Chapter 6:
1817 Words
ASH
When Wren told me to leave that morning, my first instinct had been no.
The certainty was in me so naturally that I barely questioned it at first. Even now, sitting alone in her apartment with the memory of her walking out alone after telling me to stay behind, left a kind of feeling I couldn't explain.
People listened to me. At least, they always had before. I did not know how I knew that, but somewhere deep inside me, I just know I never got a “no” for an answer. That was simply how the world worked.
Except Wren had looked me directly in the eyes, told me no without hesitation, and walked out anyway. The more I thought about it, the more unreasonable my frustration became.
I barely knew her, I did not even know myself. And yet every minute she stayed gone made something restless build inside me.
Kara shifted weakly on the bed nearby, dragging me away from my thoughts briefly. Her fever had worsened over the past hour despite everything I tried doing for her. Sweat soaked through the blankets wrapped around her while her breathing remained shallow.
I frowned. Wren should have returned by now.
I pushed myself upright despite the sharp pain tearing through my ribs. The wounds still had not healed properly, but staying in this room while she walked alone into a place filled with Rogues and smugglers suddenly felt impossible to ignore.
I grabbed my coat from the chair nearby and headed towards the door. Just as I was about to leave, Kara's voice sounded.
“She told you to stay.”
I stopped and turned to look at her. “She says a lot of things.”
A weak laugh escaped her. “You’re gonna fit into her life terribly.”
That sounded strangely accurate.
The black market was easier to find than it should have been. Even without my memories intact, my body seemed to recognize places like this instinctively.
The moment I stepped inside, my eyes furrowed at the sight of the chaos before me, and at the center of it all stood Wren. Several wolves surrounded her near the back office while she was being accused from every direction.
“The doctor who poisoned the Pack.”
“She killed them.”
“She should’ve died in the pits with the rest.”
I could feel the deep-seated hatred that rolled off the crowd.
Wren stood perfectly still in the middle of it despite the danger closing around her. Her face remained calm, though she looked cornered.
When one of the wolves moved toward her, everything inside me reacted instantly. I crossed the room before I could even realize myself.
The first man barely had time to swing before I caught his arm and twisted it. He screamed so loud it echoed the room while I shoved him aside hard enough to send him crashing into a table.
There was a brief silence, but it lasted only for a second. Three more wolves rushed toward me at once. My body moved so fast. I dodged the first punch without thinking and drove my elbow into someone’s throat hard enough to collapse him instantly. Another came from my left with a knife. I caught his wrist, twisted it, and buried the blade straight back into his shoulder before he could react.
The warehouse was filled with shouting.
“What the hell is he?”
“He’s unmarked!”
“No Rogue hits like that!”
I could sense the confusion in their voices. Honestly, I was confused too. None of this should have been possible, and definitely not while missing half my memories. Yet my body knew exactly what to do anyway.
A large wolf rushed me from behind with enough force to crack concrete if he landed the hit. I turned immediately and drove him backward, hitting his back against a wooden support beam hard enough to break it apart.
I stopped thinking entirely after that. There was this terrifying certainty that nobody here would touch Wren while I remained standing. Her safety had become the center of every instinct inside me.
I did not understand why. I only knew the thought of someone hurting her made something dangerous rise inside my chest immediately.
Another wolf stumbled backward after taking a hit to the jaw, several others now hesitated instead of attacking. They were starting to realize this fight was going very differently than expected.
I stepped forward again. Then suddenly Wren moved directly in front of me. She placed herself between me and the rest of the room before I could react.
“Enough,” she said firmly.
My entire body remained tense with adrenaline while I stared down at the back of her head. She looked absurdly small standing there between me and a room full of armed wolves.
“Move,” I said quietly.
“No.” She slowly looked over her shoulder at me then. “If you break anyone else, nobody’s giving us the medication.”
Those words calmed whatever storm in my chest. She was right. The old woman, Kara, needed the medication more than anything else. Breathing hard, I forced myself to step back.
The entire warehouse went deathly silent after that. Several wolves stared at me with open disbelief now. Meanwhile, Wren turned toward the office near the back afterward like none of this had happened.
“I’d like to speak to whoever’s in charge,” she said calmly.
The sheer audacity of that nearly made me laugh. A few of the wolves actually looked too stunned to answer immediately.
Finally, someone muttered, “Briggs.”
Wren nodded once and walked toward the office. I watched her go while something strange settled heavily inside my chest. MINE.
The thought appeared again, this time, with every certainty. SHE IS MINE.
I did not know where the thought came from or what exactly it meant, only that the instinct felt real. Possessive in a way I could not fully explain.
I stared at Wren’s back while she disappeared into the office without looking at me once.
****
WREN
By the time I finished treating Briggs’ silver wound, the warehouse had gone completely silent around me.
Every person inside that black market kept glancing between me and Ash like they were trying to solve a dangerous puzzle. Honestly, I understood the confusion. Less than ten minutes ago, half these people wanted me dead. Now their boss was sitting shirtless in front of me while I cut infected tissue from his shoulder and stitched the wound cleanly closed.
Life came at people fast.
“Try moving your arm,” I told Briggs while cleaning the last traces of blood from my hands.
The massive wolf tested his shoulder carefully before staring at me in disbelief. “Pain’s gone down already.”
“That’s because you waited too long and let the silver spread.” I tied off the final stitch. “If you’d ignored it another few days, you would’ve lost the arm.”
One of the guards nearby said. “You really were a doctor.”
I ignored the comment.
Briggs rolled his shoulder once more before finally nodding toward one of the supply tables outside the office. “Give her the medication.”
A younger wolf hurried off immediately while I packed away the few tools I’d borrowed. Across the warehouse, Ash leaned silently against one of the support beams watching everything with those dark unreadable eyes.
Several people still kept their distance from him. I still remembered how quickly he moved earlier, half the room probably would too for a long time.
The medication arrived a few minutes later in a sealed metal case. I checked the contents immediately before allowing myself to breathe properly again.
That was enough to stabilize Kara. Thank God.
“You got nerve walking in here alone,” Briggs said suddenly.
I looked up from the case. “Didn’t exactly have many options.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “The stories about you… are they true?”
The warehouse seemed to hold its breath waiting for my answer.
I closed the case. “No.”
Briggs studied me for another long moment before finally leaning back in his chair. “The market could use a doctor.”
I blinked once. “What?”
“You heard me.” His gaze shifted briefly toward the injured wolves scattered around the warehouse floor. “Most healers won’t work outside Pack territory, and the ones who do charge triple.”
I almost laughed in disbelief. Six years ago, Pack hospitals fought over recruiting me. Now illegal underground markets were offering me work because legitimate society considered me unworthy.
Funny how life turned out.
“What are the terms?” I asked.
Briggs shrugged. “Recurring arrangement. You treat people when needed. In the end, you get paid.”
I had spent the past few weeks scrubbing motel floors while pretending I no longer missed medicine. Pretending losing my career hurt less than it actually did. Turns out I’d been lying to myself.
“I’ll think about it,” I said finally.
Briggs nodded once like he already expected that answer.
The moment I turned around, my eyes immediately found Ash again. He pulled slightly off the wall the second I approached. Blood stained parts of his shirt from the fight earlier, though thankfully none of it looked fresh.
“You’re injured again,” I muttered.
We left the warehouse shortly afterward without further problems. Surprisingly, nobody tried stopping us on the way out. In fact, most people moved aside immediately once Ash walked near them.
By the time we returned to the apartment, Kara’s fever had worsened badly. I immediately got to work, preparing the medication while Ash stayed nearby watching silently.
The first dose worked fast. Within an hour, Kara’s breathing finally became normal and the terrifying heat in her body started to fade.
“She’ll recover,” I murmured more to myself while adjusting the blankets around her.
Eventually, I sat down in the chair across from him and rubbed tiredly at my face. “Concerning the offer.”
Ash remained still.
I looked up at him slowly. “I don’t know if working for an illegal underground market is officially the worst decision of my life.”
Ash watched me quietly, and for some reason the room suddenly felt smaller.
Finally, I sighed softly. “What do you think?”
“It’s your decision.” The answer came almost immediately. “Whatever you decide, I’ll follow it.”
I nodded without a word.
Then Ash spoke again. “Are you not afraid of me?”
I frowned. “What?”
His eyes lowered briefly before lifting back toward mine. “I killed a lot of people today.”
- Writer
