CHAPTER 5

I remained on that floor for a lot longer than I would have wanted, but I couldn’t help it as my entire body refused to cooperate with me. This was the one time where I was truly as vulnerable as my public reputation says, and I would hate for anyone... any single soul to see me like this. If I stayed here any longer, workers would start arriving soon, and that would mean I would have a lot of unwanted questions to answer.

Quit the whining, Lora. We need to get back home, I called out into the quiet space as I peeled my hands—that were still clutching my chest—away and planted them firm on the ground. I know you’re hurt, Lora. I feel the pain as well, but at least we didn’t get caught up in the bond before it snapped, so it shouldn’t be that hard to pull ourselves together. You can mourn all you want when we’re in the safety of our room.

Just help me get up. I finished trying to push myself up and, finally, I felt my limbs move.

Guess that pep talk was all my wolf needed to get over that asshole we had been paired with. I hated to admit, but what that arrogant Alpha said was right. I shouldn’t be hung up on something so pathetic.

I forced my feet forward, not before sparing the girl on the bed a last look. I don’t know who she was to the Alpha, but what I did know was that she couldn’t live for much longer. She was alive, but both her wolf and body were weak… I give her two days max.

But who was I to break that sort of devastating news to our Alpha? I’ll gladly leave the difficult things to my parents.

I dragged my legs out of the medical wing, making sure to wipe my face clean and keep my eyes on the ground as I walked back home. Thankfully, I didn’t meet more than a couple of people before I finally pushed the door to our home open.

"Why are you back here?" my mom called almost immediately, and I drew a sharp breath.

"I’m not feeling too good, so I came back to take a bit of rest... The potential Alpha came by while I was there and he brought a patient. His orders were to hand her over to you both," I added softly, walking away before they could get another word out of me.

I fell on the bed the moment the door to my room clicked shut, and the pain returned sharply. I just lay there letting the tears fall and the pain envelope me. If there was no easy way out of this rejection, then I might as well let myself feel the pain and get it over with.

I fell asleep with that exhausting thought, and the next time I opened my eyes, I was met with the bright light of a new sun rising.

Shit, I hissed, my voice raspy as I sat up. I had slept through the entire day… and night.

I made it that way, Lora muttered lowly in my head. Her voice steady. I realized that Rodney’s wolf never considered us as a mate, so I kept you asleep so I could claw our strength back. The pain is not gone yet, Tracy—I don’t even know when it will be fully gone—but I reduced it the best I could overnight.

She retreated into the back of my mind without letting me utter a single word. Thanks, I whispered into the quiet room anyways.

Seeing as no one even bothered to wake me up, I assumed my parents were busy with something. I got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. I walked out of the quiet house and headed to the only place that could give me some comfort right now. The lab.

I hadn’t even been there for two seconds when the door opened behind me. I turned around slightly hoping to see my parents, but my eyes widened when they landed on the towering frame of potential Alpha.

I instantly bowed my head lightly as he walked over to mask my surprise. I didn’t even know his name. Do I just keep calling him Alpha?

"Why are you always the only one here when I choose to visit?" he started, his voice deep and entirely commanding.

"I’m sorry about that, Alpha. I just happen to wake up a lot earlier than others," I muttered keeping my eyes glued to the floor, and I felt him snicker.

"You look a lot better than yesterday," he muttered, stepping past me. "Seems you’ve made peace with your rejection already," he added, and that made my head snap up. Was this man seriously mocking me or what?

I swallowed hard forcing my annoyance down before speaking again. "It’s all thanks to you, Alpha. Your… words of encouragement made me gather the necessary courage to try to let go," I finished, finally staring at his face, and a small cynical laugh escaped him.

"I don’t need you to kiss up to me, Tracy, you’ll get nothing from it he countered. My words of encouragement?? Bullshit," he added, sighing loudly before walking over to the bed the lady from yesterday was still on.

"Come here," he called, and I walked over taking steadying breaths to maintain my composure. He was darn infuriating, but I couldn’t let myself snap. This wasn’t a person I could even think about messing with. At least not yet.

"When is she waking up?" he muttered, eyes on the bed. "Your parents gave as vague of a response as you, but I need something better than that, Tracy. Is she going to be awake before tomorrow evening?"

My head immediately snapped up, my mask threatening to slip for a second there. "They didn’t tell you the truth?" I asked, a genuinely surprised brow raised.

"What truth?" he called, his voice dropping a notch and his face hardening with seriousness.

Shit! I messed up.

"It’s nothing, Alpha," I rushed out, instantly planting my eyes on the floor.

"Meet my eyes when I’m speaking with you," he commanded, walking over to me. "I can’t read you if I can’t see your eyes, Tracy," he muttered, his index finger raising my chin up till my ocean blue eyes met his dark brown ones.

"Good. Now talk to me. What truth did your parents see as fit to keep away from me?"

"I’m not sure if I’m right because I’m not as experienced as they are i choked out trying to play it safe… I might have checked it wrong or…"

"Just spill the damn thing. I need to know what my next step is!" he snapped, his dominant aura taking me by surprise.

Why was he so edgy, damn it… I hated people snapping at me like I was some sort of trained dog made to do their bidding. If this man wanted the absolute truth so badly, then fine. I would give it to him plainly. I was already irritated anyways.

"The lady is dying," I muttered letting my softness disappear as i spoke with clinical coldness. "From what I checked, she might not even make it past tonight. She’s terminally ill and initial treatments were neglected, so there is nothing much we can do. Well, maybe if my parents pump her full of drugs then she might stay in this coma for a month longer before passing, but that’s no way for a person to live, Alpha,".

I kept my eyes locked unblinkingly onto his, refusing to look down this time.

"So… there’s no hope of her waking up?" he asked, running a rough, agitated hand through his hair.

I nodded softly, watching as he turned away from me, uttering low profanities under his breath . Was the girl that important to him? Because Why was an Alpha like him crashing out over a stranger he claimed to have found a few towns away?

He began pacing the space gently, mumbling aggressively to himself, and I just watched without uttering a word. I had to manually school my facial expressions to make sure I wasn’t wearing a visible scowl as I watched him. He kept at it for a few minutes before finally stopping dead in his tracks.

When he turned back to face me, the brown in his eyes had faded, leaving his gaze pitch-black and predatory.

"What do you say about taking a job with me, Tracy?" he muttered coldly, his eyes pinning me to the spot. I raised a single, calculating brow as i watched him. "Do you want me to do something specific for you, Alpha?" I asked calmly.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us until his shadow completely engulfed my smaller frame. His expression was completely firm and devoid of any hesitation.

"Be my Luna."