Page 28 of One Last Chance

“You only had that one glass of wine, right?” Even though I’m sobering up quickly with the worry coursing through my veins now, I still question myself. It was only that one glass he had the whole evening, I’m sure of it.

Rowland pulls away from my touch and straightens his back, holding onto the edge of the metal table. “Yes, but I really do feel a bit unwell now. How about we end it here, before I embarrass myself? Should I call you a taxi, or do you want me to take you home?”

I see on his face how desperately he tries to appear in control of himself. The moment he stands from the chair, he wobbles, so I jump to him and grab his shoulder to keep him balanced.

“There is no way I’m letting you drive anywhere like this!”

Rowland sighs and halfheartedly tries to shake me off. “I’m fine, really. Just a little…” He wobbles again, and I feel his muscles loosen under my touch.

He’s going to pass out and crack his head if I don’t get him to sit down.

I don’t want to argue, and I’m not sure if I can drag him inside—or if the people there would even appreciate it—so I look toward the car park a few steps away and notice his car in the far corner of it.

“Fine. How about we just go sit in your car?”

“Until I feel better, yeah,” he mutters, head down. He somewhat cooperates and follows me. I put his arm over my shoulder to keep us stable and take slow steps toward the parking lot.

With how close Rowland is, I smell the deep, intense scent of his pheromones. His sweat rolls down his chin and chest—coated in it,radiatingit. The intense fig and refreshing grass. As it fills my nose and my lungs, a faint sense of comforting sleepiness washes over me. Some lizard part of my brain wantsto just curl up on the ground together and bask in his scent, but I shake my head and make sure to get us to his car.

Rowland unlocks it for me, and I sit him in the back seat. He’s basically panting at this point, face glistening, eyes barely focused on me.

I kneel against the seat and bend down, touching his forehead again. “I don’t think this is just tiredness, Rowe.” I was worried before—now I’m freaking out.

Of course, the one person I finally have a connection with falls ill and will probably pass out. On our date. Just great.

“Shit,” he groans, rolling his head back over the car’s headrest and away from me. “I’m sorry, I just…” The way he slurs his words worries me, so I take my phone out and start dialing the ambulance.

“I will call someone to get you to the hospital, alright?”

I put the phone to my ear, but Rowland grabs it and squeezes my hand, narrowing his eyes. “I am fine.Really.”

“You’re not a very good liar,” I say softly. Drawing my brows together, I look at him firmly until he lets out a deep exhale and releases his grip on me. He swallows and leans back into the seat with eyes closed.

“Ambulance services. How may I assist you?” The call handler finally answers.

“Hi, I’m calling about my…partner,” I blurt out, unsure how else to explain the situation without wasting time. Rowland slowly rolls his head toward me again, smirking faintly at the sound of it. “He’s a male, alpha. He seems to run a fever, and is very dazed, sweaty and lethargic. I’m not…I’m not sure what’s going on.”

My stomach is in knots. The memory of calling an ambulance for my mom when I was seven and she knocked her head after falling from a ladder comes back to me, sending shivers down my back.

“Is the patient conscious?”

“Y-Yes.”

“I’m fine,” Rowland whispers.

“Is he breathing?”

“Yes.”

“Has he taken any drugs or medication?”

I tense up, remembering. “The pills. You were taking the pills for your…Androl Syndrome, right?” I ignore the woman on the phone for a moment and instead try to get Rowland’s attention. Tiredly, he opens his eyes and nods. “I saw you take some when I got here. How many have you taken?”

He sighs. “A few. A few too many, maybe…”

I frown, feeling the pit in my stomach grow deeper. “He takes some sort of suppressant for Androl Syndrome. He only had a glass of wine,” I say quickly into the phone.

A few too many? Why would he take more than he has to?

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