Chapter 17 CHAPTER 017
Stone POV:
Maybe it was the slow waltz music emanating from the speaker, or the smell of waffles and baked chicken, or the thought of what happened last night, but something woke me up that morning. The sun slid in through the small space between the curtains, warm on my face.
I squinted at the small bedside clock on the table beside me and saw that it was eleven in the morning. Fuck! How did I sleep in so late? And none of the maids thought to call me.
With a groan, I pressed a small button just beside the tall lamp on the table. In a few seconds, three maids entered with their various materials.
It was time for me to have a bath. I gobbled up the waffles and chicken before moving on to the washroom to have my bath. I had the pack's doctor called over.
"Alpha," I heard Perri call from behind me as I enjoyed the warm bath and the fragrance. "You sent for me."
"Yes, Perri." I turned around. She was dressed in her usual coat that indicated she was a medical doctor. "I...I wanted to ask for a refill. I checked the medicine cabinets, and my supply is running out. I can’t have myself, can’t have—"
"Pardon me, Alpha," she said, shuffling her feet. "But you haven’t had an episode for a while. I was hoping we could push the drugs back. It restrains the wolf, as you know, and we are free animals, sir. Caging it will—"
"Enough!" I said, my nails digging into my palms. "Would you rather I lose control of myself and hurt people all because of some damned analysis? I know my body, and even though Ari calms me down, she can be very annoying. I can’t take any chances."
"Alpha, I don’t think that it’s possible for Ari to be the one in control of your moods," Perri said with a look of condescension in her eyes. "No offense, my lord, but I have multiple degrees and I have done long researches to qualify me for this position; one upstart girl coming from no—"
"Pick your next words very, very carefully," I growled, feeling the heat of my wolf flowing through my veins. "I only have so much restraint."
Perry’s eyes widened, and she took a step back, clutching her coat tightly. "All I am saying, Alpha, is that we can test to see how well you have improved. I will fulfill your wishes, but I want you to think about what I have said. My medicine has come a long way, and I trust the process."
"Good for you," I snorted. "Now that that’s settled, I have some private matters to attend to."
I didn’t spare another glance at her as she stepped out, but my ears picked up the grumbling and murmuring as she walked out, leaving me to think of the mountain load of work that waited for me and the itchy feeling that left me moody and uncomfortable.
I was exhausted by the time evening rolled by, and if I had to see another set of paperwork or break up another fight, I would let my wolf run off into the woods forever. I smiled smugly, seeing the medicine cabinet restocked with my medicine, and a part of me seemed to sag with relief. Now when Ari decided to—. Come to think of it, where was she? I hadn’t seen her all day, and she hadn’t…
My thoughts seemed to come to a stop, and I paled with realization. The sun outside had just begun to dip over the horizon as I burst from my house with three guards trying to keep pace behind me. It wasn’t possible that she was still there. Ari never listened to me when I said anything; she wouldn’t have stayed out.
"ARI!!" I couldn’t stop myself from yelling as I broke through the tree line and neared the stream. "ARI!"
A small whimper filled my ears, and my heart sank as we neared the stream. There she was, her wet clothes clinging to her small frame as she shivered violently, but her feet still stubbornly kept in place. Still kept in the same spot as last night.
Without thinking twice, I dove into the water, wading my way to her. She looked so pale, as if the next breeze would have carried her far away. Her teeth chattered, and when my hands brushed past her skin, I felt the intense fire burning underneath her skin. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, and she melted in my arms, seemingly wanting to disappear in them.
"Ari," I whispered softly to her. "Ari, I’m so sorry."
I barely remember racing back. I barely remember punching the guard in the face who offered to ‘help’ me with her. I could barely think above the howling of my wolf and the feelings of guilt and anger that filled my head.
"You have to let me take her," the doctor said. "I can’t help her if you won’t let her go."
At the very moment that I was finally able to let her go, and my body was replaced with an emptiness as they began to stick needles into her and whisper things about dehydration and hypothermia, I felt the familiar pain of the shift hit me.
"Are you alright?" the guard asked, taking quite a few steps back from me. "Do you need anything, Al—"
"Get Perri," I growled through a mouthful of sharp teeth as I felt my wolf fight for control. "I can’t control it anymore!"
The guards took to their heels, running in the other direction as I headed east to the dungeons. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, not like I had hurt her. Perri was fast, and she came right as I was about to burst through my clothes.
"The chains," I said, not sounding much like a human anymore. "Use the chains!"
She made quick work of it, wrapping me in thick cable-sized chains and shackles, and just in time too, as a loud howl ripped through me and the sickening crunch of bone filled the air as I lost control.