer.

​“Was it?” he asked. The cinnamon scent was dizzying now, wrapping around me until I couldn’t think. “Because you didn’t seem to think so at the time. You seemed quite certain.”

​The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a silver blade. He was inches away, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that made me forget Jason, forget the debt, forget everything but him.

​Just as the world seemed to narrow down to the space between our lips, the heavy doors to his chamber burst open.

​“Cassian! You won’t believe what the Council is suggesting for the…”

​The voice cut off abruptly. I scrambled backward, nearly knocking over the stool and the tray, my face flaming.

​Standing in the doorway, looking absolutely stunned, was Lila. She was dressed in a silk gown that probably cost more than my house, her eyes wide with fury. And standing right behind her, his hand resting possessively on her waist, was Jason.

​Jason’s eyes moved from the Alpha’s bare, herb-covered chest to my flushed face, and then down to my hands, which were still stained with the glowing paste. His expression went from confusion to shock, and finally, to a flash of something that looked suspiciously like jealousy.

​“Winnie?” he breathed, his voice filled with a disbelief that cut through me.

​“What is she doing here?” Lila demanded, her voice shrill and echoing off the marble walls. She stepped into the room, her gaze raking over me with pure disgust. “Cassian, why is this… this servant in your room? And why is she touching you?”

​The Alpha didn’t even flinch. He didn’t scramble to cover himself as I did. He slowly reached for his shirt, pulling it on with agonizing slowness, his eyes never leaving mine. It was a power move, a silent declaration.

​“She is my new carer, Lila,” Cassian said, his voice cold enough to freeze the sun. He stood up, towering over his sister and Jason. “And unless you have an appointment, I suggest you learn how to knock before entering my private quarters.”

​I stood there, trapped between the man who had discarded me like trash and the Alpha who had just held my hand to his heart. I felt like I was drowning on dry land, wishing the floor would simply open up and swallow me whole.

​Jason’s gaze was pinned on me, his jaw tight. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Lila’s grip on his arm tightened, a silent reminder of where he belonged now.

​I wasn’t just the girl with no wolf anymore. I was the girl in the middle of a war I didn’t understand