Red suddenly filled my vision.

Vera

My rounds at the clinic began at seven in the morning, but I could not stand lying in bed and staring at the ceiling any longer. My thoughts were already making me anxious, so I threw the covers aside and headed for the shower.

I stayed beneath the hot water for a while, trying to clear my mind and make sense of everything that had been happening. The thought of looking into those hazel eyes again made my pulse race, yet there was also a strange heaviness that I could not ignore.

I reached the clinic a full hour before my shift and began getting everything ready for the day. Once I was done, I went to the cafeteria, where I found Sam waiting with a warm cup of tea.

I accepted it gratefully and made small talk with her while I waited for a suitable time to begin my rounds. When enough time had passed, I left the cafeteria and headed towards Noah's room.

The closer I got, the stranger things felt. For some reason, I could not sense him at all. That was enough to make me quicken my pace. I had not heard about any procedure scheduled for him today, and with his condition, he had no business walking around the clinic.

I pushed open the door. Eli was the only person inside, and he was already looking at me.

"He's not here."

My eyes went straight to Noah's bed. It had been made neatly, which told me he had been gone for some time.

I walked towards Eli, watching him carefully with every step. Strangely, there was no hostility coming from him this time.

"I can see that."

I picked up some supplies from the tray beside one of the beds and carried them over to him. He watched me without saying anything. I pulled one of the visitor's chairs closer and sat beside him so I could examine his wounds.

The dressings were a mess. I could only assume he had done this himself because I refused to believe one of our staff members could have done such a poor job, especially on purpose.

I took the scissors and reached for his arm.

Eli immediately became threatening, but I did not care. I held his arm and began removing the dressings, taking care not to catch his skin with the scissors. I could feel the tension in his body, but he did not try to stop me.

Once the dressings were off, I examined the half-healed wounds covering his arms. The other two Lycans were recovering much faster, and Eli should have been further along by now.

"You heal slower."

It was a statement, not a question.

"I'm old," he replied, his gaze fixed on my hands instead of my face.

I continued treating his wounds, cleaning each one before dressing it properly. When I reached the arm in the sling, he reacted slightly as I removed the makeshift support. I noticed immediately.

I examined the arm with my hands and quickly realised that it had been dislocated. Had he tried to fix it himself? Whatever he had done, it had not been done properly. His fracture had also been left untreated and was already healing in the wrong position.

I would have to speak to Dr. Owens about it.

"I need to put this back into place. Do you want something to bite down on?"

Eli clenched his jaw. I took that as a no. I also assumed he did not want any painkillers.

I extended his arm and placed one hand on his shoulder, being careful around the fracture. Then I began moving the arm slowly and gently, feeling my way through the process.

After a few seconds, I felt the familiar click beneath my fingers. His shoulder had slipped back into place.

The procedure was normally extremely painful, yet Eli showed no reaction. He was probably too proud to let a wolf see him in pain.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Keep the sling on for another couple of days. It should heal properly now. I'll have to speak to Dr. Owens about your fracture because it's been healing incorrectly."

He nodded.

My attention moved to his face. One of the wounds there still needed cleaning.

"Don't even think about it."

He looked directly into my eyes.

I stopped and sat back down. Crossing my arms and legs, I leaned into the chair and looked at him.

"It looks like shit, though."

He gave a short snort. I could not tell whether he was amused or irritated.

For a while, neither of us said anything. I continued staring at the wound he refused to let me touch, while he seemed equally interested in staring at me.

Then he spoke.

"So you really are his mate."

"So I've been told."

"But you don't feel it?"

There was so much hope in his question that it was almost amusing.

"Oh, no. I feel it. He's definitely my mate."

Whatever hope had appeared in his expression disappeared. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

Neither of us spoke for some time.

Eli eventually turned his attention towards the window, staring out at the forest with a thoughtful expression. Whatever was going through his mind, he clearly had no intention of sharing it with me.

I got up to fetch some water. As I lifted the pitcher, a sudden, painful pinch struck the back of my neck.

I turned around immediately, one hand going to the base of my neck. My first thought was that Eli had done something to me, but he was still sitting in his chair, looking out of the window as if nothing had happened.

"What the f..."

I never finished. Red suddenly filled my vision.

The pitcher slipped from my hand and crashed onto the floor. Glass scattered everywhere, but I barely noticed.

Heat spread across my skin and travelled through every nerve in my body. It was unbearable, and before I could even cry out, my vision began to blur.

My legs gave way, and I crashed onto the floor. The last thing I remember is Eli rushing towards me and calling for help.

Then everything went black.