Page 16

Chapter 16

MADELINE

I sigh walking into the hospital. The atmosphere always repels me and this time is no different. A few staff rush past me with a patient on a stretcher and I stand aside, watching them go. A small trail of blood is soon mopped up by the cleaning staff.

The sight makes me squeamish even though I've seen far worse than that. I shiver heading to my aunt's private room. Aunt Cora is busy reading a book, peering through her reading glasses. She takes them off when I enter the room.

“Hey, Aunt Cora. How're you feeling?”

“You worry too much,” she says. “Remember, you don't need to come and check on me during work hours.”

I chuckle. “I've got a free day since my boss decided to go on an adventure.”

Aunt Cora gives me an odd look, but doesn't ask for further explanation. “Come sit down.” She pats the side of the bed and I join her.

“You look much better.”

“I feel better too,” she says. “Transforming during the full moon worked wonders on me.”

“I'm glad,” I reply. “What're you reading?” I take one look at the back of the book and laugh out loud. “No way.”

“I'm reading to relax.”

“You're reading a freaking postgrad law textbook? Who does that to relax?”

“You're in law school,” she reminds me. “Reading should be a part of you.”

“Yeah, but you aren't even feeling well and I'm sure you have this thing memorized by now.”

Aunt Cora rolls her eyes. “You didn't have to come and check on me. I don't want you coming here every free chance you get to scold me on my reading choices. You have your own life.”

“There's not much of it. This whole situation with Nate, it's …” I trail off, unsure what details I want to give my aunt.

“How's work going between both of you?” she asks.

“Perfect,” I reply. “That's the one good thing about this. Work hasn't been affected.”

She nods. “I've been hearing a lot of good things about your internship. I have no doubt you'll be back here once you're done with law school.”

I pause, thinking. “I'm not so sure about that. What's the point of staying around when my mate doesn't seem to want me.”

We hear a faint beeping sound coming from another room before some doctors rush there to attend to an emergency. Aunt Cora shakes her head, as if this is a regular occurrence.

“Is there anything you want me to get you?” I ask.

“More textbooks would be nice.”

The worst part is I know she's not joking. “Maybe not that.” I lean in like I'm about to tell a secret. “Is this like one of those shows on TV where the doctors are all sleeping together?”

“Madeline!”

“Come on, Aunt Cora. You have to know some details at least. You've been here long enough.”

She sighs, shaking her head. “Yes, there are some … incidents.”

My eyes widen. “Are you serious? Oh shit.”

“Language.”

“Sorry. Who's sleeping with who? Maybe I can spot them on my way home.”

“That's none of your business, young lady.” She pulled out the young lady card. Yikes.

“Okay, I'll back off,” I promise. “Are you sure you're good on your own?”

“I'm fine. I'll be out of here and back to work in no time.”

“That's not really why I want you out of the hospital, but if that's your motivation then I hope it works.” I give her a tight hug. “I love you. Get well soon.”

“I love you too, dear. Behave yourself out there.”

“When do I not behave?” I ask innocently. “You don't need to answer that.”

I wave at my aunt before leaving her room. Just then, a doctor in dark blue scrubs leaves the opposite room. He removes his facemask and gloves and winks at me.

“Hi, there. What's your—"

I scowl at the man and start walking away before he can finish his sentence. I'm not about to get hit on at a hospital.

The TV glare shines on me as I try to make sense of the show I'm watching. The two characters argue about their lies and cheating, which makes me sigh. If these were my problems, they would be easier to solve. I would just tear their faces off.

I hear something slide under my door and turn to see another envelope.

I immediately jump to my feet, flinging the door open with such force that it almost flies off its hinges. However, there’s no one on the other side, leaving me with no clues to follow. I close the door and pick up the envelope.

"Who keeps sending these?" I groan. Just two days ago, I received one that mentioned Nate and stated that he'd have to die for me to be with this mystery person.

I should probably tell Nate about these letters, regardless of where we stand right now. If someone's threatening him, he deserves to know. But first, I need to understand what I'm dealing with. Rushing to him without information won't help either of us.

Each letter makes me more annoyed than scared, and this one has really reached the limit. I bring the letter into the apartment and toss it on the dresser, rubbing the back of my neck to ease a knot. I refuse to give this nutcase the satisfaction.

I let out some air in short bursts before glancing around the bedroom. My gaze falls on the empty bed—emphasis on empty.

Eventually, an idea enters my mind, and I search for my phone, which I find on the coffee table. I quickly dial the number of the person I've been hanging out with the most over the past two weeks.

“Hello?” Hannah says in a tired voice.

“Hey, did I wake you?”

“Yeah, but it's fine. I fell asleep watching a soap on TV. It's a show about some mob boss.”

“That's what's on my TV right now,” I laugh. “It's so terrible.”

“Right?” she agrees, laughing. “How are you?”

“I'm okay I guess.”

“Are you about to head to the store?”

I shake my head, even though she can't see me. “No, I was wondering if you'd like to go out for dinner instead. I'm really hungry, and I could use someone to talk to.”

“I'm down for that. Where do you want to meet?” Hannah asks.

“There's a new restaurant that just opened near my place. We could try that.”

“Awesome, send me details and I'll meet you there, say seven?”

“That's perfect,” I reply.

We end the call and I instantly feel much better. Nothing helps my stress as much as talking about what's going on with Nate. Well, there's one thing that's even better than talking, but Nate and I haven't done that in far too long.

While I wait, I text Henry, asking for updates on what's happening back home. I haven't received a response from him lately, though.

I know they're trying to lay low but what if something is wrong? Does this have anything to do with the letters I'm getting?

I shake my head to remove the thought. There's definitely no connection—at least, I hope there isn't. None of the letters have mentioned my pack at all.

I meet Hannah at the new Town Kick restaurant. She greets me with a short hug. “Thank you for pulling me out of the house,” she says. “I would've spent the entire night in sweatpants if you hadn't called.”

We enter the establishment, taking in the view. I'm not ready for the variety of burgers I see, and that's my fault for not researching the restaurant beforehand. Still, the burgers smell pretty good, so we take a seat and order.

“Hmm,” Hannah says, reveling in the savory taste of the meal. “This is definitely better than the frozen pizza I was going to have for dinner.”

“Yeah, it's pretty good.”

Hannah gives me a curious look. “Hit me. What did your man do this time?”

I run through the past few days and explain how odd Nate had been that morning. Saying this out loud makes me even angrier, which is the opposite of what I want. I end up talking incessantly without eating much.

“I have something that may cheer you up,” Hannah offers, fishing into her purse and bringing out a small gold charm with many shapes carved into it. There's a frayed rope attached that makes it look like it's supposed to be worn as a necklace.

I catch a whiff of gasoline and gunpowder, almost making me reel in my seat. "Where did you get this?" I ask, taking it from her.

"I just found it at the shop," Hannah replies. "I thought it was pretty and Lucca said I could have it."

"Shit."

My mind races, cataloging possibilities. Hunters in the shop where Hannah works. The same hunters who attacked my pack? I need to be careful about how I react; alarming Hannah unnecessarily won't help, but I can't ignore this either.

“Is something wrong?”

I try to suppress my panic when I realize it's starting to affect Hannah.

“It's nothing, just familiar somehow.”

“Even more reason for you to keep it then.”

I struggle through the rest of dinner, unable to distract myself from the charm. Eventually, it's time to go.

Hannah and I walk out of the building and say goodbye. I let out a long breath, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the charm and my phone again.

There's still no message from Henry, making me even more worried.

Fuck.