Page 15

Miles

We hadn't been playing cards for an hour when the migraine began. Nausea and vomiting soon follow the pounding in my head.

“Guys,” I moan from the bathroom. “I think I need to take a rain check.” I spit and wipe my mouth, then flush the toilet. “Might be a stomach bug setting in.”

The guys start clearing up the spread we had laid out. “Let me take you down to med bay to get checked. They can give you something for nausea, too.” Knight offers.

“Yeah. Sounds good.” I croak, hoarse from the non-stop projectile vomiting .

As we begin the descent down the stairs, Veronica comes in, nearly carrying a comatose Hannah. “What’s wrong with Hannah?” Knight asks.

“I don’t know. She and I were having a girls’ movie night; she suddenly got sick and started vomiting everywhere.” Veronica looked panicked. “It was non-stop. Next thing I know, she’s out cold.”

Knight pointed to her shirt. “Where’s the blood coming from?”

Veronica looks down at Hannah’s shirt, and we notice a blossoming red stain. “What the h–! Knight, help!”

Knight, still holding me up with one arm, grabs Hannah with his other arm and orders, “Go get help, Veronica, now!” Veronica takes off running down the corridor to the med bay.

Knight struggles to pull both Hannah and me down the hall. He’s solid muscles, but I’m a big guy, so he struggles a bit, but manages.

Veronica races back to us with Rachel and an orderly, Billy, in tow. Each of them is pushing a wheelchair.

“Veronica, I thought you all were having a spa night with Marissa,” I state. “Where is Marissa? ”

“Oh.” She startles, looking like she’d been caught out. “She went out to get us some drinks. She should be back any minute. What’s going on with you?"

“Same. Vomiting, nausea. It all started with a migraine, though.”

I guess I should catch up to Hannah, "She gestures toward the wheelchair carrying Hannah racing away from us."

Rachel comes around the corner as Knight wheels me closer. “Oh. Knight. How bad is Miles?”

“He’s finally stopped vomiting.”

“Are there lesions on his body?" she asks quickly.

I lift his shirt and am shocked by the welts covering his torso. “Y-yes!”

Okay, Hannah is in worse shape than him. Put him in #2 while I stabilize Hannah and prepare her for transport.

“Transport?” Knight asks.

Yes, she is in the final stages of Cheating Mate Syndrome. I hope we can get her to the main hospital in time.

She races to the emergency bay, and I hear her yelling instructions to her team, who are already working on Hannah.

Enforcer North speeds past the open doorway and enters the emergency bay.

About 15 minutes later, North and several other medical team members are rushing a gurney containing Hannah back toward the helipad.

A ragged Rachel walks into the room a few minutes later and looks at me. “Miles, I pretty much know what’s wrong with you as well.”

I peer into her eyes. “I don’t want to hear any crap about Cheating Mate Syndrome, Rachel. Just because Hannah shows signs of it doesn’t mean that's what's wrong with me.”

“You need to open your eyes, Miles." Rachel huffs impatiently.

“No! Marissa has never cheated on me. She’s flighty sometimes and just takes off. But she promised not to do that this time, and she hasn’t,” I bellow. “This is just a migraine!”

“Lie back on the table, Miles. Let me examine you.” She exhales sharply.

“I’m fine. Just give me something for a migraine.” I growl.

Around that time, Alpha Stone walks into the exam room. “Lie back on the table, Miles. Doc needs to examine you.” His voice dripping with Alpha command, compelling me to obey .

Rachel approaches me and peels back my shirt, exposing my stomach for them all to see. My entire torso is covered in painful, raised, red welts. “Miles, are you taking the drug Amra?”

“That’s the medication that treats Cheating Mate Syndrome, right?” she nods. “No! I’m not. I told you Marissa is NOT cheating on me.”

“This is quite intriguing, Miles, because it seems you've received some Amra, but not enough to fully suppress the symptoms.” Rachel traces a distinctly angry-looking mark with her gloved finger.

“See, this one is almost at the lesion stage.

I've been investigating this condition tirelessly since Pais… since our first patient.”

“How are you studying it?” Alpha inquiries.

“Our medical database," she tells him. "It’s extensive. All medical records, doctor notes, nursing notes, films, videos, and photos are uploaded there. My doctoral degree is nearly complete, and I’m on the verge of becoming a full-fledged doctor, with a minor in CMS. I’m dedicated to saving victims of the condition," Rachel announces.

“Do you have a photo depicting this?” Alpha Stone points to my stomach.

“Sure.” She lifts her cell, taps a few keys, and hands the phone to Alpha Stone .

“Goddess, they’re identical. Even to my untrained eye, I can see it.” He shoves the phone in my face.

“I’ve had enough of this,” I spit out, trying to sit up to leave.

"Stay," Alpha Stone orders again. “Rachel, is Miles safe to leave in his condition?”

It’d probably be better if I could give him an extra dose of Amra, but first, I want a blood and urine sample to check for any traces of Amra in his system. It won’t take long, just a few minutes once I load the samples into the machines.

“Do it.”

“Alpha, this is insulting to both Marissa and me." I insist.

“Miles, there’s something you don’t know that Rachel spoke with me about earlier.

Since it involves you, I’d like to discuss this with you now.

After you give the samples.” He nods to Rachel, who takes out a syringe and draws a tube of blood.

Then she hands me a urine collection cup. The Alpha has ordered me, so I comply.

About 30 minutes later, everyone rejoins me in the exam room, which I wasn’t allowed to leave, much like a prisoner.

“Well?” Alpha asks, looking at Rachel .

“The tests confirm that Miles has the equivalent of one dose of Amra in his system. However, due to his large size, he probably should’ve had double that. It was enough to save his life, though.”

“Now, Miles," Alpha eyes me. “We need to update you on what Marissa has been doing. Today, she came in to see Rachel, claiming that you’re cheating with Paisley.”

“What the –?” I hiss.

Rachel wasn’t sure what she was up to but didn’t trust it. So, she sent Marissa away without Amra. However, as Marissa left the med clinic, a delivery of Amra was dropped off at the nurse’s station, which Marissa took.

“What proof do you have that she stole anything?” I roar.

As if he were ready for the question, he takes out his cell, which already has a video cued up.

I watch in horror as I recognize Marissa slipping a box labeled "Amra" into her bag and leaving the med bay. Of course, there are security cameras everywhere. Not only am I married to a liar and a thief, but I’m also apparently married to an idiot liar and thief.

I exhale a deep, exhausted breath. “I see. But that doesn’t prove that she slipped anything in my drink. Maybe she really thinks Paisley and I are cheating and just wants to be prepared. Maybe she felt desperate.”

Alpha sighs as he pulls up another video feed and forcefully shoves it in my face.

“I thought you might not believe it unless you saw it.” I watch again in horror as Marissa pours two glasses of orange juice from the main kitchen fridge and empties a couple of capsules into one of them. At this point, I’d have to believe it was Amra.

A realization hits me about what Alpha is leading up to. She wanted to go out and cheat on me tonight.

“You know where she is now, don’t you?” I ask Alpha Stone.

He sighs deeply and nods. “She’s been at the local bar all night, Miles. Picked up two shifters and went to the motel next door. They’ve been in there for a couple of hours now.”

I nod, blinking as my eyes start to burn with unshed tears.

Goddess, I love Marissa, but she has never truly loved me—at least not enough to be loyal like Paisley.

I shake my head. No point going there now.

That’s a burned bridge. Ppppft! It's an obliterated bridge. Why couldn’t Marissa have just left me alone to heal and move on? I was happy… but I was tempted.

“Who are the shifters?” I ask .

“One is from another pack, but the other is Seth Hill, Hannah’s husband,” Alpha states.

“Makes sense now.How’s Hannah?”

“It doesn’t look good,” Rachel offers.

Ironic. Hannah and Veronica both made excuses for her so she could cheat, and who does she cheat with? Hannah's husband. That's a double dose of karma if I’ve ever seen it. She took out both me and Hannah in one shot.

I lean my head back and pinch my nose. “So, what are we looking at, Alpha? What are the consequences?”

What do you want, Miles? The only law she has broken is stealing. With restitution, she’d probably spend a couple of months on Prisoner Island and then get probation for a first offense, along with some community service. But what do you want, Miles? Her biggest disloyalty is against you.

“If I could interject," Rachel says, hesitating. “Miles, if you’re willing to live with Marissa’s... uh... indiscretions, you can choose to take Amra daily until she decides to be monogamous. Or, you can break the mate bond and live together while Marissa has her boyfriends or lovers. As long as there isn’t a mate bond between chosen mates, you don’t need Amra.

It’s only required when there’s an actual mate bond or in the case of fated mates, whether they’re bonded or not. ”

“Thanks, Rachel. Right now, I just want answers," I insist. “I’ll wait for her at my apartment. After we talk, Alpha, you can lock her up for theft. I’m done.”

“Okay, Miles. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you," Alpha sighs. “We just have to live with the consequences of our choices.”

Rachel hands me another dose of Amra along with a bottle of water. I swallow the pill. “That should help the welts disappear and take care of the nausea.”

I nod. “Thanks, Doc.”

She smiles faintly. "If you need anything else, just let me know."

The first thing I do when I get to my apartment is search for the pills.

In that video, the box she took would contain quite a lot.

I first found a few odd pills in her nightstand drawer.

Sure enough, the word Amra is printed on the side.

Then, I dig around and find an old makeup bag in the back of her sink filled with bottles of medication. Jackpot!

While I’m digging, I find a couple of bottles labeled “Scent-Off Lotion,” with the manufacturer listed as “A Helping Hand.” That’s how she has kept me from scenting other males on her.

We use this here, at the pack, for covert operations when we don't want other shifters to know we are nearby. Our border patrol guards often use scent-off for that exact reason. I never considered using it to cheat. If Marissa used her con-artist skills for good, we could solve all the world’s problems.

I run my fingers through my hair and settle on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to come back.

I hope her night of fun was truly worth it, for her sake.

Because if she really cares about me, which I’m starting to doubt, she’s lost me forever.

I’m tired of this endless cycle of uncertainty and heartbreak.

I’m honestly considering quitting my job and taking some time off to find clarity and peace.