KESTER.

I drove as fast as my car could carry me. The tires screamed against the asphalt as if they shared in my

urgency. My fingers clenched the steering wheel tight enough to leave dents and my pulse thudded louder

than the engine.

I had expected some good news, but nothing had prepared me for such a speedy arrival of the news.

Fuck.

At least, after everything that had gone to hell these past few days, for once, finally, something had gone

right.

I barely brought the car to a full stop before I threw open the door and bolted out. The engine was still

humming when I mmed it shut and took off toward the entrance.

Was that a fucking smile on my face?

Hell, yes! That was a smile! A real fucking one!

"Good morning, Alpha," ady greeted, blinking at me like I''d grown wings.

"Good morning, dear. How are you doing?" I replied, my voice unusually light, almost foreign to my own

ears.

Thedy stood confused. She hadn''t given me a response to my question. But I didn''t even take it to

heart.

I understood why she was quiet. She was stunned. No one had ever seen me smiling, let alone, smiling

and almost skipping like a giddy teenager, who just got his favorite video game as a birthday present.

I pushed the door open with all the impatience I had practiced my whole life, storming into the room.

"Fucker!" I screamed, almost at the top of my lungs the moment my eyes locked with the one pair of eyes I

thought I''d never see again.

"Hey... Moron..." Non croaked, barely able to crack a smile from where he was halfying on the bed.

But I didn''t care. My knees buckled before I could stop them. I crossed the room in seconds, copsed at

his bedside, and

wrapped my arms around him in a grip that made the hospital monitor beep.

"God, I thought I''d lost you," I whispered.

He wheezed out a yful yelp. "You might still lose me if you don''t ease up, dude. I''m fresh out of

here."

-death strength

We bothughed, and I heard another voice in the roomugh with us. That was when I realized Mrs.

Freya was in the room, standing quietly in the corner, and watching us with tears in her eyes and hands

sped together like she was holding in a prayer.

I turned and nodded a hello at her, too emotional to say anything else

She nodded back, giving me a look that said ''I know.''

Two days ago, the doctor had said

they''d found a rare, risky solution to

Non''s condition, something

experimental, but with a sliver of

hope. And what was the catch?

My blood.

They needed my blood, as his Alpha,

for it to work. I didn''t hesate a

second. I would''ve given every damn

drop of it if it meant dragging Non

back from the edge.

The doctor told me we might have to wait for about a week to see if it actually worked. But, two days after, I

got a call that my friend was already awake.

I turned back to Non, just to make sure he was still there, breathing, alive and real.

My eyes were blurry. Fuck.

I blinked hard, but the tears didn''t stop. For once, the world didn''t feel like it was crumbling beneath my

feet.

"I missed your ugly face," I muttered, in a cracking voice.

He smirked, barely able to lift one corner of his lip. "Yeah? I missed yours too."

"Don''t ever do that again, Nortan," I whispered, hugging him again. "Don''t fucking scare me like that ever

again."

"Dude," he groaned, wheezing augh, "you''re gonna put me back in aa with

all this affection. Chill."

I chuckled against his shoulder, but I didn''t let go. I didn''t want to. I wanted to

keep touching him, to keep proving to myself that he was actually here.

"Seriously, man," I said, finally pulling back to look at him, "I''m sorry."

"For what?" he asked, his brow twitching.

"For all of it. You wouldn''t have been in that fucking ident if it wasn''t for me."

Non scoffed. "Wow. This guy."

He slowly reached for a ss of water on the table but failed. Then he looked at

me with mock frustration. "Help me,

servant."

I handed him the ss.

He took a sip, swallowed with effort,

and then gave me a slow, deadpan

look. "So let me get this and here

you are, turning it into your personal

guilt monologue? So

uncharacteristically you. W. dude?

When did you be so dramatic?"

ight. I almost died, happened to you,