Alec’s

When I wake up again, Alec is nowhere to be seen. In his place, though, is Raven. She was scrolling through her phone and had not noticed that I was awake.

I take that time to study her features. She seemed tired and worn out, just like Alec, just like I was. My shoulders drop as I realize that I am not the only one who's exhausted by this. I am not the only one being drained by everything that is unraveling.

"When was the last time you got any kind of sleep?" I asked, my voice filling the room. Raven pulls her eyes from her phone and focuses them on me.

"You are awake," she tried to smile, but her smile did nothing to hide her fatigue. "You didn't answer my question."

"I honestly can't remember," she answered with a sigh after thinking about it.

I stay quiet, just studying her. Getting to the bottom of what was happening with Alec's pack and also the hybrids was a priority, but not at the expense of our health and peace of mind.

I didn't pay attention to others. I admit that I'd become selfish, only thinking about myself and how this whole thing was affecting me. I didn't care about Alec, Micah, Jason, or the elders. With the exception of Micah, I rationalized that they had hurt me so they didn't deserve my care.

Dealing with these issues isn't just hard for me. It's hard for everyone involved. It's time I started accepting that and stopped behaving like a bitch.

"You need some sleep," I told her.

I expected her to argue, knowing how stubborn she could be. Instead, she leans back in the chair and smirks. "You mean, like, how I found you and Alec asleep and holding hands?"

My eyes widen and I choke on my saliva. I started to cough, trying to get rid of the saliva that went down the wrong tube.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, pretending that I knew nothing about what she was saying, all the while my eyes avoided hers.

She scoffs, the smirk still firmly in place. "Please! I know you, Sadie. You can't lie to me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"It's nothing," I stammered. "He was here when I woke up. He looked tired. I asked him to go get some rest. He refused, so I let him stay."

For some odd reason, my cheeks were burning. I swear you could see it all the way from the moon. I didn't understand why, though. I stopped seeing Alec as a romantic potential. I shouldn't be affected this much.

"Are you sure that's all there is?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Again, I couldn't maintain eye contact with her as I answered. "Yeah. The bond is driving me crazy. It's driving us both crazy, but that's all there is."

I wasn't sure who I was lying to. Me or her. The truth is, that's not all there was to

it, but I wasn't ready to accept that. I wasn't ready to accept all the changes I saw in Alec. I wasn't ready to accept that; just maybe all the love I felt for him didn't die.

What would that make me if I confessed the truth? I've spent three years hating and resenting Alec. What would it say about me if it turned out that beneath the hatred, my love for him still simmered? It would make everything I've gone through seem like a joke, because how can I still be in love with a man that destroyed me?

One of the reasons I hated the bond between us is the power it had. The power to bring things back to life I thought I had buried. The power to make me want things I shouldn't. To make me feel things I shouldn't. To crave things I had no right to crave.

It's messing with my head and I hate the confusion that it brings.

Raven's smirk drops and she becomes dead serious. "I can sense that things are starting to change between you two. It's there as bright as day. You can't deny that you've felt the same change coming from Alec. All I can tell you is, take one step at a time. From what my mother taught me, matters of the bond can be a little bit tricky, so be careful."

Instead of saying anything, I just nodded my head.

“And another thing,” she began with

a soft smile. "Alec asked me to let you know that he's looking into something. He didn't want you worrying when you woke up and

didn't find him."

I feel so awkward that I can't help but hide my face with my hands. Like, what the hell was happening?

"Stop," I groaned when Raven's burst of laughter reached my ear.

"And you were saying that there was nothing more to it," she mocked, her lips twisted upwards. "Whether it's the bond or not, that man has it bad for you."

"La-la-la. I'm not listening to your nonsense," I sang while getting out of bed.

I didn't know how long I had been in the hospital, but it was time to go back to the pack house. It was already night. Aspen was probably anxious to see me.

"Let's go," I told Raven.

Good thing I didn't need to change clothes, because they never changed me into a hospital gown.

We left the room and walked

through the corridor before finally

reaching the outside. Despite everything that happened this morning, I felt good. I felt energized, and felt like a bit of the burden was lifted from my shoulders.

We don't speak as we walk towards the pack house. I was right. It was already dark. The air was a bit chilly, but I could hardly feel the cold. I was well rested and felt like I was ready to take on the world.

When we reached the pack house. It was quiet, with only a bunch of people around. I guess dinner had come and gone.

"Do you need anything?" Raven asked me before we stepped on the stairs.

Right now, nothing really mattered. All I wanted was to see Aspen and hold her in my arms.

"Nothing," I replied. "I am not really that hungry."

She only nodded her head. We move side by side as we climb up the stairs. Walking through the corridor, we are both quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

Raven was in the room opposite mine, while Martha was in the next one.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she mumbled with a yawn.

"Please make sure you get some sleep." we walked into our rooms after she gave

her promise.

I'd just entered my room when I remembered the dream, or rather, the two

memories I had. Something niggles in the back of my mind. A name.

I struggled to remember it for what felt like years. Finally, I grasp it.

Xena.

A name that's so unfamiliar, yet it brings me nothing but fear.noveldrama