Chapter 0301
“I wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job,” she said thoughtfully.
“Thank you,” I replied. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Did your boyfriend compete?” Nan asked.
Sammy nodded.
“Yes. He’s at the medic now getting looked at. He should be cleared for the next round.”
“When will we know if we are cleared for the next round?” asked.
“First the doctors have to clear you,” Tabby explained. “If you have severe injuries that won’t heal on time, obviously you can’t compete. So, the doctors make sure everything is okay with you. Once they clear you, the judges and Lycan chairmen will get together and discuss whether or not they should let you through to the next round. Once the decision is made, you get an alert.”
I thought about that for a moment and then nodded.
“I’m starving,” I murmured as we started to walk towards the resort medical clinic which wasn’t far from the battle zone. “Maybe I can skip the dinner tonight and we can just have an early dinner this afternoon?” I suggested to Nan.
She opened her mouth to reply, but it was Tyler that answered.
“We actually have plans tonight,” he told me, a broad smile on his lips.
“What?” I asked, glancing at Nan who was red in the face.
“Tyler wanted to take me to a concert in the city,” she told me. “It’s some hard rock band and-”
“You hate hard rock, Nan,” I told her, causing her eyes to widen and her mouth to form an “O” shape..
“I do not!” She denied, her nostrils flaring in the way they do when she’s embarrassed. “I love hard rock. But anyways, I promised I’d go with him.”
I couldn’t help the jab of disappointment I had in my chest.
“Oh, that’s okay,” I told her, forcing a smile.
“But hey, how about you go with us?” Nan blurted; her eyes wide with excitement. I knew that she wanted me to go, and this was her way of asking me to do so. I was about to answer, not wanting my friend to experience something she was clearly going to hate by herself. But once again, Tyler butts in.
“I only had the one extra ticket,” he said. “And the seats around us were taken Her going would be pointless.”
Nan’s shoulders dropped and I saw the disappointment on her face. I tried to keep a positive expression as I smiled at her.
“It’s okay. Have fun tonight,” I told her.
She nibbled on her lower lip and nodded.
We finally reached the clinic, and I hugged Nan goodbye before leaving her with Tyler. I went into the waiting -room, which was full of shifters who had just completed. A lot of them had blood spots on their skin, bruises, and
gashes… it wasn’t pretty. But there were quite a few without a scratch on them.
The wait didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. There were a ton of medics in the clinic, so they were
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+25 BONUS
Chapter 0301
able to move quickly through the crowd of people waiting to get checked out. The session only lasted about 20 minutes. They did a full body scan, bloodwork, bruise and scratch checking, breathing tests, and eyesight tests. Once they were done, they jotted down some notes on a clipboard and gave me some antibiotics and vitamins
Once I was done, I left the clinic alone. I wasn’t sure where Tabby or Sammy went, but I was glad to have a bit of alone time. At least for right now. I needed to clear my head of all my thoughts; I was too stuck on Nan right now. I was worried about her; she was spiraling, and I didn’t like what was happening or who she was hanging out with.
I wanted to give her and Tyler the benefit of the doubt, but there was something about him that I didn’t trust. I wanted to tell Chester about him, but I also didn’t want to hurt Chester. He would be devastated.
I walked into the forest, breathing in the fresh pine and feeling the soft breeze on my cheek. I closed my eyes, taking in my surroundings without even looking. I ran my fingers down the nearby Oaktree, allowing it to give me as much strength and energy as it could muster.
Then, I felt a hand on my hip, pulling me into the arms of someone incredibly strong with a scent that made my mouth water. His front was to my back, and even though my eyes were closed, I knew exactly who it was.
And then he whispered, sending my heart into turmoil.
10
“Don’t move.”
