Chapter 82
CHARLOTTE’S POV
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My body froze as I stood over him. My head was screaming at me to move, to do something, but my legs felt stuck to the floor. At first it was only his neck bleeding, but then I noticed more. He had on a black button–down shirt, but dark patches were spreading through the fabric. Blood was soaking through it, dripping down to the elevator floor.
Gavin came back a minute later, slightly out of breath. “I couldn’t find her.” He stopped when he saw Ace lying there. “Oh shit.”
He rushed forward and tried lifting Ace from the floor, but it wasn’t easy. “Don’t just stand there, you’re a doctor. He’s going to die if we don’t do anything.”
His words snapped me out of my trance. I dropped beside them and grabbed Ace on his other arm, helping Gavin pull him up. Ace was six foot five and built like a wall. Tall and muscular, he was heavy as hell. My five–foot–five frame was almost crushed under his weight even with Gavin holding most of him. His head lolled to the side, his body was burning hot against my hands.
Just then, Damien and Roman rushed in.
“One of your men left us a message,” Roman told Gavin quickly. “We came as soon as he told us.”
Damien took over from me, helping Gavin lift Ace, throwing one of his arms over his shoulder. “We need to get him to his penthouse, and we need to do that without being noticed,” Gavin said in a concerned voice. He was acting weird. I looked at him for a second. This same man who wanted Ace dead that night at the arena was now holding him like a concerned brother and wouldn’t let him fall.
“We’ve cleared the back. No one will see us if we move from there,” Roman said, walking ahead of us and checking every corner before signaling us to follow.
We moved fast through the back corridor. The music from the festival was faint from here. One of Ace’s large cars was already waiting, the same type we used the first day of the Rougarous attack. The engine was running. They carefully put Ace inside the back seat, laying him across it.
I was about shutting the doors when we heard loud heels clicking against the pavement, running straight toward us.
“I thought you said you evacuated everyone from this space,” Damien asked in an irritated voice, turning toward the sound.
“I did, I…” Roman’s words were cut off when Moon appeared.
She walked toward us in the same red dress I had seen her wearing at the festival. Her makeup was still perfect. She didn’t look like someone who had just been in a struggle inside an elevator. She wasn’t the woman in that blue dress.
“My personal assistant said she saw you gentlemen taking Ace out through the back,” she said, stopping in front of the car. Her eyes moved from Gavin to Damien, then briefly to me. “I’m here to stop you. The festival is still at its peak. Ace can’t leave now. I don’t care where the rest of you go, but my mate stays,” she continued. “We still have unfinished business out there with everyone.”
She stomped toward the car, her hand reached for the door, and that was when her eyes landed on me. They went wide then darkened.
“And what in the freaking hell are you doing here?” she snapped. She turned sharply to Gavin, then to Roman and Damien. “What is this stupid doctor doing here? She has no right to be here. Especially not with my husband.”
I ignored her and leaned toward Damien, who was already sliding into the driver’s seat. “We need to leave now. We don’t
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Chapter 82
have time to waste.”
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“You stupid little bitch!” She screamed so loud I thought she was a banshee. For a second there I thought she would grow fangs and start flying. Thank goodness this place was farther from the main festival grounds, but if her assistant found us, someone else could too. “How dare you stand in front of me and decide what happens?” she shrieked, pointing at me. “You’re nothing but trash! A mistress who has no place in a pack!” She screamed again, her voice breaking at the end. Yes, it’s confirmed, she’s definitely a banshee not a Luna.
Panting loudly from screaming her head off, she rushed to the car and peered inside. The moment she saw Ace unconscious and bleeding, she gasped. “Oh my God!” She covered her mouth dramatically, then turned to me with an accusing glare. “What did you do to my man? What did you do to him, you hoe!” She raised her hand to slap me, but I caught it midair.
“I’ve let you rant for so long, but I dare you to lay those filthy hands on me.” My grip tightened for a second before I released her. Her hand dropped to her side.
I stepped closer, closing the space between us. “I’m not someone you should mess with, woman. You barged into my hospital the other day and I let you say every shit you wanted to say. Maybe that made you think I was weak.” I tilted my head slightly, holding her stare. “Try me again, and you won’t walk away with just loud words. You’ll walk away with consequences you won’t recover from.” She took a step back.
Silence fell around us. Damien and Roman were staring at me with their mouths slightly open. Gavin stood there with a cold look on his face, watching us without saying a word.
“Let’s go.” My voice came out like a command.
Gavin chuckled softly and stepped aside so I could get into the car first.
“I’m coming too,” Moon spat and forced her way in before anyone could stop her.
Throughout the drive, she kept fussing over Ace, touching his face, smoothing his hair, calling his name. When she leaned down to kiss his lips, I slapped the back of her head without thinking. The car hit a bump at the same time and her forehead knocked against the car window. She yelped and held her head.
“Watch it!” she snapped at Damien who was driving. “And don’t fucking hit me again!” she yelled at me.
“Yes Banshee,” I said flatly, already checking Ace’s pulse again.
We got to the penthouse in minutes. Damien and Gavin carried him upstairs to his room. His personal doctor was already there, setting up his kit beside the bed.
“I called him and told him to come,” Roman explained quickly.
The doctor turned and froze when he saw me. His eyes widened behind his glasses. He looked to be in his early sixties.
“Doctor Graves?” he called in surprise. “Oh my goodness, it’s such an honour to meet you.”
He stretched out his hand, and I took it.
I rushed to Ace the moment Damien laid him gently on the bed. I didn’t waste time. I tore his shirt open and pulled the rest of his clothes off. A sharp breath left me when I saw that his body was back in the condition that it was when I examined him the first time in my hospital. The large cuts stretched across his chest and abdomen like someone had reopened old wounds. Blood was still dripping from some of them. His skin looked like it had been ripped apart from the inside.
What the hell happened to him in that elevator? Or was it at the festival?
“Are you really allowing her to touch the Alpha?” Moon’s voice cut through the room. “Does she even know what she’s doing?” She folded her arms and looked at the doctor with pure disrespect. “You know her ass is fake. She can’t do shit.
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Chapter 82
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The doctor slowly turned to her, his expression changing. “Luna, with all due respect, if there is anyone in this room qualified to handle this, it is Doctor Graves and the person least qualified is you. You’re occupying space and not offering any help. I suggest you step back and let real skill work before your husband bleeds out. Then, you might have a real reason to fight.”
Ace’s body started twitching violently, his fingers digging into the sheets as his muscles clenched and spasmed. His breath came in ragged gasps, and I could hear his wolf thrashing. Damien and the doctor moved fast, their hands firmly holding his arms and shoulders, murmuring in controlled tones.
Thank goodness I always have his medication with me, I immediately brought it out and put a few drops inside his mouth. Whatever got him like this was bad. After a tense few moments, Ace’s body slowly relaxed, his thrashing easing into shudders. I and Damien exchanged a quick look, then I grabbed a small scanner from the medical bag sitting on the table and ran it over Ace’s system. The display beeped, and my stomach dropped.
“He’s been poisoned,” I shouted, spinning to face his men.
“What?” Roman’s voice cracked with panic. “It must have been at the festival, his cup! I need to get that cup and have it analyzed and start an investigation immediately.”
I nodded, my stomach dropping. Whoever did this had gotten close enough to Ace to put him in real danger.
“What?” Moon said in a shaky voice. “Investigate? Yes, we need to find out who tried to poison him. I’m coming with you.”
As she followed Roman to the door, my eyes caught her hand again, this time, the leather glove was gone. I lunged for her hand. She yanked back, her nails digging into my palm. Her other hand swung at me, trying to shove me away, but I held her tight. She pulled and twisted but I didn’t let go.
“What are you doing, you fake doctor?” she barked angrily.
I yanked her closer, keeping her hand locked in mine. And there it was, the same hand behind the wheel that had driven me to hell.
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AD
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.
