Do I like Alexander?
The question itself felt ridiculous. It kept echoing in my mind long after it was asked, ringing louder than it had any right to. Did I me, of all people like Alexander?
Had I ever even thought about him that way?
I searched my mind, retracing every encounter I'd had with him...every argument, every glare, every moment of irritation. For as long as I could remember, Alexander had been the living, breathing definition of trouble. He was arrogant, unpredictable, and could be mean and annoying without even trying.
And yet there were moments... tiny bit moments, where something gentler peeked through.
Like when he saved my life back at my pack and also protected me back when we were at the forest and even now he'd asked Ellen to find a cure for me.
That memory alone shoved a wedge of confusion into my chest. For someone supposedly selfish, he'd done something unexpectedly thoughtful. Why would he bother? Why would he care at all?
I still didn't have the answer.
Before I could sort any of that out, she asked the question again.
Her voice sliced through my spiraling thoughts.
"Do you like him?"
It was such a simple sentence, but it felt like a lightning strike. I almost choked on my own saliva as I stared at her. Her face remained unreadable....calm, controlled, expectant.
But there was something sharp behind her eyes, something that made the air grow heavy with pressure. I had the strange, uncomfortable feeling that if I said the wrong thing, I might not walk out of the room alive.
"N–No," I said quickly, shaking my head so hard it almost rattled my brain. "Not at all. Alexander is like fire and I'm like ice."
Her eyebrow lifted ever so slightly. "But they say opposites attract."
I threw my hands up instantly, eyes wide. "Not Alexander and me! Never. You don't understand how much I hate him. He's… he's so annoying, and he's always mean to me. Sometimes I feel like..." I stopped myself too late, "...like strangling him."
Silence.
Her gaze turned flat. Blank. As if replaying my words to confirm I had actually said that out loud. My stomach twisted. It hit me then...she and Alexander were supposed to be connected somehow. Maybe mates? Or something close. I had just admitted that I wanted to strangle him. Great. Wonderful. Perfect way to die.
But then, without warning, she smiled.
The tension dissolved like mist. The smile spread across her lips slowly, almost gracefully, and she let out a faint, amused sound.
"I just wanted to be sure you aren't a competitor," she said lightly. "Now it's easier to like you."
Competitor? For what? For him?
I blinked at her, confused. Her words didn't fully make sense, but she seemed very satisfied with my answer, so I left it alone. I wasn't about to ruin my accidental success.
A few minutes later, Ezekiel came in carrying trays of snacks for the late afternoon. The smell alone made my stomach growl. I thanked him quickly and ate while she continued watching me with an expression I still couldn't quite decode.
Afterward, I was taken back to the side room she used for healing sessions. She asked more questions about my symptoms, about how long I'd lost my wolf, about what exactly happened in the forest. I answered everything as honestly as I could.
She handed me several portions of herbal mixtures to drink. They tasted awful like the forest floor blended with old shoes but she insisted they would help stabilize my internal energy. I forced them down, trying not to gag.
Despite my earlier fear, she turned out to be incredibly kind. Gentle when she needed to be, sharp when it mattered, but always sincere. We talked...really talked for the first time since meeting. I learned small things about her, though she avoided personal topics. I didn't push.
At some point, I found out she and Alexander were not mates.
If they weren't mates, then why had she called him that in the forest? Was it sarcasm? A joke? Something else entirely? I didn't dare ask. I didn't want to look nosy or desperate to know about she and Alexander's personal life.
By late afternoon, exhaustion wrapped around me like a heavy blanket. My limbs felt heavier the longer I stayed upright. My head throbbed from the energy work she'd done. All I wanted was to crawl into my bed, close my eyes, and sleep.
But I couldn't leave immediately. She was helping me, and I didn't want to be rude. So I sat, nodded, and listened as she explained the doses I needed to take later.
Eventually, she dismissed me.
I stood up, bowing slightly to her in gratitude, then stepped out of the room and into the hallway.
I didn't look back or anywhere so I wouldn't get into trouble as ia walked out of the eerie side of the pack house.
As I walked I began to feel a bit dizzy. Was I that tired that I was feeling dizzy right now?
But the dizziness hit me harder with each step. The hallway swayed, the floor tilting beneath my feet like the deck of a ship.
I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision, but everything kept doubling.
Stay awake, I told myself. Just get to your room.
My steps wobbled. My legs felt soft, unreliable. I tried to straighten myself, but my balance slipped again. Each step required more effort than the last. The straight hallway suddenly felt like a maze.
Why was I so dizzy?
I had been tired before, yes, but this… this felt unnatural. Like something was pulling on me from the inside, draining the strength out of my limbs.
My breath grew shallow.
My fingertips tingled.
My heart thumped strangely...too slow, then too fast.
I squinted at the blurry outline of my bedroom door at the far end of the hall. It felt miles away, even though I could normally reach it in ten steps.
Come on… just a little more…
But my legs wouldn't obey me anymore.
My knees buckled.
I reached for the wall, missed, and the world tilted violently. For a second, I saw the marble floor rushing up toward me.
Then everything went blank.
My back hit the floor first, knocking the little air left in my lungs out of me. A sharp shock traveled up my spine.
I tried to open my eyes, but they fluttered uselessly, as if weighed down by iron. The blurry hallway lights stretched and twisted into long streaks of color. Sound became distant...muted as if I were underwater.
Darkness pressed in from all sides.
I fought it.
I really did.
But the harder I tried to stay awake, the more the darkness wrapped itself around me, pulling me deeper and deeper.
My arms felt numb.
My legs disappeared into nothingness.
My heartbeat grew faint.
Then, with one final pulse of light behind my eyelids, the world disappeared completely.
I succumbed to the darkness.