Chapter 2: Hospital

Leo

'What the hell did you just do?' Liam charges towards me as he shifts mid-air.

'You wanted to kill her!' I send him a mind-link.

'I wanted to reject her!'

'But you don’t know how your rejection might affect her.'

'Why are you concerned about her? Do you want her?' He growls.

'Don't be ridiculous!'

'I didn't know you could be so heartless, I was trying to set her free.'

'This isn't about her, it's always about you.'

'You can have her, I don't care. She is of no use to me. Let me reject her fir...'

'She is your mate!' I snap.

'You should look in the mirror. You rejected three mates. You have no right to judge me.'

'You are not going to reject her!'

'I can't have a human mate, man. Especially since there is a possibility of...' He trails off.

'Being the alpha in the future?' I interject, the bitterness in my tone unmasked.

'I don’t see why not. Especially since Alpha Hunter can’t stand...'

I hiss, and with a growl, I make slow threatening movements towards him, rage cursing through every vein in my body.

With every step I take toward him, he takes a step back, and I notice a fraction of fear and uncertainty in his eyes. I need to remind this disrespectful idiot that I'm from the alpha bloodline.

I continue to torment him, my wolf's ego feeding on the increasing volume of his heartbeat and the uncertainty in his eyes.

'I wonder what your father would say when I kill you,' he says as he continues to step back.

'You know I'm gonna get out of here with your head in my hand.'

'I don't care, you'll be hunted down and killed for invasion. You are practically a rogue.'

I pause, my head clearing in seconds.

'How does it feel? Using the scent masking potion and coming here to watch me live your life from the sidelines?' He taunts.

I bare my teeth at him. 'Enjoy being my father's lap dog while it lasts. He is going to turn on you.'

'Leave, Leo. There is no place for you here,' he spits.

"Liam," Lucy's voice puts our tiff to a stop as he turns his head in the direction of her voice.

I turn the other way, making it my mission to run before she reaches the forest. When I get to the edge of the forest, I shift back and grab my clothes hidden behind a tree.

"Coming here to watch me live your life from the sidelines..." I grimace, the words replaying themselves on a loop. My grip on the steering wheel tightens, as I mindlessly drive to nowhere and my fury leads me to campus.

'Coward!' My wolf snarls. 'Always ready to bury yourself in work, I've had enough of this. Face your emotions!'

'I think you should open a school for wolf therapists.'

'Out of all werewolves, I was sent to be your wolf. Why did the moon goddess punish me?' He retorts. 'She's here.'

I feel a renewed sense of hope, as I follow the trail of her scent. I will stop at nothing to shatter Liam's fantasies.

My sister should be the alpha, not him. If I make Willow stay as far away from him as possible, that could prevent the rejection.

I will humiliate him in front of the pack, to see my father's face when he discovers that his replacement son has a human mate and that his mating ceremony to Lucy was fake.

The trail of the scent takes me to what is probably Willow's apartment, and I lift my knuckles to knock.

"Can I help you?" The icy and unwelcoming voice makes me forget my words for a second.

This is going to be fun.

I gawk at her, her hair in a thousand different directions, and my wolf growls in approval. I get images of her in bed, and her hair turning like that because of me.

"Hello?" She says impatiently, her eyebrows knitted and her lips pursed.

"Your life is in danger, Willow. You need to stay away from Liam."

"Wow! Did Lucy send you?" She rolls her brown eyes, and for the first time, I notice that they are puffy.

Guilt gnaws at me for a second. She has been crying for Liam.

I feel myself getting conflicted. That fool was right, the moment he rejects her, it will hurt, but he will be setting her free, but I need his human mate for my selfish reasons.

"Why would Lucy send me? I'm here to save your life."

"Look, I would like to stay and chat. Psychic. But I have to go, keep those warnings to yourself." She locks the door and briskly walks away, as I follow behind.

"Fine, I'll leave, but we both know that tonight, he would've killed you if he could. You saw it in his eyes."

She rolls her eyes again, without a hint of fear or alarm.

I walk in a different direction and hide behind a building.

As soon as she gets in the cab, I run to my car, bumping into a few confused students and mumbling apologies. I follow her in my car, and I make sure to keep a safe distance. She gets off at the airport.

Where is she going? I don't even know her surname to get someone to check for me. I easily eavesdrop on her conversation at the front desk.

I wait for her to go through the gate, and I find out that her flight would be leaving in two hours.

"Liam? Yes babe, I'm on my way to the hospital, thank you for your support." She says with the phone to her ear.

I sigh, watching the poor, clueless human melt under Liam's smooth words, even after witnessing his 'marriage ceremony'.

Humans get confused by werewolf mates. They don't fully understand what is going on, but no matter what the mate does, they will always go back, and they will always be loyal unless they get rejected, breaking the mate bond.

I book a first-class ticket with a different airline that would be leaving in two hours as well, and I growl as I think about the amount of time I will be spending at the airport.

I depend on her distinct scent to guide me when arrive in Minnesota. She gets in a cab and I rush to another cab.

"Follow that cab," I say to the first cab driver I come across.

"Dude, are you a stalker?"

I take five hundred dollars and wave the bills in the air.

"Let's go!" The cab driver says.

I sit outside the hospital as she disappears through the doors. Twenty minute later, a scream that could probably be heard throughout the entire hospital assaults my ears.

I follow Willow's scent and the sound of the scream.

I pause when I see her, sobbing, and looking helpless in the nurse's arms.

Her cries pierce through my heart, bringing memories of that fateful day with my mother.

I reluctantly walk to them, and I ask to hold her. The nurse allows me, probably assuming that we are close, and Willow doesn't look to see who is hugging her.

"You are going to be okay." I keep whispering when the screams have turned into sniffling.

My wolf suddenly stands at attention, growling with anger as Liam's scent gets stronger.

'Your stench is pretty strong,' I link him.

'What are you up to?' Liam glares at me, removing my arms with as much force as he can muster.

"Babe," he says to Willow.

"Babe, he is gone," she starts sobbing.

"I'm so sorry, baby. What happened?"

"Limbicus overdose."

"What?" His jaw clenches. "I told you I'm going to find the person responsible for the creation of the drug," he roars.

She nods, fresh tears coming out of her eyes.

"I will do everything in my power, babe." He glances at me with a smirk on his face. "We are going to find him."

Willow's eyes widen when she looks in my direction, as if she was not aware of my presence before, and I expect her to tell me to leave, but she doesn't comment.

"Babe, who is this?" Liam nods in my direction.

"A psychic," she says between sniffles.

"Willow."

A tall woman who looks almost the same age as her stands a few feet away. We all look at the lady who had just called her name.

Willow purses her lips, and they glower at each.

"You can go guys, thank you babe." She gives Liam a peck on the lips.

Then, her attention shifts to me. "Goodbye, psychic," and she shakes my hand.

I can't help but smirk.

'Stop stalking my girlfriend,' Liam grumbles as we walk out of the hospital.

"You are married. Does Lucy know about your human mate?" I raise my eyebrows.

"She knows," he shrugs. "You don't have to worry about me rejecting Willow. I have decided to keep her around for some time." He grins mischievously.

"What are you up to?"

"I have other plans. She is so mad right now..." He shakes his head with a chuckle. "I'm going to use her rage to my advantage. If I play my cards right, we are going to land you in prison."

"I think your heart is somewhere in the pits of hell," I grumble, regret washing over me. "You are trying to take advantage of her pain..." I clench my fists.

"Just to give you a heads up, she is a psycho. If she finds out you are the creator of limbicus, she is going to go nuts." He grins.

"She needs you, idiot!" I try to grasp at some non-existent hope that he might at least feel something for his mate.

Liam gets in a cab, beaming with pride, probably thinking that he has threatened me.

I linger at the hospital just in case Liam is bluffing, and he comes back to reject her. I take deep breaths, my mind racing with conflicting thoughts.

I use my super hearing to tune in on her conversation with her family, and I grimace as I overhear the conversation between Willow, her sister and her mother. She bolts out of the private waiting room, tears streaming down her face.

Damn it!