Aida POV

I wake up still smiling. Last night was ... perfect. I trace my hand softly against my top lip. I can still feel the buzz from Argent's kiss. Oh my. It was like nothing I've ever felt.

When we got back to my room last night, every fibre of my being wanted him to come in and continue what we'd started in the restaurant, but being the gentleman he is, he simply kissed me goodnight and went to his room.

Every worry, every concern I had, disappears into the abyss when I'm kissing him. This mate thing is unbelievable. And I sort of get it a bit more now. Kissing anyone else doesn't compare in any way to being with him.

I wonder what everything else will feel like.

A blush forms over my face just thinking about it. Geez, what's happening to me? I'm never usually like this. But this boy is something else.

I roll over to stay daydreaming in bed a little longer, but I'm interrupted by a sudden and sharp pain in my head.

"Aida!" a voice screams in my mind. What is that? Who is that?

It comes again, sounding more desperate.

"Aida, please!"

I sit upright and hold my head. Can everyone hear this or just me?

The frantic knock at the door answers that question.

Argent's anxious voice comes through from the other side, "Aida open the door. Please, It's just me. I need you to come downstairs. It's Amalie. She's screaming over the link for you. Something is wrong. We need you."

I look at the bedside clock, seeing it's only 7 a.m. I jump up and throw on some leggings, a bra, and a t-shirt. I find my flip flops by the end of the bed and run to open the door.

Argent stands there looking more upset and concerned than I've ever seen him. He grabs my hand and we run down the hallway towards the stairs. We take them two at a time on the way down and keep that pace when we reach the bottom. We are joined in our run at the base of the stairs by James and Argos.

We burst into the medical centre all at the same time.

Marcus and a tall, slim blonde woman in a lab coat are standing by Amalie's bed. Dr. Emerson, I assume. Amalie is thrashing around wildly, and the restraints on her arms and legs look as though they may snap at any time. A voice screams over the link again. But this time, I am the only one who stops and listens. Can they not hear?

"Aida, if you do not do as I say, I will come for you all. Soon. You will know what to do." A loud hiss follows this new voice. It sends a chill down my spine. I stay frozen, holding my hands on my ears. Amalie has stopped moving and opens her eyes, turning her tear-stained face towards me.

The hiss gets louder over the link, and Amalie and I let out matching screams as it gets so loud it feels as though it will pierce my ear drums.

Argent stands in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "Aida. Aida, what is it? What can you hear?"

The sounds stops, but I stay frozen. I blink my eyes slowly and look at Argent, shaking my head. "Didn't you hear that?" I ask.

He frowns and shakes his head. "Hear what?"

"His voice?"

"I did." Someone else answers. Amalie speaks so softly that I'm not sure if she said it in my head or out loud. Everyone turns to face her. She is very still now and deathly pale.

"Oh, my little girl. Are you okay? How do you feel?" Argos murmurs, his face stricken with worry. His voice sounds as though he has broken down.

She sobs. "Father, I'm sorry. I should never have gone out without your permission."

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about that now please, darling. Are you okay? Can you still feel your wolf? Your scent ... it's different."

Amalie shakes her head. Tears pour from her closed eyes. "I can't. I can't hear her at all. It's like she can't hear me or ... or like she's gone. And father, I can hear him."

Argos's breath catches. "What do you mean? You can hear Lukah?"

She nods slowly, looking directly at me. "So can she."

They all turn to look at me now.

I baulk, trying to find my words. "What? Hear who? I mean, I heard someone just now, but that's it. I don't know who it was." I'm trying my hardest not to shake. What is going on? Who the hell was that just then? What did they want from me?

Argent walks over to Amalie's bed. He holds her hand, and she places her other one on his. James comes to stand next to me and pulls me into his arms.

Argos replies, "It's okay, Malie. It's okay. We are going to figure this out."

She nods her head sadly. "Daddy, I'm so hungry. Can I please have something to eat?"

Argos gestures to one of the nurses, and she goes into the med centre kitchen and grabs a sandwich out of the small fridge. She comes back with that and an apple and places them in front of Amalie's bed. Argos helps her to sit up a little.

Amalie takes the sandwich and unwraps it, her hands trembling. She puts it up to her mouth and takes a bite. She immediately gags and throws it back on the plate.

We all watch her cautiously. She tries the apple and has the same reaction. Just as she's about to give it another try, another nurse comes through the med centre doors with a trolley carrying supplies for the centre.

Amalie drops the apple and begins to sniff loudly, looking around anxiously.

"What is that? What is that smell? What is that? Please, I need to find it—" She cuts off as the nurse walks past her bed. "Wait! What have you got on the tray? What is that amazing smell?"

The nurse pauses. She frowns and flips open the cover to the small, chilled box on the tray. "It's just blood, hun. I'm restocking what we used when you came in."

Amalie launches off the bed, tearing the restraint holds and throwing herself onto the nurse and the tray. She grabs a bag of the blood out of the box and rips at it with her teeth. She gulps it down in a few seconds and goes for another.

Argos tackles her to the ground and pushes the tray and the blood box away. "Argent, take it now!"

Amalie thrashes around underneath him. James and the two doctors assist him in getting a hold of Amalie, who is wildly throwing herself around in an attempt to grab the blood. Argent takes the box and runs with it into the storage room.

I'm frozen on the spot. I've never seen anything like this outside of the treatment centres. We need a straight jacket.

Marcus runs into the office and comes back with a syringe. He holds Amalie's arm out and plunges it in. After a few moments, she slows her movements and eventually stills. Her eyes fall closed, and she lays limp in her father's arms.

Everyone stands staring, not quite sure what we've just witnessed. Argent returns and stands looking down at his father.

Dr. Emerson finally speaks, breaking the silence.

"She is ... I think she might be a hybrid. When I was going over her recent bloodwork before, I noticed some anomalies. She still has the same blood type, but there are changes. I've never seen anything like it. I will take some back to my lab to look into it further."

Marcus faces Argos. He bends down to be at face level with him as he sits on the floor with Amalie in his arms. "Alpha? What do you want to do?"

Argos looks lost. He looks down at his daughter, then over to Argent who has moved to stand by my side. James bends down and takes Amalie's hand.

"Alpha, Argos, what shall we do? We need to keep her safe, but we need to keep the pack safe too," James says, trying to be calm.

Argos nods and pats James' hand. "You're right."

He stands up and with James's help they lift Amalie back onto the bed. They apply new restraining straps. "Marcus, Emerson, figure out how to keep her sedated safely until we can prepare a new room for her, in a secure area." His voice breaks a little. "Aida. I need you to work with Emerson today. I need you to figure out what just happened and why you could hear someone other than the pack. We need to know what they want. I want you to work on your wolf. We need to be strong as a pack to help Amalie and that includes you."

He places his hand on my arm and gives me a soft but sad smile, then he walks back to the bed and places a soft kiss on Amalie's head before turning to walk out.

Argent leans into me. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Just tell Emerson when it's too much, and she will stop." He kisses my forehead and leaves with James as they follow the Alpha.

Dr. Emerson walks over to me. "I'm glad to meet you Aidalyn." She takes my hand softly. "I know this is all a shock, but do you think we can get to work?"

I take one last look at Amalie and turn back to the doctor. Marcus is checking over the bookwork at Amalie's bed. "I don't know where to start," I tell her, looking down. "Dr. Emerson? I'm scared."

She places her arm around my shoulder. "Me too, hun. I'm just a human in the middle of all this. But we can go as slowly as you like. How about we just talk first? Let's go outside and sit in the garden."

I nod and we head towards the doors. I see Marcus injecting something else into Amalie's arm and shaking his head sadly. Poor Amalie. What did my father do to us? I walk with Dr. Emerson out of the giant double doors at the entrance of the house and out into the garden.

We choose one of the benches and sit down.

"Now hun, let's start at the beginning. Tell me about your treatment and your childhood. What do you remember?"

I shuffle in my seat and take a deep breath.

"Ah ... how long have you got?"