Chapter 4

“Well, look who decided to join us.” My mom greeted me with a warm smile as I walked into the kitchen. I had been hoping for an empty house, but it seemed that wasn’t in the cards for me today.

I hadn’t even bothered to check the time, assuming everyone would be off to work by now. But there they were—Mom, Dad, and Karen—all gathered around the kitchen table.

“Weren’t you supposed to be spending the day with your mate?” Dad asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

“He had some work stuff to take care of,” I replied nonchalantly, reaching for a cup of coffee.

“But isn’t he that Mathew Conson guy from the legal department?” Dad continued.

“Yes, he is,” I confirmed, trying to keep my voice steady.

“But the legal department doesn’t work today,” Dad pointed out.

A knot formed in my stomach. ~Would Mathew lie to me?~ I wondered, feeling a wave of unease wash over me.

Dad must have noticed my discomfort. “I’m sure he had a good reason to work today,” he reassured me, planting a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ve got to run. I’ll see you all tonight?” he asked, heading for the door.

“I have a shift tonight, but I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow,” I managed to reply, forcing a smile as he left.

“We should get going too,” Karen chimed in, nudging Mom. “Maybe you can catch up on some sleep while the house is quiet, considering you were out so late last night,” she teased, poking me playfully.

“Karen, leave your sister alone,” Mom scolded gently, gathering the empty cups from the table. “Scarlet, I’ll see you at the shift change tonight, okay?” she asked, looking at me.

I nodded in response. Once everyone had left, the house fell silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts. And I didn’t like where they were headed. ~Why was Mathew in such a hurry to leave this morning? Aren’t we supposed to be mates? Is this how it’s supposed to be?~

I decided not to let my thoughts consume me, so I busied myself with washing the dishes. I knew I was supposed to love Mathew, but his behavior was making it hard. Without his scent and his presence, I could see him for who he really was. I decided to wait until he came looking for me.

I spent the rest of the day watching TV, trying to distract myself. I found myself reaching for my phone several times, wanting to text Mathew. I missed him. I thought I loved him, and those feelings weren’t going away, despite my worries about his honesty and his feelings for me.

I decided to take a shower. I turned on the water, but before stepping in, I glanced at my phone one last time. Still no message from Mathew. I couldn’t resist any longer—I sent him a message.

Scarlett

Hi, it’s Scarlett.

That was it. Nothing too desperate. When I got out of the shower, there was still no response. I got dressed and drove to the hospital, and still nothing. I started my shift, and my phone buzzed, making my heart leap—but it was just a message from the hospital operator with an update on the current patients.

Still nothing from Mathew.

I was filled with frustration. Why wasn’t Mathew texting me back? I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt—he was probably still at work. As I walked toward the emergency room, I could see that things were chaotic. ~These attacks are only getting worse,~ I thought to myself.

My phone buzzed again, making my heart skip a beat. But it was just Bertha, one of the older nurses, texting me.

Bertha

Silver burn incoming, room 3.

Scarlett

On my way.

“Who’s the unlucky one this time?” I asked as I entered the room, expecting to see Bertha prepping for the patient. “Another guard who got burned during training? It wasn’t Thomas, was it? I need to tease him if it was.”

I turned to the counter to put on my gloves, waiting for the patient to arrive. That’s when I realized there was already someone in the room—and it definitely wasn’t Bertha.

“I’m not a guard, nor an idiot, but you got the careless part right. I really was.” The deep, resonant voice echoed in the room and sent a jolt through my chest. It took me less than a second to recognize the voice, and when I did, I felt like I was going to explode. I spun around.

It was the alpha.

It was the fucking alpha.

He was holding his left hand, his piercing blue eyes meeting mine. My breath hitched in my throat, my legs went weak, and I didn’t know how to react.

“I’m sorry, Alpha, I didn’t know,” I stammered.

“It’s okay,” he grunted, clearly in pain. “Just get me the treatment soon.” I looked at him, captivated by something in his intense blue gaze, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.

“Of course,” I replied, shaking off my emotions and switching into professional mode. I grabbed the ointment for immediate relief and prepared the serum for the treatment.

I turned back to him, meeting his gaze once again. “Let me see,” I said, gently touching the hand he was holding. He relaxed under my touch, slowly revealing a deep cut. Because it was a silver burn, it wouldn’t stop bleeding. He was dressed in all black, which hid the fact that he was probably covered in blood. I quickly applied a generous layer of ointment, placed some gauze on top, and pressed down carefully.

He groaned in pain. “I’m sorry, it’ll be over soon. Just a few more seconds,” I reassured him, focusing on the wound. I could see the ointment starting to work, and his face gradually relaxed. As the bleeding slowed, I applied more ointment and bandaged the wound.

Being so close to him, his scent filled my senses. It was intoxicating—a perfect blend of cinnamon and coffee with a hint of something woody. It stirred something inside me, but I forced myself to stay professional.

“The ointment will numb the pain and stop the bleeding. I’ll leave it bandaged until the anti-silver serum is ready. By then, the wound should be healed,” I explained, finishing up the bandage and looking up at him.

“Thanks,” he said simply, but sincerely.

“But I need to start an IV in your arm,” I added, gesturing to his black shirt.

The alpha gave a nod and started to unbutton his shirt. As each button came undone, revealing more of his skin, I found myself regretting my request.

He was chiseled, and I could tell he was as strong as an alpha should be. His clothes had hinted at his muscular physique, but seeing him like this, bare and exposed, was something else entirely. His body was also adorned with silver scars. Wolves don’t bear scars unless they’ve been on the brink of death or wounded with silver.

My mouth felt parched. I swallowed hard, struggling to hide the effect he was having on me. I could barely admit it to myself. My deepest desire was to throw myself at him right there. Where had my professionalism gone? And wasn’t I supposed to be mated? I reached for the tourniquet to start the IV.

“Who is Thomas?” he asked. His question was straightforward. I was taken aback at first. How did he know about Thomas? Then it hit me—I had been rambling when I entered the room.

“He’s my brother-in-law, my sister’s mate,” I explained. “He’s a guard, and he’s been burned a few times.”

As I spoke, I worked on his venipuncture, trying to be as gentle as possible. I inserted the serum, and I could see the alpha becoming more relaxed with each passing second until he let out a deep sigh.

“Feeling better?” I asked, looking up at him. He just stared at me for a few moments. It was as if he was trying to decipher my soul, as if he found some answer in my gaze. The air seemed to thin, making it hard to breathe, and I could have sworn I saw his gaze drop to my lips for a split second. Then he blinked hard and swallowed.

“Yes, it’s much better,” the alpha replied, exhaling deeply.

I leaned against the counter across from the exam table; being close to him felt too intense.

“How did you get that cut, sir?” I asked, immediately regretting my words.

“Sir, no, please don’t call me that. I feel old enough as it is,” he said. He smiled, and damn, it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I had been around the alpha plenty of times, with both my father and brother working in his administration. I had never seen the alpha smile, and now here he was smiling at me.

“I train with the guards every day. After the last attack, we intensified the training, and today it was with silver weapons. I got a little carried away, and in fact, a guard next to me was injured, and I went to help, but whoever was fighting with me didn’t understand that I had already stopped and, well, here I am,” he shrugged.

“You need to change this training immediately,” I said. “An alpha cannot take the risk of getting injured like that. If it went deeper, it could lead to death or amputation of your hand.”

I furrowed my eyebrows in concern, realizing what I said came out as an order. I was used to making recommendations to patients, never to a superior, and everything I said seemed almost disrespectful.

“Are you trying to order me how I should conduct my training?” the alpha said. His expression turned, and the cold alpha took its rightful place. I felt my heart tighten, and a chill ran down my spine.

What the fuck was I doing?

“I didn’t mean to, I didn’t…,” I tried to apologize; I tried to take back what I said, but he just laughed.

“You should see your face,” he said. He was laughing so much he held his stomach with his free hand. It was a good laugh, the kind you could spend days listening to.

“That was—” I was going to say “cruel,” but he was faster.

“Funny,” he said, still laughing. His sky-blue eyes narrowed when he laughed, and I couldn’t imagine he could get even more handsome.

I approached him again, still laughing, and bent down in front of him to remove the band I had placed on his arm. I heard him grunting.

“I know it’s painful, but it will be over soon,” I said gently. His laughter had made me feel a little less nervous around him.

I removed the bands gently and heard a sigh of relief when I removed all the dressing. The deep cut from before was now just a small pink mark.

“There will probably be some scarring, as it is silver, but once the serum is finished, you will be released,” I said, running my finger lightly over his wound, and I could have sworn I saw his body hair stand up at that.

“I think it’s another one for the collection,” I said, and my eyes automatically went to his bare chest, stamped with several scars. He followed my gaze to his own body, and then looked back at me with an intensity I couldn’t read. I completely lost my breath, forgetting how to breathe while his eyes looked at me.

“Scarlett? Daughter?” A familiar voice broke into my thoughts. It was my mother, coming to check on the alpha.

“Here, Mom,” I said toward the door.

She walked in, professional mode at full tilt.

“Alpha,” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry, I just heard you were here; otherwise, I would have done the dressing myself.”

My mother started analyzing the now small scar on his wrist and put her hand on the serum to check if it was running out.

“I was treated very well by your daughter, Scarlett.” Alpha said my name slowly, looking into my eyes as the syllables rolled off his tongue. He remembered me from his earlier visit when I helped Marquardt. That realization made me catch my breath.

“Martha, is he in there?”

The voice belonged to my father, who entered without warning.

“Yes, dear, Scarlett did the treatment,” my mother said. As soon as my father entered the room, it felt cramped, and I was pushed up against the wall, almost out of sight.

“I hope my daughter did a good job.”

For a moment, Alpha Christopher just stared at the three of us, making the connection that I was the daughter of one of his councilmen.

“She did,” he responded, resting his gaze on me as if he were analyzing me and studying every inch of me.

I cut off eye contact and went to the serum that I realized had run out, and without saying anything else, I removed the needle from the alpha’s arm and applied a plaster.

“The treatment has been completed and the wound has already healed,” I said. “If you feel pain again you can come to the emergency room and we can apply another serum, although I would recommend avoiding this training with silver weapons. I don’t want to have to amputate you,” I said with all sincerity.

Alpha Christopher looked at me, raising one of his eyebrows again.

“Scarlett,” my parents warned me in chorus.

“It’s okay,” Alpha said. “Actually, she’s right,” he said with a sideways smile at me.

“I’ve got to head out; there are other patients waiting for me,” I declared to everyone in the room. Then, I turned to my parents, “I’ll see you guys at home tomorrow morning.” I flashed them a smile and made my exit, but not before I heard the alpha’s deep voice inquiring in the background.

“Is she your daughter?” I heard him ask my father.

I attempted to eavesdrop on their conversation, but a child’s cries of ear pain pulled me away. I was soon engrossed in my work, tending to my patients.

I tried to push it out of my mind, but if I was being honest with myself, I had to admit that I was intensely drawn to the alpha. This only added to my confusion. I was mated to Mathew, and I loved him. Didn’t I? He hadn’t even responded to my messages. I felt shattered.

The night was a blur of patients, one after the other, in a relentless stream.

I was scheduled to leave early in the morning, but a sudden influx of teenagers with food poisoning in the emergency room kept me there. I extended my shift until the last patient was attended to. By the time I was finally free to leave, it was nearly noon. All I wanted was to eat, shower, and sleep.

But, to my surprise, my cell phone began to ring as I was making my way to my car.

It was Mathew.