Chapter 167: She was healing me

"DORIAN!" Alyssa screamed his name, scrambling across the floor toward him. Terror seized her chest, ripping the breath clean from her lungs, her whole body trembling violently.

She dropped to her knees beside him, sickened to her stomach at the sight of so much blood beneath his hair. How severe was the wound to spill this much blood so quickly?

She cupped his face in her shaking hands, her tears already spilling down her cheeks. In that overwhelming moment, her mind fractured in two directions.

One voice screamed at her to run and fetch Anthony or Jake. The other locked her in place, horrified at the thought of leaving his side for even a second. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she lifted his head and pulled it onto her lap.

"Dorian... Dorian, open your eyes... look at me..."

Dorian remained unconscious, his massive frame unnaturally limp in her arms.

Tears choked her vision, blurring everything around her. Panic clogged her throat like a tight, suffocating lump.

She had known. She had felt it in her gut that something was wrong the moment he walked into the bedroom; when his eyes kept losing focus, when he couldn’t even stand straight without staggering.

She couldn’t handle this alone. She had to get help.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and carefully lowered his head back onto the cold tile. Blood had already seeped into the fabric of her nightgown, staining the soft peach silk a deep, crimson red.

"Just hold on," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I’ll get Jake and the others."

She braced herself to stand, but the moment she tried to pull away, a violent force yanked her back to the floor beside Dorian. Her hands began to vibrate, and a strange, electric power surged to life beneath her skin, humming fiercely through her bloodstream.

"What is this?" she whispered in horror, staring down at her fingers in disbelief.

Right before her terrified eyes, her skin began to emit a bright, searing red light. The glow hummed with ancient power, static popping around her knuckles as her fingernails slowly lengthened into sharp, vicious claws.

The aura spread rapidly up her arms, engulfing her entire body until every inch of her skin vibrated with that vivid crimson heat.

She glanced up, gasping at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes had turned into bright red orbs, and dark, spidery veins were visibly etched into her neck and around her temples.

She looked back down at Dorian, and a sudden, undeniable instinct locked into her mind. She knew exactly what she needed to do. It was right there, waiting to be done.

She leaned over him, pressing both glowing palms flat against his chest. The red light surged from her skin into his chest, wrapping around his upper body before expanding outward.

The air in the room went dead silent. That same crimson glow enveloped both of them, forming a shimmering, translucent dome over the floor. Her hair floated weightlessly around her face, the red tips burning like flame.

Under her hands, Dorian’s chest gave a sharp, violent jerk, and in the next instant, his eyes flew wide open.

He sucked in a deep breath, as if he had just been pulled back from the brink of death. For a brief second, he looked disoriented, his gaze searching the air aimlessly.

Then his eyes locked onto her. He stared up at her in awe, his pupils dilated, taking in her glowing red eyes, the dark veins tracing her neck, her floating hair, and the tiny motes of light drifting through the air around them.

"Alyssa?" he whispered, lifting a hand toward her face. As his fingertips grazed her skin, he felt the drain on his strength rapidly reverse, his vitality rushing back into his limbs.

Just as his hand touched her cheek, the bathroom door slammed open, and Jake charged inside. Neither Dorian nor Alyssa had heard him come into the bedroom.

Jake took one look at the scene before him–the eerie red dome, Alyssa’s clawed hands pressed to the Alpha’s chest, her terrifying, expressionless red eyes–and completely misinterpreted what was happening.

"What are you doing to him?" he roared, lunging forward. "Get away from the Alpha!"

Dorian had only a fraction of a second to look up and shout, "Jake! No!" before Jake slammed into Alyssa, shoving her away from him with full Lycan force.

Her body flew across the bathroom, hitting the tiled wall hard. The sudden interruption caused the red dome to violently detonate.

The force of the shockwave shattered every mirror and the glass shower enclosure into a rain of flying shards.

Dorian bolted to his feet in an instant, throwing himself over Alyssa on the floor to shield her body from the falling glass.

When everything settled and the bathroom went quiet, Dorian immediately turned to check on her.

"Are you okay, Alyssa? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and confusion. "I’m... I’m not hurt. I’m fine."

Dorian rounded on Jake instantly, his face twisted into fury. "What the hell is wrong with you? You could have killed her!"

​"I thought she was attacking you!" Jake yelled back, holding his ground despite the Alpha’s rage. "You can’t blame me for acting on my instincts, Alpha! Anyone walking into this room seeing that blood, that red glow, and you lying unconscious would have done the exact same thing!"

"I wasn’t unconscious!" Dorian growled, stepping forward. "She was healing me!"

"I respect the Luna, Alpha, but did you seriously just say she was healing you?" Jake shot back, his voice dripping with disbelief. "Have you forgotten what you told me? How her powers caused you immense pain when you kissed her?"

Alyssa looked back and forth between them, still trembling from the shock of the shove. Her mind was a complete blur. The sudden release of energy had drained her entirely, leaving her feeling weak and lightheaded.

But Jake’s words struck her like a slap to the face. He knew what she was? This whole time? When she didn’t even fully understand it herself?

She turned her gaze up to Dorian, her eyes searching his face desperately. "You got hurt... when you kissed me? When did that happen?"

Dorian took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he tried to regain his composure. He never wanted her to find out like this.

He looked around the wrecked bathroom, taking in the blood smeared across the floor, his furious beta, and his trembling wife beside him.

"I think it’s time we talk," he said quietly. "Jake, step out and wait in the bedroom."

Jake remained tense, hesitant to leave the bathroom. He could still vividly see Alyssa’s glowing, clawed hands pressed against Dorian’s chest, and the terrifying red aura that had surrounded them both.

When Dorian noticed his hesitation, his patience snapped. "Get out, Jake! Wait in the room. Now!"

Jake finally lowered his gaze and backed away. There was no disrespect in his eyes toward Alyssa, nor had he intended to shove her so hard. It had been pure Lycan instinct, his sole duty to protect his Alpha from any perceived threat, even from the Luna.

He turned and stepped out into the bedroom, pulling the door partially shut behind him.

Alyssa finally released the breath she had been holding.

"That’s why he’s been acting so strange around me," she murmured softly. "He knew. All this time, he knew what I was."

"Alyssa..."

"How did he find out? Did you tell him, Dorian? I thought we agreed we wouldn’t tell anyone."

"I didn’t tell him," Dorian said, shaking his head gently. He still looked pale from his collapse. "Believe me, I didn’t. He found out weeks ago, during the interrogation of your stepsister."

Alyssa’s eyes widened. "He’s known for weeks? Oh goddess, no wonder he threw me off you like that. He genuinely thought I was trying to hurt you. What did he mean about you getting hurt when you kissed me? What was he talking about?"

"Alyssa!" Dorian called out, his voice firm as he reached out and grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "I will explain everything to you. All of it. I just need you to breathe and calm down, okay?"

Alyssa looked down at her hands. The long claws had retreated. The red glow was gone. The only remaining proof of what had just transpired was the blood on the floor and the shattered glass scattered around them.

She closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath. When she opened them, she nodded. "Okay. I’m calm. Just tell me everything you’ve been keeping from me. Everything."

***

Hello readers, author here.

I wanted to leave this note at the end of the Chapter so everyone will see it. The mass upload I promised won’t be possible today because I just lost the draft that was saved on my system, and it wasn’t backed up.

That draft contained about twenty to thirty Chapters, and losing it really hurt more than I expected. I shed a few tears, lol, but I’ll be fine. I’ve already begun writing the Chapters again and I will still be posting the mass upload for you all when I’m done.

So, I implore you, bear with me for the delay. Everything will be back to normal. Until then, please send some gifts for encouragement, because I really need all the encouragement I can get right now.

Thank you so much for reading, and for all your support. XOXO.