OLIVIA
A sensation stirred within her.
Not the pleasant kind, not the kind that Alexander could spark by tracing his fingers along her inner thigh.
Instead, it was a shiver that started at the base of her spine, jolting her awake. Farewell to the comfort of sleep, to the embrace of dreams. Her eyes snapped open, her body rigid as her senses kicked into overdrive.
~Clearly~, she wasnât the only one who had sensed it.
In fact, it seemed she was late to the party.
The absence of warmth from her body was the first clue; she had drifted off in Alexanderâs arms, but he was nowhere to be found now.
As she sat up in bed, she spotted him by the window, his body exposed to her gaze, but she didnât even glance at it. Her attention was drawn to his face. ~He looked troubled~.
She held the sheets close to her body, her lips parting to speak, but she hesitated, afraid to shatter the silence.
~He didnât~.
âDonât. Move.â
Her initial reaction was to question him, but every fiber of her being urged her to comply.
~âStay there.â~
And just like that, he took away her choice.
If she had been hesitant to move before, now she was frozen, not daring to even twitch. Fear blossomed in her chest, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he had used ~that tone~ with her.
It was the look in his eyes. Alexander had always exuded confidence, radiated pride. But not now. If she didnât know better, she would say there was a hint of worry in his eyes.
She took a deep breath, holding it in, not daring to exhale. She watched as he leaned forward, his nose twitching, his eyes widening. He turned to her, his eyes filled with fury. ~âLeave.â~
He didnât give her a chance to ask questions, to understand what was happening; the choice was taken away. Instead, she clutched the blanket tighter around her body, covering her half-naked form.
She stepped away from the bed, nearly stumbling, and made her way towards the door, her heart pounding in her chest. Something was happening, something was approaching. She didnât know what it was. But Alex wasnât joking.
She had reached the door, her hand outstretched to grab the handle, when a loud crash reverberated through the small room, shaking her to her core, forcing her to drop to the ground.
Her body was shaking, trying to obey her alphaâs command, while another part of her was grappling with the shock.
Olivia kept her head down, crawling on the floor with her eyes shut, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She could hear footstepsâtoo manyâand heavy breathing, grunts. What was that snapping sound?
Nausea welled up in her throat and she pressed her lips together to stop herself from vomiting. She dragged her knees across the wooden floor, her palms sliding along.
Then came the pain. Like a sharp knife slicing through her flesh. She blinked, swallowing the bile that had risen in her throat, and looked down at her hands. ~Blood.~
Puddles of blood were forming beneath her palms, and the pain was relentless. Her lower lip trembled as she lifted her hand and saw shards of glass embedded in it.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she tilted her head back, raising her gaze to see what had caused the noise.
~Donât~.
It was Alexâs voice, but it didnât seem like the sound had reached her ears. Instead, the word echoed in her head as if he hadnât spoken it out loud.
From the angleâshe had managed to tilt her head before he stopped herâshe could seeâ¦~fur~. A wolf? Was Alex the wolf? Was thereâ¦another wolf in the room?
Her eyes were wide. She couldnât blink, her breaths were ragged.
Her body was shaking as she fought the urge to cry but couldnât. His instructions were so vague. Donât move? Donât breathe? Donât cry? Her body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
She wanted to collapse on the ground, but she couldnât. She could hear the sound of flesh being torn, grunts, teeth sinking into flesh, but she couldnât see any of it. The sounds were enough to make her stomach churn.
~She didnât even know who was being torn apart.~
Her jaw was so tightly clenched, she feared it might break. She yearned to call out to him, to ensure his safety. But she was paralyzed.
She couldnât even halt the blood gushing from her hands. She needed to remove the shards, but she was immobilized.
Then, suddenly, she ~did~ move.
A force, something propelling her forward, drawing her nearer to the brawl unfolding before her. ~Someone~ was being hurled against the wall. ~Please, not Alex. Not Alex.~
She was propelled further, only then realizing that ~it was the door~. Someone was opening the door.
â~FUCK!~â
That was unmistakably Mayaâs voice. She didnât need to see her to know. The sound was enough.
Mayaâs warm hands enveloped Oliviaâs shoulders, pulling her into her chest. âAre you okay? Why are you bleeding? ~Why~ are you still here?â
Maya nestled Oliviaâs head deeper into her chest, using Oliviaâs hair to shield her face, obscuring her view of the fight. She couldnât even see the wolfâs tail anymore. Was Alex okay? What the hell had transpired? Who was this?
What was happening? Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst.
âOlivia! We need to get you out of here.â
âI-I canât.â
â~God-fucking-damn it.~â She felt Mayaâs grip tighten on her shoulder. âAlexâ~for fuckâs sake. Let her go.â~
Alex. She was addressing Alex. That meant Alex was okay, right? He had to be fine or Maya wouldnât be speaking to him. But it was hard to ignore Mayaâs trembling; something terrible was unfolding.
But for now, Alex was alive. She clung to that.
~Leave with her.~
The moment she heard those words, it was as if a burden was lifted from her, and suddenly she regained control of her limbs.
However, Maya didnât allow her to relish in that freedom for long as she scooped her upâdespite her petite frameâand whisked her out of the room.
She was still blind, and now that she was more mobile, the pain in her hands intensified. Damn it.
~Stay with her.~
âAlexâs in there.â
She wasnât sure who Maya was addressing so briefly.
One moment, she could see the silhouette of a man, and the next, he vanished from sight.
She caught a glimpse of a tail retreating into the room, slowly realizing that whoever it was had transformed into his wolf form. Something she hadnât yet doneâsomething she couldnât control.
Would she have been less helpless if she had control over her transformation?
As Maya carried her down, she could hear more and more footsteps, but she couldnât go to them, she couldnât go to Alex.
She clutched the sheet closed, aware it was the only thing concealing her humiliation. Heâd used the fucking voice on her again, and now she was like a puppet in Mayaâs arms. What if something happened to Maya?
What if something happened to Alex? What would she do then?
~Why now?~
She wasnât in heat.
Theyâd had a respite for the past few days.
Sheâd rested, sheâd been able to breathe instead of feeling like she was perpetually suffocating. And now this? Why attack her? Or was she not the target? Was this about something else she was unaware of?
It didnât add up. ~Why~? Over and over.
It took a moment, but finally, they were far enough from the commotion that she could no longer hear the scuffle. She hoped it was due to the distance and not because it had ceased.
Body heat was withdrawn from her when Maya set her down on the couch, sweat glistening on the petite redheadâs forehead. She wiped it with the back of her hand as she sat down beside Olivia.
âDamn,â she said, looking at her bloody hands.
âYou know youâre the nurse. Not me.â
âItâs okay.â
At least she had control of her voice.
âIâll get something for your hands.â
Before she could stop herself, she lifted her arm, intending to grasp her arm to halt her, but then she remembered the shards and restrained herself. âDonât.â
âYouâre bleeding, Livy. I need to stop the bleeding. Once I remove the shards, youâre gonna bleed even more.â
She shook her head. âHe said I had to stay with you. If you leaveââ
âThat idiot,â she muttered, sinking back into her seat. âBut youâre an idiot too. He didnât have much of a choice, did he?â She sighed, âDamn it.â
âWe can leave the broken pieces where they are.â
She didnât dare to move. Every fiber of her being screamed to go to him, but she couldnât disobey his order.
The internal struggle was tearing her apart. She longed to see him. She needed to know he was okay.
Maya ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing it down. âHeâll be okay. I only smelled three or four. They should be able to handle that.â
~Three or four?!~
Alex couldnât possibly handle that aloneâ~no~. Calm down, Olivia. He wasnât alone.
They wouldnât let anything happen to him. They would protect himâ¦~Damn it~. Was she being selfish? Was it selfish to feel relieved that others were willing to risk their lives for him?
She didnât want anyone else to get hurt either. She hated thisâ~she didnât want to feel this way~. She wanted to hide away.