E
The days blurred together after Alexander returned from his trip. I spent most of my time in bed, sleeping fitfully or staring out the window at the garden below. The bandage on my head had been reced with a smaller one, but the headaches were still pretty persistent.
Alexander barely spoke to me anymore. He woulde to bedte, long after I’d pretended to fall asleep, and he would leave early in the morning before I woke up. When we did cross paths, we would just exchange angry res and then go our separate ways.
It was better this way. Easier.
I didn’t have to pretend anymore that there might be something between us. Didn’t have to wonder if those moments in the hospital or the way he’d looked at me for those brief seconds meant anything.
Gabriel had made it crystal clear what Alexander really thought of me: weak, maniptive, pathetic. He didn’t care if I died. He only cared about himself.
I hated him.
The cherry blossom bracelet was still somewhere behind the dresser where I’d thrown it. I could have asked Sarah to retrieve it, but I didn’t want to see it again. Didn’t want another reminder of how stupid I’d been to think Alexander might actually care.
On the fourth day, there was a soft knock on the bedroom door. I expected it to be Lilith with soup or Sarah with her fake sweetness, but instead, Liam poked his head around the door.
“Hey,” he said gently. “Mind if Ie in?”
“Of course.” I struggled to sit up straighter, smoothing down my hair. I probably looked like hell.
Liam entered and closed the door behind him, then pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down. His face was serious.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” I said automatically.
“E.” He gave me that knowing look that he’d always been too damn good at. “How are you really feeling?”
I sighed and let my shoulders sag. “Like shit. But what else is new?”
“I talked to Alexander.”
My stomach clenched. “About what?”
“About your condition. About what you’ve been going through.” Liam leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “E, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Because I didn’t want anyone’s pity.”
“It’s not pity. It’s concern. From people who care about you.” Liam’s voice was gentle but there was an edge of frustration there. “You’ve been suffering alone for months. You could have died, and none of us would have known why”
I looked away, focusing on the pattern of the wallpaper like I hadn’t already counted every line over the past days. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. I’m not angry with you. I’m just… I wish you’d trusted me enough to tell me.”
“I know. I should have.” The words felt hollow in my mouth. What was the point of rehashing it now? “But it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Of course it matters. E, you need to hang in there. Alexander knows the truth now, and I think he really wants to help. He might mark you soon, and then all your problems will be solved.”
I let out a bitterugh. “That’s not happening.”
Liam blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean Alexander made it very clear that he thinks I’m a maniptive liar. He’s not going to mark me.” I picked at a loose thread on the nket. “He told Gabriel I was weak and pathetic and that he would never mark someone like me.’
“That doesn’t sound right.” Liam frowned. “When I told him about your condition, he seemed really concerned. Upset, even. Like he cared about what happened to you.”
The thought made my heart flutter, but I squashed that feeling so fast it almost physically hurt. “He was probably just acting,” I blurted out
“Acting? Why would he-”
“Because you’re still evaluating him for the election.” I finally met Liam’s eyes. “He can’t look like a heartless bastard who would let his mate die, not when there’s an Alpha Council member watching his every move. So he ys the concerned husband, says all the right things about wanting to help when he really has no intention of doing that.”
Liam’s frown deepened. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the bedroom door swung open without so much as a knock. Sarah breezed in carrying fresh linens,