JADEN'S POINT OF VIEW.
I wanted to run but decided to gather courage and pretend like I didn't know what she was checking on me.
The moment I heard the words once again, "Why do I feel like you're a human?" something inside me snapped.
My eyes shot wide open, and in an instant, I sprang from the hospital bed, as my paws slam hard against the cold floor.
I couldn't risk the doctor investigating further…if she got even the slightest chance to confirm her suspicions, I was done for. Diana's safety, Dinero's final command, my entire purpose... all of it would crumble.
The startled woman gasped behind me. "Hey! Stop! Fluffy!"
Fluffy again? Dammit, why is everyone obsessed with that name? I was mad at them calling me fluffy for it only Diana who has the right to call me that as I then bolted again.
My paws hit the ground with force, claws scraping the polished tile of the hallway as I dashed forward.
The door had creaked open just seconds before…perfect timing. I slipped through, tail swishing in the air, and the hunt began.
"Fluffy, wait for me!" Diana cried out behind me, her little feet padding fast as she gave chase.
I could hear the doctor's frantic footsteps too. "Stop running, Fluffy! You're not cleared to leave yet!"
Cleared? What the hell am I, a patient or a prisoner? I didn't dare look back. I needed to find a place to hide, and think.
The scent in the air shifted and grew more concentrated…wolves, strong ones.
I was no longer in a regular building as I looked around once again then it drew to my realization that this side of the building wasn't just a hospital anymore but a mighty mansion that looks like a packhouse.
It clicked. The walls, the way the corridors twisted and opened into large halls, this wasn't just some infirmary. This was the damn Nightshade Pack's main house.
Great, not only was I in enemy territory, but now I was sprinting through their sacred halls like some dumb mutt escaping bath time.
I shot past the nurses, past guards who blinked in confusion, and past two young pack warriors who stepped aside just in time. I heard someone yell, "Hey! Whose dog is that?!"
None of your business, I wanted to growl.
I spotted a stairwell and without thinking, climbed it two steps at a time and pain shot up my wounded leg. My breath hitched.
And blood was now dried around my fur in patches, and every movement pulled at my side like fire.
"FLUFFY!" the doctor's voice echoed behind me. "I swear if you run into Luna's wing…"
Too late.
Third floor as the hallway up here was more quiet. The scent of polished wood and fresh linen was stronger.
As it was obvious that this was residential. My eyes scanned doors rapidly, and then I spotted it…one door slightly ajar. The gods were on my side.
Without hesitation, I slipped inside, pushing the door gently with my snout, and it creaked just enough for me to slide in. I turned to nudge it closed with my hip.
Silence I was in.
The room was dimly lit, curtains drawn halfway and on the bed sat a boy, maybe twelve years old. His expression was carved in sadness as he stared at a tablet in front of him.
As soft music poured from the speaker, its lyrics haunting:
"She held me close, through nights of pain, Her touch was warmth beneath the rain. Even when the world fell apart, My mother's love guarded my heart.
In her eyes I found the skies, In her arms, no need for lies. Though she's gone, her love remains, echoing in my soul like gentle rains."
His fingers clutched a soft pillow, his head lowered as though he carried the weight of the world. My chest heaved with sadness at the sight.
I had no clue who he was, but sadness was a universal language…and he was speaking it fluently.
But when his eyes met mine, everything shifted.
His expression morphed…soft sorrow twisted into sharp awareness. His brows furrowed as he sat up straighter. Something behind those young eyes burned with intensity.
Oh no.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked slowly, voice deeper with meanness than I expected.
I froze as my paws stayed planted and my tail stiffened. I had run from the frying pan straight into the fire.
"Who let you in?" he stood up from the bed now. His small frame didn't match the fury building in his eyes.
"This is my room! Are you the new packhouse dog or something?"
Packhouse dog?
Oh Moon above, let the earth open and swallow me.
The footsteps in the hall grew louder. Diana's voice rang out again, closer this time.
"Whitey! Whitey, come back!"
The boy flinched and narrowed his eyes. "Your name's not Whitey. That's dumb."
Thanks, kid as if I didn't already have an identity crisis.
Before I could do anything else, he took a step closer. His lip curled just slightly. Not a snarl, but close enough.
"You don't belong here. You're not just some mutt, are you?"
Shit, he was sharp, as in too sharp.
Just then, the door creaked open and the doctor burst in, breathless, followed by Diana who immediately shouted, "Whitey! Don't leave me again!"
I turned my head slightly, saw her teary face, dirt smeared across her cheeks, and my chest ached. She reached for me just as the boy said coldly:
"Get your weird dog out of my room."
I didn't move. I couldn't.
The doctor huffed. "I'm so sorry, young boy. He escaped while we were…"
Young boy? Oh no, I could not believe that my lovely Diana could refer to this boy by calling him a young boy instead of Mister.
I had just barged into the room of the damn heir to the Nightshade Pack as I needed no one to tell me who he is as history has it that he became a sadist after the death of his mother, the late Luna.
And he wasn't looking welcoming, judging by the look in his eyes, this little prince had no patience for surprises.
Especially not ones that came on four paws and smelled like blood.
Moon Goddess help me, what have I done?
And then he took another step closer, that look of suspicion deepening even Diana could notice his movement and I needed no one to tell me that something bad was about to happen with those slow evil steps if his.