Chapter 92 - It’s nice to meet you

EMMA

Hadrian is here, in Aldea.

He has been in the infirmary and has been unconscious. His wounds are stitched and the blood is cleaned from his skin. He shouldn’t have to get stitches like humans. They are painful to look at, but the burns bother me the most.

They run almost in circles around his underarms. They are blistered and exposed to air in order to heal. The burns on his left hand are the worst.

I know they come from silver and I wonder what happened. How did he get burns that deep?

I place my hand over his and hope that somehow they heal like they used to. Or that I can magically share my healing abilities.

Hadrian is battered and bruised. He is wounded and burned. I don’t know what happened, but it has been a lot.

“They cannot know who you are,” I whisper out loud. I voice my deepest fear, that all this will be for nothing. My voice is quiet, but I can see the slight twitch in his brows and his lips turn downward.

*He heard me!*

“He’s waking up!” I say a little too loud.

I think I might faint. My soul is jumping with excitement, my heart is squeezing with fear and my head is pounding with a headache.

“Emma.” Doctor Harold warns as he walks into the room.

I quickly let go of Hadrian’s hand. I move away from the bed until my back hits the back wall. Doctor Harold warned me not to come too close to his patients multiple times. This is not the first time he catches me lurking around the infirmary.

Doctor Harold has a deep scowl that deepens the lines in his face. He has blue eyes and gray hair. He could have been my grandfather.

He’s grumpy and his permanent scowl is mostly directed at me. It’s either that I come too close to his patients or my unsolicited advice is unwelcome. He doesn’t care for my herbal medicine and it makes me feel useless.

Doctor Harold is followed by Dex, who is flanked by Alex and Kelsey. Dex always has people around him. Most of the time it’s Carter or Ben.

Doctor Harold retrieves a pen from his white coat and scribbles some things on a white notepad.

Dex sends me a wide smile when he spots me. Alex and Kelsey join me at the wall and out of the way for the doctor. ‘Grumpy old man’ Alex mutters low enough for only me to hear and I have to hold back a snort. Doctor Harold looks at us with narrowed eyes and I feel like a kid receiving a reprimand.

Dex turns to the bed where Hadrian stays. His face momentarily loses its friendliness. “My friends tell me that you were wandering around in the forest.”

I turn my attention back to Hadrian and notice that he’s woken up. He’s looking at me and his amber eyes are strained.

“Why are you here, stranger?” Dex takes his package of cigarettes from his pocket and tabs it until one falls out.

Hadrian tears his eyes from me and looks at the people around. He moves to sit up on the bed and every movement is costing him much energy. He looks down his arm with a frown, then back at me and finally turns his gaze at Dex. “I lost my… wife.” His voice is rough and raspy.

My heart pounds a thousand beats a minute. Perspiration gathers on my scalp as my temperature rises. Hearing his voice again does so many things to my body. My subconscious didn’t do him justice in my dreams. Everything about him is so much more intense in reality.

“That’s so sad.” Kelsey pouts next to Alex and places a hand over her heart.

Dex nods in understanding. “We’ve all lost loved ones to those filthy *mutants.*” The sourness in his voice travels to the set in his mouth. Dex takes his lighter from his pocket and burns the end of his cigarette.

“I can make him forget all about his wife,” Alex mutters beside me and Kelsey suppresses a giggle. Hadrian is stoic as his gaze goes to them and then to me.

I was his mate, I’m the wife he lost. It doesn’t seem like Dex and the others realize who he is and it makes me breathe easier.

Dex takes a pull from his cigarette. “Are you here to join us?”

Hadrian gives a confirmative nod.

“We could use some strong muscles around here.” Dex gives him a charming smile that he shares abundantly. “What’s your name, stranger?”

My heart finds a new racketing pace and it drums in my ears.

“Jack.” Hadrian grumbles.

*He remembers.* He listened when I said that I sometimes wished he was just a regular guy named Jack. He knows that his name doesn’t fit in.

Hadrian tries to get up from the bed and Dex is quick to help him with a hand. I can practically feel the fumes coming from Doctor Harold as he leaves the room with a low mutter.

When Hadrian stands he’s quick to move away from Dex.

Dex chuckles at the grumpy newcomer. “So, you’re a married man.”

“I am,” Hadrian says and his eyes briefly flit my way.

“She must be a great girl if you’ll leave everything behind for her,” Kelsey says with an envious sigh.

“She is everything to me, I’m not leaving anything behind.” Hadrian grumbles.

Dex’s smile disappears and is replaced by empathy. “I’m sorry, man.”

My heart beats so loud and hard that I think I might faint. I thought it was broken, but now it beats with more force than ever before.

“Too bad Alex, the man is taken and very loyal judging by his aura,” Kelsey whispers just a little bit too loud.

“We’ll see,” Alex says. The determination in her voice is clear, Alex never loses a challenge.

Dex chuckles when he sees the same determination I see. He fistbumps Hadrian’s uninjured shoulder. “I have a feeling you’re going to break some hearts around here.”

Hadrian directs his scowl from his shoulder to Dex. *Yes, prickly werewolf, that right there is a very touchy human.*

If I wasn’t so nervous and tense, then I would’ve laughed.

Dex takes in his arms and the smile disappears. I follow his gaze to the blistering wounds on his underarms. “Emma can help you with that, right Em?”

“Em?” Hadrian repeats low with a threat of a crackling growl. He clenches his injured fist and his chest rises and falls with building strain.

“Right, let me introduce you.” Dex slaps a hand on his shoulder and directs him towards us.

“These are Kelsey, Alex and Emma.” He points to us individually and finally his hand lands on my shoulder and travels from my shoulder blade to my waist. He gives me a proud smile. “Emma is our local hero in more ways than one.”

I start to think that the girls might be right. Dex looks at me with pride and presents me like I’m his girlfriend or something. Like I belong at his side. “She has been healing a lot of the sick with her medicine.”

I turn to look at Hadrian and his posture is stoic, but all-encompassing fury burns in his eyes. I remember the time Hadrian broke Callum's shoulder when I hugged him.

His words were clear then. *You’re mine.*

I step forward and away from Dex. I reach out a hand to Hadrian. “Hi, it— it's nice to meet you.”

Hadrian roams his eyes over me and my skin burns under his gaze. For a second he eyes my hand before he envelopes his big hand around mine.

I gasp when his hand touches mine. Electricity shoots through my whole body, from the tips of my fingers to my toes. It leaves a shiver over my spine and runs over my scalp. His hand is warm and it lures me to come closer. My eyes flutter at the wave of peace coming over me and I desperately want to sink in his arms.

His eyes turn warm first and scorching next. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

I’m trapped in his gaze and I never want to leave. His thumb brushes over my wrist and I don’t want him to let go. A push at my side sends me flying two steps to the side and my hand tears from Hadrian.

My spot is replaced by Alex, who not so subtly bumps me aside. My hand is replaced by hers and I swallow away the feeling of irritation.

“I’m Alex, like Dex mentioned,” Alex says with a purr. She angles her body to show her supple curves and overall great physique.

From my place a few feet away I can see how they would look together and I can’t deny that they physically seem a better fit. Not that she would want to come near him if she knew the truth. Alex despises werewolves.

If the truth comes out, everything I have here will collapse. All the lies would have been for nothing. They either kill Hadrian or the lives of the people in town will fall. I can’t let either of that happen.