Chapter - 3

Ivy's POV 

"I thought I told you to stay in the room."

"You did."

"Then why are you following me?"

I used his tactic from before on him. "Because," I said.

"Because what?"

"Just because," I grinned. Aside from his lips twitching a little, I didn't get much of a reaction but it was enough to let me know that he was amused too and not overly bothered that I was following him. So I continued to trail behind him. 

After spending a few minutes with him, I had soon realised that Chris wasn't a man of many words, nor did he show much emotion. But even though he didn't give much away, it was somehow easy for me to judge his mood. 

It was weird how deeply attuned to his emotions I was but I didn't pay much attention to the thought as I focused on keeping up with his fast pace. I knew for a fact that if I lost sight of him, I'd definitely get lost in this maze of a mansion he lived in.

Each hallway looked the same with gold and off white walls, large wooden doors on the side at equal intervals, a hardwood floor and ornate gold chandeliers which hung from the ceiling, giving the place an almost royal look. 

Soon we came to a staircase and took it down, then another, until Chris turned into a hallway. 

We walked a few steps down the hallway before Chris opened one of the doors and walked in, me behind him.

The smell of disinfectant hit me at once and I wrinkled my nose. If the smell wasn't enough, then the appearance of the room and the doctors and nurses roaming about were a clear enough indication that we had walked into a mini hospital of some sort. Three hospital beds lined the walls on either side and on one of them lay a little girl, not older than fourteen with doctors hovering over her.

"Lily," Chris breathed out, his voice pained.

I frowned. The girl looked like she was in a lot of pain for she kept groaning every now and then. Her blonde hair was sticking to her forehead with how much she was sweating and her baby blue eyes looked glazed over, like she had no idea where she was or what was happening around her. 

I watched silently as Chris walked over to her, taking her pale hand in his. 

"Lily?" He called out.

The girl didn't respond.

Chris turned to the doctors. "What's happening?"

"It appears that she was infected this morning so we have roughly twenty four hours at the most, Alpha. She has been drifting in and out of consciousness like others before her," the doctor replied, his tone apologetic.

Chris swore softly under his breath before standing up. "Do all that you can to make this as painless for her as possible," he ordered, his tone both cold and authoritative, his face showing no emotion at all but I could feel the anger and hopelessness radiating off of him in waves.

I looked at the little girl again. The girl seemed important to him. Who was she? His sister?

She looked too young to be his sister but then again, she couldn't have been his daughter either. She seemed too old for that. 

My train of thought came to a screeching halt when the door to the room opened with a bang. 

A woman with a purple bob came bustling in followed by the man I had seen earlier. He was the same one who had accompanied Chris to the cell I was being held captive in.

"Thankfully, she was nearby when I called and she came over as quickly as she could," the man explained. Ryan, I think his name was. Now that I wasn't entirely distracted by Chris, I could focus on him more clearly. The guy was a little rough around the edges what with his shaggy blonde hair and beard. He gave off a don't mess with me vibe but his baby blue eyes softened his features somehow. All in all, he was pretty good looking. 

"Is that the girl?" the purple haired woman asked, already moving towards Lily, making me turn my head to look at her. 

Was she a doctor? She sure looked like one. She had the kindest eyes I had ever seen, her soft features giving her an almost motherly vibe. I decided I liked her almost instantly.

Chris nodded at her. "Thanks for coming, Gwen." 

Then he looked at me, his piercing grey eyes pinning me to place. "Let's give her some space to work, shall we?" 

I nodded at him, waiting for him to leave, too, so I could follow behind him. When no one else in the room moved, I realised the statement was directed only at me. 

He wanted me to leave the room.

Well, that wasn't awkward at all.

I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable before nodding at him and leaving.

I stood outside the door, wringing my hands as I waited for Chris to make an appearance again. I put my ear to the door and tried to hear what was going on inside when it had been a few minutes already and no one had come out but I couldn't hear anything.

I felt anxious about what was happening to the little girl. I didn't know her from Adam but she was still a human and I wanted her to be okay. The doctor had said that she only had twenty four hours. 

Did that mean she was going to die soon? 

I pushed the thought away as soon as it had come. It was too painful to comprehend. She was too young to die. No, she couldn't. Besides, Chris was trying his best to save her somehow. I was sure he would figure it out.

Footsteps echoed in the long hallway, making me turn to look behind me. 

A man dressed in a suit hurried down the hallway, not even pausing to spare me a glance in his haste. 

I raised at brow at that. What kind of a place was this anyway? It didn't look like a home to me, at least not entirely. I mean what kind of a house had a holding cell and a mini hospital and had people roaming about like that? 

I was tempted to explore the place on my own but the fear of getting lost in these large maze like hallways kept me rooted to my spot.

Soon enough, the door opened and Chris stepped out, followed by Gwen and Ryan. Ryan nodded at Chris before leaving.

And then there were three.

"Yes, Ivy, I know. I can count," Chris said, his tone amused.

Had I said that out loud? I had a strong urge to facepalm but restraint myself. 

"Yes, you did," this time it was Gwen who answered, looking like she was trying hard not to laugh. 

This time I did facepalm, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. I really needed to get my habit of speaking my thoughts out loud checked. 

"You do," Chris replied and though his face remained expressionless, his eyes were full of laughter.

I groaned, putting my hands to my cheeks. "If you're done making fun of me, can we just go?"

"She's quite entertaining, where did you find her?" Gwen asked, her lips pulled up into an amused smile.

Chris shrugged. "Two idiots brought her to me," he explained.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, go ahead and talk about me as if I'm not here. I don't mind at all."

Chris turned to me. "It's a good thing that you don't."

Either he didn't know how to read sarcasm or he was ignoring my mocking tone. Judging by the way his lips twitched, it was the clearly latter. He was laughing me in his mind! I narrowed my eyes at him. "You're enjoying making fun of me a little too much, don't you think so?" 

"No, I don't." 

The nerve of this man! I opened my mouth to argue but Gwen's laughter cut me off, making me turn to look at her. "You guys form quite a pair," she said, her eyes dancing between the two of us almost fondly.

"Right." Chris cleared his throat. "So, is there a way that you can help her?" He asked, cutting straight to the chase now.

Gwen sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm afraid there's not much I can do other than ease her pain. Whatever it is, it is beyond my realm of expertise. I can give her a few things which will make her a bit comfortable and reduce the pain, but that's about it."

Chris' features hardened at her words and he nodded once. "Very well. Do what you can, coordinate with the doctors and have them what needs to be done," he ordered.

Gwen nodded before turning to go back inside.

I looked over at Chris. I could tell that not being able to do something to help the little girl was troubling him like no other and I wanted to comfort him. I reached out and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure the doctors will figure something out." 

I didn't know what was wrong with Lily but I was hoping they'd be able to figure out a way to save her.

Chris shook his head, his jaw clenching. "Nothing can be done now," he said, his tone final.

"Don't loose hope, Chris." 

He shook my hand off. "You don't understand. She's going to die. There's nothing anyone can do to help." 

"Don't say that. The doctors are trying their best to save her. And even if something happens, it definitely won't be for lack of trying," I told him.

Chris turned to me, his eyes burning with an emotion I couldn't quite place as he looked down at me. He didn't say anything for a few moments before letting out a long sigh. "Why do you even care, Ivy? You don't even know me, let alone her. Then why are trying to comfort me? Why are you so worried about whether she lives or dies?" 

"Because Lily is just a little girl who doesn't deserve to die so early," I replied softly. And as for why I wanted to comfort him, I didn't know. All I knew was that I didn't like seeing him this way.

"No, she doesn't," Chris whispered back, closing his eyes briefly. 

They seemed clearer, sharper as he opened them again and looked at me. "You were telling me that you wanted to find your mother before we came down here, right?"

I nodded at him. "Yes, I do. And I will." 

He raised a brow at me. "And how do you plan on doing that?" 

I faltered. Between planning my father's funeral and taking note of all the debr he had left behind for me, I hadn't had much time to figure out a game plan. 

"I uh, I'll figure something out." 

"Well, what if I help you out?" 

I frowned. "Why would you do that?" 

"Your father was doing a research before he died. It was of importance to me. I believe your mother would be able to tell me more about it." 

Even though my mother was a writer, she understood enough science to be able to listen to my father babble on about his work. They would often spend time in his lab together so it was possible that she would know about his research. Besides, Chris seemed powerful enough and I could definitely use some help.

So I nodded at him. "Some help would actually be great."