A dull ache throbbed in my side as my eyes fluttered open. The ceiling
above me was unfamiliar, the scent of fresh linen and antiseptic filling
my senses.
Where the hell was I?
I sat up slowly, expecting the pain to hit me, but… nothing. I placed a
hand over my side, where I knew I had been stabbed. The wound was
gone. Not even a scar remained.
That wasn’t normal.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and a maid stepped in,
carrying a tray of food. She gasped when she saw me awake.
“You’re up,” she murmured, setting the tray down.
I swung my legs over the bed, ignoring the slight dizziness. “How long
was I out?”
“Only a few hours.”
That didn’t make sense. I should have been unconscious for at least a
day. Maybe more. My body wasn’t weak, but healing that fast?
Impossible.
My eyes narrowed. “Who treated me?”
The maid hesitated. “A… miracle doctor.”
I frowned. “A miracle doctor?” That was a vague answer. Too vague.
She nodded quickly, gathering the empty glass on the bedside table.
“Yes, Alpha. It was a miracle. You should thank the goddess for your
recovery.”
I wasn’t buying it.
I pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the maid’s protests. There was only
one person who could have done something like this.
Mia.
I left the room, my mind racing with possibilities. If she had anything to
do with my recovery, then…
No. It didn’t make sense. She hated me. She had every reason to let me
suffer, to let me rot in pain. Why would she help?
As I turned a corner, I heard voices-loud and filled with tension.
Mia.
I followed the sound, my footsteps quickening as I approached the
hallway leading to the main room. My brothers stood there, facing her,
their expressions twisted with anger.
“You expect us to believe you had nothing to do with it?” Rolex’s voice
was sharp, accusing.
Mia stood her ground, arms crossed, her chin lifted defiantly. “I don’t
care what you believe,” she shot back. “I didn’t touch him.”
Xavier scoffed. “You expect us to believe it’s a coincidence? After
everything? After what he did to you?”
Mia’s jaw clenched, her fingers tightening at her sides. “What past are
you always talking about?” she snapped. “You keep saying I should
remember, but guess what? I don’t. And even if I did, why the hell would
I waste my energy on him?”
That was enough.
I stepped forward. “Stop.”
Everyone turned to look at me.
Mia’s eyes met mine for a split second before she looked away, her
expression unreadable.
Rolex narrowed his eyes. “Nathan-”
“It wasn’t her,” I cut in firmly. “She didn’t do anything to me.”
A tense silence filled the room.
Sean crossed his arms. “Then who did?”
I hesitated. I knew what they were thinking. That she was trying to
punish me, that this was some twisted revenge. But I had seen the way
she looked at me before I collapsed. There was something there-
annoyance, frustration-but not malice.
She could have let me die. She didn’t.
I exhaled sharply. “I don’t know. But it wasn’t her.”
Mia scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Oh, so now you believe me?” She let out a
dry laugh. “Great. Can I go now, or do I need to be interrogated more for
crimes I didn’t commit?”
Rolex still looked doubtful, but Xavier took a step back, his expression
thoughtful.
I exhaled sharply, stepping between them. I had heard enough. “It
wasn’t her.”
All eyes snapped to me.
Sean frowned. “You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Wow, what a hero,” she mocked, her voice dripping
with sarcasm. “Should I bow now?”
I ignored her, turning to my brothers. “She’s not responsible for what
happened to me.”
Xavier’s gaze bore into me, searching. “Then who is?
I hesitated. I knew what I saw in that hazy moment before I blacked out
-the faint scent of blood, not just mine, but hers. The way she looked at
me before I collapsed.
She did something.
But I wasn’t going to accuse her. Not yet.
Mia sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair, clearly done with
the conversation. “Look, whatever twisted game you guys are playing,
leave me out of it.” She turned on her heel, flicking her hair over her
shoulder. “And do me a favor-don’t ever look for me again.”
She walked out, her heels clicking against the marble floor, her posture
screaming defiance.
I should have let her go.
But the way my stomach twisted told me otherwise.
“She’s lying,” Rolex muttered under his breath. “She had to have
something to do with this.”
Xavier exhaled sharply. “She’s playing with us. This is part of her
revenge.” If his one part was right, the other side I feel was still hidden.
I clenched my fist. “We deserve it.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
“We made her life hell,” I continued, voice low. “If she was trying to
make us suffer, I wouldn’t blame her.”
Rolex sighed heavily. “Yes thats true; we deserved to be punished, and
again we were accusing her for something she didn’t do.”
We all were in guilt since the day we realised what a terrible mistake we
had done with her, and now accusing her again must have brought her
old memories of our torture.
“Will she ever forgive us?” Rolex asked us.
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know.” Because from where I can see, the
forgiveness was still far away.
And that was the worst part.
I turned away, rubbing the back of my neck, frustration gnawing at me.
“Let’s go.”
We walked out, my mind still clouded with questions.
Mia had to be behind this.
But not in the way my brothers thought.
I knew what I saw.
The scent of blood-her blood.
The way she looked at me, as if she was making a choice.
She cut herself.
And somehow, I healed.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
I needed to know what she was hiding. And if she was the reason I
healed…
Then I would never let her go.