Chapter2
1320 Words
I woke up to the smell of antiseptics.
My eyes fluttered open slowly. The white ceilings and walls came into focus, and it didn’t take long to realize I was in the hospital.
My head throbbed as I tried to sit up.
“You’re awake,” a husky voice said beside me.
I froze for a second till I recognized him. The image of him carrying me flashed in my head before I shook it off.
“My head hurts,” I groaned.
“The doctor said you have a mild concussion,” he said. “You passed out after we got here.”
“I don’t remember falling that hard,” I muttered, trying to push myself up but it ached to move.
I touched my ankle. It was wrapped tightly in a bandage.
“Sprained ankle.” He said before I could even ask about it.
I nodded slowly, then glanced around the room again.
“How long have I been here?”
“About an hour.”
“And you stayed?”
He leaned back in the chair. “Someone has to make sure you don't try to run again.”
I froze, then looked at him slowly.
I didn’t tell him I was on the run.
“Who says I’m running?” I snapped.
“I know you are.” His eyes pressed on me.
“But I’m not running from you, though,”
“I know,” he said.
Silence fell between us.
I felt the urge to ask how he knew I wanted to escape. But I didn’t ask, because men like him were too dangerous to be questioned.
“Why did you run?” He asked.
“It’s not your business,” I snapped. “But…how do you know that?”
“It’s not your business either.”
I scoffed.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Ivan.”
It sounded familiar but I couldn't place my finger where I had heard it before.
“Sage,” I replied softly.
“I know.”
My brows furrowed. “How?”
His eyes pressed on me for a second.
“You kept saying it when you were half-conscious,” he said. “And you kept saying ‘don’t shoot.’”
My heart dropped.
“…Did I?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed hard and turned my face away.
“You want to explain that?”
I didn’t answer.
A nurse walked in and checked the monitor beside my bed, then left again.
“You walked in and now the whole hospital is panicking.”
“What do you mean?”
He reached for the remote and turned on the TV.
A news reporter filled the screen.
“…the palace remains in lockdown as Alpha Jaxson’s political Luna, Sage, has gone missing…”
My breath caught.
No…no… no.
This couldn’t be happening.
My face appeared on the screen.
(She was last seen this morning in her room according to her aunt. Guards have been deployed across pack territory, and Alpha Jaxson has promised a reward for any information regarding her whereabouts.)
Shit.
Ivan slowly turned toward me.
“So,” he said quietly. “That’s you.”
My hands started shaking.
“Y-Yes.”
“You were supposed to get engaged to the Alpha.”
“Yes.”
“Then why were you running through a forest alone, away from him?”
Tears burned my eyes.
“Because he will kill me.”
He stood up. “What?”
“He will kill me,” I repeated. “A year from now, he’ll put a gun to my head and pull the trigger.”
I knew I sounded crazy with the look he shot me.
“Is that so?” He said slowly, like he was talking to a five year old.
“I know it sounds corny, but trust me… I’m telling the truth.”
“But how can you tell the future?” He asked. “Or are you saying you’re a time traveler?”
“Yes…in a way,”
He let out a short laugh.
“If you don’t believe me, it’s fine,” I said. “I know he will kill me after we get engaged so I refused to go back to stop it from happening…later.”
He exhaled slowly. “You hit your head hard.”
“So you don’t believe me,” I blinked.
“No, I don’t.” He said bluntly.
I scoffed.
“I think it’ll be best if you return before Shadowclaw turns upside down.” He continued.
“Please don’t say that,” I begged. “If I go back, I’ll die. I saw it happen.”
He watched me closely.
“It’s either you’re really good at acting or you belong in a psychiatric ward.”
I glared at him.
“You’re not lying.”
“No...”
He was quiet for a long moment.
Then he said, “Even if you’re wrong… I won’t drag you back there.”
Hope flooded my chest.
“You won’t?”
“I’m not allowed there,” he said darkly.
I arched a brow. “Huh?”
He cut in before I could ask why.
“But you can’t stay here,” he added. “They’ll start searching everywhere soon…including this hospital.”
My heart thudded like a drum.
“Then where will I go?”
“You’re coming with me.”
My heart skipped.
“You’ll hide me?”
“For now.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened. “Would you rather stay here?”
I swallowed.
It was dangerous going with someone I didn’t know so well, but staying here is far more dangerous.
“Okay.”
“Let’s go.”
I stared at him as he acted like he wasn’t aware of my situation.
“Now?” I repeated. “I can’t even walk properly.”
“You don’t have to,” he said calmly. “I’ll carry you.”
My throat tightened.
“I don’t even know where ‘with you’ is.”
“That’s the point.”
I looked away, my fingers clutching the blanket. My heart wouldn’t slow down. If I went back to the palace, I would die. If I went with him, I could still die, but at least it wouldn’t be in Jaxson’s hands.
“Why are you really helping me?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t answer immediately. His jaw tightened, and his eyes flicked to the door like he was already planning an escape route.
“You ask a lot of questions,”
My chest constricted.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
Noise echoed from the hallway.
Ivan straightened instantly.
“Stay quiet,” he murmured.
The door opened slightly. A nurse peeked in, smiling too brightly.
“Miss Sage?” she said. “The doctor said it’s stable for you to heal at home,”
My blood turned to ice.
“She’s not stable enough to leave,” Ivan said flatly.
The nurse hesitated.
“Y-yes,”
“Are you discharging her against medical advice?” Ivan said, moving closer to the nurse.
She took steps back, trembling.
“S-sorry,” she whispered.
They must’ve heard the news.
When she left, I turned to Ivan, panic tearing through me.
“They've heard the news.”
“I know.”
“We don’t have much time. We should leave now. Once she gets out, she’ll report you.”
He grabbed a hoodie from the chair and tossed it at me.
“Put this on. Cover your head and face.” He said.
My hands shook as I pulled it over my head.
“What if they catch us?”
“They won’t.”
“How are you so sure?”
He stepped closer, his presence swallowing the small space between us.
“Because they don’t expect me.”
I swallowed.
Who was this man?
- Writer
