Reignited Bonds

Seven

RAI

I stared at the several messages I hadn't bothered to read until now. Raelynn had sent a ton of them five years ago. She must have been desperate. I was curious. How had she managed to stay hidden for all these years and why did she have to fake her death?

Heaving a sigh, I closed my eyes and leaned back on my study. Right then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, opening my eyes. Austin, my Beta strode in with a grim expression on his face.

"Did you find anything?" I asked and he heaved a sigh.

"Honestly, not much. Raelynn has lived like a ghost for the past five years," he said and I frowned as I mulled over his words.

"There has to be someone behind her. Someone who is capable of wiping her records," I said.

"I'll keep looking," Austin affirmed and I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"I understand that you're curious but she's no longer your wife, you know that, don't you?" He continued and I gave him a blank stare.

"I'm aware of that. You don't have to tell me," I snapped and he lowered his gaze.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you --" he started to say and I glared at him.

"Why would I be upset about that? She means nothing to me," I said and he smiled.

"I understand," he said.

"Alpha Rai? It's me, Jared," I heard my Gamma say as he knocked on the door. He'd sounded tensed. It was odd.

"Come on in," I said and he hurried in.

"Did something happen?" I asked and he sighed. He placed a file on my desk and sank into one of the chairs in front of my desk.

"I smell trouble," Austin said as he drew closer to us.

"What is it, Jared?" I asked as I picked up the file.

"It's a report on the recent crisis spreading in the pack," Jared replied and I raised a brow at him.

"What kind of crisis?"

"It's a disease. It started out as subtle and insignificant. It's been spreading and it turns out that it has different stages of manifestation. Right now, it's becoming a real threat," he explained.

Opening the file, I took out the report and flipped through the pages, alarmed at the rate this mysterious disease was spreading.

"What are the pack doctors saying about it?" I said.

"It's been established that there is no cure at the moment. I'm afraid that we have to find a solution real quick. If we don't curb the spread, the situation is going to get worse," Jared said.

Cursing under my breath, I picked up my phone and rose to my feet. Then I grabbed my coat off it's hanger and stormed towards the door.

"Are you going somewhere?" Austin asked and I halted at the door.

"I'll be back," I said and hurried out of the door.

If the mysterious disease was as bad as it seemed, there was a chance that it would affect other packs. The last thing I wanted was for my pack to be labelled as the one that brought destruction to the other packs.

To prevent this, I needed to pay a visit to Diego Montez, a friend who was an alpha of one of the biggest packs in New York City. He had managed to get help from a mysterious healer when his pack had suffered from a similar fate.

And I knew where to find him.

...

"A mysterious illness? That's strange. Is there no cure for it yet?" Diego asked.

We were seated in his lounge in one of the hotels he owned.

"There's no cure yet. It's why I need your help," I said and he sighed.

"I'm no doctor, you know that. I might have some medical knowledge but what you need is an actual medical practitioner."

"I want her number," I said and he cracked a smile.

"I see. You're talking about the mysterious healer who helped my pack during our crisis," he said.

"You're not going to ask me for some hefty price, are you?" I said, rising to my feet.

He scoffed, an amused expression on his face.

"You're more than capable enough. But, I'm not petty. It's just a phone number," he said.

"Thank you, Diego. I owe you one," I said and he sighed.

"I do hope this problem doesn't get out of hand," he said.

Half an hour later, I left his lounge, determined to get the mysterious healer's attention.

Diego had told me that she was quite a busy person.

I hoped she would grant me my request.

Dialling the number I'd been given, I brought my phone to my ear and started to head down the hallway, only to bump into a woman. Her ringing phone fell to the ground and she hastily picked it up before straightening. When our gazes met, I stiffened.

"Rai," she droned, her stare as cold as ice.

"Raelynn," I said and she tucked her phone into her coat right away.

It was surprising to see her in such an expensive hotel. My chest tightened at the thought that she'd just been with a man.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I do not owe you an explanation," she stressed and I clenched my fists.

"Raelynn! There you are!"

We both turned at the sound of a man's voice. He had a smile on his face as he approached her. A bitter burn settled deep in my stomach when he placed an arm around her shoulders. I felt disgusted with myself. So I turned away from them and made my way down the hallway with fast strides.

"Snap out of it, Rai. She's not your property," I muttered through gritted teeth.

The moment I stepped into the elevator, I let out a sigh and rubbed my forehead. All of a sudden, the elevator trembled and the lights went off.

I froze for a moment, panic slowly sinking into me as my phobia kicked in.

With shaky fingers, I fished out my phone from my coat in a bid to call Austin. The elevator shook violently and I lost my balance, crashing into the wall.

Disoriented, I tried to concentrate on drawing air into my lungs but I couldn't breathe. My vision turned cloudy, my pulse beating wildly against my ears.

The memory of being trapped in a cold room replayed itself in my head in flashes and my heart pounded faster to the point where it physically hurt.

Cursing under my breath, I reached out for my phone which lay on the floor, a little distance from me.

Sweat slid down my temples, tremors racking my body as I tried not to lose consciousness. Eventually, my eyes slipped close and I was unable to hold myself up anymore. The moment I hit the floor, I heard a loud ping. I tried to pry my eyes open but felt too weak to do so.

"Rai? Hey, look at me..."

I could've sworn that I'd just heard Raelynn's voice but my head was pounding too hard for me to concentrate.

"It's okay. You're okay," I heard the same familiar voice.

This time, I perceived the smell of cinnamon and strawberries.

Confused, I opened my eyes and saw her. I swallowed hard, holding up a hand to her face.

Was this some sort of dream? I wondered.

Her brows were furrowed in concern and her chestnut brown eyes were fixed on me. It was strange how she felt so real.

"Raelynn?" I said and she nodded, helping me to a sitting position.

"Are you alright?" She asked and I glanced around me, still feeling fuzzy.

Bringing a hand to the side of my head, I winced.

"What happened to me?" I mumbled.

"I found you on the floor. You were not breathing. I had to perform a CPR on you," she said and I froze.

"What?" I breathed, my eyes went wide with disbelief. Clearly, this was real.

"It looks like you have a fever too," she said and I blinked at her, attempting to rise to my feet.

She sighed, an expression of annoyance crossing her features for a moment. She held out a hand to touch my forehead, her frown deepening.

"I know. I had no choice either. Since when did it begin?" She asked and I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" I rasped.