Chapter 52

I woke up feeling lost. I’d had a dreamless sleep but it wasn’t a restful one. I felt exhausted. What had those bitches given me?
It was dark and I was alone in the room. Everywhere was eerily quiet. It seemed as if I was the only one in the hospital.
I waited on my bed for a few seconds to hear any sounds from outside my room but there was nothing. The only window in the room was closed and I was feeling trapped.
I got off the bed in my hospital gown and walked to the door. When I opened it and peered down the corridor, everywhere was empty. Only one light bulb was switched on.
I tiptoed out of my room toward the exit of the recovery ward where I was. The nurse’s station was also empty. That was weird.
The door to the doctor’s office was open and I looked in. There was nobody there. What kind of hospital was this?
My escape from the hospital ward was surprisingly easy with nobody to stop me. However, as I approached the main exit of the hospital, I saw that there was a guard stationed there. He was unarmed and looked bored to death.
I couldn’t make up my mind whether to go back to the ward or continue my escape. I stood where I was, watching him as he stared into the distance.
Suddenly, his nostrils flared and I knew that he had smelled me. He looked in my direction and found me standing there.
“Hey, you’re awake,” he said with an instant grin. “I was told to notify Andrew when you woke up.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Where else? At the Alpha House, of course,” he replied. “Grab a seat and sit down. I’ll holler at someone outside to hurry to the Alpha House and let him know that you are awake.”
“Sure, thanks,” I said but I did not grab a seat to sit down.
As soon as he stepped outside, I hurried back towards the recovery ward and made a detour to the doctor’s office. I went in and opened the window. Thankfully, there was no bar on it and it was wide enough for me to wiggle my slender body through it.
I landed on my feet outside the hospital and breathed in crisp, fresh air for the first time in many hours. What a relief to be free again.
I wasn’t familiar with the area but I was sure that if I focused my senses, I could figure my way out of the Riverlands. I began to jog, knowing that the guard may be searching for me already.
I jumped over the low fence bordering the hospital with ease. The streets were deserted except for a few people who were strolling by in pairs or singles.
“Are you lost?” One of them asked me while eying my hospital gown curiously.
“Er… not really,” I replied cautiously. “I’m on my way out of Riverland.”
“Dressed like that?” Asked the unimpressed Good Samaritan.
I ignored the rude look he gave me and cleared my throat. “Can you point me in the right direction, please?”
“There she is!”
I looked in the direction of the voice and it turned out to be the hospital guard and Andrew. They seemed to have been looking for me. I turned in the opposite direction and started running.
“Stop, Jade!” Andrew called but I didn’t stop.
“Is she like a criminal or something?” I heard the rude Good Samaritan asking as I continued to run.
Within seconds, Andrew caught up with me and grabbed my arm, stopping my sprint.
“Where do you think you are going?” He asked me. He was barely panting despite the distance he had just run.
“Let me go!” I shouted at him. I tried to break free from his grip but I couldn’t.
“Why?” He asked me compassionately. “Where would you go?”
“Anywhere but here!” I yelled in his face. “I thought you rescued me from that dungeon out of the goodness of your heart. I didn’t know you had hidden motives.”
“What do you mean?” He asked innocently.
“Your assistant, Paula. She brought me bridal dresses,” I said pinning him with a hard stare. “What the hell was that about?”
Even in the dark, I could see him blushing. He looked embarrassed and glanced around to see if anyone else could hear our conversation.
The guard had returned to his post after Andrew caught me and the other strangers had gone on their merry way. So, we were basically alone.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said. “I mean, I’m sorry you had to hear it from someone else first. I was going to tell you before you met my parents.”
I was shocked. “So, it’s true?” I asked him incredulously. “You want me to be your mate? I don’t even know you!”
“I understand your surprise, but please, hear me out.”
“I’m listening.”
He sighed. “So, here’s the thing. There’s something about my pack that you probably don’t know about.”
“What’s that?”
“Unlike other werewolf packs, we don’t feel any mate bond here.”
I was amazed. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“It’s not a common thing but it’s normal in the River Pack.”
“So how do you find a mate?”
“The pack elders choose our mates for us or if you’re fortunate enough to fall in love with someone and they feel the same way about you, then you could become mates.”
“I see…”
“Yeah. That was why Antonio ran off to Apex Woods, claiming to be in love with Brianna Braveheart whom he only met once by chance. It was his perfect excuse to get out of here.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “Where does that leave me?”
He sighed again. “I have been offered many she-wolves to be my mate but I was never attracted to any of them as I was to you.”
“Andrew, I was beaten, battered and tied up in an underground cell. How was that attractive?”
“Not then,” he said quickly. “In the hospital, after you shifted into a woman and they cleaned you up. Your bright red hair and dazzling green eyes drew me in.”
I shook my head slowly. “Listen to me, Andrew, you don’t know me and I am not a good match for you. Besides, I am not looking for a mate right now. I just want to get out of here and find a place to call my home.”
“This place can be your home,” he said passionately. “We can get to know each other for the rest of our lives.”
I sighed. “Look, even if I agree to be your mate, your folks here don’t like me. Paula and one of the nurses connived to put me in a drugged sleep. She said if they aren’t good enough for you, then I can’t be either.”
He cursed under his breath. “I’m going to fire Paula tonight. Can you describe the nurse?”
“Whoa, calm down. You don’t have to fire anybody. Just let me go.”
His expression softened again. “Please, Jade. Don’t leave me. My parents are getting impatient with me and I am desperate. Please, be my mate and rescue me from my lonely life.”
This was odd. I was the one who needed saving but here was the son of the Alpha, begging me to be his mate. What an irony!
“Look, even if I agree to stay, I am not going to agree to this sudden mating with you,” I said honestly. “It just doesn’t feel right. For me, at least.”
“Ok, let’s do it this way. Why don’t we announce our engagement tomorrow and then get mated in a few weeks?”
“Make that a few months,” I said.
He looked pained. “Two months.”
“Three.”
“Done.”
“Great. That’s by far the easiest negotiations I’ve ever had ever,” I said.
He grinned. “I think we are going to enjoy being each other’s companions,” he said.
“We’ll see about that,” I replied.
“So, are you ready to meet my parents?”
“No.”
He laughed. “They’re not like most Alphas and Lunas. My parents are chill. You’ll like them.”
“So, you say.”
“You’ll see. Shall we go to the Alpha House now?”
“Do I have a choice?”
He smiled at me patiently. “Everything is going to be all right, Jade. You’re a phoenix rising out of the ashes to be reborn. If you stay here with me, one day, you will rule the Riverlands beside me.”
It seemed unlikely to me but I didn’t want to burst his bubbles just yet. I’m going to play along with his little charade for now and then make my escape when the time was right.
“That sounds nice,” I said.
My response pleased him greatly. He led me by the arm, taking me to the Alpha House which would be my home for the time being. I was looking forward to the experience but there was nothing I could do about it for now.