Alder♠
1875 Words
I don’t remember when I stopped running.
I just remember collapsing somewhere in the woods, faceplanting into the dirt, and muttering something like, “This is a terrible idea” before blacking out for a few seconds.
Apparently, surviving an encounter with a wolf the size of a minivan doesn’t come without consequences.
My leg throbs. My lungs are on fire. There’s mud in places mud should never be. But I’m alive. So that’s something.
Eventually, I limp my way back to the Vampire camp. The invisible barrier pulses as I cross through, cool as ice against my skin. I pass the first patrol checkpoint. The guards don’t even blink. I guess they’re used to me showing up half-dead by now. Cute.
As I reach the main courtyard, the big black double doors to Hayden’s quarters fly open.
And there he is.
Shadow himself.
Hayden.
Not brooding on a rooftop or skulking dramatically under a moonbeam like usual. No—he’s storming toward me with all the grace of an impending explosion.
“Alder!” His voice cuts through the air like a whip. “Where the hell were you?!”
Ah. There it is.
“Out,” I say, deadpan, because sarcasm is my favorite coping mechanism.
He stops two feet from me, eyes scanning every inch of me. His jaw clenches. His hands are shaking.
He’s pissed.
No—terrified.
“Do you know what I thought when I saw your bed empty?” he growls. “Do you know what it felt like to search the entire forest, thinking I’d find your body ripped in half by the time I got there?”
Okay, yikes.
“Relax,” I mutter. “I’m in one piece. Mostly.”
Hayden exhales through his nose like he’s trying not to scream. Then he steps forward and grabs my arms—not hard, just… firmly. Urgently.
“Let me see,” he says, softer now.
“I’m fine.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
With a sigh, I lower myself onto a nearby bench. He kneels in front of me, carefully rolling up my torn pant leg. His fingers hover just above the wound on my thigh.
The one with the claw marks.
They’ve started to heal already—thanks to the pendant he gave me—but they still look angry and raw. Like I lost a fight with a lawnmower.
Hayden’s expression darkens. “This was no ordinary animal.”
“Nope,” I say lightly, even though my leg screams in protest.
“What happened?”
I look away. “Ran into a wolf. He was... different.”
“Different how?”
“Bigger. Smarter. Talked.”
Hayden goes still. “It spoke to you?”
“Yeah. Like, full sentences. Real classy insults, too.”
His eyes narrow. “What did it say?”
Here we go.
I pause, choosing my words like I’m walking a tightrope over a pit of knives. “It said I wasn’t a Vampire. That I smelled wrong. Figured I was human. Almost like it... sensed it.”
Not a lie. Just... not all of it.
I don’t mention that it called me “Kione.” Or the way it pinned me down and sniffed me like I was an all-you-can-eat buffet. Or—most importantly—that it called me mate right before I shoved a silver dagger into its leg and made a run for it.
Nope. That little nugget of nightmare fuel stays between me and my rapidly deteriorating mental health.
Hayden nods slowly, his jaw tense. “An Alpha, maybe.”
I pretend to shrug, wincing as I shift my weight. “Felt like I pissed off a mythological god.”
He stands and walks to the side, pacing now. That’s always a bad sign. “You’re not ready for direct combat. Not yet.”
“Gee, thanks,” I mumble. “That’s so encouraging.”
“I didn’t mean—” He cuts himself off, then turns back to me. “You survived. You’re lucky.”
I smirk. “I’m not lucky. I’m stubborn. There’s a difference.”
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “The pendant?”
“Shattered.”
His head snaps up. “What?!”
“Magic ran out,” I say casually, like I’m not terrified by the fact I was powerless for a full thirty seconds in the middle of murder-forest. “I’ll need a new one. Preferably one that doesn’t give out mid-sprint.”
“I’ll talk to the council,” Hayden mutters. “And I’m upgrading your training. No more simulations. No more holding back.”
Oh boy.
Now I’ve done it.
“Yay,” I deadpan. “Can’t wait to get punched in the face by another bloodthirsty immortal.”
“You’ll thank me when it happens again.”
I don’t respond. Mostly because I’m trying not to pass out.
Hayden notices. He’s beside me again in an instant, one hand hovering near my shoulder. “Alder.”
“Fine,” I murmur. “Just tired.”
“You’re pale.”
“I’m always pale. I live underground with Vampires.”
He lifts a brow. “Sarcasm. A clear sign of a concussion.”
I roll my eyes, but he’s already slipping an arm under my knees and another around my back.
“Put me down,” I protest.
“You’re injured.”
“I can walk.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“You’re dramatic.”
He ignores me, carrying me into the infirmary like I’m some tragic damsel. I don’t bother fighting him anymore. I’m too tired. Too sore. Too shaken.
I’ll process the mate thing later. Like… in five years. After therapy.
For now, I rest my head against Hayden’s shoulder and let the scent of aged books and midnight cloak me.
But as we reach the door to the med chamber, I sigh.
Not from pain. From what’s coming.
Hayden pushes the door open and carries me inside like I’m some ancient relic instead of a mildly bruised human with a superiority complex.
He sets me down gently on the examination table and then steps back, arms crossed, brows locked in their usual judgmental position.
Here it comes.
“I shouldn’t have let you go.”
And… there it is.
“Too late for guilt, Shadow,” I say, flexing my leg with a wince. “Damage done. Drama survived.”
“You weren’t ready.”
“You said I was.”
“I was wrong.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Say that again? Into this recorder? I need proof.”
He doesn’t crack a smile.
Shame. That one was solid.
“I should’ve waited. The moment I heard Werewolves breached the perimeter, I should’ve called off the mission.” He runs a hand through his hair—messier than usual. “But I didn’t. I gambled. And you almost—” He stops. Swallows it.
Dies. He was going to say “dies.”
I smirk faintly. “You’re being dramatic again.”
“You were bleeding, Alder.”
“You think that’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me? I once ate high school cafeteria meatloaf.”
He exhales through his nose, like he’s trying not to strangle me. Which is fair. I’m being difficult.
He turns to the counter and grabs gauze. Alcohol. Bandages. “New rules.”
I groan. “Here we go.”
“No more solo missions. No more wandering. No more spontaneous forest runs without backup.”
“I wasn’t wandering. It was a tactical escape.”
“You’re not funny.”
“I beg to differ.”
He kneels in front of me, cleaning the half-healed claw marks on my thigh with careful, precise hands. I grit my teeth, pretending it doesn’t sting like hell. He doesn’t comment on the bruises or the near-shattered pendant. He already saw the damage. This part’s just ritual now.
“I’m doubling your training,” he says without looking up. “Effective tomorrow.”
“Seriously?” I snap. “I just survived a Werewolf who could bench-press a pickup truck. Shouldn’t I get, I don’t know... a vacation?”
“No. You almost died. So you get bootcamp.”
“Cool. That’s exactly what I wanted. A near-death experience followed by torture.”
“You’ll thank me later.”
“You keep saying that like it’s ever going to happen.”
He tapes the last bandage down and stands. “Also—”
“Oh god, there’s more?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight for the foreseeable future.”
I blink. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
“You’re serious.”
“Completely.”
“So what, you’re going to babysit me now?”
“I prefer the term ‘monitor closely.’”
“I prefer the term ‘overbearing and annoying.’”
“Add it to your journal,” he says calmly, peeling off his gloves.
I glare. “You don’t even know if that Wolf was tracking me.”
“You said it sniffed you and figured out you were human.”
“It also thought I was a guy. So clearly not the brightest.”
“Still. You’re exposed now.”
“So you’re just gonna stalk me forever? Sit behind me while I train? Follow me to the bathroom? Sleep on my floor?”
“If necessary.”
I blink again. “Wow. Did I hit my head? Because that sounded like you volunteering to become my shadow again, but this time with extra micromanagement.”
Hayden just shrugs, unfazed. “You're still breathing. That’s what matters.”
“You know what else matters? Privacy. Autonomy. Space.”
He gestures around the med chamber. “You’ll have all the space you want—right here.”
“I will suffocate you in your sleep.”
He smirks. “You can try.”
Ugh. Infuriating. Stone-faced, overprotective, bossy Vampire.
And somehow… comforting.
“I miss the old Hayden,” I mutter.
He raises an eyebrow. “The one who let you almost die?”
I frown. “Okay, fair. But still.”
He steps closer again, gaze serious now. “Next time, I won’t take that risk. You matter, Alder. More than you realize.”
I swallow the weird twist in my stomach. Great. Feelings. Exactly what I didn’t order.
“Noted,” I say, hopping off the table. My leg wobbles slightly, but I hide it with practiced finesse.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Back to my room. To sulk. Maybe plot a dramatic escape.”
“You’re grounded.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re not my dad.”
“Thank God,” he mutters.
I smirk. “You’re lucky I like you, Shadow.”
“You like me?”
“Don’t push it.”
As I limp toward the door, he calls after me. “Training starts at six a.m.”
“I hate you.”
“You’ll thank me later.”
And with that, I flip him off behind my back and disappear into the corridor—limping, bruised, mildly traumatized, and completely, utterly alive.
- Writer
