Chapter 227
Alexander’s POV
I watched as Sarah disappeared back into Thea’s room, her shoulders hunched with the weight of undeserved guilt.
The memory of her standing in the street, frozen like a deer in headlights, made my blood run cold all over again. One more second and she would have been-
“Alpha?” Jeremy approached cautiously, his eyes darting to the blood soaking through my torn sleeve. “You need medical attention.”
“It’s nothing,” I dismissed automatically, though the stinging pain radiating from my forearm suggested otherwise.
My leg throbbed where the car had clipped it, but I refused to acknowledge the injury.
“With respect, sir,” Jeremy insisted, lowering his voice, “you’re bleeding on the hospital floor. Let’s get you to a treatment room before you scare the human staff.”
I glanced down, noting the small crimson droplets marking a trail beside my leather shoes. Damn it. The last thing we needed was to attract more attention.
“Fine,” I conceded, allowing him to guide me toward a private medical suite reserved for our kind.
As we walked, my mind replayed those terrifying seconds outside the hospital.
I’d been searching for any trace of Sarah, torn between fury and concern. The moment I saw her step into the street, time seemed to slow.
My wolf had taken over, propelling me forward with a single desperate thought: Not her.
I couldn’t explain the visceral terror that had gripped me.
Sarah Winters had been nothing but trouble since she reappeared in our lives.
She’d upset Thea’s training, challenged my authority, and now nearly gotten herself killed through sheer carelessness.
I should be arranging her departure, not saving her life.
Yet my wolf had other ideas. The primal instinct to protect her had overwhelmed all rational thought.
“Alpha?” Jeremy’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as we entered the treatment room. “Dr. Mercer is on her way. She was already here for Thea.”
I nodded curtly, shrugging off my ruined jacket and shirt.
The movement sent a fresh wave of pain through my shoulder and arm.
The road rash extended from my forearm up to my shoulder blade, raw and angry where I’d skidded across the pavement with Sarah beneath me.
1/3
Chapter 227
+25 BONUS
“Jesus, Alexander,” Dr. Mercer said as she entered, eyeing the extent of my injuries. “What the hell happened?”
“He saved Miss Winters from being hit by a car,” Jeremy supplied when I remained silent.
Dr. Mercer’s eyebrows shot up. “Interesting,” she murmured, pulling on gloves. “Very interesting.”
I fixed her with a cold stare. “Just clean it up.”
She approached with antiseptic, seemingly unfazed by my tone. “This will sting, even for an Alpha.”
I hardly flinched as she began debriding the wound, my thoughts still fixated on Sarah’s face–the vacant look in her eyes as she’d stepped into traffic.
It wasn’t just carelessness. For a moment, she had looked… resigned. The realization sent an unwelcome chill down my spine.
“Your leg too,” Dr. Mercer pointed out, nodding toward the tear in my pants where blood had seeped through.
I allowed her to cut away the fabric, revealing a deep contusion where the car had struck me. Already, the bruising was darkening to a violent purple.
“You’re lucky nothing’s broken,” she commented, probing the injury. “Even for an Alpha, this could have been much worse.”
“I wasn’t concerned about myself,” I said coldly.
Dr. Mercer paused, her clever eyes studying my face. “No, I don’t imagine you were.”
She resumed her work, cleaning and dressing the road rash. “Thea is doing well, by the way. The transfusion was successful. Her vitals have stabilized.”
“Good,” I replied, some tension easing from my shoulders. “When can she come home?”
“I’d like to keep her overnight for observation. Barring any complications, you can take her home tomorrow afternoon.”
I nodded, already planning to rearrange tomorrow’s schedule. “And her training schedule?”
Dr. Mercer shot me a disapproving look. “She needs rest, Alexander. At least two weeks before any physical training resumes.”
My jaw tightened. Two weeks was a significant setback. “One week.”
“Ten days,” she countered, applying the last bandage with more pressure than necessary.
“And that’s assuming her recovery continues smoothly. Don’t push her, or you’ll risk more serious complications.”
“Fine,” I conceded, knowing better than to argue with our pack’s head physician. “Ten days.”
As she finished the bandaging, Jeremy’s phone buzzed. He checked it, his expression shifting to concern.
“What is it?” I demanded.
2/3
Chapter 227
+25 BONUS
“Beta Ethan is requesting an urgent meeting. He says it’s about Alpha Lucien’s movements near our northern border.”
I cursed under my breath. He had the nerve to come here and provoke me? Did he really think I was weak?
“Tell him I’ll be in my office within the hour,” I instructed, standing and testing my injured leg. It held my weight, though the pain flared sharply.
My Alpha healing was already working–by tomorrow, the injury would be little more than a dull ache.
“You should rest,” Dr. Mercer advised, packing away her supplies.
“I have a pack to run,” I replied dismissively, accepting the clean shirt Jeremy had acquired for me.
As I dressed, my thoughts drifted back to Sarah. With Thea awake, I should insist Sarah leave immediately.
Her presence was a complication we didn’t need, especially with Lucien potentially making moves against us.
Yet something held me back. Thea’s obvious attachment to her, perhaps. Or maybe the haunting emptiness I’d glimpsed in Sarah’s eyes as she’d stood before that oncoming car.
“Jeremy,” I said as we left the treatment room, “make sure Miss Winters stays in Thea’s room.She’s not to leave the hospital unless accompanied by someone I trust.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“I need to handle this situation with Ethan, then I’ll return to check on Thea.”
For hours, I buried myself in work, reviewing security reports with Ethan and fortifying our northern perimeter against Lucien’s encroachment.
The pain in my arm and leg receded to a dull throb, easily ignored as I focused on pack business.
As I gathered my papers to leave, I caught a flicker of hesitation in Ethan’s expression–like he was on the verge of speaking.
“Something you want to say?” I asked.
