Chapter Three – Time Waits For No One
1157 Words
Shannon POV
Beep Beep Beep
The sound dragged me awake, sharp and irritating. I blinked into a blinding light, my heart hammering until my eyes adjusted. White walls. Blue curtains. The smell of antiseptic.
A hospital.
It was too clean, too quiet, the kind of place you wanted to escape from. I tried to swing my legs off the bed — only to realise they wouldn’t move. Panic surged hot through my chest. Why couldn’t I move? What had happened?
The door burst open before I could process it. A tall man stormed in, a nurse trailing behind him.
“Alpha, please—don’t—Alpha!”
They froze when they saw me.
Alpha?
My breath caught. No. Not just some random man. Him. The wall I’d walked into with Meygan.
Before I could even form a thought, he was across the room, hands on me, lips pressed hard against mine. The shock froze me, but then—heat. A strange warmth spread from his mouth, flooding every nerve, every vein, pulling me under.
It would have been easy to give in. Too easy.
But reality snapped back like a whip. I shoved against him, fists pounding uselessly at his chest until one connected with his face. Pain shot up my arm, a strangled whimper escaping before I could stop it.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” I spat, shaking. “Who do you think you are?! I don’t even know you!”
His expression faltered, eyes searching mine as if desperate for an answer only I could give.
“I—I—” he stammered, but the nurse stepped in fast, pushing him out of the room with surprising force.
“You need to leave. Now!” she snapped, slamming and locking the door.
I was trembling so hard I barely noticed the monitor’s beeping racing faster and faster. My chest heaved until she crouched in front of me, her voice soft and steady.
“Breathe, sweetheart. In, out. That’s it.”
Her calmness anchored me. Slowly, my breathing evened, the beeping steadied.
“That’s better. My name’s Hilary. I’m the pack nurse. The doctor will be here soon, but for now, you’re safe.”
Pack? The word stuck sharp in my throat.
“What’s… what’s a pack?”
“All in good time,” she said gently. “Let’s focus on getting you stable.”
I swallowed, forcing another question. “Who was that man?”
She hesitated. “Thomas Cannon. He’s… well, the one in charge here. He was overjoyed to see you alive, Miss Rye. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so relieved.”
Thomas Cannon. The name rang like a bell in my skull, familiar but out of reach.
“How did I get here?”
“One of our guards found you by the roadside. Thomas fought off a wolf nearby and—”
“My sisters!” My chest seized. “Are they okay?”
“They’re fine,” she said quickly. “They’re with your father. He’s already been told you’re awake.”
The words barely left her mouth before the door flung open again. My sisters and dad rushed in, Emily colliding with me so hard I nearly cried out. She pulled back instantly, eyes wide.
“Oh goddess, I’m sorry!”
I managed a weak smile before my dad’s arms wrapped around me. The tears I’d been holding back broke free, and I collapsed into him, sobbing until there was nothing left inside me.
When I finally pulled away, drained, his face was wet too. The girls hovered nervously, guilt written all over them.
“Where were you both?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, anger rising with my exhaustion.
They exchanged uneasy looks until Clara whispered, “We went with Dad. To work. We couldn’t sleep because of the storm. We didn’t want to worry you…”
Her words trailed off, heavy with guilt. Before I could reply, they excused themselves and slipped out.
“Dad,” I said, turning back to him, “it’s not that they weren’t home. It’s that I wasn’t told.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He sighed. “But you’re not their parent anymore. You need to start living your own life.”
I bit back my protest, but unease gnawed at me.
That’s when it happened again.
A low, rumbling growl filled the room. My head whipped toward the door. Thomas stood there, shoulders tense, eyes dark with something primal.
“Did you just growl?” My voice trembled.
He didn’t answer. Just stared.
“You need to leave,” I said, forcing the words. “I don’t want you here.”
Dad’s gasp was audible. His hand slipped from mine, and for a flicker of a moment I almost regretted it—because Thomas’s face crumpled in a sadness so raw it ached to look at.
“Sweetheart,” Dad murmured, “Thomas has been by your side every single day for the last two weeks. He saved your life. Without him, you wouldn’t be here.”
Two weeks?
“No,” I snapped. “It was yesterday. The men. The wolf. It was last night!”
“Shannon…” Dad’s voice broke. “You’ve been in a coma for two weeks.”
The floor tilted beneath me.
“No. No, that can’t be right…” My voice cracked. “If he saved me, then why was I chained up? Blindfolded? Left in the cold like an animal until I passed out?”
Thomas moved closer, kneeling beside me. His voice was low, earnest.
“That was my fault. I told them to bring you back, but they thought it was as a prisoner. I came as soon as I could and brought you here. I swear, Shannon.” His hand brushed a strand of hair from my face, and his touch sent that impossible warmth spiralling through me again.
I hated that it soothed me.
“Please,” he said, “let me introduce myself properly. My name is Thomas Cannon.”
“Shannon Rye.”
“I know.” His voice softened, reverent. “I’ve known since the night in the woods, six years ago. I’ve thought of nothing else since.”
My breath caught. It was him. The man from my dreams, the one who had haunted my nights.
Before I could speak, Dad’s voice cut in, heavy with warning.
“Honey… when we tell you the truth, it will change your life forever. Are you sure you want that? You could walk away. Stay innocent.”
Another growl ripped through the room, darker this time. I looked at Thomas—and froze.
His chocolate-brown eyes were gone. In their place were endless, bottomless pits of black.
“Mate,” he snarled, his voice animal and human all at once. “Goes. Nowhere.”
- Writer
