Chapter 49

Harper’s POV

“Is there anything you remember from that night?” Lucas asks as I fit the blood pressure cuff around his arm.

Keep quiet, or you’ll regret it.

That’s what the note that I found on my floor this morning said. It was accompanied by a picture of me, beaten and bloody on the floor.

I keep my mouth shut. While, at one point, I might have thought my life was ending early, I’d rather not have it actually happen, especially at the hands of Sierra. I would rather march straight into the forest and let a rogue maul me to death.

“Harper, I can’t find this guy if you don’t tell me anything,” Lucas huffs, staring down at me. I can feel Mason watching me, too, from the other side of Lucas’s office. I continue squeezing the pump for the blood pressure cuff while biting my tongue.

“What was he wearing?”

I stay quiet.

Sierra’s threat hangs over my head, like an axe waiting to drop. She has friends all over, and I can’t trust anyone. Just this morning, I was walking to meet Logan for breakfast and a woman stopped me. She offered me an apple, and not thinking anything of it, I accepted.

It was rotten on the inside.

And by the way the woman giggled and strutted away, I know it was Sierra who sent her to me.

“Harper.”

A hand lands on my shoulder, startling me, but when I look up, it’s Mason. He watches me, a frown pulling at his lips.

“Did you notice anything that could help you identify your attacker?”

My stomach churns, making me feel a bit sick. There’s only one thing I want to do more than admitting Sierra was my attacker, and that is living. I don’t want to go through an attack like that again. I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want my awful stepsister to kill me.

I just want to live a normal, worry free life.

So, again, I don’t answer.

A loud, angry growl sounds as I stand and pull the cuff off Lucas’s arm. I try to ignore it, reminding myself that as Sierra’s mate, he’ll probably choose her side.

“Your health is fine,” I tell him, not bothering to look up. If I do, I might break. “Your blood pressure is a bit high, but that’s to be expected with the stress you’re under. I suggest taking more time to relax when you can—”

Lucas grabs my wrist, stopping me.

“How are you so fucking calm about this?” He growls.

“Lucas,” Mason warns, stepping toward the two of us, but it doesn’t stop Lucas. He pulls me closer to him and tilts my chin up.

“You were nearly killed. Do you not care if we catch this guy?”

Guy… he keeps saying that, assuming that it’s a man who attacked me. It doesn’t even cross his mind that a woman could’ve done this.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I wiggle my wrist out of his grasp and take a step back. “I don’t know who attacked me, and I’d rather just move on from the whole thing.”

“You know who it was,” Lucas growls. I move back when me comes toward me. “Are they threatening you?”

“No.”

Yes.

“Do you need help?”

“No.”

Yes. Help me.

Lucas snarls angrily, spins around, and slams his fist into his desk. I gasp, startled, and Mason moves to my side, nudging me back.

Is this what the warriors meant when they said he’s been in a mood all week? Lucas is usually so calm and composed. Seeing him worked up like this… my heart squeezes, and I almost let Sierra’s name slip from my lips, but I catch myself.

I clear my throat, and both men look at me.

“I’m sorry, but I have other patients to tend to. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”

“Nothing else? Harper, I want to know who did this!” Lucas yells as I flee from the room. I suspect the only reason he doesn’t run after me is because Mason holds him back.

Even so, I run from his office, moving as quickly as I can to put distance between us. I can still hear him yelling, even as I make it to the stairs at the end of the hallway. His voice only fades when I reach the next floor.

Tears swim in my vision, only slipping free once I finally make it to the front lawn. I take deep breaths, closing my eyes and letting the sun warm me up until I feel like I’m not going to cry any longer.

Sighing, I keep my eyes open for any sign of Sierra as I walk, but I don’t see her. There are a few people walking around, some warriors coming out of the forest, but no Sierra. Thankfully.

Something drops right in front of me, shattering at my feet and making me scream. I stumble back and stare at the broken flowerpot that nearly hit me before turning my eyes upward. On the balcony above, a familiar woman leans over the railing, watching me.

“Sorry!” The woman shouts just before she smirks, “You should really watch where you’re walking. You could’ve been seriously hurt if that hit you.”

My stomach flips and my heart stutters, skipping a beat as I realize what just happened. She either threw or dropped the pot on purpose. She wouldn’t be smirking if she didn’t.

Again, I realize that Sierra has eyes and ears everywhere.

“Healer Harper, are you okay?”

One of the warriors I healed earlier today jogs over and touches my arm. I jump back, shake my head, and rub my chest where my heart pounds against my ribs.

“I-I’m… Excuse me,” I mutter, turning and running toward my room. I don’t know where else to go, but I can’t stay out here. Clearly, Sierra has friends who are more than willing to help her hurt me.

First the note, then the apple, and now this?

I already agreed not to say anything, but as I run, I realize Sierra doesn’t care. She never liked me, and now she has an excuse and the power to mess with me.

Several people stare at me as I run through the hallways, but my only thought is to get to my room and lock myself in. Sierra won’t come barging into my room in the middle of the day, or at least, I don’t think she will.

However, that doesn’t matter, because when I yank my door open, I barely manage to hold in the scream.

A teddy bear, covered in red liquid, is pinned to my bed with a large knife in its chest.

“Oh, no. What happened?”

Spinning around, I take several steps back from Sierra. She smirks, tilting her head as she looks from me to the bear on my bed.

“You really should get rid of that,” she says, pinching her nose delicately. “It smells awful.”

“What do you want, Sierra?”

“Oh, it’s not about what I want,” she says, moving closer. I move back until I hit the wall. “Lucas sent me to deliver a message.”

I can’t tell if she’s lying or not, but I make sure to stay out of reach, moving when she does.

“What message?” I ask.

“Lucas will no longer be needing your services in the future, so once we’re married, you’ll be leaving the pack,” Sierra says, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She seems largely unbothered by the murdered stuffed animal and looks around the room. “If I were you, I’d start packing my things… not that you have much.”

With another fake smile, she turns and leaves, only stopping briefly at the door to add, “There is nothing here for you.”