<b>Chapter 61 </b>


    Alexander


    Something was wrong with E.


    And I wasn’t just talking about the hospital visit. No, something was seriously, deeply wrong. Something far more than exhaustion or a bug.


    I’d noticed it throughout the evening, not just when she nearly copsed into me, but all night. She looked drawn and pale, her hands shook, and she thought I didn’t notice, but I saw the way she always reached out to hold onto the wall or a table or something, anything, to keep herself upright.


    I med myself.


    It had only been two days since she’d been discharged from the hospital, and here I was dragging her to a charity auction because it was good for my campaign and because I needed to show off that damn fake mating mark.


    What kind of husband did that make me?


    The contractual kind, I reminded myself. But even so, I could have been more considerate. I should have let her rest. I didn’t have to love E, but I definitely needed to make sure she didn’t die on my watch.


    “Alexander?” Liam’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. We were standing in the parlor, and I’d been staring at the firece for the past five minutes. “Are you alright?”


    “Sorry. I’m fine. Just tired,” I said. “What did you want to discuss?”


    “The in–pack evaluation is wrapping up. I’ll probably be moving back to my own ce within the week.”


    I nodded. It made sense–Liam had been staying with us for over a month now, observing pack dynamics and my leadership style as part of the official assessment process. I was a little relieved that he was leaving.


    “I wanted to thank you,” Liam continued. “For your hospitality. I know having me here hasn’t exactly been convenient, especially with everything else going on.”


    I blinked, surprised.


    “It… wasn’t a problem.”


    Liam’s mouth twitched as if he didn’t believe me, but he nodded. “Well, I hope the evaluation goes well for you<i>,</i><i>” </i>he said. “You’re a good Alpha, Alexander. Your pack is lucky to have you.”


    Thepliment caught me off guard. We’d been circling each other like rivals for weeks, and yet he was


    being kind. Thanking me for my “hospitality“. Complimenting my leadership. Hoping that I would make it through the evaluation phase of the campaign.


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    “Thank you,” I managed. “It’s, uh…” Dammit, why was I having such a hard time finding the right words? “It


    was a pleasure having you.”


    Now, Liam was the one who looked surprised. His face broke into a smile, and for a moment, I saw what E


    saw in him: a kind young Alpha who had once been her best friend.


    “Perhaps we can… Grab a drink sometime,” he said.


    “Perhaps.”


    After Liam headed upstairs, I lingered in the parlor, pouring myself a bourbon and settling into one of the leather chairs. The house was quiet except for the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner.


    “Good news about Liam leaving,” Gabriel said, appearing in the doorway. “Finally.”


    I looked up from my drink. “He’s not that bad.”


    Gabriel snorted. “Maybe not, but it’ll be good to have our privacy back. And E can move back to her own room once he’s gone.”


    The words made my shoulders tense, although I couldn’t say why. Of course E would move back to her


    own room. The only reason she’d started sleeping in mine was because having Liam in the house made it


    necessary to maintain the illusion that we were a normal married couple.


    And yet…


    “Right,” I said, taking a sip of bourbon. “Back to normal.”


    Gabriel seemed pleased. “No more pretending to be the loving couple. You’ll be morefortable without


    her in your space.”


    Her. As if she were… What? A stranger? An enemy?


    I didn’t know what E was to me anymore. Once, she had been all of the above and so much more. Buttely, the lines were blurring. Lately, I didn’t see a spy or the daughter of the people who had had my parents killed, but instead a woman who had been roped into this life just as much as I had.


    I also saw someone who was very sick and very tired.


    After Gabriel left, I sat alone with my drink and tried to figure out why the thought of E moving back to her room made my chest feel too tight to breathe.


    It was ridiculous. We’d slept in separate rooms for five years before Liam arrived. I was used to having the


    bed to myself, used to having my own space. Used to not lying awake listening to her breathing, or watching the way the moonlight fell across her face when she slept.


    Fuck.


    ???? ???????


    When had I started doing that? When had I started looking forward to the weight of her beside me in bed, the way she always slept curled on her side facing away from me, the soft little sounds she made when she


    dreamed?


    During her week in the hospital, I’d barely slept. I kept reaching for her in my sleep, only to find empty space where she should have been. I’d told myself it was just habit, just my body adjusting to the change in routine.


    But now, thinking about going back to sleeping alone while E was all the way on the opposite end of the mansion in her old room… It felt wrong. Like losing something I hadn’t realized I wanted to keep.


    It was just the mate bond, though. That was what I told myself, at least.


    After all, it was far easier to me biology than to ept that it could be anything else.


    I knocked back the rest of my bourbon and headed upstairs, trying to push the thoughts away. E probably wanted her own space back anyway. The arrangement had been for show and nothing more. She’d never indicated that she enjoyed sharing a bed with me.


    The bedroom was dark when I entered, and I assumed E was already asleep. But when I nced at the bed, it was empty, the covers still perfectly made from this morning.


    I then noticed the bathroom door cracked open, light spilling out from within. Curious, I walked over and


    knocked. No answer.


    “E?” I pushed the door open.


    And I stopped dead when I saw herying there.


    She was crumpled on the floor beside the vanity, unconscious, her face pale as death against the cold marble tiles. For a second, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. She looked so small lying there, so fragile.


    Then, reality crashed into me. My wolf howled, my heart pounded, my entire body suddenly became filled


    with adrenaline.


    Mate.


    My mate was unconscious on the fucking bathroom floor while I had been drinking bourbon downstairs!


    “E!” I dropped to my knees beside her, pressing my fingers to her neck. Her pulse was weak but there,


    and she was breathing, but she wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I shook her or called her name.


    Panic wed at me as I scooped her up in my arms, surprised by how light she felt, and carried her to the


    bed. Her head lolled as I gentlyid her on the bed then fumbled for my phone.


    “Come on, E,” I whispered, frantically dialing for help. “Wake up.”


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    But she didn’t wake. She didn’t even stir when I called the emergency line. Didn’t stir when Gabriel ran into the room, asking what was happening. Didn’t even twitch when Lilith barreled in soon after him, crying out and throwing herself onto the bed.


    She was still unconscious when Dr. Evelyn finally arrived twenty minutester.


    “What happened?” the doctor asked, setting her medical bag on the nightstand.


    “I found her unconscious in the bathroom. She’s been tired all evening, nearly fainted twice at the charity auction we attended. I should have brought her home earlier.”


    Dr. Evelyn’s face paled. She exchanged a look with Lilith that I couldn’t quite decipher.


    Then, she turned toward me and gestured to the door.


    “Alpha Alexander, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the room.”


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    11:31 Sat, 23 Aug