Chapter 30 CHAPTER 030
Stone POV:
I blinked, gripping the edge of the desk. Ari hadn’t moved, but her eyes were wide, her breath shallow. "Did you… feel that?" she whispered.
Before I could answer, the door slammed open. Harry stood in the doorway, his usually pristine shirt rumpled, his hair disheveled. "Stone," he gasped. "You need to come now. There’s been an attack."
Ari stiffened beside me, her fingers twitching toward her hip, where a dagger would’ve been, if she’d been armed.
"Where?" I demanded, already standing.
Harry’s gaze flicked to Ari, then back to me. "North tower. They’re at the borders." His jaw clenched. "I think they might be asking for her."
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Ari POV:
"Nice." I muttered after leaving the palace.
I had seen my fair share of desperate women, and Sierra tops the list for me.
There was no way she thought eliminating every woman who tried to get close to Alpha Stone was the answer. But what do I know? For all I know, Alpha Stone could be the perfect man to her. Just as Riel was to me.
If only I had the same confidence as Sierra, and I had pushed Dina out of the way before she got a chance with Riel.
"Ew...no." I quickly shook my head. I could never be that desperate.
When I stepped out into the crisp air, blowing from the trees in the woods nearby, I took a deep breath. I could smell the nearby creek, just deep inside the woods. If I wanted to, I could run. But I would have to get past so many guards and pray Alpha Stone doesn't eventually tear me apart.
Alpha Stone. Who even bears a name like that? Could his parents have known he would be so stone-hearted? Did they call him that due to his wolf being mad? They couldn't have known that when he was a baby. Unless they could communicate with him telepathically, which sounded almost as insane as the thought of sleeping in the same room as him.
But then it hit me. Telepathy. One of the many ways two mated people could communicate due to the bond they have. If I'm bound to Alpha Stone, it means he can hear my wolf, even though she is suppressed. And that means, it can be one sided, regardless of whether I was there or not.
I quickly made my way to the general hospital, my heart pounding hard in my chest. Perri’s clinic smelled like antiseptic and blood. My eyes skimmed over the wounded patients and apprehensive relatives.
When I found Perri, she was bent over a table. She glanced up from her microscope, and her lips curled when she saw me. "Shouldn’t you be warming the Alpha’s bed by now?"
I ignored the jab. "We need to talk."
Perri arched a brow but gestured to the stool across from her. I sat, pressing my palms flat against the cold metal table between us. "I was in Shadowfang’s royal library before I was cast out," I said, keeping my voice low. "Their archives had texts on neuro-linking. It did not just talk about links between wolves. It touches even the untapped knowledge of science on any being with a nervous system."
"What are you saying?" Perri muttered, her fingers pausing mid-adjustment of the microscope lens.
I leaned in, lowering my voice despite the whirr of machinery around us. "Shadowfang had records of neuro-linking experiments, and there were successful ones. Not just between wolves, but between any two nervous systems. If we could replicate that, we might be able to sever Stone’s wolf’s attachment to me without killing either of us."
Perri’s eyes narrowed, her sharp gaze dissecting me like one of her specimens. "That’s theoretical. And even if it weren’t, the risks—"
"Are worth it," I interrupted. "You’ve seen what happens when his wolf loses control. People die. And if I stay tied to him, I’ll be the one holding the leash until it strangles us both." My fingers twitched against the table. "You know I’m right."
She exhaled sharply through her nose, pushing away from the microscope to pace the cramped space between shelves of labeled vials. "Even if we could isolate the neural pathways responsible for the bond, the procedure would require precision we don’t have. One misstep, and you could both end up brain-dead."
"Or free." I stood abruptly, knocking the stool back with a clatter. "You’re the only person in this pack with the knowledge to even attempt this. If you refuse, I’ll find another way. But the possibility might be slim, and I promise to be quiet about it."
Perri froze, her spine rigid. Then, with a slow pace, she turned to face me. "You’re serious." It wasn’t a question.
I didn’t blink. "I’ve been serious about everything since the moment I woke up in his territory."
Finally, Perri’s shoulders slumped. "Fine. But we do this my way. No shortcuts, no improvisation. And if I say it’s too dangerous, we stop." Her gaze hardened. "Agreed?"
I nodded once. "Agreed."
She snatched a notepad from the counter, scribbling equations and chemical structures with urgency. "First, we’ll need to draw out the existing bond. That means monitoring both of you during one of his... episodes." Her pen stilled. "You understand what that entails? You’ll have to trigger him."
I exhaled through my teeth. Of course. No anesthetic for this surgery. "What’s the alternative?"
Perri tapped the pen against her temple. "We could attempt to synthesize the pheromonal signature of your connection, extract it from your blood during a psychic event." She flipped the page, sketching a crude distillation apparatus. "But without knowing the exact compound, we’d be stabbing in the dark."
I leaned over her shoulder, pointing at a molecular diagram. "Shadowfang’s archives mentioned something about quantum entanglement between mates. What if..."
"Stop." Perri slammed the notebook shut. "This isn’t theoretical physics. We’re dealing with living tissue, with neurons firing in real time." She gripped my wrist, her fingers pressing hard against my pulse point. "You’re asking me to sever a bond here, Ari. There will be consequences. So patience."
"Name one," I challenged.
Her pupils dilated slightly, a tell I’d learned meant she was calculating worst-case scenarios. "Complete synaptic collapse. His wolf could tear its way out permanently. Or you might lose whatever’s left of your own wolf in the process."
I smiled. "I already lost her. Can't be that bad."
Perri studied me for a long moment before nodding abruptly. "Three days. I’ll need to modify an EEG machine, synthesize neural inhibitors." She hesitated. "You should know... Stone won’t approve this."
I pocketed the paper. "He doesn’t have to. I'll make him."