Page 72 of Alpha Chase

My heart plummets so hard that it feels like it falls out of my ass, ripped from my body and lying on the pavement at my feet. Panic leaches into my bones, all the color draining from my face. “What?” I rasp, blood going cold as my body stiffens. “Is she okay? Where is she?!”

“Yeah, man, they took her to the infirmary at the squad complex,” he mutters, looking down at his phone again. “I guess she was nearby when she wrecked. Nessa’s there with her now.”

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

I shove my bag off the tailgate and into the bed of the truck, yanking my keys from my pocket and rounding the bumper to head for the driver’s side door.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Cal asks as I shoulder past him.

It’s a miracle I can hear his words through the blood flooding my ears, let alone get out any of my own, given the complete lack of oxygen in my lungs. “No,” I choke, throwing the door open and climbing in. I toss a thumb over my shoulder, meeting Cal’s eyes. “Grab your shit and catch a ride with Alec. I gotta go.”

Callum nods quickly, hauling his bag onto his shoulder and jogging around to the tailgate to retrieve his board. Sensing the urgency, Levi collects his shit in record time, and as soon as they slam the tailgate closed and move out of the way, I’m peeling out of my parking spot, flooring it toward the squad complex.

There are moments in life when time moves differently. Sometimes it races, so fast that you can hardly blink. Other times it slows, stretching each second on for an eternity. The last situation where I remember time breaking from its usual construct was when my dad was killed. Time ground to a halt out there on that battlefield, my limbs turning to lead weights and my eyes frozen wide in horror as his neck was snapped and his throat was torn open. Time moved so slowly that I swear I saw every drop of his blood fall onto the snow, staining it red before his body fell.

Time moved the opposite way when it came to my mother’s death. With my father’s blood still dripping from her jaws, she turned on me, ready to snuff me out next. In the next blink, her throat was torn open, and she was lying on the ground beside my father, blood pooling around her body and soaking into the snow like red ink. Serena and Fallon had taken her down, avenging my father and saving me from the same fate; something I’ve never been able to adequately thank them for.

I break every traffic law on my way to the squad complex, but the drive that I manage in ten minutes feels like it takes ten years, time playing that nasty trick on me again. I move so mechanically that I’m not sure if I even cut the engine to my truck or close the door- I’m just out and running, breathless, barreling in the doors and down the hallways of the complex, because not even something as finite as time can keep me from Vienna.

She has to be okay.

There’s no other fucking option.

Bursting into the corridor that houses the infirmary, I spot Juliet and Nessa standing in the hall just outside the door, talking in low voices. Jax’s sister Juliet trained as a medic in preparation for the war with the shadow pack, and she stayed on at the complex afterward to continue her training. She’s talked about going to school to study medicine, but given our unique healing abilities, I’m not sure how useful most traditional medical practices would be for pack life. Still, I’m glad she’s here- Juliet knows what she’s doing, so if she’s been helping take care of Vienna, then my girl has been in good hands.

“Where is she?” I demand, skidding to a stop in front of Nessa and Juliet. My chest heaves as I struggle to catch my breath, my hands curling into fists at my sides, fingernails digging into my palms.

“Chase?” Juliet’s eyebrows fly up like she’s surprised to see me, but she quickly steadies her expression, going straight into professional mode. She reaches out, setting a hand on my forearm, giving me a little nod. “She’s fine.”

“No thanks to you,” Nessa grumbles, and my eyes shift to catch her glare.

Juliet sighs, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. “She’s resting right now. She had several broken bones, so we put her out to set them. She should wake up in a few hours and as long as she gets a lot of rest and fluids, she should be all healed up by tomorrow.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, flicking Juliet’s hand away and scrubbing my own over my face. “I need to see her…” I take a step toward the door, but Nessa shakes her head, stepping in my path.

“Nuh uh, you’re not going near that girl,” she hisses, angry eyes trained on mine.

Juliet raises her brows again, eyes pinging between Nessa and me. “Uh, I’m just gonna…” she throws a thumb over her shoulder toward the doorway, sliding past Nessa to return to the infirmary.

I glare down at Nessa, thinking that if this girl doesn’t move in two fucking seconds, I’m going to have to forcibly remove her from this doorway.

“You know I used to be team Chase,” Nessa quips, fury radiating off of her as her wolf peeks through her irises.

I’ve only ever seen Nessa with a sunshiny smile on her face, so the look she has right now is a stark departure from the norm. It’s almost comical seeing this demure, sweet girl all puffed up with her claws out. I’d laugh if I didn’t feel like I was dying inside right now.

“I told her to give you a chance, thought you two would be great together, until I learned what a colossal ass you’ve been,” she admonishes, pointing a finger in my face and narrowing her eyes into little slits. “She told me what you said, you know. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

I nod, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “I am.”

Nessa’s eyes fly open in surprise.Guess she didn’t see that coming. Her mouth rounds into an ‘o’, her posture shifting as she lowers her finger, resting both hands on her hips and steeling her resolve. Those eyes narrow again, cutting through me. “Well, she deserves better.”

“Yeah,” I agree, nodding my head again. “Fuck, I know she does.” My voice breaks and I heave a sigh, fisting my hair. “I’m not gonna let anyone else have her, though, so I guess that means I’ll just have to be better.”

She assesses me for a moment, like she’s trying to figure out what my angle is here, but she won’t find one; I’ve never been so fucking sincere. I don’t really give a shit if she believes me anyways- I don’t need her approval, I just need her to get the fuck out of my way.

“Listen, Nessa, I get that she’s your friend, but there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me feel any worse,” I grind out. “I already know it’s my fault. I beat myself up the whole way here. I just need to see her, and while I don’t condone violence toward women, if you don’t move right now, I’m going to have to physically remove you from this doorway.”

Nessa’s eyes flash in challenge, and for a second, I consider pulling out the big guns and using Alpha command. Before I can, though, her gaze softens, the corner of her mouth tipping up into a little smirk. “Jeez, caveman. You don’t have to resort to threats.” She takes a little step sideways and I seize the opening, pushing past her into the infirmary.

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