Kiss Of The Alpha : A YA Paranormal Romance

Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Heather

"Will it make you feel better or worse if I go with you?"

Would it make me look weak to need him to hold my hand? Probably. Did I care? Not really. Having him in the same room centered me. "That would actually be great. You don’t mind?"

"Cherie." I grinned at his look of exasperation.

"What wouldn’t I do for you?"

"I don’t know." But I was starting to think that there really wasn’t much.

He shook his head. "It’d be nice to have a little bit of an upper hand on something in this relationship." The words were a little mumbled.

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward me. "Thank you," I said when our lips were almost touching.

"For what?"

"For being you."

The sight of his dimpled grin made my heart race. He went the final little bit, and our lips touched. I wanted to breathe him in. His heart pounded as I ran my hands under his shirt.

He bit my lip. "You’re playing with something dangerous."

"Dangerous might not be so bad."

His eyes flashed golden for a split second. "Not yet. After the ceremony, then yes." He took a breath. "Merde, Heather. You’re making it really hard."

"That’s what she said."

His whole body shook as he laughed. "I walked into that one."

"Yup." I stood, and straightened my shirt. "Let’s go see Serena."

I pulled him out of the chair and grabbed my bag, tucking the books safely inside.

The infirmary was on the third floor of the admin building. I knew it well. When I first arrived at St. Francis’s I’d stayed in one of the infirmary’s rooms, but I’d been pretty out of it. Waking up with some crazy memories of being in a cage had made me jump out of the window. It probably wasn’t my smartest move.

Then I’d gotten bit by a nasty vamp and found myself back again. The infirmary was becoming my third home. One I never wanted, but that was life as a werewolf. At least that was my life as a werewolf.

Serena’s room was like any of the other rooms in the infirmary—tiny. One window let in a bit of light. A twin bed took up the center, and cabinets lined the wall to the left of the bed.

A cushy brown leather chair took up the corner in the right side of the room. Leslie sniffled, crying softly as she slouched forward in it. Her face was pale, and her freckles stood out in stark contrast. Adrian sat next to her, his arm around her shoulders. A look of resignation was visible in his eyes.

Xander stood at the side of the bed, holding Serena’s hand. He was the only one of us who hadn’t seen her yet. He met my gaze. "It’s worse than I thought."

She seemed peaceful as she lay there. Her features were relaxed while the drugs kept her in a deep, coma-like sleep, but her cheekbones stood out too much to mistake her for anything other than sick. Her skin had taken on a pale yellowish-green tint.

Dark circles lined her eyes. It wasn’t just the way she looked physically, but the way she smelled. Slightly sour. Slightly chemically, possibly from metabolizing the drugs.

An IV ran into her arm, keeping a steady stream going into her system.

I stepped up to the bed. She’d been fine last night. Happy, glowing, and loving life. And now, she was at death’s door. What the hell happened?

Heels clicked down the hallway toward us. As far as I knew there was only one person at St. Francis’s who wore stilettos.

"She’s wasting away," I said to Dr. Gonzales.

She stood in the doorway, letting us surround our friend. "There’s not much I can do. I’m pumping nutrients into her body, but a werewolf’s metabolism is incredibly rapid."

I leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You stay alive. Give me a chance to fix it." I rubbed my hands on my jeans. Doing this with an audience wasn’t going to be fun. "I’m not sure how long this might take or if it’ll even work."

"Take your time," Adrian said. "We’ll wait."

Xander left the room abruptly. I thought he was giving me space and maybe the others would take the hint, but he came back a second later with a chair. He placed it behind me and motioned to it. "There. Just in case you need it."

"Thanks." I sat down and scooted it right up to Serena’s bed. I took a deep breath, and told myself to relax. This was going to work.

Brent stood beside me. I grabbed his hand, trusting that he would keep his own walls up so that he wouldn’t give me anything of his to ’see,’ and blocked out everything else in the room. I leaned forward. "Show me when Luciana cursed you. Show me what happened," I said before putting my other hand in hers. It only took a second before my surroundings gave way to the vision.

I was in a room done in pink and white. A little girl with white-blonde hair played with a dollhouse. She whispered as she moved the dolls around.

"Nerd. Are you talking to your dolls again?" A tall blond teenage guy came into the room.

"I wouldn’t have to if I had someone to play with."

"Where is everyone?"

"Matt’s at soccer. Micah and Miles went for a run. Mom and Dad are out."

Whoa. Her parents really had a thing for M-names.

"So it’s just you and me?"

"Yup."

"Alright, well I’m not playing with dolls. Let’s go."

Serena’s young face shined as she grinned and raced across the room to him.

"Serena," I said into the vision. "Show me what happened. Please."

Light flared. I couldn’t see anything. I heard distant voices echoing along the white expanse.

Someone was sobbing. A girl. Serena.

And then, just as quickly as it started, it faded.

A wolf whined.

The white dimmed until I could make out shadows. Colors. I blinked, and suddenly I was in a field. Bluebonnets blanketed the ground. Wolves ran by me. A light brown one caught up with a smaller white one, and nipped at her tail. The sight of the two wolves playing made me smile.

This wasn’t what I needed to see.

"Please, Serena. Show me what happened when you were cursed. Show me what I need to see," I said in the vision.

The blinding white light came again. This time, I shielded my eyes with my hand.

The sobbing came again. And the sadness. Just a taste of it, and then gone.

Familiar sounds surrounded me. Utensils clinking against plates. People chatting. Two people—girls—were yelling. I peeked through my fingers.

I was in the cafeteria at St. Francis’s. Serena and Callista stood nose to nose. Shouting at each other.

"You think you can say that kind of shit about me and get away with it," Serena yelled.

Leslie grabbed Serena’s arm, pulling her away from Callista as Mr. Langdon came running. Before anyone could stop her, Serena reached down into the plate piled high with loaded mashed potatoes. Her fingers sunk into them, and she threw them in Callista’s face.

Everyone in the cafeteria froze for a second before a full-on food fight broke out.

I laughed. Hard. That was the best. I couldn’t wait for Serena to wake up. We so needed to talk about that.

As fun as these images were, I wasn’t seeing anything of consequence. How was I supposed to get one specific image? I needed the scene with Luciana.

"Show me what happened with Luciana," I said to Serena. She didn’t acknowledge me at all in the vision, but the light flared again.

The sobbing came again. Louder this time. Beating guy against me in the empty white canvas.

As the sobbing slowed, the next vision came into view. The cabinets were the first thing I could make out. Then countertops. A stove.

I was in a kitchen. It was huge, bigger than the whole downstairs of my house in California.

Serena sat at the counter, and her mother stood across from her.

Her mom looked like she’d stepped out of a magazine. White-blond hair hung in perfect silky curls down her back. The printed wrap dress wasn’t inherently sexy, but somehow, it showed off her curves. With the wedge sandals, she had to have been over six feet tall.

Now I knew where Serena got her looks.

"You need to find a mate, honey. It’s time."

Serena shook her head. "I can’t, Mom. Even if I liked any of the guys at school, I’m cursed."

"It’s your duty to the pack to find a mate. I don’t care who you pick, but pick someone. And soon. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mom. I understand."

This was messed up. Didn’t Serena’s mother care about what her daughter wanted at all?

Her mother passed her a binder.

"What’s this?"

"Possible matches."

Yuck. She had an actual binder of men.

"All of the potential mates in there have been advised of your situation and are willing to take you on as is."

Jesus. As is? What was she, a car?

"Serena!" I yelled. "Show me something relevant. I need to know how I can help you! Please!"