( Important note at the bottom)

"So, Mr. Wilbur.."

"Henry."

I sighed.

"Ok, Henry. Now take deep breaths for me please. Mouth open. Inhale. Exhale. Yes, just like this. A couple more times now please."

I shifted my stethoscope on his back, trying to auscultate his lungs. The physiological murmur was absent, loud rales taking its place. Not good. I placed the tympanum at the base of his thorax, hoping to hear something clearer. No sound at all. Definitely not promising. Henry coughed and whizzed and I removed the stethoscope from his back, placing it around my neck.

"From what you told me you suffered chest pain and had difficulty breathing for the last week and half, that's correct?"

"Yes," he managed to say without coughing.

"And that you had fever for a while before?"

He nodded.
I grimaced. I didn't want to alarm him, but his situation wasn't rosy. I turned to look at the physicians next to me; Robert was looking at the patient with a frown on his face while Dr. White, the pack doctor, was already looking at me, an expectant expression on his face.

"Do you have an X-ray machine?"

He nodded.
"Yes. We use it when pack members break their bones very badly."

"Good. I need an x-ray of Mr.Wilbur's chest. As soon as possible."

Dr. White nodded, taking his phone out of his pants' pocket.
"I'm going to set it up for him now. I call you when it's ready."

With that, he left the room. I turned to look at Henry. He was young, probably the same age as me. He was trying to stay strong, but I could see panic and fear swirling in his eyes. Sarah was strong, she was a fighter; he wasn't. I wasn't going to let him down. I wasn't going to let them both down.

"Henry, we're going to understand what's wrong with you ok? I promise you I will do my best. I will not rest until you're healed."

He gulped, averting his eyes from me.
"Thank you doctor." His voice was flebile, barely audible.

"I'll be back in a bit."

With a nod in his direction I exited the room, Robert following behind me. When the door closed with a low click behind us I leaned on the wall and lowered my eyelids. Even if I couldn't see, I was aware of Robert's inquisitive gaze on me.

"So? What do you think?"

I sighed, opening my eyes and crossing my arms on my chest.
"I'm thinking pneumonia, but it's not that simple. By his symptoms I suppose it's a very grave case of bacterial pneumonia with a possible pleural spill. If we don't treat him with antibiotics soon the infection might spread until it's too late."

Robert arched a eyebrow, a surprised expression on his face.
"Pneumonia? But..."

"I know." I cut him off. " I was hoping to find a case similar to Sarah's, but this isn't it. I thought there could be a possible pattern to follow, but that's not it. We are facing something that changes from person to person."

Robert slumped next to me, placing his hands in his back pockets.

"That's more messed up than I thought."

I focused on the wall in front of me. I thought coming to Red Claw was going to give us some type of answers, but, instead, it left us with even more questions. We were in deep shit.

———

I lifted Henry's x-ray above my head, trying to catch the light coming from the lamps. It was nighttime and the pack members had gone to bed long ago, leaving me alone in the medical wing, save for the nurse on Henry's duty. Even Robert had said goodbye and retreated for the night a couple of hours ago, but I decided to stay at the infirmary in order to study his case and compare it with Sarah's. There were no similarities if not for the way they started to get sick. Both abducted, both "tortured", both found soon after. Who was behind it? Was abducting and injecting God knows what into their victims their modus operandi? Was it happening in other packs as well?

My head hurt. A lot.
All these unanswered questions were making me sick. I hated not having the answers.

I followed the stairs to the second floor of the pack house, where my room was located, still studying the x-ray. I had been right, it was pneumonia. A very very bad case of pneumonia; pneumococcus was my strongest bet. I had just arrived at the end of the first flight when I heard a door opening in the background, soon followed by a deep rumble.

"Dr. Crawford. What a pleasure to see that you are still awake. And alone."

Fuck.

Alpha Thaddeus was leaned against his office's door, his lips stretched in a sly smile. He was wearing another checkered shirt, the lumberjack vibe still going on strong. My wolf scoffed, circling on herself before sitting on her paws, her eyes focused on the huge male in front of us. Her gaze wasn't friendly. Mine wasn't either.

"Alpha Thaddeus. Yes, I wanted to study Henry's condition a bit more."

I had the urge to end this conversation as soon as possible and retreat to my room because every minute I was spending in company of this man was a minute spent trying to refrain myself from biting his ass. Unfortunately for me, it seemed Alpha Thaddeus was not keen on ending our encounter so soon.

"Well, why don't you enlighten me on it in my office? Seen as we are both awake."

The way he was looking at me, however, was suggesting something else entirely. I opened my mouth to say something along the lines of "go fuck yourself", but then I decided to stay silent. I didn't want to put Hercules in a difficult situation by disrespecting the Alpha that was hosting us, even if the desire to do so was very very deep rooted in my core. That meant that I had to go along with it. On the other hand, if I was going to do it now, I didn't have to face him tomorrow. Better sooner than later.

"Sure thing Alpha."

A satisfied glint entered his eyes and he shifted from the door, inviting me inside with a movement of his arm. My beast rumbled, ready to tear into his flesh if he dared to try anything funny. Let's say that I wasn't so keen on stopping her anymore. This male was ruffling my fur in the wrong way.
I accommodated myself on the chair in front of his desk and he did the same, sitting on the other side of the wooden piece of forniture.

"Well, I'll go straight to the point. Henry has pneumonia, a grave case of pneumonia actually. We need to start the treatment soon if we want to have a chance to reduce and cure the infection."

He exhaled, a frown now marring his strong features. He seemed really worried. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I though, inappropriate flirting aside.

"That's very sad to hear. Do you think you can do something about it?"

I nodded.
"I can. I'll do my best to cure him. I would like to ask you if it could be possible to have the medical diaries of your pack. I already have read the ones belonging to Silverblood, but it was a dead end. I hope to find something useful in yours."

Alpha Thaddeus crossed his arms on his chest and the fabric of his shirt strained at the gesture. How big was this man? Damn, he was huge.

"Consider it done. I'll arrange for you to have the diaries tomorrow. Hopefully you'll find something in them."

"Thank you. Now, if we are done, I'd like to retreat.."

"Don't you feel it?"

I stopped speaking, interrupted by his words. I lifted my gaze to find his, finding him deeply looking at me, hunger hidden behind the light blue of his eyes. What the fuck was he talking about?

"What should I feel Alpha Thaddeus? The irritation every time you open your mouth? The desire to kick your ass every time your eyes land on me? That I feel, if that's what your question is about."

I knew taunting him was wrong, but I was fed up with his antics. We were alone and it was time to put him in his place. Preferably, a place far far away from me.

He had the audacity to smirk.

"The attraction. The bond between us."

I stared at him like he was declaring that he liked to paint his toenails pink while sipping slimming tea. I was so shocked that I wanted to laugh. Was he kidding? Was he trying to fool me?

"What the fuck are you talking about? I feel nothing of the sort."

His eyes shifted from my face to my exposed neck, studying it intently. I suddenly felt the urge to untie my ponytail to use my hair as a curtain in order to hide my flesh from his inquisitive gaze. The hair on the back of my neck raised and so did the hackles on the back of my wolf's. She growled, showing him her fangs.

"Stop eyeing my neck or you'll find yourself missing your eyes."

I snarled, my muscles tense and ready to act.
He simply averted his gaze from my neck, returning it to my face.

"Did you meet your true mate?"

My true what?

"I don't see how that could be any of your business. Then, it has nothing to do with the reason I am here..."

"Oh but that's where you're wrong. It's my business. You are my potential mate."

I felt like my heart stopped beating inside my chest. I was frozen. Shock conquered my body, starting from my core and spreading down my limbs, making me feel like I was a block of granite.

"I...I'm sorry.." I spluttered, "your what?"

He uncrossed his arms from his chest, leaning forward on the desk.

"My potential mate. But you can't feel the bond, so you must have met your true mate...but your neck is bare..." He leaned over even more, placing his elbows on the wooden surface. "So tell me, Lara Crawford, did you or did you not met your true mate already?"

I was desperately trying to find words to say, but my brain wasn't following. It was turned off. Overloaded. I had heard what Alpha Thaddeus said, but I couldn't process it. Nothing made sense anymore. True mate? Potential mate? I was finding difficult to breathe. I needed to get out of here.

"I- I'm sorry, I don't know what you are talking about."

I willed my legs to get up and be steady, supporting my weight while in reality I was feeling like collapsing. I rushed out of the room without paying a care to the Alpha inside, slamming the door close behind me. I ran to my room, leaning against the door once inside.

What was he implying? I had never heard of "potential mates", as I had never thought there could be more than one. Maybe he was bluffing. Maybe he knew I had been human once and now he was taking advantage of my ignorance in order to obtain something from me. Yes, it must be.

Alphas are not to be trusted Lara.

Of course it was like that. I was almost certain, but I needed to be sure. I needed to be sure he was tricking me. I had to talk with someone...but who? Robert was out of the question and Hercules even more. First of all, we weren't exactly on socializing terms right now, awkwardness since the H-day and all. Then, I didn't think he would be too pleased to learn that Alpha Thaddeus was thinking about me as his potential mate, with it being lies or not. There was only one option left.

I got up from the floor, helping myself by leaning on the wall. I picked my phone from the pocket of my jeans and sat on the bed, staring at the screen. 12:03 a.m. It was late, but I needed someone to talk to. I was going to take the risk of waking her up.

Hey, it's Lara. Are you still awake?

Nora
Hey Lara. Sure thing, what's up?

Can I call you?

Nora
Sure

My finger hovered over her name before pressing the call button; the line ringed a few times before Nora picked up.

"Sorry for the wait, but Sean is sleeping so I moved room."

"No need to say sorry, I should be the one saying it. I know it's late, but I really needed to talk to you."

There was a small pause from the other side of the phone and I could hear some shuffling in the background.

"Okay. Is everything ok? Did something happen? Did something happen to Hercules?"

"No, nothing happened to anyone. I called you because I need you to tell me about mates."

"About mates?" Her tone was confused. "But you.."

"I know I already have a mate," I interrupted her, "but I need you to tell me everything there is on the subject."

She stayed silent for a bit, before exhaling loudly.
"You're not going to explain to me what is really going on, are you?"

"Maybe later."

By the way she sighed on the other side, I knew she wasn't counting on it very much.

"Well...as you already know, a mate is your other half, the perfect match made by the Moon Goddess herself. High ranking wolves mate with high ranking wolves, low ranking wolves mate with low ranking wolves. It's the surviving of the specie. But you were not really asking me for this right?"

Perceptive she-wolf.
"Not really."

"Okay, well... you know there are many werewolves in the world right? Well, this incredibly reduces the odds of meeting your mate. Someone has the luck of meeting them, someone else, instead, isn't as lucky."

I didn't like where this conversation was going. My gut was telling me that I wasn't going to like the conclusion.

"Your point is?"

"My point is that there are different solutions to that. Potential mates. Chosen mates. In your life you may meet different people you share a connection with. Stronger the connection, stronger the bond. This is called being Potential Mates. They are not your true mate, the one chosen from the Moon Goddess, but they are people whom you can decide to build your life with. Then, if you still haven't found either your true mate or a potential one that appeals to you, you can choose your companion. This is called being Chosen Mates."

I felt the world spun on its axis. Thank God I was sat on the bed, or else I would have fallen on the floor. My gut had been right, I wasn't liking what I was hearing at all.

"But.." I swallowed, " but what if you settle for a potential mate and then meet your true mate?"

"Well," Nora sighed, " when you accept to share the bond with a potential, any other connections you could have are sheared. This means that if you ever meet your true mate you wouldn't feel the mating bond with them. On the other side, if they aren't already mated, they would feel it instead."

Oh Christ. My mouth had gone dry. I licked my lips, feeling their roughness under my tongue. I needed to drink something. Preferably water, but in my current state of mind I needed something stronger; something named vodka. Or tequila. Even if I couldn't get drunk.

"And what about the other way around? If you already met your real mate and then came across your potential?"

"In that case you wouldn't feel anything towards the potential. The mating bond between real mates is so strong that, even if still not consumed, eclipses everything else. But real mates nowadays are really rare."

"So you and Sean..."

"Potentials," she concluded, " the connection was very strong. We got to know each other and then we mated."

My head was spinning, so I decided to lay down. Alpha Thaddeus hadn't been lying, I really was his potential mate, but I couldn't feel anything cause of the bond I shared with Hercules. Oh fuck.

"But why haven't you said anything to me before? I didn't know a thing about those potential bonds and all...I am so confused."

Nora exhaled.
"I didn't say anything to you because I knew you and Hercules were true mates. From then on, any other connection became irrelevant to both of you. It's just you and him."

I needed to tell her. I needed to tell her because I needed someone to tell me what to do.

"Nora, I may have a problem here."

"Why? What happened?"
She sounded alarmed.

"I think... I think I am Alpha Thaddeus' potential mate. And he is apparently mateless."

Silence was the only thing coming from the phone, I couldn't even hear anymore shuffling in the background. Then,

"Fuck."

Yeah. How to summarize this situation in one word.

"Hercules won't like it."

I shot up from the bed, but my head was still spinning. I placed a hand on my forehead and closed my eyes to stop the room from circling.

"Forget Hercules! I don't like this situation! What I am supposed to do now?"

"You need to talk to them."

"What?! Are you crazy? We are in a delicate situation here, there is no need for more drama!"

"Listen," Nora was deadly serious and that was making me feel uneasy. " I don't personally know Alpha Thaddeus, but what I know is that Alphas are extremely possessive and territorial creatures. You have Hercules, but you bear no mark of your bond. Alpha Thaddeus might see it as a possibility to claim you, if he's interested. You need to settle it before they start fighting for you. It wouldn't be pretty for alliances and all."

"But how?"
I sounded desperate. I was.

"Talk to him. Tell Thaddeus that Hercules is your true mate and that you still aren't marked because you are working this through. There is the possibility he will peacefully back down, but there is also the chance that he won't."

Oh Christ.

"And what if he won't?"

"You need to be ready to fight. If someone lies a claim you don't want, you can break free by fighting them. And win the fight."

I wanted to pull my hair out in desperation.

"But did you fucking see the man? He's huge!" I cried out.

"No, I didn't," Nora exhaled, "but if the rumors are true, he is built as an oak. You need to be prepared. For the worst."

When was life going to stop throwing shit in my face?
Damned hell.

————

Okay, so, super important chapter!!
Finally I had the chance to disclose to you how mates work in my book. Do you find it confusing? Being it in Lara's pov, I couldn't disclose anything of the sort before, seen as she knows very little about werewolf culture.
Everything clear? Please don't esitate to tell me if you find it unclear and confusing.

Soooo...shock! 😱
Henry is sick, but not like Sarah...
What do you think about it?
What do you think will happen next?
What will Lara do?
How will Hercules react?
What do you think about Alpha Thaddeus?

Kisses,
Kate xx