Chapter 9

Ollie’s POV

He doesn’t seem to notice, too concentrated on his work.

When he’s finished, he steps back, admiring what he’s done.

I glance down and read what he wrote.

I’m Wolfless.

I want to be angry, but my breath remains rapid, my body still reacting to the touch.

I’m embarrassed by my body’s own reaction, yet I’m unable to stop myself from feeling it. The way that marker pressed over my nipple as a lover’s caress might have still sent pleasant tingling shivers down my spine.

I’ve never had anyone else touch me there, and though it had been through the marker, it was still Wes controlling it. Caressing me, if only for a single sweeping moment and motion.

Wesley. One of my mates.

“We desire him,” Scarlet says, echoing my own thoughts.

We do, but at the same time, “We can’t. You’ve seen how he treats us. How they all do. We cannot live our lives tied to them or we will be miserable forever.”

My wolf falls silent.

Gathering every drop of my willpower, I press down hard on the growing feelings inside of myself. I will not succumb to these bodily desires, not if the result will leave me attached to the quadruplets – and to Sylvia – forever.

Swallowing down my pride, I try to rally what’s left of my dignity. Standing still where Wes placed me, where I’m to carry out my punishment, I lift my head up high.

The brothers, Sylvia, and her minions watch me in amusement for a while, as the rest of the high school arrives for the day. When people see my shirt, they snicker. Some scoff. One spits in my direction, their saliva landing beside my shoe. A couple laugh.

“Wolfless are bad luck,” one student says to his friend. “Honestly, they should all be exiled from the pack. They do nothing but bring the rest of us down.”

Oddly, Hugh starts to growl. In a flash, he stops himself, frowning in confusion.

“What was that for?” Kimber asks him.

“I don’t know…” he admits.

“Ollie can’t leave,” Conrad says instead. “Not until she repays our pack for the kindness they showed in raising her.”

“Which she’ll never be able to do,” Declan says. “So she will never leave.”

Never?

I try to imagine a life much like mine now, but consistent and far into the future. How much will I be torn down by then? Will I even feel alive anymore?

The thought makes me shudder.

Clamping down on this feeling too, I attempt to right myself and stand tall once more, but I feel sick again and a little dizzy. Something is definitely off with me today, but I’m still having trouble pining down what it is.

“Scarlet?” I ask in my mind, turning to my wolf for guidance.

“I don’t know. I feel strange too…”

My wolf should be more in tune with our instincts than I am. If even she doesn’t know what’s wrong…

“We have to get to class,” Ella says. She’s inching closer to me, despite the warning glances the brothers keep giving her. When they seem unconvinced she points out, “Sylvia could get in trouble if she’s late.”

That manages to rouse them, and they turn to her at once.

“You can’t be late,” Wes tells her.

“We won’t be the reason you get in trouble,” Hugh adds.

None of them notice as I start to sway on my feet. Ella does, fortunately, and steps closer to me.

“You’re pale,” she says.

“I’ve been feeling a little sick this morning,” I admit.

“Come on,” Ella says. “I’m taking you to the school doctor.”

“The quadruplets won’t like that,” I say. “Wes told me to stay here all day.”

“You stood up to Sylvia but you can’t stand up to them?” Ella asks. “Why? You are sick and you need checked out.”

I know Ella’s right, but she doesn’t understand how difficult it is. Before, I wanted to please the brothers to try to get them to care about me again. Now, it feels like a base instinct – something I need to do.

“Go to the doctor,” Scarlet says. “There is something wrong. True mates would understand.”

“They might be our fated mates, but they do not care about us,” I remind her in my mind, words that hurt me further even just by saying them.

Scarlet’s voice is sure in my mind. “Then we must protect ourselves.”

“Okay,” I tell Ella.

Fortunately, the brothers seem so focused on convincing Sylvia to get to class, that they don’t notice me slink away. In shame, I wrap my arms over my chest to hide the words written on it.

Ella waits outside of the examination room while I am looked over by the school doctor. The minute she spot my shirt, her face hardens.

“I take it you didn’t write that yourself,” she says.

“I can handle myself,” I tell her, though lately I have my doubts. Finding out the quadruplets are my mates is bad enough. But now I have this mystery illness?

I have no idea what’s going on or how to manage anymore. Thank the Gods for Ella and for Scarlet, both of whom are the only reasons I haven’t fallen to pieces already.

The doctor seems dissatisfied with my answer but doesn’t press as she continues to look me over. She checks my pulse and my temperature. Pressing her stethoscope to my chest, she has me breathe in and out slowly. Then she flashes a light in my eyes.

Whatever she sees makes her pause. “Your shirt…” she says, carefully considering each word. “Is it accurate?”

I should lie like I have to everyone else. Yet, with a doctor, with my health on the line, maybe that’s not such a good idea.

“Can you keep a secret?” I ask.

“I have to,” she says. “I’m restricted from sharing your medical records.”

With that assurance, I tell her, “Then…no. It’s not.”

She sighs as she steps back away from me. “Tell me everything.”

So I do, briefly describing my situation at home, as well as how the brothers are now my fated mates. I tell her about my desire to suppress these feelings, and how since then, I’ve felt worse and worse physically.

She listens to every single word. When I’ve finished, it doesn’t take long for her to deliver her prognosis.

“You have found your mates but not rejected them. Instead, you’ve been suppressing your wolf. This isn’t good for your health, Ollie. The longer you push down on your wolf, the worse you will feel.”

“There has to be something I can do,” I tell her. “I can’t let them know that we are mated, not even long enough to reject them. They’ll make my life miserable.”

The doctor’s eyes soften with sympathy. “You need to find opportunities to let your wolf free. Not just shifting, but allowing her to release her scent and be yourself.”

I can’t imagine scenarios where I would be able to do that, but if it’s what it takes to get better… Maybe I can sneak away sometimes to the forest or some other place.

I only need to survive like this a month.

“For now, rest,” the doctor says, gesturing to one of the hospital beds in the room. It looks quite comfortable, which is how I know I’m exhausted. “I’ll see if I can find you something new to wear.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” I tell her, meaning it. Just as she’s about to walk away, I ask, “Can my friend come in now?”

As soon as Ella joins me at my bedside, I tell her what happened and what the doctor said. There’s not really any secrets between us.

When I’ve finished, she taps her chin. “Somewhere you can allow your wolf to show her scent…”

“Yeah,” I say. “I have no idea where that could be.”

“I do,” Ella says, straightening. “There’s a masquerade ball in the next pack over. Let’s go after school and really let loose. Your wolf can release your scent, and we can drink our troubles away.”

After everything I’ve been through in the past few days, that really sounds heavenly.

“When is it?” I ask her.

She laughs. “Ollie, it’s tonight.”