The Alpha who Stole Death

Chapter 3Gone Before Sunrise

Aurora

Sleep and I had officially broken up.

It wasn't mutual.

I wanted the relationship to work.

Sleep had apparently found someone else.

I groaned as my alarm screamed at exactly eight o'clock.

Who invented alarms anyway?

More importantly, why did they always sound like they were personally offended that I existed?

I slapped my phone until the noise stopped.

Silence.

Glorious silence.

Three seconds later, my phone buzzed.

Ada: You alive?

I stared at the message.

Barely.

Me: Physically? Yes. Emotionally? Debatable.

Three dots appeared almost immediately.

Ada: Good. Because administration wants to question everyone from last night's shift again.

I buried my face in my pillow.

Of course they did.

A mysterious patient disappears from the fifth floor without using the door, the cameras catch absolutely nothing, and somehow I'm expected to explain it.

Sure.

Maybe while I was at it, I'd explain gravity.

After dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled into the bathroom and caught sight of my reflection.

My hair looked like it had survived a tornado.

Dark circles framed my eyes.

I pointed at the mirror.

"You look haunted."

My reflection silently agreed.

...

By the time I reached the hospital, rumors had spread faster than influenza in flu season.

Two nurses stopped talking the moment I walked into the staff room.

One orderly whispered, "That's her."

Fantastic.

I'd gone from Nurse Aurora Hayes...

...to The Girl With the Missing Patient.

Exactly the promotion I'd been hoping for.

Ada walked over with two cups of coffee.

"I brought peace offerings."

I accepted one gratefully.

"If this has poison in it, just know I won't even be mad."

She laughed.

"I considered it. Then I remembered I'd have to finish your paperwork."

I gasped dramatically.

"So that's what our friendship means to you?"

"It means I hate paperwork more than I love you."

"Honestly? Fair."

For the first time since everything happened, I laughed.

A real laugh.

It lasted exactly four seconds.

"Miss Hayes?"

I turned toward the voice.

Hospital Security.

Again.

I sighed into my coffee.

"This day just keeps getting better."

The officer offered an apologetic smile.

"The police would like another statement."

Naturally they would.

Because apparently my life had become a crime documentary overnight.

As I followed him toward the administration office, I couldn't shake the strange feeling that somewhere...

Someone was smiling.

And somehow...

I knew this nightmare was only beginning.

....

The administration office felt colder than the emergency room.

Not because of the air conditioning.

Because everyone inside looked like they were attending a funeral.

The police detective, a man in his late forties with tired eyes and a coffee stain on his tie, motioned for me to sit.

"Miss Hayes, I promise this won't take long."

I almost laughed.

People who said that always lied.

I sat down and folded my hands in my lap.

He flipped open a notebook.

"So... your patient disappeared."

I blinked.

"That's... a very accurate summary."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Humor is your coping mechanism?"

"Either that or crying."

"I prefer humor."

"So do I."

He scribbled something down.

Please don't let him write Subject uses sarcasm excessively.

Because he'd need a second notebook.

He cleared his throat.

"Did the patient ever tell you his name?"

"No."

"Did he wake up?"

I hesitated.

This was the part no one would believe.

"He... opened his eyes for a second."

"What color were they?"

I froze.

Should I tell him?

Silver?

No.

He'd think I'd completely lost it.

"Brown," I lied.

The detective nodded and continued writing.

Guilt settled in my stomach.

It wasn't exactly a lie...

It was more like...

Creative editing.

Twenty minutes later, I escaped the office with my sanity barely intact.

Ada was waiting outside, leaning against the wall with another coffee.

"You survived."

"Barely."

She handed me the cup.

"They ask if you helped him escape?"

"They practically asked if I stuffed him into my backpack."

Ada snorted.

"You should've told them you flew him out on a broomstick."

"Don't tempt me. I still have to come back tomorrow."

She laughed so hard she nearly spilled her coffee.

"I missed you."

"I've been gone twenty minutes."

"The hospital has been boring without your bad jokes."

"My jokes are premium quality."

"They're free."

"They're emotionally expensive."

The laughter faded as we passed Room One.

The door was open.

Maintenance had already stripped the room.

Fresh sheets.

New equipment.

No trace that the strangest patient in hospital history had ever been there.

It almost made me wonder if I'd imagined everything.

Almost.

Something caught my eye.

The floor near the window.

A tiny scratch.

Long.

Deep.

As though something with enormous claws had dug into the tiles.

I frowned.

"That's new."

Ada looked down.

"Probably from moving equipment."

Maybe.

But it didn't look like it.

The grooves were too narrow.

Too deliberate.

A strange uneasiness settled over me.

I finished my paperwork around noon and finally headed home.

The rain had stopped, leaving the city washed clean.

For the first time all day, everything felt...

Normal.

Children laughed outside a bakery.

A busker played an old guitar near the traffic lights.

Someone argued loudly over the price of tomatoes.

Yep.

Definitely home.

I smiled.

Maybe life really was returning to normal.

That's when every bird in the street suddenly flew away.

At once.

The laughter disappeared.

Even the traffic seemed quieter.

A cold breeze brushed against my neck.

I stopped walking.

Something wasn't right.

Slowly...

I turned around.

Across the road stood the same two men I'd seen that morning.

Black clothes.

Expressionless faces.

Watching me.

One lifted his phone.

Not to make a call.

To take my picture.

A shiver ran through me.

"Nope."

I turned on my heel.

"I have officially reached my daily limit for creepy strangers."

I quickened my pace.

Footsteps echoed behind me.

One pair.

Then two.

Then three.

They weren't even trying to hide it anymore.

I looked over my shoulder.

They were following me.

Every instinct screamed at me to run.

So I did.

My handbag bounced wildly against my hip.

"I really should've joined a gym," I muttered between breaths.

The men broke into a sprint.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

I darted into a narrow alley, hoping to lose them.

Big mistake.

The alley ended in a brick wall.

I stopped so abruptly I nearly crashed into it.

"Fantastic."

I turned slowly.

The three men blocked the only exit.

One smiled.

It wasn't friendly.

"Miss Hayes," he said smoothly.

"Our master would like to meet you."

I swallowed.

"Can I respectfully decline?"

His smile widened.

"I'm afraid that isn't an option."

Before I could react...

A deafening growl ripped through the alley.

The ground itself seemed to tremble.

The men's confident expressions vanished.

They looked behind me.

Eyes wide with fear.

I didn't dare turn around.

Whatever had frightened them...

I wasn't sure I wanted to see it.