ELODIE
As soon as the tranquilizer hit Tedros, he spun around and shielded me with his body. I was more than surprised when he reacted that way.
“You have to run as soon as I am done counting,” he muttered.
I guess he didn’t know what he was hit with. “Tedros?'' I could feel him fighting the tranquilizer. “It’s alright; they are my men.”
He glanced back to look at the men; they were staring back at him. Lucas, on the other hand, was staring at me, his expression asking if one tranquilizer was enough to hold down Tedros.
“They have guns, Ducky.”
“Drop your guns,” I ordered, my voice rising. “He is a friend; don't attack him.”
They all dropped their weapons with their gaze focused on me. Lucas's brows arched, and he stared at me like I had just said nonsense. His expression asked, When did I get to keep friends?
“See, they listened to me,” I told Tedros. “You can stop fighting the tranquilizer now.”
I couldn't believe that he threw himself to cover me from their attacks.
“It's even worse.” He muttered. “If I stop fighting it, you are going to take me to the doctor.”
He sounded like a little kid. He was right; if he could pass out, I was going to send him off to the doctor.
“I won't.” I lied to make him give in to it. “I won't take you to the doctor.”
“I hope so.”
With that, he slumped on my shoulder, unconscious. I caught him before he could fall, but I was unable to hold him because he weighed a lot.
“A little help here,” I called out to Lucas. “Let's take him to the doctor.”
Lucas nodded and helped me lift Tedros without any complaints, but I could tell that he had a lot to ask.
*****
I stood across from the doctor in the room as she checked the condition of Tedros. I stared at Tedros; his hair was still over his face, and he looked so calm when sleeping.
He had been given a hospital gown to wear instead of the torn clothes he had made.
His premature transformation must have been triggered by something. I couldn't help but wonder what he went through for the past three years.
I pulled out my phone to call his family and tell them that their son had been found, but I figured that I would have to ask for his permission first.
Perhaps he didn't want to be found.
Soon, the doctor was done checking him, and she gestured for me to follow her out of the room. There was a nurse in the ward with him, watching him in case he woke up and tried to flee.
I glanced back at the ward as I followed the doctor out. A few minutes later, we were seated in her office, opposite each other.
“He is in a bad condition.” She informed me.
Bad condition, my heart began racing at the mention of that. I was fully aware that there were several stages of premature transformation.
It had seven stages, and the last stage was the worst of them. My group usually gets rid of them as soon as he finds them because they lose control of their bodies once they transform.
It doesn't matter who was next to them when they transformed; the person was going to be as good as dead.
Was Tedros at the last stage of premature transformation? If he was, I couldn't get rid of him. I can never do that.
“Ms. Campbell!” The doctor waved her hand in front of my face, making me jolt.
“Yes?” I asked her.
She stared at me in concern. “Are you alright?”
I could tell that she had been speaking to me, but I wasn't paying attention.
“Yes, I am.”
“Who is he to you?” She asked.
“What?” I asked, taken aback by her sudden question.
“Is he that important?”
I nodded.
“You shouldn't be close to him, Ms. Campbell.” She said so, and I squeezed my hand tight, waiting for the worst. “I checked him, and he is at the last stage of premature transformation.”
My fist tightened; she had just confirmed my fears. He was at the last stage, and I would have to choose to let him live or kill him.
“You have to make up your choice now, Ms. Campbell.” She began. “If you want, I could just inject the poison into his treatment, and he would die before anyone even noticed it.”
“No!” I yelled at her suggestions. “You can't do that!”
She arched her brows. “You have to do it; you know how dangerous it is for him to live. Even though you keep a close look on him, he might go on a rampage and kill you.”
I knew she was right, but I couldn't bring myself to kill Tedros. I can't do that to him.
“I understand; I will think about it,” I said, even though my heart was hurting at the thought of it.
“Okay. If you need my help, you can text me. Besides, he does seem like he needs to wash up.”
“I know that,” I responded. “Can I get any pills that could suppress the transformation for a while?” I asked. I have heard about the pill from Lucas, and he said it was effective.
She hesitated before sighing. She rose to her feet and walked to a shelf. She pulled out several bottles of the pills and packed them in a middle-sized box before handing them to me.
“You might need more than this, but this is all I have for now.” She said,
I took it from her. “Thank you.”
“You can contact me if you need more later.”
I nodded. “I will get going.” I left the office, hoping things would go well.
The next morning, I found Tedros growling at the nurse as I walked into his ward with breakfast.
“I said I don't want to be at the hospital!” He growled. “Who brought me here?! Ducky promised not to bring me to the hospital, and what with these pipes?” He pulled all the pipes that were connected to his body and tossed them. “My wolf is enough to heal me!”
The nurse trembled; it looked like she was about to cry. I took a step forward.
“What's going on here?” I asked.Both heads turned to look at me, and the nurse rushed over to me. “Ms. Campbell, he had been like that since morning.” My eyes met Tedros, and he had a betrayed look on his face. He stared at me like I had just betrayed him. Well, I betrayed him just because I took him to the hospital to check his body.“You better hide your men.” Tedros piped. “Because if you don't and I find the one who shot me with a tranquilizer, I am going to kill him.”“No, you won’t,” I responded, turning my gaze to the nurse. “Go on. I will take it from here.”The nurse nodded before leaving us. Tedros folded his arms and stared at me as I walked over to his bed. I could feel that he had something to say to me.“Say it,” I muttered.He crooked his head to the side, his eyes squinting. “Everyone here seems to be listening to you.”I placed the lunch box on the bed and grabbed the little table that was meant for patients. I placed it on the bed in front of him and unlocked the
TEDROSI was pulling over the car to the garage of my house, which I had long abandoned. I glanced around the place; it was quite neat. I killed the engine and got out of the car. I stared at the keys in my hand.I can’t believe that she made me go with one of her cars as I was getting ready to leave. I was clad in a white shirt and black pants; she gave them to me and offered to bring me lunch and dinner.Also, she did that after I rejected her offer of marriage. I knew she had always been caring and had taken care of me a lot, but marriage. Hah! I still can’t believe that she would propose to someone like me.She was way out of my league.She was pretty, rich, and powerful, with tons of people by her side. She built an empire in three years, while I only wasted away.Her words rang in my head: “Marry me.”I was taken aback for a moment and thought that she was joking, but it turned out that she wasn’t. I walked to my front porch, even though I had rejected her offer. She never react
TEDROSSitting on the couch next to the fireplace, I glanced around the house. I had entered her house earlier but hadn't been in the room we were in now. It resembled a secret hideout, complete with a kitchen, a cinema, and a bedroom. From my seat, I could see every other part of the space. Curiosity filled me as I wondered if this was her secret place and why she had brought me here.Ducky stood by the small kitchen, her back facing me, as she prepared the coffee. The dim lighting reflected off her dark hair, and I noticed she still held her head high like a princess.She had been like that, always excluding confidence wherever she went, and that was the one thing that I liked about her. "I'm done," she announced, turning to face me."Okay," I replied, looking away since she had caught me staring."Here's your coffee," she said, appearing next to me with a steaming mug.I took it from her, murmuring thanks. She nodded before taking a seat opposite me, raising her mug to her lips.
ELODIEI stood nervously in front of the familiar door, holding a box of food mixed with the necessary pills for Tedros. It had been three years since I'd last visited his apartment—the same one he'd shared with his late mate. My heart pounded as I heard the voices of his family drifting through the door."Did you just say marriage?" his mother asked, her voice laced with shock. "You left, and suddenly you're getting married?"I hesitated, my hand hovering over the doorbell. I knew they would react this way to the marriage, but I didn't expect to hear it firsthand."Who are you getting married to, anyway?" Cole chimed in, his tone harsh. "It's a surprise that anyone would want you after everything you've done. I wonder what terrible taste she has."I winced at Cole's words, fighting the urge to burst in and defend myself."You're all overreacting," Tedros said defensively. "I'm getting married tomorrow at 9 a.m."A heavy silence hung in the air, leaving me on edge."Then who is she?"
ELODIEThe Vinters fell silent as soon as I finished speaking. Cole had the most expressive reaction, his jaw dropping in shock."You're not joking, are you?" Belle inquired, her voice tinged with disbelief.Shaking my head, I replied. “I am not; I am dead serious.” Yet Belle didn’t seem to believe me; she leaned in closer to me, peering at me. “We are really getting married, and you all are invited.”“Hmm. You don’t seem to be lying.” Belle said this before pulling back and leaning against the sofa. “So, you both are getting married, huh?”“Yes, we are.” I clarified once more. Mrs. Vinters opened her mouth to speak but hesitated, sighing instead. "I won't get in your way if you want to marry my son. However, I am curious to know what made you want to marry him. I have no idea how you managed to convince him, but I must remind you that, although he agreed to marry you, he has another person in his heart."I held her gaze steadily. Of course, I knew about Tedros's late wife before I ma
ELODIE“I can't believe you are getting married.” Lucas yelled as he pushed the door open and walked in.I could see him through the mirror as the makeup artist did my makeup. He had a huge look of disbelief on his face, and some time later I saw something else—hurt.“You are getting married to that man you just met.” He alleged, standing next to me. “You know his condition, don't you? You know what he is capable of, yet you are willing to get married to him.” I know where he was getting at; Lucas and the doctor were the only ones who knew about Tedros' condition apart from me. “Lucas. I didn't just meet him; I have known him since I was a little girl.” I corrected him. “And yes, I am getting married to him." I was already in my wedding gown and had only thirty minutes left before the wedding commenced.“You are walking me down the aisle, you know?” I glanced at him, but that only got me a scolding from the makeup artist. “Me, walking you down the aisle?" He asked. “That's not pos
TEDROS“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cole exclaimed as soon as he saw me. He jumped off his office chair, his eyes wide with disbelief, and hurried in front of me. “Shouldn’t you be with your wife or something? This should be your honeymoon. You should be preparing for your honeymoon, or rather, making kids.”I felt a knot tighten in my stomach at the mention of having a kid. I tried to hide my discomfort, but my jaw clenched involuntarily. Having kids was off my list; I never wanted them, not anymore. Ducky hadn’t said anything about planning a honeymoon, and I wasn’t interested in that either. She must have headed to work by now or might be hanging out with that dude who walked her down the aisle—the dude who shot me with a tranquilizer.“Isn’t this the last day of the loan?” I asked, steering the conversation away from my personal life.Cole rolled his eyes dramatically. “Yes, it is. We told you about that yesterday. You said you were going to help but came back saying you we
ELODIE“I had forgotten that we currently have another Mrs. Vinters,” Cole muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I thought you were my mother for a second.”Raising the mug to my lips, I took a sip of the tea Cole had offered me. As soon as I asked if I could come in, Cole pushed me in, while Tedros had his eye on me the whole time I spoke to his brother. I was already used to requesting tea or coffee if the person I visited tried to offer something. I wasn’t surprised when he claimed to have mistaken me for his mother; after all, my marriage with his brother was a flash marriage.“I understand,” I responded, my lips curling into a smile. Cole returned the smile before finally sitting down. I was in the middle of the brothers again, and my eyes darted to Tedros. He was reading a magazine, but I was sure that if I asked him what he was reading, he wouldn't be able to tell me a thing. “What brought you here, sister-in-law?” Cole asked.Turning my gaze to him, I murmured. “Just