Chapter 300 - 301 I need someone to be here

Chapter 300: Chapter 301 I need someone to be here

Rick’s POV

Forty minutes later, I pulled up to a five-star hotel near the airport.

She’d been silent the entire drive, huddled against the passenger door with her eyes closed, her face pale as paper. I kept glancing over at her, checking to make sure she was still breathing, because she looked that bad.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about the way my wolf had reacted when I’d gotten close to her back at the pack house. The restlessness. The low, persistent whine that hadn’t stopped since we’d pulled away.

*Why does she make us feel like this?* My wolf’s voice was confused, almost plaintive. *She’s not ours. We don’t know her. So why does it hurt to see her in pain?*

I didn’t have an answer.

"Miss Crane," I said, putting the car in park, "we’re here."

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking like she’d forgotten where she was. Then she looked at the hotel, then at me, and something in her expression shifted.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I can manage from here."

She opened the door and got out, but I watched her sway on her feet, catching herself against the door frame with a hand that trembled.

*She’s going to fall,* my wolf growled, surging forward with urgency I didn’t understand. *She’s going to fall and we need to catch her.*

I got out of the car and walked around to her side, offering her my arm.

"Miss Crane, you’re going to fall over."

"I said I’m fine—"

"You said you have a stomach ache, but you look like you’re about to pass out." I kept my voice firm. "Let me at least walk you to your room. If you don’t want me to go in, I won’t. But I’m not leaving you to collapse in the lobby."

She stared at me for a long moment, and I saw something flicker in her eyes. Something that looked almost like gratitude.

"Fine," she said finally, and took my arm.

The moment her fingers wrapped around my forearm, my wolf went still. I felt it—that inexplicable calm that settled over him, like a storm finally quieting. It was so sudden, so foreign, that I nearly stumbled.

*What the hell was that?*

"Are you okay?" She looked up at me, frowning.

"Fine," I said, forcing my voice steady. "Just tired."

But I wasn’t fine. I was the opposite of fine. Because my wolf had been restless and anxious all night—pacing, whining, unable to settle—and now, with her hand on my arm, he was *content.*

No. Not content. *Satisfied.* Like he’d been starving and someone had finally given him a piece of bread.

It made no sense.

The walk to her room was slow. She leaned against me more than she probably wanted to admit, and I could feel the heat radiating off her skin, the fine tremor running through her body.

"Miss Crane," I said, "are you sure you don’t need a hospital? You’re running a fever—"

"It’s not a fever." She cut me off, then sighed. "It’s just... I get like this when I’m stressed. It passes."

*Make it better,* my wolf whined. *She’s hurting. We have to make it better.*

But I couldn’t. She wasn’t mine to comfort. She wasn’t anything to me.

I wanted to ask more questions. I wanted to ask her what she was doing here, why she’d come all the way from Paris to chase a man who clearly didn’t want her, why she was putting herself through this.

But I didn’t.

It wasn’t my place.

We reached her room, and she pulled out her key card, swiping it through the lock with shaking hands.

"I got it from here," she said, not looking at me. "Thank you, Rick."

"Miss Crane—"

"I’ll be fine." She pushed the door open and stepped inside, already starting to close it behind her. "Really. I just need some sleep."

The door started to close, and I felt it—a sharp, sudden lurch in my chest. My wolf surged forward, scratching at the inside of my skull, desperate and whining.

*Don’t let her go. Don’t let her be alone.*

I knew—I knew—that I should let the door close. That I should walk away and forget this entire night ever happened.

But I also knew that the last thing she needed was to be alone.

"Hold on." I put my hand against the door, pushing it back open. "I know you said you have medication, but I want to see you take it."

"Excuse me?"

"I’ll wait right here." I crossed my arms. "You take your pills, prove to me you’re not going to collapse, and I’ll leave. Simple."

"Are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious, Miss Crane."

She stared at me like I’d grown a second head, then—unexpectedly—she laughed. It was a husky, surprised sound, like she hadn’t expected to find anything funny tonight.

"Fine," she said, and stepped aside to let me in.

"I’ll also have you know, I’m going to record you on my phone, just to make sure you can’t turn around and cause trouble for the Alpha King later."

"You’re really Damian’s most loyal little lapdog, aren’t you?"

She rolled her eyes and walked over to the nightstand, where she pulled out a small bottle of pills and shook one into her palm.

She swallowed it dry, grimacing at the taste, then turned to face me.

"There. Happy?"

"Almost." I pulled out my phone. "I need you to say, on camera, that I did not harm you, that you took your medication voluntarily, and that you’re fine."

"This is... this is insane."

"Or I can call an ambulance."

"You—"

She took a breath, visibly collecting herself. Then she pasted on a fake smile and looked straight at my phone camera.

"His name is Rick. He did not harm me. I took my pills voluntarily. I am fine."

"Thank you, Miss Crane." I pocketed my phone. "Now, why don’t you get some rest? I’ll—"

"Wait." Her voice was softer now. "What’s your rate?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your daily rate." She sat down on the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I’m asking how much it costs to have you stay."

"Miss Crane, I don’t—"

"I can’t sleep alone." She said it flatly, without shame, like she was admitting to a physical limitation. "Not after tonight. Not after seeing them together. I need someone to be here. That’s all I’m asking for. Just... someone."

My wolf went still again. Listening. Hoping.

*Say yes,* he urged. *Say yes. Don’t leave her. She needs us.*

I had been about to refuse.

But then I looked at her.

She looked pale and exhausted, her usual sharpness completely gone. Something inside me softened before I could stop it.

I didn’t understand why I suddenly cared so much. Maybe it was pity. Maybe I just couldn’t bring myself to leave someone in that state alone.

Whatever the reason, I found myself hesitating.

I took a slow breath.

"Miss Crane, I..." I was silent for a few seconds before finally giving in. "My daily rate is three thousand. I don’t do overnight stays, but I can stay until tomorrow and make sure you get on your flight. Five thousand will cover it."

That way, she’d get on the plane safely. And at least I’d be doing something useful for Alpha, too.

She drew in a slow breath, staring at me as if she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

"..."