To The Alpha who Broke My Heart

Four

Chapter Four: The calm before the storm

Mercury's P. O. V

The morning of the present

I smiled as I stared at the cute message left for me on the mirror, grinning so hard I was surprised I didn't hurt my cheek muscles.

If I wasn't loving you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

♤•♤

That was just this morning. I was so content, lying in my mate's arms, embraced by his love and the robust connection and bond we shared. I could have never forseen the greatest ruin coming. I could have never known that in a few hours, everything would change, that I would be distraught and in the worst pain imaginable.

I went to the office with a lightness to my soul, I was in a particularly beatific mood because my wedding anniversary was coming up and Bears always managed to pull off a surprise, grand, romantic gesture and make me love him a million times more. My wolf, Bex, had been howling in my head cheerfully and rambling on and on about how amazing our mate is. This year I actually had planned a surprise that was guaranteed to be more grand than his and I could not wait to execute it.

"Well someone is in a great mood today." Eston sneaked up behind me, managing to startle me.

I placed the patient file on my desk and turned to face him with a playful glower. "I told you to stop doing that," I scolded him and playfully deepened my reprimanding frown as he smiled amusedly, "and how many times must I remind you to knock before coming into my office?"

Eston was actually one of the few people who could successfully launch a sneak attack on me or pull off a scare, because he is a scent-less wolf and he has a brilliant gift of being able to musk his scent entirely or wear the musk of an entirely different species, like Frida's pet goose. If it was not for his abilities, I would have never fallen for his scares, not even once. I have been gifted with a very sharp sense of smell, I can smell a wolf from miles away, and I can smell their kind and sometimes can tell of their origins if I am familiar with them. My unique gray and gold wolf was about an average size but what it lacked in physical strenth and build, it made up for in speed and agility. I have very sharp reflexes and they come in handy seeing as I am the pack doctor and a practicing surgeon, not to forget to mention that I am a trainer and sometimes train the gammas and hunters.

Eston shrugged his shoulders, taking off his blue scrub top and tossing it to my couch, "I thought I should surprise you, Dr Viking."

I crossed my arms over my chest, eyeing him questionably as he took my stethoscope from my desk and flung it over his chest.

"What are you doing?" I c****d a brow, and he just smirked, a mischievous kind of smirk I unfortunately knew too well. "Doctor Burns, do you remember what happened the last time when you barged into my office to surprise me?" I laughed as he grimaced like he had just swallowed something utterly disgusting.

"Knew that would wipe the smirk off your face."

"You should not be getting banged in this office, that is against hospital policy. I so did not need to see that!" He exaggerated his trauma.

I could not help but revel in satisfaction, I loved winding him up, taunting him and teasing him, but not as much as getting on his nerves. And whenever I wanted to really crawl under his skin, I just had to divert the conversation to my wonderful, o****m- filled s*x life.

"Hey, do not speak with that attitude about your alpha," he rolled his green- blue eyes, seeing that I was enjoying myself too much, "I am pretty sure you saw nothing to make you frown, you might have even enjoyed the show, you freak."

"That's the end of that," he turned his back to me and walked to my couch and I followed him and sat right next to him, making him feign a weirded out stare, "you know, doctor Viking, I really thought you could not stand me, so why are you always trying to be up in my space?"

I rolled my eyes. This man had jokes. Eston was umpteenth level clingy, he was the one always trying to get my attention and he would become very cunning if anything wanted to get in his way.

"Huh!" I scoffed, picking up his top and straightening it out. "You are the one who confessed to stalking me for months and don't forget that you followed me to Hollowbell just two days ago, yet you were supposed to be here, going over inventory with Vega."

Before Eston and I became great friends, he was obsessed with me, not in a harmful, alarming way, but he was near fanboying in a very strategic, low- key way and he never wants to admit that I was once his idol, now that he is a head surgeon and has won more awards than me. My best friends, Idka and Bais still like to say that he is secretly in love with me, but I know Eston, he does not have such feelings for me. Besides, he is, as much as everyone in the north, much aware that I am married to the Alpha and head over heels, madly, deeply, in love with my husband. And he has a girlfriend… Ovira… she is a very lovely girl and has been around for almost a year now.

"I was just being the nice guy that I am and saving your ass, you would have embarrassed yourself in front of the minister if I had not driven over there and given you the notes you forgot! You called me, telling me that you are going to f**k up, remember? You know what Mer, you should show me a bit more appreciation."

"Hey!" I donned my most intimidating face, putting more bass in my voice. "That is Luna Mercury to you! We all know you workout and have a nice, rock- solid six- pack, doctor Burns, you do not need to go topless, please put your top back on and respect my office."

His lips curved to a smirk and he raised a cheeky brow, already telling me that he was going to flex his arrogance. "Well I think the office is enjoying the view, don't be jealous, doctor."

I rolled my eyes, throwing the top at his face, "Oh please, I've seen way better."

He mouthed "I don't believe you", I stood up and walked to the built in wardrobe and took out another top and wore it. Eston had his own office, his own wardrobe, but he always left his scrubs, lab coats and clothes in mine. He just loved to annoy me!

"Alright, back to business, I want to knock off already so I can get back to my husband and my adorable babies, my little Bears, so back to business. Have you sent me the report on the development of the Endrephin serum? Oh and I think that rogue in ward two three eight, the one they brought in last week with a gaping wound on her head will be taken in for interrogation tomorrow, she has recovered very well."

Eston nodded his head giving me this miles long gaze. "Aha!" He said pensively and I shook my head incredulously and went around the desk.

"You were not listening, now were you, how professional!" I collected all the files and neatly stacked them into a drawer, then took my phone and bag. "Good luck working the night- shift, see ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" I thought I would make a quick dash out of the office, but I had barely gotten past him when he grabbed me by the wrist.

"You never told me what you thought about them." He stared at me dead in the eyes, I rarely saw him looking so serious, I was actually unnerved.

"Oh.. oh, the prototype, I'm sorry, I didn't open that email, I was too focused on-"

"I am not talking about the prototype, " he interjected, finally letting go of my hand but covering another step towards me, "I am taking about the flowers, I sent them this morning, I hand- picked them and designed the bouquet myself."

"They were very beautiful, I loved them!" I lied.

Bears did not actually even allow me a chance to see them up- close before he got rid of them. My smile flattened and my demeanor became awkward as I prepared the speech in my head in seconds. Ugh! Such talks are always so hard to have. I did not know how I was going to put it, but Eston needed to know that we needed to establish new boundaries and implement some changes in our friendship.

"But…. I don't think you should send me flowers again, it does not look very… I don't know, it might be misread and Bears does not like it…. The friend dates will have to stop as well, Idka was right, it is weird and Ovira might be intimidated by me because of it."

Eston's jaw clenched and he looked away for a moment, I could immediately tell that he was not happy to hear that,

"Ovira has no problem with our relationship… 'Alpha' Bears on the other hand… why is he so threatened by me?" He took another step towards me, leaving barely any space between us. His eyes seemed to darken as he stared down at me with this intense emotion in his eyes. "Maybe it is because he knows-"

"I need to go, we will talk about this later." I worded quickly, leaving him no room to squeeze in words of his own before I dashed out of the office. I could smell Bears and the rubber of his car tyres, he was driving through the hospital gate and I wanted to meet him halfway.