Chapter 18 EIGHTEEN

Chapter 18 EIGHTEEN
ILYANA’S POV.

Thunder cracked like the sky was splitting open.

The room trembled again, the walls shaking as if something massive was moving just beyond them. My breath came sharp as I woke, disoriented, my body jerking upright.

I was on a high throne.

Below me, wolves surrounded the base, snarling, clawing upward, their growls and roars filling the space like a storm that wouldn’t end. Their eyes were locked on me. Hungry. Furious. Waiting.

Fear gripped me instantly.

What was I doing here? How did I get here?

My fingers tightened around the arms of the throne as another roar tore through the air and the shaking grew worse, violent now, like the whole place was about to collapse.

“Stop! Stop please!” I yelled out.

“Stop! Stop clawing! Stop!”

But none of my pleas were heard. The more I spoke, the worse it became. The wolves only pressed closer, shaking the ground beneath them, snapping, snarling, filling every corner of the room with sound and rage.

There was no escape.

Only a tall, thin stream of pale moonlight cutting in from a window too far away. Too unreachable.

I was still fighting for my life when the door suddenly opened.

A massive black wolf stepped inside.

My heart dropped straight into my stomach.

The air changed instantly. He didn’t need to growl for me to feel it. The hunger, the weight of him, the danger in the way he stood.

I didn’t need to be told.

It was the Alpha King’s wolf.

He moved.

Not toward the others.

Toward me.

My eyes widened as he lunged directly at the throne, jaws opening wide enough to tear through me completely.

A scream ripped out of my throat as my eyes flew open. 

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Hey. Hey. Hey.” I was still trembling, my vision blurry. “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s just a dream.”

I swallowed shakily. Yes, it was a dream. One that had haunted me ever since I got my first mate and has never left. Before my mates, it had always been me on a throne in a shaking room. Then the first rejection came and brought a wolf, then the second, and third.

And now the alpha king.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling now?”

I looked at the source of the voice and saw the pack doctor. 

Her hair was packed in a messy bun, dark circles under her eyes as she walked towards me with a glass of water in her hands.

“How are you feeling?” she asked again, dropping the glass on the table as she sat beside me.

Even my lungs burned as I spoke. “Tired,” I replied.

“Do you want to sit up?”

I nodded weakly as she helped me, groaning slightly. PI took notice of the room I was in and saw that it was different from mine. Slightly bigger, the colors brighter. And the evening air pooled in coolly. 

“Where am I?”

“In a room closer to the alpha king’s,” she replied, something flickering across her face for a second before she forced a smile. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

I shook my head, but she still checked—feeling my body, my temperature, asking where it hurt, and I told her everywhere.

“You’re not feeling any pain,” she said with a frown, like she didn’t quite believe it. “Do you remember what happened before this?”

Suddenly, it hit me, everything flashing in my head. Carius coming in, the alpha king leaving without his cold mask dropping, opening the window, the white bird, the angelic man, his fangs.

My life flashed before me again as I reached for my neck. I met her eyes and she nodded.

“A vampire bit you,” she said.

She gave me a pointed look, like she was scolding me but not too harshly, as she sat on a chair in front of me with her legs crossed.

“Four days in the pack and you’ve been attacked twice. Do you like me that much you want me to keep treating you?”

My cheeks burned red with embarrassment. I looked down at my lap, intertwining my fingers, unable to meet her eyes.

“Or do you want us to be friends?”

I pressed my lips too firmly, my stomach twisting nervously.

She chuckled. “Calm down. I was just pulling your legs.”

My cheeks flushed deeper as I looked up again. There was something striking about her features—her nose, her eyes—bearing a slight resemblance to the alpha king.

My eyes widened.

The alpha king.

“How long have I been asleep, ma’am?”

“Ma?” She looked shocked. “Do I look that old to be called that?”

She suddenly pulled out a mirror from her coat, her face twisting with mild disgust. “I can see why you’d call me that now. But I’m not that old,” her eyes snapped back to mine, “Call me Atasha. A regular patient like you shouldn’t use honorifics.”

I bit my inner cheek, a small smile forming. “And you’ve been asleep for three days.”

My eyes widened instantly. “Three… three days?”

She nodded before continuing, “Where are you from, Ilyana?”

The smooth change of topic made my body tense, a frown forming as I swallowed nervously, my fingers twitching. It was never good when questions like this started.

“The Silvermoon pack,” I replied.

“No, I know that. Where are you from originally? Your parents?” she asked, her gold eyes watching me closely.

“The Silvermoon pack,” I pressed. “I’ve lived there for as long as I know.”

Her forehead creased deeper, her eyes narrowing slightly, making her look even prettier despite the dark circles. “And your parents?”

My lips paused for a second as I looked down at my intertwined fingers. “I don’t know them.”

Her frown deepened before she nodded slowly. I looked back up to see her chewing her lip, her gaze studying me carefully, like she was choosing her next words. It made me more nervous.

Something was wrong, and I didn’t know what it was.

“Is it true you got rejected seven times before this?” she suddenly asked.

My hands stilled in my lap. Every part of me froze. My heart started pounding wildly.

What happened? What did I do? Was it the vampire? Was I in trouble?

I blinked once, then twice, the room suddenly feeling smaller.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m just trying to know you better.”

My eyes narrowed slightly, my stomach twisting the wrong way. Know me better? Why?

“W…why?” the word slipped out in panic.

“Why what?”

“Why… why are you trying to know me better? Am I in trouble?”

It was her turn to look confused, her brows pulling together. “Trouble? Why would you be in trouble?”

“Because you’re trying to know… to know me…” I stuttered before she burst into laughter.

She laughed, the sound light and bright. If I wasn’t so confused, I would have taken it in, let it settle. Everything about her made me want to know her more.

When she stopped, her face turned serious again. “You were bitten by a vampire with venom, pale to the bone, and you healed in two days. We didn’t transfuse any blood into you. We did nothing. And yet, you were healing on your own. Your body is producing more blood.”

My eyes widened, the knot in my stomach tightening. I didn’t understand any of it. “Is that a problem?”

She leaned forward. “No. Not for me. But for you? Yes. Who are you? And how can you do that? I’ve been a doctor for years. I’ve treated vampire wounds, but nothing like yours. No one—not even alphas, betas, or wolves stronger than you—has healed the way you did.”

Silence settled between us. I had no answer. No explanation. I had never been hurt like that before to even know this about myself.

The door opened, breaking the tension. She stood up immediately as the Alpha King stepped in.

Something stuttered in my chest at the sight of him. Fear… or something else, I couldn’t tell.

“I’d like to get to know you better, Ilyana,” Atasha said before packing her things. “Get well soon.”

She bowed to the king and left without another word. The maids followed quickly, closing the door behind them.

Now it was just the two of us.

The alpha king didn’t sit. He stood where Atasha had been, silent, his eyes on me. For a moment, neither of us spoke. It felt like a quiet battle, waiting to see who would break first.

Finally, he stepped forward, the moonlight and lamp casting shadows across his face.

My stomach dropped at the sight of him.

If Atasha had looked tired, he looked worse. His usual composed appearance was gone. He looked disheveled, worn, more human than the untouchable king he always seemed to be.

My mind raced, landing on one thought.

In the days I was asleep… did I stress the entire house?
 Was it because of me they all looked like this?

Oh, goddess.

No wonder Atasha was trying to know me better.

I was in trouble.