Chapter 14 #3
“Seriously?” I whined. The cuffs were going to be a problem.
“I don’t mind Siobhan, but the cuffs? It’s a party.
How am I supposed to relax and enjoy myself when I’m walking around like a prisoner?
” He opened his mouth to argue but I cut him off.
I had to get him to agree to this, I had to.
“Kole, where am I going to go? I’ll be surrounded by wolves and no doubt you’ll have more stationed around the pack house, right? ”
He nodded, giving me more information that I needed. I now knew where the guards were going to be. I prepared to act my arse off.
“If you have any hopes of me coming to you willingly at that ceremony you have got to start giving me some breathing room. Start treating me like a person instead of your hostage.” I looked into his eyes, hoping he saw sincerity on my face and not the truth.
Which was that nothing he could do would ever bring me to him willingly.
His hand closed around my ankle and suddenly he tugged, yanking me flat onto my back.
Within seconds he was over me, his body pressing into mine.
I gasped but didn’t fight him. When his body shuddered like that and that low growl rumbled from deep inside, I knew staying still and quiet was the smartest thing to do.
He looked me over, searching for any lie. Eventually, he relented.
“If you run…”
“I won’t.” Liar.
Liar. Liar. Liar.
I didn’t wince as the needle plunged into my vein.
Kara was so precise that it was over in a few seconds.
I hadn’t relished the idea of coming back to this hospital, but it was better than hanging out in Kole’s office all day, or helping Allie pick out decorations for the party.
I’d expected polite small talk from Kara but instead she was quiet and professional.
“What's the blood test for exactly?” I asked her as she wrote my name on a label and stuck it to the vial.
“Other than making sure you’re in perfect health, it’s to check for any contraceptive.”
“I don’t take any.” I didn’t exactly need to.
“I know, I checked your records, but the Alpha wanted to make sure.”
He wanted to make sure there was nothing stopping me from getting pregnant at the ceremony. It made me sick.
Distracting myself, I glanced around her office. It didn’t look very lived in. She couldn’t have been working here long. In fact, if she was younger than Kole who was almost twenty nine, she couldn't have had her licence for very long at all.
“Aren’t you young for a doctor? I didn’t think junior doctors got their own office.”
“They do when they’re running the hospital. This office belonged to my predecessor, Doctor Benson. His sons are your two other Luna Guards, by the way, you’ll meet them soon. My brother is still trying not to overwhelm you with too many faces, I think.”
How considerate of him.
“I graduated early, that's why I’ve gotten so far, so young.” She turned to her computer, fingers moving swiftly as she typed up my notes.
“You got the brains in the family then.”
She gave a delicate laugh. Everything about her, her voice, appearance and mannerisms, all screamed beauty queen, pack princess. I couldn’t tell yet whether she had the spoiled entitlement that came with her obvious privilege.
“Yes, I have a high IQ, but also my senses give me an advantage. Being able to smell heroin in a patient's bloodstream without having to run tests, being able to hear the rhythm of their heartbeat without an ECG, it helps me be a better doctor.”
She finished typing but didn’t dismiss me, and an awkward pause hung in the air.
“Is there something else?”
She cleared her throat, a demure sound. “I just wanted to check in with you. How you’re coping with all of this, mentally, I mean.”
“I’m coping.” What else was I supposed to say?
“You’re tough. I admire you for it. I’ve never been stoic like that, like you and my mom.” She sounded wistful. “I’ve never had to be, I suppose.”
Sheltered. Sheltered was the word I would use for Kara.
Born into a position of power with none of the responsibility.
She’d never had to worry about bills, or even how to pay for medical school.
Her career was assured. She was beautiful and strong and had thousands of wolves that would die to protect the Alpha’s sister.
“I know that you hate me for being the one to bring you here. I know I’ve said it before and I know it doesn’t help but I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. I hope you can understand that.”
“I understand being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I hope you can understand why we aren’t going to be friends.” She nodded but said nothing else. Despite everything, I felt a twinge of guilt. “I did hear you talking to Kole the night he chained me up. Thank you for speaking up for me.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You heard that? How?”
“The window was open. I have good hearing, I guess.”
“That’s an understatement.” She eyed me curiously. “Is it true that you don’t know who your parents are? We’ve run extensive checks on you. I know you grew up in the care system in Ireland, but do you really not know? No one ever reached out?”
“Nope. Never,” I answered. “It’s always just been me.” I didn’t need to tell her I’d been abandoned at birth. Maybe she knew already, these people seemed to know everything, but I didn’t need to say the words out loud.
“Hm.” She nodded. “And now you’ve got more family than you can handle. Must be overwhelming.”
I bit back the urge to tell her that neither she nor her people were my family and instead, swiftly side-stepped the question. “Why are you asking about my parents?”
“Just curious. I don’t like not having answers to a question. It's what makes me such a good doctor. I always have to find out what and why.”
She tapped her pen on her desk, a thoughtful expression marring her pretty features.
It was a strangely human gesture for a wolf, the pen tapping.
Unlike the other wolves I’d met, Kara seemed a little more human, at least around me.
I suppose she’d had to learn to blend in during her years in college.
“How’re you feeling about the ceremony? I mean, really.”
“Doesn’t matter how I feel, it’s going to happen anyway.”
“Don’t count on it,” she whispered, so softly I barely heard it. Her eyes flickered to the door where Konnor and his heightened hearing waited on the other side.
I stared, open-mouthed. Was she going to get me out? Did she have something planned?
Suddenly she stood, a bright smile on her face. “Alright, Luna, we’ll get your test results and let you know if we need to see you again. I’m excited for the party tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”
She practically shoved me out the door. I left the room in a daze, not even minding when Konnor snapped the cuffs back into place.