The birds chirped outside the open windows. The sun was beaming in and lighting up the room in a nice change from the days of rain they’d had in Wild Cliff.

“She’ll be okay. She just needs some rest. Don’t go in there right now, Alpha, or you’ll scare her.”

“She’s waking up. I hear her groans.” His deep voice rang through the wall, but the words didn’t quite reach Lola’s groggy mind.

“You shouldn’t be the first person she sees,” an older woman said from behind the closed doors. Her voice was raspy and stern, just like that school teacher who mothered all her students.

“Fine. When she’s up, you let me know right away.” His steps took him down the hallway. The thick carpet mellowed his heavy feet, and the door creaked open as the lady entered.

She carefully closed it behind her, taking her time so as not to startle the patient.

Lola’s eyes began to flutter open with caution. Her hands reached around her body, and a person used to the routine and the safety of home didn’t need much other than their senses to know when something was wrong.

She flew up from the bed, her eyes darting around the strange room, and panic began to flood her body.

“Shh, relax. Don’t be scared. Everything is all right.” Lola looked at the old lady, who meant no harm. Her wrinkly hands reached out to soothe Lola, and her chapped red nail laid softly on her arm.

“Who are you?” Lola asked and pulled her arm away. She moved to the edge of the bed. The walls were a warm beige, and the carpet was colorful. She knew right away that this wasn’t a hospital.

A throbbing pain began to pound on her head, and she pressed on the wound with her fingers. There was a patch of something there, and as she pressed on it, the pain worsened.

“Don’t touch that, honey. It’s been cleaned and stitched up, but it will take some time before it heals.” The old lady smiled. The crowfoot by her eyes pressed together, and her blue eyes shone like the sun over a blue sea.

“Who are you?” Lola asked once more.

“I am Ms. Abrams,” she said and bowed her head. She waited a beat before continuing, “I am the one who tended to your wounds when you arrived here.”

Lola looked around frantically. “Arrived? When did I—” She stopped and squeezed her eyes together when the pain began to throb again. “I had a dream. I was at work with my best friend, and someone took me. Melissa, she uhm...” Lola didn’t finish the sentence. She looked up at the old lady, unsure of how to continue without being sent to the mental hospital in Lowey, an hour away, so she kept quiet. “Never mind,” she said and licked her dry lips.

“You fell and hit your head. Jax found you and brought you here to be looked after.” Jax? Lola’s head snapped to Ms. Abrams. Her eyes widened as much as humanly possible upon hearing his name.

“Jax brought me here?” Ms. Abrams nodded and stood still with her hands clasped in front of her body. Why on earth would he bring her somewhere like this? She tried to wrap her head around all of the questions she had, but only more of them seemed to arise.

Lola began searching in her pockets and saw dried blotches of blood on her clothes as she looked for her phone.

“What the hell happened?” she whispered, trying to remember last night. “Have you seen my phone?” Ms. Abrams looked around the room, her lips parted in question, and her eyes gazed over each surface. She walked over to the white dresses and looked around the lamps and candles. She moved the books that ordained the surface, and with crocked brows, she went over to the armchair in the corner right by the panorama window and looked at the coffee table.

“I’m sorry, dear, I can’t seem to find it,” she said and continued looking until there were no more places where the phone could be.

Lola took a deep, calming breath and leaned her head back. She looked up at the canopy and slowly exhaled the breath after a few seconds. It was how she always calmed herself. Lola had released that if she held a deep breath for a few seconds and then looked at something calming and exhaled, her heart slowed, and her mind stopped spinning.

Afterward, she could usually continue with her day in her apartment or call Melissa, but this was not one of those instances. No, this was much different. She was in a stranger’s home, god knew where, and had no clue where her phone was or what had happened the night before.

Lola dragged her hand over her face, and her defensive instincts kicked in. She needed to get out of there and get home. It was the only place where she knew she was safe.

“I need to leave. Please tell Jax thank you from me.” She got off the bed and smiled at the lady.

“Tell him yourself,” a deep voice said from behind her. Lola spun on her feet and saw Jax standing in the door frame.

“Leave us,” he said and looked at Ms. Abrams.

She bowed her head and threw one last warm smile Lola’s way before leaving the room. Her floral beige dress hung to her ankles, and her black pumps clicked against the floor when she walked off the carpet.

Lola looked around the room, and her heart skipped a beat when the door closed behind Jax.

“Where is my phone?” she asked.

He reached back and took the phone out of his jeans pocket.

“Right here.” He handed it over.

Filled with relief, Lola took the phone and held it against her chest. She moved her hair out of the way and looked at the screen. However, no matter how many times she pressed the button, it wouldn’t light up. “It’s dead,” she sighed. At least, she hoped it was. Lola couldn’t afford to buy a new phone; it took her a whole year of working just to buy this one, and she’d had it for two years.

Jax shrugged his shoulders and walked up to her. “I could charge it for you if you’re not in a hurry to leave, that is,” he said. His voice was low and somewhat calculated.

Her defenses went up, and she smiled politely. “That’s okay, I’ll just charge it at home. Thank you for, uhm, for taking me in,” she said awkwardly and walked around him.

Jax reached out his hand, his fingers circled her arm, and he stopped her in her steps.

“Let me charge it for you. You’ll have it in an hour.”

Her heart picked up speed, her body tensed under his touch, and she slowly looked at him sideways. She was confused by his expression. It seemed that he could tell what she was thinking because when he saw her face, he moved his hand and took a step back.

“If you want,” he said and locked his eyes on her.

His jaw clicked, and she wondered if her lack of response was agitating him, but Jax turned around for a second. His head went around in a circle, and as he turned back around, his features had softened.

A knock on the door caused her to jump. She turned her head and watched as someone stepped in. Lola smiled from ear to ear. Her feet took her to the door, and she wrapped her arms around Melissa, who stood next to another guy.

“Melissa! Holy shit, thank god,” she breathed and leaned back to scan her friend and then pulled her to her chest again.

“I just had the weirdest dream,” Melissa said against Lola’s shoulder.

Lola leaned back and looked at her.

“What about?” Melissa opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted before she began.

“Why don’t we go and eat? I’ll charge your phone in the meantime, and you guys can catch up,” Jax said.

Melisa’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she saw the person standing behind Lola.

“Is that— You’re— Hi,” she squealed.

“Hi,” he said and raised a hand in a small wave with a cheeky smile.

“I mean, I could eat,” Melissa said and pulled her shoulders up to her ears as she tore her gaze away from Jax.

Lola was indecisive. She looked between her friend and the guy she’d met once before. Still, Melissa was here, which calmed her nerves.

“Fine, let’s eat.”