PRESCRIBED TO THE TRIPLET

THE NIGHT CALL

Chapter 4:

ALESSIA

The call ended… but the weight of his words didn’t.

It lingered in the air around me like something alive, something suffocating—curling tightly around my chest until it became hard to breathe. My fingers slowly lowered the phone from my ear, trembling despite how tightly I tried to hold it together. For a moment, I just stood there in silence, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Pale. Tired. Hollow. My eyes looked like they belonged to someone who had already given up… someone who had stopped expecting anything good from life a long time ago.

This is my life now.

Liam outside… waiting to break me in ways I no longer had the strength to fight.

And them… waiting to claim me like I was nothing more than something they had already decided belonged to them.

A shaky breath slipped past my lips as I dragged my gaze away from the mirror, my chest tightening painfully. I couldn’t stay here tonight. I couldn’t go back out there and pretend, couldn’t stand in front of Liam and endure whatever humiliation he had planned for me this time. Not when I had already made a choice—one that felt just as dangerous, just as suffocating… but at least different.

“I’m going,” I whispered softly to Mira, my voice barely audible even to myself.

For a moment, there was no response.

But then I felt her… faint, fragile, but there. A quiet shift deep within me. Not strong. Not healed. But calmer than she had been in a long time.

And somehow… that scared me even more.

Maybe it was because, for once… we weren’t choosing Liam.

I turned on the shower, letting the water crash loudly against the tiles, filling the bathroom with noise—enough to mask any movement, any sound that could give me away. My heart pounded harder as I grabbed my bag quickly, my movements careful, controlled. Every second felt like I was doing something forbidden… something I would be punished for if I got caught.

Without allowing myself to think too much, I slipped out of the bathroom.

The moment I stepped back into the room, the scene hadn’t changed.

Liam sat on the edge of the bed, completely at ease, like nothing in the world could touch him. His hand was buried deep in the maid’s hair as she moved between his legs, her pace slow, practiced… like she knew exactly what he wanted. The sound filled the room, thick and humiliating—but I didn’t react. Not anymore. I had learned how to shut that part of myself down.

His eyes lifted the second he noticed me.

Dark. Sharp. Possessive.

“Done already?” he asked, his voice low, carrying that familiar mocking edge that always made my stomach tighten.

I forced my expression into something blank, something empty enough to hide everything I was feeling. “I… need to step out for a bit,” I said carefully, making sure my voice didn’t betray me. “There’s an emergency at the hospital.”

The lie sat heavily on my tongue.

Dangerous.

Risky.

But necessary.

His gaze didn’t leave mine.

“An emergency?” he repeated slowly, like he was tasting the words, testing them.

My heart pounded harder, each beat louder than the last, but I nodded anyway. “Yes.”

Silence followed.

Thick. Heavy. Unpredictable.

For a moment, it felt like the entire room was holding its breath.

Then suddenly—

He laughed.

A cold, empty sound that sent a chill crawling down my spine.

“You think I’m stupid, Alessia?” he muttered, his voice dropping lower as he shoved the maid away without a second thought. She stumbled slightly, confused, but quickly moved away, not daring to question him.

Liam stood.

And just like that, everything changed.

The air grew heavier. Tighter. Harder to breathe.

My body tensed instantly as he began walking toward me, each step slow, controlled… deliberate in a way that made fear creep under my skin before he even touched me.

“You smell different,” he said quietly as he stopped in front of me.

My breath hitched.

What?

Before I could react, his hand shot out, gripping my chin firmly and forcing my face upward. His touch wasn’t gentle—not even close. It never was. His nose brushed lightly against my neck as he inhaled deeply, like he was searching for something hidden beneath my skin.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

“Where were you today?” he asked, his voice low, dangerous.

“At the hospital,” I answered quickly, my voice barely steady as I forced the words out.

His grip tightened.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Fear spread through me, cold and sharp, but I refused to let it show. I couldn’t afford to.

“I’m not,” I said softly, holding onto the lie even as it threatened to break apart under his stare.

For a second—just one second—I thought he might hit me.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he released me abruptly, stepping back with a scoff, like I wasn’t even worth the effort.

“Get out then,” he muttered carelessly. “But when you come back… you won’t be leaving that bed until I’m satisfied.”

My stomach twisted painfully at his words, but I said nothing.

I simply nodded.

Turned.

And walked away.

I didn’t stop.

Not when I stepped out of the room.

Not when I passed the maids.

Not even when I left the house completely.

It wasn’t until the cold night air hit my skin that I finally let out the breath I had been holding, my chest rising and falling unevenly.

This isn’t escape.

It’s just another cage.

The drive felt endless.

Each second stretched painfully as my mind replayed everything over and over again—Liam’s voice, the contract, the threat hanging over my pack like something waiting to strike at any moment. No matter how much I tried to focus, my thoughts kept circling back to the same thing.

Them.

The way they looked at me.

The way they spoke to me.

And worst of all… the way my body had responded.

That wasn’t normal.

None of it was.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as the gates of BloodNight Pack came into view, towering and imposing even from a distance. There was something about the place that felt… different. Darker. Heavier. Like stepping into a world where power wasn’t just present—it ruled everything.

The guards didn’t stop me.

They were already expecting me.

Of course they were.

By the time I stepped out of the car, my heart was already racing again—but this time, it wasn’t just fear. Something else had crept in, something unfamiliar… something I didn’t want to name.

The large doors of the mansion opened before I could even reach for them.

“Right on time, doctor.”

Asher.

Leaning casually against the doorway like he had all the time in the world, a slow, knowing smile playing on his lips.

Like he had been waiting.

Watching.

My steps slowed slightly, but I forced myself forward anyway, refusing to show hesitation.

“I’m here,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite everything building inside me.

His gaze moved over me slowly, deliberately, taking in every detail like he had the right to. Not rushed. Not careless.

Possessive.

“Good,” he murmured softly. “Because we don’t like waiting.”

I swallowed hard as I stepped past him, crossing the threshold into the mansion.

And the moment I did—

It hit me again.

That feeling.

Stronger this time.

Deeper.

Like something buried inside me had just… shifted.

Awakened.

My breath caught sharply in my throat as my chest tightened, my senses suddenly too aware, too alert.

And then—

From deeper inside the house, a voice echoed.

Low.

Commanding.

“Bring her in.”

Azriel.

My heart skipped.

Asher stepped aside fully now, gesturing for me to move forward, his expression unreadable but intense.

“Welcome to BloodNight, doctor,” he said quietly.

A shiver ran down my spine as I walked further inside, each step feeling heavier than the last.

Because deep down…

I knew.

Walking in here tonight—

Was going to change everything.