Touching the Sleeping Wolf
Graves came to pick up Lila at the hospital, and as he drove, he kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She sat beside him in the passenger seat, staring out the window like the world outside was miles away. Her hands were folded tightly in her lap, and she looked so lost that it made Graves grip the steering wheel a little harder.
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
She didn’t reply. She didn’t even blink. He hesitated, then reached over and tapped her shoulder gently. Lila jolted as if someone had pulled her out of a deep dream.
“Did you say something?” she asked, turning toward him slowly.
Graves gave her a soft look. “What were you thinking about? Is it about the boss?” He tried to lighten the heavy air around them.
“Believe me, the boss will regain consciousness soon. He has always been a fighter, and he wouldn’t dare slip into a forever coma because of a few hits.” He finished with an exaggerated flick of his hand, dramatic enough to look almost ridiculous.
Lila let out a small chuckle, a real one, and the sound brought a wave of relief to Graves. She nodded, the corners of her lips lifting. “I love the way you all strongly believe in your boss. It gives me hope and makes me stronger.”
“As it should be, princess,” Graves said with a grin, lifting his folded hand toward her.
Lila smiled softly and tapped her fist against his. The simple gesture eased something sharp and painful inside her, and Graves was grateful to see even a spark of her coming back.
“Graves?” Lila called softly after a long stretch of silence.
Graves turned his head slightly, eyes flicking from the road to her. “Yeah?”
She hesitated. Her fingers twisted together in her lap, and she looked down as if afraid of her own question. “Can you forgive the person who took the life of someone precious to you?”
Graves’ brows pulled together immediately. The confusion on his face was sharp and real.
“Let me ask this first,” he said. “Who is the person who took the life of someone precious to me?”
Lila lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “The person can be anybody. Maybe your boss, maybe your lover.” Her voice softened, almost trembling. “You know her as a killer, but then she turns out to be a very good person to the people around you. And you love her so much too.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Will you still go ahead and take your revenge?”
Graves took a deep breath and kept quiet for a long moment. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, then slowly loosened as he exhaled and shook his head.
“It will be very difficult to take my revenge,” he said quietly. “Not after I come to know she is a very good person.” He paused, thinking it through as he stared ahead at the road. “So I might just do my own secret findings first. I would want to know why she had to take the life of someone precious to me. And then I would ask her about it.”
Lila watched him silently, her heart thudding in her chest.
“If her reason is genuine,” Graves continued, his tone softer, “then I will let everything go and forgive her.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I love her so much, remember?”
He threw her a playful wink.
Lila couldn’t help it. She smiled back, even though her eyes stung with a quiet ache she couldn’t explain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Some hours later, the evening was drawing near. Lila had returned to the hospital with clean clothes and a fresh scent clinging faintly to her skin. She and Blade were still going back and forth over who might have cleared Crusher’s body, neither of them any closer to an answer.
Blade eventually stepped into the corridor to call home, leaving Lila alone with the quiet hum of machines and the steady rhythm of Damien’s breathing.
Lila entered the room with a bowl of warm water and a clean towel. She pulled a chair to his bedside and gently dipped the towel into the bowl. With careful, slow motions, she dabbed his face, taking extra care not to disturb the bandage wrapped around his head.
A soft smile touched her lips as she studied him. Even lying unconscious, he carried a calm, dangerous beauty that made her chest tighten. His tall, straight nose, the delicate curve of his thin lips, the sharp lines of his angular face… everything about him seemed unfairly perfect. He looked like the last hot man left on Earth.
Without noticing, she leaned closer, her gaze tracing each of his features as if memorizing him. Her fingers moved on their own, brushing lightly along his nose, then gliding over the shape of his lips she admired far too much.
She didn’t realize what she was doing until Blade stepped back into the room.
He cleared his throat softly.
The sound snapped her out of her trance. Lila jerked her hand back, her heart stumbling in her chest as heat rushed up her neck. Blade tried to mask a grin but failed miserably, biting the inside of his cheek as he pretended to examine something on the floor.
Just then, Lila’s phone began to ring. The sudden sound made her jump, and she hurried to grab it from the table. Tessa’s name flashed brightly on the screen.
She answered quickly. Before she could say a word, Tessa’s voice came through, telling her she was already in the hospital compound.
“I’ll be right back, Blade. I need to fetch my friend outside,” Lila said as she slipped her phone into her pocket.
Blade nodded, then lifted an eyebrow with a playful smirk. “Do you want me to continue cleaning him, or should I wait till you come back?”
Lila let out a soft laugh, shaking her head at his expression. “Suit yourself,” she told him.
Still smiling faintly, she turned and walked out of the room to meet Tessa.
It did not take long before Lila spotted Tessa stepping out of a car in the parking lot, with Asher getting out from the other side. Lila lifted her hand high.
“Tessa!” she called, waving brightly.
Tessa turned at the sound of her voice, her face lighting up as she waved back. She and Asher began walking toward Lila, both looking relieved to finally see her.
Once they reached her, Tessa pulled Lila into a tight, lingering hug. Lila held on just as firmly, breathing in the comfort of her best friend’s presence. When they finally pulled apart, Lila’s eyes met Asher’s for the first time.
He looked away almost immediately, his throat bobbing in a nervous swallow.
Lila tilted her head, a small amused smile forming. “Why do you look nervous to look at me, Asher?” she asked, her gaze staying fixed on him.
Asher gulped again and flicked an uncertain glance toward Tessa, looking like someone caught in the middle of something he was not prepared for.