Page 29 of Fated to the Enemy Alpha

It was Stephen who answered. “You were shot, Lina. The bullets were laced with wolfsbane. But you’ve had an antidote. You’ll be fine.” Tension was evident in every line of his body, and his expression was taut. I ached to stroke it away, to say thank you for what he’d done in protecting me, despite it making my employees’ job harder.

“I’m sorry, my dear,” Magnus said finally. “My son should have guarded you better.” Rather than offering me any reassurance, he took my question as an opportunity to chastise his son again. I noticed that Stephen had set a metal dish down on one of the hospital trolleys nearby and was wiping at the wounds still covering his face.

My heart fluttered as I breathed in, trying to keep my pulse steady as I said, “Believe me, Alpha, I owe your son my life. If he hadn’t gotten me here, I might not be here at all.”

Magnus’s black look at his son didn’t lessen, but he deigned to say, “You’re safe now, I promise.”

I couldn’t help but feel angered by Magnus’s obvious indifference toward his own son’s injuries, choosing to criticize him for failing to prevent the attack rather than get the medical attention he needed.

A lump rose in my throat as I took in the deep lacerations Stephen had received from the glass being shot out when he’d been trying to protect me.

“Stephen, can I help with those?” I asked, a protective urge stealing through me as I looked at the way he was dabbing at his cuts.

His intense green eyes seemed to spark with something, but it was so fleeting I barely caught it.

He shook his head. “It’s fine. You need to rest. Your body’s still fighting off the poison.”

I nodded, trying not to let the disappointment show. Something in me ached to be close to him. The need to tend to his wounds made me want to reach out to him. I needed to get myself under control; otherwise, I’d just replace Magnus’s suspicion of me for one reason with another.

Magnus’s gaze was running over me as I feigned wooziness. “You’re right, I feel so tired,” I complained.

“That’ll be the poison,” Stephen said, taking a few steps closer as if he, too, wanted to be closer. But I forced my gaze to Magnus instead as I asked him, “Will you stay a while?”

Magnus’s dark brown eyes didn’t alter at all. He was as inscrutable as ever, as he agreed, “I’ll be right outside. We’ll get the nurse to give you something for the pain to help you sleep.”

“Thank you,” I said, settling down as if soothed, yet knowing all too well that Magnus’s offer of pain medication was likely more so I didn’t overhear them than out of consideration for my pain.

In another moment, Magnus walked out of the room, Stephen shadowing his father without a backward glance.

Left in the quiet of the room, my thoughts fell to their contrasting behavior, and I reconsidered my assumption that Stephen and Magnus were alike. Didn’t Stephen’s actions in shielding me during the attack, as well as his priority in getting me to the hospital, show that he possessed a compassionate and caring nature despite the coolness he generally hid behind? Whereas Magnus’s cold chastisement of his son’s actions during the attack, as well as his complete disregard for his injuries, proved all too well how cold and callous he was.

A moment later, the nurse came in and said, “Let’s get you some morphine.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m all right. I think I’ll be able to sleep without it,” I assured her.

She raised her eyebrows. “There’s no need to be a hero.”

I shook my head. “I’m feeling all right.”

She nodded. “Just buzz if you need anything,” she reminded me, checking my monitors before leaving me.

As the quiet settled over the room, I heard Magnus’s voice sounding once again. “The other matter I wanted to inform you of was the fact that the board’s decided to reinstate the Omega Concord Program.”

Omega Concord Program?

I knew that if I wanted to avoid his suspicion, it was essential I kept my vitals under control, no matter what I heard. I envisioned little Betty, hugging her to me, her faint earthy scent mixed with talcum powder after her bath. I sank deeper into the mattress, its support prickling over me, grounding me more.

“But that hasn’t been in place since the fifties, since my grandfather’s generation,” Stephen argued. His voice had an edge of shock to it. What was this company policy that I sensed had Stephen’s control hanging by a thread?

“Now, don’t be so quick to dismiss something just because it hasn’t been used since a previous generation. After all, I would have thought I’d taught you to respect your elders’ practices. What worked efficiently for past generations might well work for our pack again.”

“Well, I think it would undermine Blackthorn’s entire ethos and exploit our employees and packmates.”

“Sometimes, a packmate’s merit isn’t in their business prowess but in their more physical attributes. Not all females can be like my intended and suited to the boardroom, but they can earn their place in the pack in the bedroom.”

Fuck.

Magnus was talking about bringing back a policy that implemented Omega wolves as breeders. It was in our packs’ history that we’d studied in high school that two generations ago, such practices had been common, but civilized packs like the Silvermoon and the Blackthorn Packs of New York City had long been more enlightened and progressive than that.

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