Chapter 235

Ava

The night was unusually quiet as Chris, Patrick, and I crept through the shadows towards the clinic. We were all dressed in black, our faces partially obscured by dark hats and scarves.

Even though Chris was the Alpha, we couldn’t just walk into the clinic; the staff would never give us the information we needed, especially if something sinister was going on. And if Elise was up to something, then we also couldn’t have her knowing that we were on her trail.

So here we were, dressed like a trio of burglars, sneaking up to the clinic after hours.

I had never done anything like this before; even as a teenager, I never snuck around, never went anywhere I wasn’t supposed to. Doing this now, even though it was for the safety of our pack, felt… wrong. Dirty.

But also incredibly thrilling.

“Remember,” Chris whispered as we approached the building, “we’re just here for information. In and out as quickly as possible.”

Patrick nodded, although his eyes were gleaming with excitement. “Don’t worry. I’ve done this plenty of times,” he whispered.

I shot him a look. “Well, that’s not exactly reassuring.” Patrick’s grin stretched from ear to ear in response.

We paused at the corner of the building, scanning for any signs of movement. The clinic was dark, save for a few security lights. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart as I pressed myself against the cool bricks.

“Okay,” Patrick whispered, looking over at us. “Coast is clear. Keycard?”

Nodding, I pulled out the stolen keycard and handed it to Patrick, who took one last look around before he swiped it through the reader. For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. Then, with a soft click, the door unlocked.

We slipped inside, silent as wraiths. During the daytime, that sterile disinfectant smell was alarming enough, but even more so now that our senses were on high alert. Quickly, we moved into the dark corridor and pressed ourselves against the walls. Chris, opposite me, shot me a thumbs-up and a tiny grin. I shook my head and turned to Patrick.

“Which way to the doctor’s office?” Patrick whispered.

Chris pointed down the hall. “Second floor, east wing.”

We moved silently, our quick footsteps muffled on the linoleum floor. As we approached the stairwell, a sound made us freeze. Footsteps, coming our way.

“Security guard,” Patrick hissed. “Quick, in here!”

We ducked into a nearby supply closet just in time, hardly daring to breathe as the footsteps passed by. Once they faded, we emerged, our hearts pounding.

“That was close,” I muttered.

We made our way up to the second floor, constantly on alert for any signs of the night guard or the occasional nurse. Thankfully, the clinic was quiet, the only few nighttime nurses too busy at their desks to notice as we quietly slipped past. The few patients that were spending the night were asleep in their rooms, and suddenly, for the first time maybe ever, I was glad for Moonstone’s small population.

Finally, we reached the east wing. The doctor’s office was at the end of the hall, the nameplate gleaming faintly in the dim light.

Chris quietly tried the door. Locked. I handed him the keycard, and with another swipe, we were in.

The office was cluttered with medical texts and patient files. In the center sat the computer, which was our primary target.

“Ava, you keep watch,” Chris instructed. “Patrick, do your thing. I’ll check the files.”

Nodding, I positioned myself by the door, straining my ears for any sound of approaching nurses or security guards. Behind me, I could hear Patrick’s fingers flying over the keyboard and soft rustling as Chris rifled through drawers.

“Anything?” I whispered after a few minutes that felt like an eternity.

“Not yet,” Chris replied in a rather frustrated tone of voice. “Goddess, these files are a mess. Aren’t doctors supposed to be, I don’t know, organized?”

Patrick, however, made a soft sound of triumph. “I’m in. Idiot set his password to his kid’s name… I mean, what year are we in?”

Chris and I exchanged eye-rolls. “Focus, Pat,” Chris hissed.

“Right. Now, let’s see what secrets you’re hiding, Doc,” Patrick whispered.

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow. Every creak and groan of the old building made me jump, and I found myself glancing at Patrick more and more often, silently willing him to hurry the hell up.

Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching down the hallway and the jingling of keys—a security guard. “Shit. Someone’s coming,” I hissed.

Chris cursed and quickly shoved the files back into place while Patrick fumbled with a flash drive. “Almost got it,” Patrick muttered, his eyes fixed on the screen. “Can you buy me a minute?”

“Buy you a minute?” I growled. “How?”

Patrick merely shrugged, his face focused on the computer screen. The footsteps were getting closer. I looked around frantically, my eyes landing on an empty soda can on the doctor’s desk. Without thinking, I grabbed it and rolled it down the opposite hallway.

The footsteps paused, then changed direction, following the sound of the can.

“Nice thinking,” Chris whispered, squeezing my shoulder.

Patrick unplugged the flash drive. “Got it. Let’s go.”

We slipped out of the office, taking care to lock it behind us. As we crept toward the stairs, I could hear the guard’s radio crackling.

“Johnson, check the east wing. I heard something.”

“Shit,” Chris muttered. “Move!”

We raced down the stairs, no longer caring about stealth but rather about getting the hell out. But as we burst out of the stairwell, we backpedaled just as another guard rounded the corner.

For a moment, we all froze, staring at each other in shock as the guard approached. “Hello?” he called out. Then Patrick, quick as lightning, reached out and hit the fire alarm.

Instantly, the building was filled with the shrill sound of the alarm. The guard, momentarily distracted, turned toward the noise. We took our chance and bolted.

We ran through the halls, dodging confused night staff and racing toward the exit. Behind us, I could hear shouts and running footsteps.

“There they are!” someone yelled.

We burst through the front doors and into the cool night air. But we didn’t stop. We kept running, our feet pounding on the pavement, our breath coming in harsh gasps, even when the guards stopped chasing.

We didn’t slow down until we reached the edge of the village near my cottage. Finally, we stopped, all of us bent over and gasping for air.

“Did we... Did we make it?” I panted.

Chris looked back in the direction of the clinic. In the distance, we could see flashing lights, but no one seemed to be following us anymore.

“I think we’re clear,” he said, straightening. “I don’t think they recognized us, either.”

Patrick held up the flash drive with a manic grin on his face. “And we got what we came for.”

As our breathing slowly returned to normal, the reality of what we had just done began to sink in. “I can’t believe we actually pulled that off,” I said, a hysterical laugh bubbling up in my throat.

Chris ran a hand through his hair, looking both exhilarated and worried. “Let’s hope it was worth the trouble.”

We made our way back to my cottage, constantly looking over our shoulders. As we approached the door, I could feel the adrenaline starting to wear off, leaving me shaky and exhausted.

Once inside, we collapsed onto the couch, the stolen flash drive sitting innocently on the coffee table.

“So,” Patrick said, opening his laptop, “who wants to do the honors?”