CHARLOTTE’S POV
It has been an uneventful week, just my normal hectic load of work at the hospital. We’re back to our usual routine of Stephen picking Liam up from school and I didn’t have any reason to worry. Whoever came around their school that day hasn’t shown up again and that alone has helped me relax a little. Still, every evening when Liam comes home, I ask him the same question, if he saw anyone strange or anything suspicious around the school. His answer has always been the negative each time.
Gavin hasn’t spoken to me since the day we met at the café and he suddenly bolted. I’ve tried calling him a few times since then, but he hasn’t answered any of them. It feels like some people from Brown league pack knows something and I’m the only one standing in the dark.
And oh my goodness, Ace. That man hasn’t called me for a full week. And when I try calling him, he doesn’t pick up. My messages remain unread. At first I tried to brush it off, telling myself he must be busy with pack matters, but a whole week has passed. Now the worry is starting to grow stronger.
I picked up my phone from the table and dialed Damien’s number. He answered after the fourth ring.
“Hey.” My words came out pretty fast.
“Is everything alright with you? Are you harmed? Did something happen at the hospital?”
My brows pulled together. “What? No. I’m totally fine.” I heard him release a breath of relief on the other end of the line he had been holding.
“Then why did you call?”
Ok, that was awkward, not the response I was expecting. For a slight second I didn’t know what to say, but I didn’t let the awkwardness longer and went straight to the point.
“I haven’t heard from Ace for over a week now. He isn’t calling me back and he hasn’t returned any of my calls either.”
My ears perked up as I heard him sigh before he spoke. “Ace is fine, he’s been wrapped up with work and pack issues.”
What the hell. So he’s been ignoring me this whole time and blaming it on work? That was low, even for Ace.
I shot up on my feet, bile slowly forming in my throat. “Let me get this right. Ace hasn’t been taking my calls because he is busy?”
There was a short pause on the line. I heard muffled voices and some hushed mumbling on Damien’s end, like someone was standing near him. Then he spoke again, his tone suddenly clipped.
“If that is all, I would like to hang up.”
Before I could say another word, the line went dead.
I stared at my phone for a moment, heat rising straight to my face. The longer I looked at the blank screen, the more the embarrassment crawled up my neck. I seriously wanted to yell at someone to please give me a damn dose of something to calm this humiliation before it completely swallowed me whole.
So what if he doesn’t want to talk to me? I don’t want to talk to him either. I slammed my hand against the table, grabbed my chart, and stormed out of my office to see my next patient. My legs were moving way too fast on their own as I marched straight toward the examination room.
1/3
Chapter 99
My patient today was an Alpha, and adding make Vam druhy eft med vand of Kishan
One moment box is professing his undying was me, wing we he can’t be he without the, and the next minute he‘ ignoring me like I don’t even exame my pee heel for at dog hearing for fort capirt, anfully gorgenes Greek god of an Alpha with the men forking fafong eyes and tips that I wanted to we all day
I’ve been cursing a bot today, and it’s all thanks in hee He’s grating what they don renn, erroting into my hef like he own the place. The nurses when posed by greed me
but I barely responded to any of them be the prax dey proudy think for lost if completely walking down the hallway and muttering to myself like some winged doctor
“And where do you think you’re going looking the that
I stopped and looked up to sex 1die standing in front of the Her hands were folded scross her chest, a patient file tucked under her arm while the stared at me like du had come concer
“Looking, like what?” I snapped back, rolling my eyes at her. “If you can’t tell.” I led the file in my hand and waved it right in her face, “I’m going to see my patient Alpha Gandh
“With that look on your face, I’m pretty sure whatever is wrong with him will worten, the shot back sarcastically. “Gandhi also likes bis doctors good looking and always sending and you don’t for the chest at this poin
“What is wrong, with my face?” 1 demanded. “This is what I always look like
“Eh no” she chortled. She enjoyed watching me water. Your face locks ree–deprived, and I cannor in good conscience let you attend to a patient looking like you swallowed a syringe”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not deprived of… anything I adjusted my coat and tried to walk past her, but she grabbed my hand and pulled me right back toward my office
“Les! My patient is waiting” I screamed in frustration
“Fix this sudden nasty temper of yours and I’ll let you go see your patient,” she said firmly, pushing me inside. “Remember, Alpha Gandhi is the impatient type
It took almost five full minutes of struggling with Les before I managed to force something that looked like a smile onto my face. She stood there watching me like a strict supervisor, clearly not planning to let me leave until she approved whatever expression I was wearing
“And if Ace is getting you like this,” she added, narrowing her eyes at me, “then try talking to him instead of taking it out on all of us.” She looked ready to fake a cry. “I mean, we’re innocent.”
I bit into my lip, trying to hold back everything I actually wanted to say. “I’ve tried. He’s been ignoring me?
“Then go and see him,” she said immediately, glancing at the wall clock. “It’s still noon. You can go see him after Alpha Gandhi. I’ll cover the rest of your shift
“Isn’t your shift ending in about an hour or two?” I asked. “And you still have that dinner date you’ve been planning. I don’t want to be the reason you miss it.”
I hated even bringing it up. Les had sacrificed a lot for me over the years, more than most friends would ever do, and the last thing I wanted was for it to start looking like I kept taking advantage of her kindness, even if she was always the one offering
“Two hours,” she said with a shrug, “But I can stay back for you.” She studied my face for a moment before adding more softly. “I hate seeing you this grumpy and sad. Liam is beginning to notice. Besides, the date isn’t until later tonight. I’ve still
got time.”
2/3
Chapter 99
65 vouchers.
“Going to his office… won’t that make me look desperate?” I asked quietly. “What if he really doesn’t want to see me anymore?”
I wasn’t sure I could handle that right now. How could someone lead you on like that, showering you with so much love and care, making you feel like you were the center of their world and then suddenly ghost you like you meant nothing? Other times when he wasn’t talking to me, I would still catch glimpses of him around the woods near the house, lurking somewhere close, he couldn’t stay away for too long. But this time there had been nothing, no shadows watching from the trees. It was like he has gone MIA.
“It doesn’t make you desperate,” Les insisted firmly. “Sitting here, overthinking and snapping at everyone makes it worse.” She nudged my arm. “And if he does turn you away, which I seriously doubt, because that man has shown it more times than I can count how much he’s into you, then at least you’ll know where you stand with him.”
I shook my head slowly. “Maybe he has decided to get back together with Moon. That’s his wife and…” I trailed off, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. “I don’t even know what I truly am to him.” The words tasted bitter coming out of my mouth.
“Sitting your pretty ass in your office and imagining things that might not even be true isn’t helping either,” Les stated matter of factly. “Go find out why he isn’t talking to you. What if something actually happened to him and he’s hiding it from you because he doesn’t want you to worry?”
Her words made me pause. What if she was right? What if something really was wrong with him and Damien was trying to hide it from me? Ace has a twisted sense of protection, he would literally kill everyone to keep you protected. I leaned back against the desk, thinking it over. Going to Ace’s office still sounded like a terrible idea, but maybe I didn’t have to go there just to see him.
I could talk to Kathryn. She was his personal assistant and the woman practically knew everything that went on around him. If anyone could tell me something useful, it would be her. And if I was lucky, she might even know something about Moon, anything at all that could finally help me connect the dots since Gavin wasn’t helping.
3/3
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
