VALERIAI felt my heart literally stop for a moment or two before it started up again. My one thought was that I was being attacked. The person who had poisoned me was back to finish the job. The weight of the person on top of me pressed me against the mattress. Knowing I would probably get only one chance to do this, I sucked in screamed as loudly as I could. The weight on me lifted, and the next moment I was lying on my back, staring into Dimitri's eyes. I stopped shrieking at once. I tried to gather my wits."Hey. It's just me. Are you okay?" he asked after I had remained mute for about a minute.I shook my head, tried to catch my breath. Dimitri helped me sit up. I slapped his hand away. I pressed a hand to my chest."What did you think you were doing?" I puffed. "Why did you sneak up on me like that?"A ghost of a smile appeared on Dimitri's lips. "I wasn't trying to sneak up on you. I've been here so I could talk to you. It's not my fault that you were so preoccupied that didn't
VALERIA"I really don't want to go anywhere, Dimitri. Besides, we have both been up and about this week, going to work and all, so that means I've had my own fair share of going out."Dimitri shook his head. He was wearing that expression that showed when he was fixated on a particular idea. His eyes glinted in that way that said he would have his way in this too."Go out with me," he insisted. He walked across the room and came to a stop at my bed. "We can go anywhere you want. What do say to lunch later at a restaurant I just discovered? If you don't want to do lunch, we could go somewhere you like. You must be bored seating in the house all day. Isn't that what you tell me all the time? How come you're refusing to go out now?"A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I suspected exactly what was going on. I was willing to bet that Dimitri really didn't just want to go out for the fun of it. For instance, I could tell from the way he was currently looking at me like I was the on
DIMITRII grunted a reply to one of the pack's leaders who greeted me. I didn't even know who it was. I scarcely even looked at him. Behind me, I heard the car door slam shut. Then there were running footsteps as Silas hurried after me."They are all ready for the meeting, Alpha," said the man who had greeted me. I looked closely and saw it was Ace."Where?" I said."In the meeting room. The same one as last time."I grunted, increased my strides. Ace and Silas had to try to keep up with my lengthy strides. As I walked, my eyes swept the area, noting whether the improvements I had suggested earlier had been done. The moment I pushed open the door to the meeting room, the murmured conversation among those gathered stopped. They turned in my direction. Even when they stood to pay their respects, I could clearly see the worry etched on every face, even on Silas's as he took his seat."Sit down, everyone and let's get down to business." I waited for them to settle down before continuing.
VALERIAThe doctor's deep-set, clear blue eyes looked directly into mine."I will need you to take a deep breath and relax, okay?" he said.I nodded, took a deep breath and relaxed. or tried to. I stared at the ceiling as the doctor proceeded poked and proded me. I couldn't stop my mind from dwelling on what was to be the outcome of the examination.This morning, I had felt off colour. I had panicked a little, remembering how not too long ago, I had kept going on frequent visits to the hospital. I had recalled the doctor's stern warnings about my condition and so, even though my appointment with the doctor wasn't for another week, here I was, late in the afternoon, at the hospital, waiting for the doctor to confirm that the baby and I were doing okay. Five minutes became ten. Ten became twenty. Time seemed to crawl by and I wished he would hurry the hell up and tell me what was wrong. If something was wrong, I reminded myself."All done," he finally said cheerfully.I immediately sa
DIMITRI"Sign here too, sir," said the nurse to Silas.She pointed at the dotted lines on the document she was holding out to Silas. Silas signed there and in two more places before the nurse stepped back."Thank you. That's all." She turned to me. "Mr Dimitri, you are free to go home now."I nodded my thanks and started to move towards the hospital's exit. I noticed Silas's pursed lips. He looked disapproving, but said nothing."What's the matter? Did you want me to have a long vacation at the hospital?" I joked.He held open the car door for me, waited until I had eased myself in before going on to the driver's side."I don't want anything of the sort," he said seriously as he drove out of the hospital grounds and eased into traffic. "But I wonder why you feel it's okay to leave the hospital when Valeria is still in there, thinking she will find you in bed when she wakes up. Yesterday, she was so worried about you. Don't you think it's fair to remain by her side at this time, or at
VALERIAA surgery. Undergone in less than a week all just because of a scar! I quirked a brow. Dimitri certainly had so much money to order a surgery done at the snap of his fingers, but I had the nagging feeling that something about his explanation didn't seem quite right.He had right tone of sincerity when he had been explaining why he had left me at the hospital. His expression had fit in with his explanation. It had been earnest, a little guilty and a tiny bit embarrassed. And then there was the incontrovertible evidence of me seeing and touching the smooth, white skin of his arm which had regained the perfection of the other parts of his body I was so intimate with.So why did it feel that I was missing something, that his explanation of events wasn't quite right? With some effort, I threw off my apprehensive mood and smiled at him."You really didn't have to go through all that trouble," I said. "You're-""I am?" Dimitri tilted his head to the side and regarded me, almost but n
VALERIA"Huh?" Noah pushed his drink aside to frown at me in puzzlement. "What was that you were saying?"I sucked in a breath, fiddled with the straw on my cocktail. I knew I had sounded ridiculous, but I just had to tell someone about this thing that was eating me up."Valeria?" he prompted."I said... have you ever heard of a condition where someone heals very fast? I mean, like abnormally fast. Like- like you have a noticeable scar, and within hours it disappears."Noah's frown deepened with every word I said. Realizing I was rambling, I shut my mouth."That was what I heard," he said slowly. "But I thought I was wrong. Healing from wounds really fast... that sounds like... something out of movie." He suddenly pinned me with his stare. "Or is there something more to this er- question of yours?"I decided then that there was nothing for it but to tell him. I had even decided to tell him before I went out with him for dinner, but it was just that what I wanted to say was difficult t
VALERIAI paced my room until my feet ached but I could not stop. My heartbeat was out of control. My mind was overloaded with two many emotions all at once, too many thoughts that felt like they would split my head open. I clapped my hands of either side of my head and groaned. I passed my bedroom mirror, caught sight of my reflection and came to an abrupt stop.I looked... deranged, or like someone who had suffered a tremendous shock, which I had. My hair was tangled, lying every which way. My eyes were wide with shock and terror."Not the eyes. Not the eyes." My voice was low, a panicked whisper.The thought of eyes made me remember in stark detail another pair of dilating eyes which changed from black human eyes to something reddish and bestial. I shuddered, vigorously shook my head from side to side. I couldn't dwell on that else I would go mad. I felt like I was going mad already. I immediately looked away from my eyes in the mirror and studied the rest of me. My shaky hand was