Alexander’s POV
He didn’t answer right away. For a second, I thought he might. His mouth opened slightly–then closed again.
A flicker of something passed through his eyes. Regret? Uncertainty?
Then he shook his head. “No, Alpha. It’s nothing.”
I didn’t push. If it mattered, he’d tell me eventually.
It was well past midnight when I finally returned to the hospital. The corridors were quiet, most visitors long gone. I moved silently toward Thea’s room, pausing at the doorway.
The scene inside arrested me. Sarah was curled uncomfortably in the chair beside Thea’s bed, her hand gently clasping my niece’s smaller one.
She hadn’t left, despite my harshness. Despite everything, she’d stayed, watching over Thea with the devotion of a true Luna.
I approached quietly, taking in the dark circles under Sarah’s eyes and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. She looked exhausted but determined, her body positioned protectively toward Thea even in sleep.
Thea stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open. “Uncle Alex,” she whispered, her voice weak but clear.
“How are you feeling?” I asked softly, brushing her hair from her forehead.
“Better,” she smiled faintly. “Sarah stayed with me. She promised she wouldn’t leave.”
I glanced at the sleeping woman, something uncomfortably like admiration stirring in my chest. “Yes, she did.”
“Don’t be mad at her,” Thea murmured, her eyes already growing heavy again. “It wasn’t her fault. I was… I was trying to be brave like her.”
Her words struck me like a physical blow. “Rest now,” I told her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Thea drifted back to sleep almost immediately, her breathing deep and even. I stood watching her for several minutes, reassuring myself of her recovery.
Then my gaze shifted to Sarah. In sleep, the guarded expression she always wore had softened, revealing vulnerability that tugged at something primal within me.
Without the constant tension tightening her features, she looked younger.
Before I could stop myself, I reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She stirred slightly at my touch, her brow furrowing before smoothing again.
“What am I going to do with you, Sarah?” I whispered, more to myself than to her.
My wolf stirred restlessly within me, pushing against my control with unusual insistence.
Since meet Sarah, he’d been increasingly difficult to manage–especially when she was near. It was… unsettling.
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Chapter 228
+25 BONUS
Carefully, I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her sleeping form.
The gesture felt strangely intimate, watching as she unconsciously nestled deeper into its warmth, surrounding herself with my scent.
“Alexander?” Her sleepy voice startled me as her amber eyes fluttered open, still heavy with exhaustion.” You’re back?”
All the anger I’d been holding onto since the afternoon suddenly dissipated at the sound of her voice, husky from sleep.
I pulled a chair closer to her side and sat down. “Yes.”
She pushed herself to sit up straighter, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand in a gesture that was unexpectedly endearing. “Let me see… are your wounds bandaged properly?”
I watched her silently, my expression carefully neutral.
Since I’d changed my clothes, she couldn’t see my injuries. She reached for my arm, gently pushing up the sleeve of my shirt to reveal the large bandage wrapped around my elbow.
She studied it intently before checking my other arm, finding a similar bandage. The white gauze was stained with a mixture of blood and antiseptic solution, stark against my skin.
Her amber eyes welled with tears, her eyelids slowly reddening as she bit her lip. A single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek and landing on my arm–hot and searing against my skin.
I stiffened, uncomfortable with her reaction. “Why are you crying? There’s no need for that.”
“Alexander, does it still hurt?” she asked, her voice breaking with emotion.
“No,” I answered flatly.
“You’re lying.”
“I wouldn’t bother lying to you,” I said, withdrawing my arm and pulling down my sleeve.
As I reached to adjust my other sleeve, her hands suddenly wrapped around my neck, our foreheads pressing together.
I froze, looking down to meet her tear–filled eyes, her long, thick lashes clumped together with moisture.
“I’m so sorry, Alexander,” she choked out, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“I didn’t know Thea couldn’t eat ice cream, and I never meant to nearly get hit by that car. It’s my fault Thea is in the hospital, my fault you’re injured.”
Her tears fell faster, her breathing becoming uneven with sobs.
Something inside me snapped, and before I could think, I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers, silencing her desperate words.
She went completely still, her tear–filled eyes widening in shock.
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Chapter 228
The contact was brief–I pulled away almost instantly.
+25 BONUS
I disentangled myself from her arms and turned toward the bed where Thea slept, showing Sarah only my profile, keeping my expression as cold and unreadable as always.
This was the first time I had taken the lead in kissing her and Sarah seemed stunned into silence for several moments before finding her voice. “Alexander, you just-”
I cut her off abruptly, my tone deliberately dismissive. “You were crying and making too much noise. It was annoying.”
Her expression shifted as she processed my words. Did I mean that I’d only kissed her to silence her complaints?
“Even if that’s why you did it just now,” she said carefully, “what about this afternoon?”
“Alexander, why did you risk your life to save me from that car?”
Hell if I knew why. It had been like being possessed–I’d reacted without a single conscious thought.
I lifted my gaze slightly but avoided looking directly at her. “What do you think it was?”
“Alexander…” she whispered my name softly, her voice barely audible as she asked, “Do you… have feelings for
me?”
Chapter 229
+25 BONUS
