Chapter 171

For a long moment, I simply stared at Lamar, trying to make sense of his words. Asher attacked him? How could that be? Asher had promised me he would restrain his wolf and not attack Lamar.

Lamar must have been able to see my doubt. His frown deepened. “I’m not making this up, Cynthia.”

I wasn’t accusing him of that, but I couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying to me. I needed more information. “Tell me what happened.”

“I saw Asher in the dorm hallway this morning. I decided to talk to him. I just wanted to try to get him to back off of you, now that we’re dating. I barely said two words to him before he went ballistic.”

Lamar touched the edge of his ugly bruise. “He growled, but didn’t say any words. Then he slugged me. He caught me totally by surprise and knocked me out. I woke up here.”

Asher could be overprotective, but to assault Lamar after only two words? That scenario didn’t seem right. Either Lamar was mistaken or he wasn’t telling the full truth.

“What were the two words you said?” I asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. His anger subsided, embarrassment replacing it. “I said, ‘Cynthia’s mine.’”

I straightened in surprise.

“I know we haven’t defined our relationship, but the way Asher tries to boss you around like he’s your Alpha really unsettles me. Alphas only respond to ownership, so I thought if I said that, he would understand that you’ve moved on.”

Lamar had always been so considerate and respectful before, it felt an odd shift for him to suddenly be less so.

I tried to reason with myself that he had only said it to try to protect me from Asher. It still didn’t sit right inside of me. He had tried to claim ownership of me.

If Lamar had said that to Asher, Asher would not have liked it. But would it have irked him enough to lose himself to his wolf and knock Lamar out? I still wasn’t sure.

I didn’t know what to believe.

From inside my purse, my phone rang. I quickly scooped it out to silence it, but stopped when I noticed the name on the screen.

Asher.

I remembered that I had tried to call him earlier, when I had thought he was the one in this hospital bed. It made sense for him to be returning my call.

I couldn’t exactly answer it right now, though, so I sent it to voicemail. I noticed then, that he’d tried calling three times in a row.

Was he worried about me?

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Lamar asked, startling me. I hadn’t forgotten he was there, exactly, but sometimes I could really lose myself when thinking of Asher. Lamar’s voice had snapped me back to the here and now.

I didn’t confirm or deny, but Lamar seemed to know anyway.

“He’s probably trying to explain himself to you,” Lamar said. “You can’t listen to him, Cynthia.”

My feelings for Asher often led me astray. That I had thought of Asher instead of Lamar when I had gotten that text telling me my boyfriend was in the hospital, was telling.

I cared too much about Asher. I needed to let those feelings go.

For Lamar’s sake, as well as my own, I silenced my phone and returned it to my purse. The action put Lamar more at ease and he sighed.

Maybe now was my chance to ask him about that text I received.

“Lamar, I got a strange text earlier, telling me you were here. I didn’t recognize the number. Do you have any idea who sent it?”

“No clue. Like I said, I was unconscious until I woke up here.” Lamar’s friendly smile returned. “But whoever it was, I’m grateful if they led you to me. They must be my guardian angel.”

That really wasn’t a good enough answer for me, but I smiled all the same, not wanting Lamar to know how unnerved I was by the whole thing.

Lamar was the guy I was dating. He was the one who needed my support. Did it truly matter how I ended up here? What was important was that I did.

Maybe I should forget about the text.

A little while later, the doctor came into the room. She wanted to give Lamar one last look-over before they discharged him.

I didn’t want to get in the way so I excused myself and went to wait in the lobby.

My phone buzzed once with a text. I retrieved my phone from my purse and opened it to find a message from Asher.

Are you okay?

He was worried.

My heart ached. I opened a text and replied.

I’m fine. Sorry. Misdialed you earlier.

I wouldn’t tell him, or anyone, the truth of what had happened, that I had been so afraid for Asher I’d dialed his phone. I’d bury that secret deep down inside of myself.

No one could know that when I had heard your boyfriend, I had immediately assumed Asher.

Asher’s reply came quickly.

Okay.

Simple. To the point. No questions asked.

I pressed my hand to my chest as my pain spiked. I had just seen Asher last night, but I already missed him.

No one will take my family from me.

If only he had truly meant those words, and they weren’t just the ranting of his confused wolf.

I shook my head. Here I was getting lost in Asher-thoughts again. If I wasn’t careful, I risked creating an accidental projection right here in the hospital lobby.

Clicking off my phone, I returned it to my bag.

“Cynthia?” my cousin Nancy said from behind me. I turned as she rushed to my side. “What are you doing here?”

Taking me by the arm, Nancy led me to a more secluded corner of the waiting room. She spoke to me in a hushed voice.

“Don’t you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be here right now?”

Before I could reply, she motioned to a group of three men standing at the nurses’ station. They wore matching blue suits with black ties. Their hairstyles were uniform, short and parted off to one side.

Two were interrogating one of the nurses, taking turns asking questions, one after the next. The third stood a bit farther back, arms crossed over his chest.

This third man seemed older than the other two, with a dusting of gray in his dark hair. His features were sharp – high cheekbones, pointed nose, jutted chin. His expression was carefully blank, somehow even more neutral than Asher’s.

He looked bored and disinterested, though his gaze sliced straight to the nurse when she said something that made the other two pause.

The disinterest had been an illusion.

Nurse Irene stormed out from where the lab rooms were and approached the men.

My stomach dropped as I realized who these men were.

“Those are the investigators from the research facility,” Nancy said.

Nurse Irene stood between them and the nurse they had been talking to. The two men who had been talking started arguing with Nurse Irene.

The third glanced away. His gaze trailed across the length of the waiting room and landed right on me.

My breath caught, but I couldn’t look away. I felt trapped, a caged animal backed into corner.

Why was he looking at me? Did he know about me somehow? How could he?

The man watched me with a blank expression, revealing nothing.

Then, turning toward me, he unhooked his arms.

Was he coming over?