3. CHAPTER 3
My head keeps pounding like someone’s using it to play drums. There’s a consistent background ringing in my ears and something that sounds a lot like my heartbeat. My stomach isn’t at its best either, which is a new thing for me.
If you ever felt like healing us, now’s the time, I silently urge my wolf to wake up and do his job.
Too weak, he mumbles back.
That’s when bits and pieces of my memory come back, including the one where I accidentally smoked Lord Lincoln’s new drug. He did mention that it slows down the wolf’s healing, but I didn’t expect it to come with a killer hangover. This must be how humans feel after a night of drinking.
I keep my eyes closed, not wanting the bright day to make things worse. With a low groan, I turn from my back to my stomach and bury my face into the pillow.
It’s only when I inhale that I realize something’s wrong. The scent that fills my nostrils isn’t mine, and the pillow is too hard for my liking. Some fancy-ass memory foam pillow instead of an expensive feathery crap that I always favored.
I slowly open my eyes, then widen them to comical proportions. The pillow cover has pink flower patterns all over it, making it so damn girly. Well, at least I didn’t end up in some old dude’s bedroom, which would probably be one of my top ten nightmares to live through.
Wake up,I order my wolf, but he only makes a yawning sound and returns to his slumber.
My ears prick up when the sound of plates comes from what I guess is the direction of the kitchen. Some machine turns on, abruptly raising the noise level up and making me wince. I grab my head, willing the pounding to stop. No such luck.
I’m not sure how much time has passed before I gather my strength and push myself to the edge of the bed. When I set my feet on the carpeted floor, I notice that my pants are gone. My Calvin Klein boxers seem untouched, and I can’t decide just yet whether that’s a good thing or not.
While I’ve been drunk so many times before that it could be counted as a nightly occurrence, I’ve never experienced a blackout. Not like the one I have now.
“Fucking Lincoln,” I mutter under my breath and gently rub the back of my neck.
My host is still in the kitchen doing who knows what. I take the opportunity to look around the room to gather as much information as I can.
The bed is queen-sized with a basic white frame. On it are a pillow and a blanket, both covered with a pink comforter full of flower patterns. The wooden wardrobe covers the whole wall. There’s a small dresser next to the bed that seems to serve as a nightstand as well. No pictures or any other personal details that I could see.
My guess is that whoever lives here is using the room only for sleeping. While the bedroom has no sign of being a spot for an occasional hookup, the rest of the apartment might be different. At least, I think I’m in an apartment.
Before I can push myself off the bed, the door to the bedroom opens. The scent of fried sausages and eggs hits me before I get a glimpse of a wooden tray. My stomach grumbles loudly, announcing its emptiness to my host.
A beautiful blonde girl walks in, her face lit up with a wide smile that’s undoubtedly a reaction to my hunger. She’s petite and short enough that even sitting on the bed, we’re nearly the same height.
“Good morning,” she says with a lovely voice, her rather large but very green eyes locking onto mine. Something warm washes over me when the connection is made, and I can’t bring myself to look away. There’s something mesmerizing about her.
“I made you breakfast,” she says when I don’t reply and holds out the tray.
My stomach makes another loud sound and I have no choice but to acknowledge it. Taking the tray from her, I give her a tentative smile. “Thank you.”
“How do you feel?” she asks after I settle on the bed with the tray in my lap and my back pressed against its frame.
“Hungover,” I reply, unsure how to describe my rather worrisome condition to a human. “It looks like I have some holes in my memory.”
“I might not be the best person to fill them, but I can give it a try,” she offers and tilts her head to the side, giving me an expectant look.
I bring a piece of sausage to my mouth, enjoying its delicious taste for all of two seconds before my stomach turns and twists. My face must’ve turned green with nausea because the girl’s eyes widen, and she puts a hand on my shoulder.
“Breathe through it,” she orders with a voice that’s calm but full of authority. “Slow and steady.”
She mimics the breathing, taking a deep breath in and then slowly exhaling it. Focusing on her green eyes, I follow her lead, riding out the wave of nausea.
“Better?” she asks when I lean my head back against the frame and groan.
“Not really,” I reply then try to push the tray away, but she puts her hand on mine, stopping me.
“You need to eat something,” she tells me. “You’ll feel better when you get some food in your stomach.”
“I think it’s the exact opposite, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about,” I reply, and though I’m referring to her being a human, her nod in agreement catches me by surprise.
“It’s one of the first things I learned in med school,” she says, which explains her reaction. “How did you know I’m a doctor?”
“Lucky guess?” I offer, not wanting to tell her that I had no idea. Before she questions me further, I decide to change the topic. “What’s your name?”
“You don’t remember,” she says, making it sound more like a statement than a question. She tilts her head to the side, her brows furrowing ever so slightly as she gives me an assessing look. “I’m Doctor Helia Payne, and you’re Grayden.”
“That’s right,” I confirm, trying to hide my surprise at the fact that I’ve shared it with a human. “Where am I? How did I get here?”
“You’re in my apartment,” she tells me as she awkwardly glances around the room. “As to how you got here, that’s a rather weird story.”
“Oh?”
“You’d drank a lot, and quite possibly even took some drug. I could’ve sworn that your pupils were blown, and I wanted to take you to the hospital to make sure you didn’t have any brain damage,” Helia tells me, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she meets mine again. “Your friend wouldn’t let me, but he did agree to drop us off at my place, so I could keep an eye on you.”
“Where is Wyatt?” I ask, processing the story part by part.
“I’m assuming that’s your friend’s name.” She continues when I nod, “He took the first watch then woke me and left. That was four hours ago.”
“Right,” I acknowledge, my brain still too drunk to function.
I take another bite of the sausage. This time, there’s no nausea to accompany it. I have no idea how to react to her human kindness. All I’ve ever felt related to the inferior species is immense disgust. There’s nothing near that in me when I look at Helia, talk to her, or even touch her.
“Thank you for everything,” I tell her. “Breakfast is delicious, too.”
Helia smiles and glances at the tray. Her face transforms into one that looks a lot like panic. “I forgot to bring you orange juice.”
“It’s okay,” I call, but she’s already on her feet and out the door. Not even a minute later, she’s back with a glass in her hand. “Thank you.”
“Freshly squeezed orange juice is good for a hangover,” she tells me, then furrows her brows as if trying to give me a serious look. “Doctor’s orders.”
I laugh and shake my head, then wince, regretting the motion. Like the savior she is, Helia takes two small pills from the tray that I didn’t notice before. I’ve never had to take painkillers before, but right now, I’d take the whole bottle if she’d let me. Two will have to do.
“I washed and ironed your clothes,” Helia tells me and points at the wardrobe. “I hung them inside.”
“You didn’t need to do all that,” I say, unable to hide the awe. “You’re a total package, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean?” she asks, but I can tell that she knows what I’m insinuating because her cheeks flush with a gentle shade of pink.
“You saved my life, fed me, washed my clothes, and gave me the meds to tend to the worst headache of my life,” I tell her, smiling as I watch her shake her head. “I don’t say this lightly, but you might be my hero.”
“Heroine,” she corrects, and I furrow my brows in confusion. “Though hero is a gender-neutral term, I prefer the traditionally feminine version, which is heroine.”
“So you’re a smarty pants,” I tease. “It must go well with your fancy career in medicine.”
“There’s nothing fancy or sarcastic about helping people,” she replies humbly. “If every one of us did one good thing per day, they would multiply and accumulate, making all our lives a lot better.”
“Wow, a philosopher,” I say and roll my eyes. “I knew there was a catch. You seemed too good to be true. Hot and kind is a combination that doesn’t exist.”
Not that you deserve kindness of any kind,my wolf comments, slowly awakening. Especially from a human.
“I think it’s time for you to go,” Helia says, her tone sharper and several degrees colder. “The bathroom is the first door on the right. You can take a shower if you have to, but then you need to leave.”
“Oh, come on, baby,” I croon. “Don’t be like that.”
“You have twenty minutes,” Helia tells me and turns toward the door. Before she leaves, she says over her shoulder, “Don’t test me.”
I’m left with an open mouth, staring after her. A part of me wants to shake it off and go home, but there’s another much bigger part that’s attracted to her. There’s something different about her that makes me want to pull her closer and press her petite body against mine. I want to taste her lips at least once, hoping to curl them up into that beautiful, wide smile that lights up her face. The green shade of her eyes brings me an inner peace that I’ve never felt before.
Don’t do it, my wolf warns me.
Don’t worry,I assure him. I won’t fuck this up.
Not wanting to piss her off even more, I slip into the bathroom to take a quick shower. At first glance, the apartment is quite modest and small, with only one bedroom. Her whole living quarters could easily fit into my bathroom, while hers is the size of my shower at home.
I stand in her bathtub, doing my best to squeeze my big frame in. My privileged upbringing saved me from seeing a shower and a bathtub being used as one. My fingers fumble with the curtain, although I don’t have high expectations for the floor to stay dry.
That’s how the other half lives, my wolf teases, and I’m tempted to shift, so he’d have to deal with this small space. He senses my thoughts and growls in warning.
I open the tap, and a blast of cold water hits me. Startled and in shock, I try to jump out of its way but end up hitting Helia’s little shelf of shampoo bottles. The tub’s slippery and to not lose my balance, I blindly reach up to grab something. My fingers curl up around the shower curtain rod, but it’s not nearly strong enough to support my weight. I awkwardly crash on my back, the back of my head hitting the edge of the tub.
Black spots dance in front of me, my vision turning into a long, dark tunnel. My ears are ringing even louder than when I woke up. If I didn’t have a head injury before, I definitely do now.
Do something, I beg my wolf, willing him to start the healing process.
Still too weak,he replies apologetically. It’s like I’m cut off from it. Like there’s a glass wall between us, too strong for me to break, and with no hole to reach through.
Fucking Lincoln,I curse and shut my eyes to keep the black spots away. Their dance is making me nauseous.
At least the water is getting warmer, my wolf comments, and he’s right. The initial burst of coldness slowly rose to the temperature that I wanted from the start.
A knock on the door, followed by Helia’s worried voice.
“Grayden? Are you okay in there?”
“I’m not sure,” I reply, the effort to raise my voice making my body ache. “I had a fall.”
“I’m coming in,” Helia announces a second before opening the door.
I force my eyes to open, catching hers widen as she takes in my naked body. Her mouth falls open, and a slight flush spreads across her cheeks. I make the only sound I can, which is a mix between a low grunt and a clearing of my throat.
Helia shakes her head as if the sound brought her out of her trance. A neutral expression settles on her face, and her mouth presses together in a determined line. She crosses the distance and kneels at the edge of the tub.
“What hurts?” she asks, her voice cold and clinical.
“Everything,” I mutter, my headache returning with full force. “I think I need more of those pills of yours.”
“Do you think you’ve broken anything?” she asks, ignoring my request.
Her hands methodically travel along my body, assessing one arm and then another. She runs her fingers across my ribs, gently pressing in. Her touch sends shivers all over my body, and I involuntarily lean closer to her, wordlessly asking for more.
“You seem to be okay, but I’d like to take you to the hospital to properly check you out,” she tells me and gets up.
“No hospital,” I mutter and push myself up on my elbows.
Helia offers me her hand and I happily take it, impressed by her strength when she helps me get up. I tower over her petite frame in her small bathroom, easily filling up most of the space.
Our eyes lock, and an invisible but powerful tether forms between us. My hands are itching to grab her and pull her against me. I’m on the verge of doing it when Helia abruptly lowers her gaze, breaking the weird connection between us.
Her face turns a bright shade of red, a stark contrast to her usual pink flush. My interest piqued, I raise my brow and lower my eyes to see what had that effect on her.
In the slight distance between our bodies, erected like a bridge for us to cross, is my cock. Without me realizing it, her touches sent a rush of blood straight to my member, waking him up for action.
“Warm water should help,” Helia mutters, then quickly adds, “with sore muscles.”
“Thanks,” I call after her, but she’s already on the other side of the firmly shut door, leaving me alone in the bathroom to finish what I’ve started. Well, and to rub my tension away.
You should’ve asked for her help, my wolf tells me. I bet that as a doctor, she has quite a unique skill set.
Shut up,I mutter and close my eyes to concentrate as I stroke my cock under a warm stream of water.
I’m trying very hard to think of the girls I’ve been with, then the girls that I’ve seen in magazines, and even try to replay some of my bedroom hits. For some reason, every scene gets disrupted with the image of Helia, her green eyes locked on mine, her lips curled up into a small, sensual smile. Suddenly, she’s on her knees, those same lips pressed around my cock and her eyes flickering with a green flame.
My balls ache, and I rub my cock harder, faster. The throbbing spreads throughout the whole length, and I stroke it once, twice, until the pulsation builds up enough force to shoot out a load against her tiles.
I open my eyes, startled at what I just did, where I did it, and to what fantasy I did it. My shock fades into amusement when I notice the tiles having similar flower patterns as her bed sheets, and I’ve just properly fertilized several of them.
That was the fastest jerkoff ever,my wolf comments, unhelpfully noting the little detail that I’ve been trying to ignore.
Shut up, I tell him again, then focus on actually washing myself as well as cleaning up the flower tiles.
I find fresh towels underneath the sink and wrap one around my waist. Helia’s nowhere to be seen as I return to the bedroom, and I have to suppress a slight pang of disappointment that she won’t get to see me wearing nothing but a towel.
She has already seen what’s underneath the towel, my wolf comments again with a clearer voice, sounding stronger.
How do you feel? I ask him, ignoring his teasing. Do you think you could try healing us?
Maybe, he replies, but he doesn’t sound so sure.
I busy myself with putting on my suit, and just as I’m fumbling with my tie, a familiar warmth spreads all over my body. I put a hand against the wall and press my forehead against it. I didn’t realize how important the healing ability is until I didn’t have it anymore. The relief that I’m beginning to feel, the lightness of my muscles and the clarity in my head is incredible.
Done, my wolf announces, sounding quite smug with himself.
Thank you, I tell him, meaning it. I make a mental note to stay away from Lord Lincoln’s new drug. It’s the worst thing that I’ve ever experienced, and I can’t believe that wolves are voluntarily taking it.
Rich people’s problems,my wolf says, which is also a subtle reminder that we’re still invading Helia’s personal space.
I don’t bother to finish tying up my tie and leave it hanging around my neck instead. The clothes smell different than what I’m used to, but it’s nice. The scent reminds me of Helia, and the thought that I’m taking a part of her with me is comforting.
When I enter the living room, Helia’s sitting on the sofa. She looks up from a book and slightly raises her brow as her eyes trail down my body. A smug smile appears on my face, knowing the exact effect I have on women. It seems like she’s not immune to my good looks either.
“You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” she asks, and when I shake my head, she shrugs. “Suit yourself. I have a morning shift tomorrow if you change your mind.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, and she gives me a curt nod before returning her attention to the book in her hands.
I awkwardly stand there for another moment before I decide to escort myself out. There’s nothing left for me to do here, and clearly, Helia isn’t interested. I’m not one to waste time on lost cases.
“Bye,” I mutter before closing the door behind me.
I wait a moment longer in the hall, straining my ears to hear her reply. She doesn’t, nor does it seem like she’s getting up from the sofa.
She must really like that book,my wolf teases, amused by the subtle rejection.
Shut up, I mutter again, not used to the women ignoring me. I don’t like it.
I have no other choice but to go home. After the night I’ve had, some rest will do me good. If I’m in the mood, maybe even a quick fuck with one of the maids. Helia’s face pops into my head again, and I mutter a curse, hoping that this weird infatuation will pass.