Chapter 70 Chapter 0070
•DANTE•
My head was spinning when I arrived at the hospital the following day.
The lights were too bright and the sunrays passing through the windows in my office were almost sickening.
The hospital was too loud and I felt like I would lose my mind if I stayed in my office any longer. So I got up from the chair and went to the emergency section.
But the moment the smell of blood hit my nostrils, something awakened inside me, and I stepped back.
"Dr. Lark, a patient is losing a lot of blood. Please come and assist. The wards are currently full, and so are the surgery rooms."
I pressed my back against the wall of the corridor and exhaled.
"One moment," I answered. "I will be with you shortly. Please keep the pressure on their wounds."
The nurse nodded before rushing back inside.
I pressed my fingers against the bridge of my nose and focused on my breathing.
The way Mira had taught me years ago when the world became too sharp and too loud and too much all at once.
It helped, but only slightly.
The smell of blood was still reaching me through the gap in the emergency room door.
I pushed off the wall and walked back down the corridor, putting distance between myself and the emergency room until the smell faded enough for me to think clearly.
I stopped near a window at the far end of the hall and stood there with my hand pressed flat against the cool glass.
I looked down at the ring on my finger.
It looked the same as it always had. But this morning it felt different against my skin. It felt like something was pressing back against it from the inside.
I curled my fingers into a fist and turned away from the window.
I spent the rest of the morning doing what I always did when something was wrong.
I worked. I moved between patients, reviewed charts, spoke to colleagues, and kept my hands and my mind occupied with tasks that demanded precision and focus.
It worked well enough until the early afternoon.
By the time I sat down in the small staff break room with a cup of coffee I had no real appetite for, I felt a throbbing headache.
I set the coffee down and looked at my hand resting on the table.
My fingers were trembling. I turned my wrist over and looked at the ring.
And it suddenly made sense when I remembered what Arsela said to me. The ring had run its course, and it wouldn't stop my lycan any longer.
I reached into the breast pocket of my coat and pulled out my phone. I opened the calendar and stared at the date for a moment before scrolling forward three days.
The full moon was in three days.
I set the phone face down on the table and pressed both hands flat against the surface, steadying them.
This had never happened before. In all the years I had worn the ring, I had never felt the moon approaching like this.
I had never felt it clawing at the edges of my composure from days away. The ring had always been absolute, a wall between me and the pull of the lunar cycle that held firm without effort.
But today it felt like a wall with cracks in it.
I understood what Arsela meant when she warned me. But understanding something and feeling it press against the inside of your chest like something that had run out of patience were two entirely different things.
My lycan was awake, and I understood the risks it came with. Being a werewolf was different than being a lycan.
Where the werewolf was dangerous, a lycan was lethal, and the last time I shifted, I almost killed everyone at the factory.
Before Mira died, I was so afraid of hurting her, that I ran to the forest every time I felt my shifts approaching.
And now I didn't want to risk Cassandra’s and Alena's lives. They meant the world to me and I had only three days to keep that ugly side of me hidden.
"Dr. Lark," a voice said, snapping me back to earth, and when I lifted my eyes and saw Amelia, I wished I hadn't come here for lunch.
Things were awkward between us after the last time she tried to initiate something unacceptable.
She knew about my relationship with Cassandra, but wanted to pretend as if she knew nothing.
"Dr. Hart," I answered as I sipped my coffee without looking at her. "Do you need something?"
"Of course not," she replied as she sat down in front of me. "I simply wanted a lunch buddy and I found you."
"I am done eating anyway, so—"
"About what happened the other night—" she said as she cut me off, and I breathed and relaxed back on my chair. "I was a little tipsy and never meant to overstep any boundary. We are colleagues and I shouldn't have blurred the lines. So, can we be civil with each other and stop succumbing to this weird tension between us?"
I tilted my head and looked at her. "That is a good idea. Cassandra and I are very exclusive, so I wouldn't want anyone to confuse our relationship and think any of us is available."
"I understand," she answered, though I could see the disappointment in her eyes. "You and Cassandra are a wonderful couple."
I leaned closer to the table so only she could hear my voice. "I am glad you understand because it would be a shame if Cassandra tells me next time of your ill-treatment toward her. I said nothing at first because I wanted to believe you wouldn't be so cruel to someone you don't even know."
Her face changed and I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "We are not friends, Amelia, as long as you continue to be rude to Cassandra."
I stood up from my chair and looked at her while she struggled to find the words to answer me. I then turned around and left her behind.