Chapter 5

DUNCAN

“If you walk out of that door, my death would be on you.” Her tone sounded firm and cold, freezing me in my tracks.

Was she threatening me now?

My hand slowly slid off the handle and I turned gently to look at her.

She stood calmly at the center of the room. Her countenance remained calm yet unreadable while her words flew around carelessly.

What does she mean by her death? Did I touch her?

“You’re unbelievable! There’s no way you just said that to me right now.” I yelled at her in disbelief.

Yet she remained calm. I studied her carefully, her heavy breaths, her slumped shoulders, the paleness of her skin, and how it seemed like she was struggling to stand upright.

But I was no fool.

This was some game to her and I knew it.

She orchestrated all of this and tried to make it as believable as possible so she could have me wrapped

around her claws.

But there was no way was happening.

Her lips opened slightly, as if she were about to say something, but they soon closed.

Her silence only annoyed me further. Because what exactly was she trying to silence with this silence of hers?

“I don’t know what you’re up to but I’m sure you have a lot of tricks up your sleeves. Whatever game you’re trying to play, end it!” My voice thundered throughout the entire room.

I was infuriated no doubt.

My roof flared up inside me. But I struggled to remain calm. There was no point losing my head over her.

I felt a sharp, instinctive pull through my chest the moment I took another step towards her.

My wolf growled, restless and unsettled.

I stood there puzzled, trying to understand what was happening. Something was wrong between us but I couldn’t place what it was. At least not yet.

Distance was all we needed because it felt like the moment we were together, everything was happening.

I took one more glance at her before turning towards the door. As I turned the doorknob, I heard a groan behind me, followed by a loud crash and glass shattering.

I immediately turned and rushed back seeing her almost on her knees, groaning in pain.

I panicked and rushed to her, holding her before she fell completely to the floor.

I stared at the broken glass on the floor and back at her wrist, trying to figure out what exactly happened.

Her breathing slowly calmed, but she was sweating profusely, with her eyes bloody red.

I could tell she was in so much pain, her low whimpers made my heart ache.

I knew what it was. Whatever bond we shared seemed to be having an effect on her. A very scary one.

The realization made me feel even more guilty, she was in my care and I thought distance would suppress whatever this was but instead, it made it worse.

“Are you okay?” I managed to mutter when I noticed she was getting a little stable.

I helped her to a chair, standing beside her.

She could barely reply but I had a lot of questions.

“When did this start?” I demanded, trying to make my tone sound as calm as possible.

“For days. I’ve been feeling so dizzy and weak. I thought it was going to go away till I couldn’t connect with my wolf anymore.”

“And why didn’t you say anything? How long did you plan on keeping this to yourself?”

I wasn’t mad at her per say, I was mad that I didn’t know she was going through all of this all this time.

“How would I have said something to you? I thought I was merely sick and besides you’ve been avoiding me so there's no way I could say anything to you.”

I was so guilty. She was going through all of this right in front of me but I chose not to pay attention to it.

I turned to the counter and poured her a glass of water before handing it over to her.

“Drink this,” I said calmly. She obeyed, taking it from me and taking gentle sips.

The silence became awkward between us. I didn’t know what to say anymore. Just when I considered leaving her to rest, she spoke.

“Can I ask you something?” Her tone was calm but evidently hesitant.

“What?”

“Can I work under you?”

“No.” My head snapped towards her, my answer was too direct.

The words came out too quickly and I could see the disappointed look on her face.

The bond remained confusing, keeping her close to me was necessary, at least for now.

But having her work under me? That seemed like a boundary I wasn’t willing to cross.

But I couldn’t afford something else happening to her when I was away.

She followed me to work later that morning. When we arrived, I gestured to the couch in my office.

“Sit.”

She obeyed and walked over, slowly accessing my office.

I was still trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to do with her here because I wasn’t going to make her my personal assistant when I received a call about an impromptu meeting.

I hesitated before leaving her alone in the office but it was going to be for just forty minutes, and I had to be there.

“I have to attend a meeting. Stay here and don’t wander around. I’ll be back soon.” I said before leaving the office.

When I returned, my heart almost stopped beating the moment I glanced at the couch I asked her to sit. It was empty.

My eyes wandered around the room, panicking.

Where then hell did she go? I thought I made sure that she would remain here?

“Alyssa” I called out but there was no response.

I searched the room and found her, behind my desk, lying unconscious on the floor.

My stomach immediately sank, as I fell to my knees. “Alyssa.”