CHAPTER 3:
1172 Words
Alex's POV
I barely made it back to my room before the pain hit.
At first, I thought I was getting sick. My skin felt too hot, like I'd been left out in the sun for hours. Then came the aching— it was deep in my bones and super painful too.
I stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the cold water, splashing it on my face. It didn't help. Nothing helped.
My wolf was howling, inside my mind, a sound so mournful it made my eyes sting. She wanted to go back. She wanted to find him and get our mate.
Our mate who'd called the bond a mistake.
I gripped the edge of the sink and stared at my reflection. My lips were still swollen from his kiss. My hair was a mess where his fingers had tangled in it. I looked like someone who'd been thoroughly kissed and then abandoned.
Which was exactly what had happened.
The pain intensified. I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to ease the pressure, but it was like my heart was being squeezed by an invisible fist. Was this normal?
I needed answers. I needed to know what was happening to me.
But first, I needed to survive the night.
************
Morning came eventually. I must've passed out on the bathroom floor at some point because that's where Taylor found me.
"Jesus, Alex." He was kneeling beside me, his hand on my forehead. "You're burning up."
I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Everything hurts.
"What happened?" His voice had that edge it got when he was worried and trying not to show it. "Where were you last night?"
"I told you. I just needed air."
"For three hours?"
Has it been that long? The clearing felt like a lifetime ago.
Taylor helped me to my feet and guided me to my bed. I let him because I didn't have the energy to fight. He disappeared and came back with a glass of water and a familiar pill bottle.
My vitamins. The ones I'd watched him crush into my champagne.
"Take these." He shook two pills into his palm. "You'll feel better."
I stared at the white tablets. How many of these had I swallowed without question over the years? Hundreds? Thousands?
"What are they really?" I asked.
"I told you. Vitamins."
"Don't lie to me, Taylor."
Something flickered across his face. Fear, maybe. Or guilt. "Alex, you're sick. You need to take these."
"No."
"Alex—"
"I said no."
We stared at each other. I'd never refused him before or pushed back. His expression went through several changes before settling on frustration.
"Fine. Be stubborn." He set the pills on my nightstand. "But when you're feeling worse later, don't come crying to me."
He left, closing the door harder than necessary.
I waited until his footsteps faded before grabbing my phone. My hands shook as I typed "mate bond rejection symptoms" into the search bar.
Hopefully, I found something useful.
The results made my stomach drop.
Fever. Check. Bone-deep aching. Check. Desperate need to see your mate. Very much checked. Depression, difficulty eating, insomnia—I was apparently working my way down the list.
I kept scrolling, looking for something helpful, and found a forum post from three years ago.
My mate rejected me at first sight. The pain was unbearable. I thought I was dying. The doctor said the bond withdrawal can be fatal if both parties don't accept it within a few weeks. I got lucky—he changed his mind. But I knew a wolf once who wasn't so fortunate. The rejection killed her.
I read it again. And again.
Fatal.
The word echoed in my head. Noah had rejected me. He'd kissed me like I was air and he was drowning, and then he'd walked away and told me it was nothing.
Was I dying?
My phone buzzed with a text from Taylor: Pack meeting at noon. You're expected to attend. Wear something appropriate.
Pack meeting? He's never invited me to one of those.
I wanted to throw the phone across the room, but I paused. Instead, I typed back: I'm sick
His response came immediately: You'll survive. This is important.
Of course it was. Everything was always important when it came to the pack business. My health, my feelings, my entire existence—none of that mattered as much as maintaining appearances.
I dragged myself to the shower and stood under hot water, trying to ease the aching. It didn't work. Nothing was going to work except seeing Noah again, and that clearly wasn't an option.
He'd made his choice.
***********
By the time I got dressed, the pain had settled into a dull throb. I chose a simple black dress and flat shoes, ignoring Taylor's note about "appropriate" attire. If he wanted me at this meeting, he could accept whatever version of me showed up.
The drive to Stormcrest territory took forty minutes. Taylor spent most of it on his phone, barking orders at someone about quarterly projections. I stared out the window and tried not to think about the fact that I was heading straight into Noah's domain.
The Steele Security building was all glass and steel, reflecting the afternoon sun. It was shiny and intimidating just like its owner.
My chest tightened as we pulled into the parking garage.
"You okay?" Taylor asked, actually looking at me for the first time since we'd left.
"Fine."
"You look pale."
"I said I'm fine."
He didn't believe me, but he didn't push it either. We rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor in silence, and with each passing floor, the bond in my chest pulled tighter.
He was here. Somewhere in this building. Close enough that my wolf was practically clawing her way out of my skin to get to him.
The elevator doors opened.
Taylor stepped out first, and I followed on legs that felt wiggly. The conference room was at the end of a long hallway, and through the glass walls, I could see people already gathered inside.
Then I saw him.
Noah sat at the head of a massive table, looking like the Alpha CEO in his sharp suit. His dark hair was pushed back, and even from this distance, I could see the tension in his shoulders.
Next to him sat a woman I didn't recognize. She was blonde, beautiful and dressed in an expensive white suit. She had her hand on Noah's arm, and as I watched, she leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
He smiled.
I felt pain stab me in the chest, and I stumbled with a gasp.
Taylor's hand shot out to steady me. "Alex?"
"I'm fine," I lied.
But I wasn't fine. Because as Noah's eyes found mine through the glass, I saw nothing there. No recognition. No regret. Just cold, empty distance.
And the woman next to him was still touching his arm like she had every right to.
- Writer
