003; The morning after
1218 Words
Chapter 3: The Morning After
The sterile smell of antiseptic filled the air as Kate opened her eyes, the harsh fluorescent lights above momentarily blinding her. She blinked a few times, her surroundings slowly coming into focus. She was in a hospital room, her leg bandaged and elevated. The events of the previous night came rushing back, and she felt a knot form in her stomach.
The door creaked open, and Detective Jack Harris limped in, his arm in a sling but a grin on his face. “Morning, Kate. How are you holding up?”
“Jack,” Kate sighed in relief, a genuine smile breaking through her exhaustion. “I’m so glad to see you. I was worried.”
He chuckled softly, settling into the chair beside her bed. “How about you? They said you took quite a hit.”
Kate glanced down at her bandaged leg, wincing slightly at the memory. “I’ll live. What about the rest of the team?”
Jack’s expression grew somber. “We lost a few good people. But most of us made it out. The hospital’s treating the injured.”
Kate's heart sank. The faces of their fallen colleagues flashed in her mind, their dedication and bravery now just memories. She swallowed hard, pushing the grief aside for now. “We need to find out what’s going on, Jack. Those creatures... they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“I know,” he said, his voice low. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Kate. I promise.”
A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and a uniformed police officer stepped in. “Detective Jack, I’ve got an update for you concerning Lucas Blackwood.”
Kate sat up a little straighter, her heart racing. “Have they found him?”
The officer nodded, a look of confusion on his face. “Yes, ma’am. He’s alive and well. In fact, he’s perfectly healthy.”
“What?” Kate blinked in disbelief. “That’s impossible. I saw him—he was badly injured. There’s no way he could be completely fine.”
The officer shrugged. “I understand your confusion, ma’am. He’s currently at his estate. He said he was never at the woods.”
Jack and Kate exchanged bewildered glances. “Something’s not right here,” she murmured.
“Believe me, Jack, I saw him injured. I hit him with my vehicle, his bones were broken, and his body was soaked in blood.”
"Kate, listen to me," Jack said gently, his eyes filled with concern. "You took a pretty bad hit yesterday. Maybe you have a concussion, or maybe you were hallucinating due to shock. You didn't see Lucas Blackwood at all, Kate. You were just mistaken."
Kate's expression turned firm, her voice steady. "No, Jack. I know what I saw. I hit him with my car, and I saw him injured. His bones were broken, and his body was soaked in blood. I'm not mistaken, and I'm not hallucinating. I know what I saw, and I don't care if nobody believes me. I know the truth."
Jack's eyes narrowed, his face skeptical.
"Miss Kate, we searched the area. We didn't find any sign of Lucas or any evidence of a struggle. You were alone in the woods, Kate. You have to consider the possibility that you're misremembering things," the officer said.
"I'm not misremembering anything. I know what I saw, and I'm going to prove it. With or without your help," Kate said, anger boiling within her as she still found it hard to believe what the officer had just said.
Or maybe Lucas was hiding something. But he was using his wealth and influence to cover the truth. But she was determined to find out the truth.
***
Alex puffed on his cigarette, blowing the smoke out in a thin, angry stream. Across from him, Lucas did the same, smoking in anger, their eyes locked in a silent battle. They were both seething, the tension in the room almost palpable.
The fact that Lucas was nearly caught by humans, his secret almost exposed, made Alex furious. If Alex hadn’t come to his rescue when Kate hit him with her car, things could have turned out very differently. Werewolves healed quickly, which is why Lucas was hale and healthy now, his bones intact.
Alex broke the silence, his eyes flashing with anger. "Are you proud of yourself, Lucas? If I hadn’t come to your rescue, you’d still be lying there, exposed for all the world to see. Do you have any idea how close you came to revealing our secret?”
Lucas crushed his cigarette into the ashtray, his jaw clenched. “I know exactly how close I came. But you were supposed to have my back, Alex. Remember, we have each other's backs.”
“You weren't careful,” Alex snapped back. “That detective hit you with her car, she saw your face. I did what I had to do to protect you and our family by shifting and she saw me. Werewolf healing or not, if they had found out...”
Lucas stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. “I don’t need a lecture from you, Alex. I know the risks.”
Alex stood as well, his eyes blazing with fury. “You think I don’t know that? You think I enjoy cleaning up your messes?”
Just then, a tall, body-built man walked in, carrying a pad. "Alex, I've got the information you requested," he said, his deep voice commanding attention.
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Let me see it, Victor."
Victor handed over the pad, and Alex's eyes scanned the screen, his expression growing more intense by the second. Lucas watched with interest, sensing that something significant was about to unfold.
"What is it, Alex?" Lucas asked, his curiosity piqued.
Alex's gaze remained fixed on the screen. "It's about the woman who hit you, Lucas. Detective Kate Matthews."
Lucas's eyes snapped to attention. "What about her?"
Alex's expression turned grim. "Her name is Kate Matthews. She's a detective with the local police department."
Lucas's eyes locked onto Alex's, seeing that she was a detective made the situation worse.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Alex asked angrily.
"She won't," Lucas said, pouring himself a drink and sipping it.
"She wouldn't stop because she hit you, saw you in a pool of your own blood. How would you explain that to her, Lucas? How would you explain the fact that you're standing here, alive and well, with no injuries whatsoever?" Alex said.
Lucas's eyes locked onto Alex's, his gaze intense. "Don't worry about the detective, leave her to me, Alex," Lucas said.
Alex's expression turned dark. "Don't play dumb, little brother," Alex said, turning to leave.
Lucas's eyes flashed with a warning. "Don't call me that," he growled.
But before the tension could escalate, the security camera caught their attention. The display screen flickered to life, showing a woman in a heated conversation with Lucas's gate man.
"Who the hell is that?" Lucas asked, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Alex's gaze narrowed. "That's Detective Kate Matthews, the one who hit you with her car."
Lucas's eyes locked onto the screen, his expression unreadable. "What is she doing here?"
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