Alexander & E


    Alexander


    The soda can fell to the bottom of the vending machine with a tter. I grabbed it, along with a bag of pretzels to help settle E’s stomach, then made my way back toward her room. The door was slightly ajar as I approached, and I could hear voicesing from inside.


    “I don’t want him to mark me anymore.”


    E’s words stopped me dead in my tracks, my hand frozen midair as I reached for the door handle. I didn’t catch what she said before that, but it didn’t matter. Those seven words were enough.


    I don’t want him to mark me anymore.


    For a moment, I just stood there, processing what I’d heard. E didn’t want my mark. Didn’t want me.


    Not that it should have been a surprise. She’d already asked for a divorce. Hell, we’d even signed a contract promising to divorce after my campaign.


    Besides, I never had any intention of marking her.


    And yet something about hearing her say those words made my chest hurt more than I thought it would.


    “Alexander.”


    I turned to find Liam approaching from down the hall. He was slipping his phone back into his pocket and his face was pale.


    “I just spoke to Molly,” he said. “And I wanted to apologize for what happened.”


    I blinked, momentarily confused before remembering the blue–haired woman from the bar. The one who had kissed my mate. With everything that had happened afterward, it seemed like a lifetime ago.


    “I had no idea she had feelings for E,<i>” </i>Liam went on. “If I’d known, I never would have reintroduced them. I’m sure the incident was the catalyst behind E’s fainting spell.”


    I shrugged, trying to appear unbothered even as my wolf snarled at the memory of another person’s lips on E’s. “It’s fine,” lied.


    Liam’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re… fine? Another woman kissed your mate.”


    No. I wasn’t fine. Of course I fucking wasn’t. E and I had a contract, but she was still my wife for now. Andtely


    Maybe Gabriel was right. Maybe I had gotten in over my head. The show E <b>and </b>I had been on, pretending to be a loving couple, had be all too real.


    And then there was what happened in the alley. I’de so close–so fucking close–to having sex with her. At the time, it didn’t matter to me whether we were in public or not. All I cared about was feeling my mate.


    Five years.


    Five years of marriage and E was still a virgin


    16:33 Fri, 22 Aug


    And she wasn’t even aware that I was, too.


    But what had happened out there was clearly a mistake–biology taking over during our lowest point. It was fust, pure and simple, E didn’t want me to mark her, she hated me. And I would never mark her, not when her family was responsible for my parents‘


    death.


    Still, why did it hurt so much?


    Finally, snapping myself out of my thoughts, I nodded. “Yes. I’m fine.”


    Liam studied me for a moment. “If you say so.”


    I held out the soda can. “Give this to E when she wakes up. I’m heading home. I have work to do.”


    “You’re leaving?” Liam frowned. “She just copsed a few hours ago.”


    “She’s in good hands,” I said, nodding toward the door. “The doctor said she’s stable, and you and Lilith are here. I have a meeting in the morning that I need to prepare for.”


    Liam took the soda with a skeptical look. “If that’s what you want.”


    It wasn’t what I wanted. What I wanted was to go back into that room, to sit beside E’s bed and make sure she was okay. Every fiber of my being wanted to be by my mate’s side.


    But I’d heard what E had said. She didn’t want my mark. Didn’t want me. It was better if I let her rest tonight instead of making her look at my face after the mistakes we made in the alley. I wasn’t sure if I could face her, either.


    “Tell her I hope she feels better,” I said. “I’ll check in tomorrow.”


    With that, I turned away, striding down the hallway without looking back.


    E


    I woke to the sound of beeping medical monitors and scratchy hospital sheets <b>against </b>my skin. For <b>a </b>moment, I was confused <b>as </b>to where I was. My head was pounding and I felt dehydrated–a hangover? Or something else?


    And then I remembered.


    <i>I </i>groaned and rolled over in the ufortable hospital bed, squinting <b>against </b>the morning light streaming through the blinds, Last <b>night </b>had started off so perfectly, only for everything to go to shit. One mistake after another. And then… my condition.


    Tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wouldn’t tell Alexander about my illness, instead, I’d made Lilith promise to keep my secret while I focused onpleting our contract so he would reject me


    Besides<i>, </i><i>he </i>hadn’t even returned from getting my soda, and Liam said <i>he </i>had to leave to prepare for a meeting, which only solidified my belief that what had happened between <b>us </b>in the alley had been a mistake.


    Suddenly, I noticed something on the bedside table that had been there when it simp


    A vase filled with cherry blossoms


    I gasped softly, sitting up My favorite fireers But dhe vid has brought them!ith hail fait to get one rest and gather worne


    <i>213 </i>


    16:33 Fri, 22 Aug


    things for me at the house, and she wasn’t back yet. Maybe Liam?


    60%


    15


    Before I could ponder it further, the door opened and Dr. Evelyn walked in with a clipboard in hand. She smiled when she saw I was


    awake.


    “Good morning, Luna E,” she said. “How are you feeling?”


    “Like someone hit me with a truck,” I admitted.


    “That’s to be expected, given your condition.”


    I bit the inside of my cheek. “Has it gotten worse?”


    “I’m afraid so.” The doctor pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. Her expression was grave. “When you first came to see me, your condition was so rare that I couldn’t predict exactly how it would progress. But after what happenedst night… It seems the dormancy is affecting your body more severely than I anticipated.”


    I swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”


    Dr. Evelyn gave me a sympathetic look. “Luna E, you need to resolve this soon. Either through marking or rejection. Otherwise, you’ll continue to deteriorate. It won’t be like flipping a switch–you won’t just suddenly die one day. It will be a slow, painful process. Increasing weakness. Organ failure. Coma. Then, finally, death.”


    The clinical description of my impending death sent a chill down my spine. It was one thing to know I was dying in the abstract, another to hear it spelled out so viscerally.


    “I’d really rmend talking to your mate,” Dr. Evelyn said gently. “He’d certainly mark you if you would only tell him.”


    “You don’t understand,” I said quietly. “It’s not that simple. Alexander won’t mark me.”


    Dr. Evelyn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That’s surprising. The Alpha seemed incredibly concerned when he brought you inst night. And again this morning when he came by with those flowers<i>.” </i>She nodded toward the cherry blossoms. “You’re certain he wouldn’t mark you?”


    I jerked my head up so quickly that pain shot behind my eyes. “Alexander brought those?”


    The doctor nodded. “Around six this morning. You were still sleeping. He didn’t want to wake you, so he just asked me to make sure you werefortable and said he’d check inter.”


    I stared at the cherry blossoms, and my heart did a strange little flip in my chest. Alexander had brought me flowers? My favorite flowers, no less? After everything that had happened between us, he’d still thought to bring me a gift.


    The simple gesture shouldn’t have affected me so much. It was just flowers, after all. But something about knowing that Alexander had been here when I was sleeping, had checked on me, had been thoughtful enough to bring something to brighten my day.


    ed