Chapter 2
chapter2 Taya
I stared at the young couple in front of me, and my heart break took over me. I buried my head in my knees and cried bitterly.
Oh, Griffon Knight...
During my years with you when you were thinking about Tara, did you have any clue that I loved you?
Buy why would an Alpha like you pay attention to someone you hired to be a substitute.
I was crying uncontrollably now, and the girl came over and patted my back gently. She handed me a pack of tissues.
"Does it hurt?" she asked. "Don't be afraid. I've been ill for years."
I cried even harder. For a moment, I couldn't even breathe.
But she had a boyfriend who loved her.
And I... Had no one.
Shaking the tears off, I steeled myself to get up and go home.
And saw Griffon walking down the hall toward me-with Tara on his arm.
Instead of the detached look he typically wore, there was a softness as he looked at Tara. As medical staff and other people rushed by them, he growled a bit if they got too close to her. She was smiling up at him...and he was actually smiling back.
The happy couple, and me-the lonely outsider.
They'd gotten close enough, and I could see two dimples in Tara's cheeks.
One night, when Griffon was falling asleep, he'd stroked my face and said regretfully, "I wish you had dimples. You'd look more like her."Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Now that I saw her, I knew why.
He bent his head and said something in Tara's ear. She dipped her head shyly and covered her mouth, while Griffon lowered his head as if he were about to kiss her.
Just as I was about to turn away, he noticed me. His gaze was cold as it met mine, the amber of his wolf flashing in his eyes.
Quickly, he turned away.
Of course, he only had eyes for her.
I would swear I could feel the hole in my heart where the doctor said I was missing a piece.
Pressing a hand against my heart, I stumbled as I took out my phone with my other hand and sent a text message to him.
Alpha, I would like to take a day off tomorrow.
Even though I didn't have my wolf, I'd grown up among shifters and still called him Alpha out of respect. I slid my phone back in my pocket, recalling our time together over the past five years. I dreamed of finding a way to make Griffon love me. Even just a little bit.
But I couldn't bring up a single memory that indicated he'd ever truly cared for me.
He'd paid me so he could pretend I was someone else when he was inside me, and I'd taken his money to save Silas.
I took a deep breath. It was as if there was a hand gripping my heart tighter and tighter.
Squeezing my eyes shut against the pain, I stumbled as I walked forward, bumping into someone. Just as I was about to apologize, a familiar voice shouted, "Tara!"
The next second, I was pushed to the floor. My lower abdomen hit a chair in the corridor, and the paper I'd been holding slipped from my hand.
I clutched my midsection and breathed deeply to quell the pain, keeping my eyes focused on the pattern of the linoleum floor. From above me, I heard Griffon speak in a concerned tone I'd never received. "Tara, are you okay?" "I... I'm fine..."
I glanced up to see Tara's hand on her belly, her face twisted in pain. Griffon helped her to a chair sat down, and then strode over. He towered above me, and all ruthless Alpha.
"Why are you here?" he demanded. "Five years with me, but you still haven't learned you place."
"I... I'm sorry..." I choked out.
Griffon snorted and picked up the paper I'd dropped. He glanced at it, and I ignored the pain in my heart. Quickly, I got up to snatch it away from him before he could read what it said. "You should apologize to Tara," Griffon said. "It's her you injured."
I looked at Tara again.
She looked at me with a faint smile and a gleam in her eyes, and I instantly realized what had happened.
There was no way I had bumped into her hard enough to knock her over like that...
Griffon didn't give me time to think, though. He grabbed my arm just shy of hurting me. Even though I didn't have a wolf, his gruff, commanding Alpha voice still affected me. "Apologize. Now. Don't make me tell you a third time. Tara is sick, and you've added to her discomfort."
Tara coughed gently and rested her head against Griffon's shoulder. "It's okay, darling. I just have a cold."
Griffon gently stroked her back, and the fierceness on his face was replaced by tenderness. "Colds aren't trivial. Your wolf should have healed you by now."
Once his focus shifted back to Tara, I was stuck standing there awkwardly. I wasn't sure what to say or do, and I uncomfortably shifted my weight back and forth between my feet.
To say that standing here right now was excruciating was the understatement of the year. My soul longed for Griffon to be comforting me right now after my diagnosis.
For a split second, I almost gave into my impulse to tell Griffon that I only had three months left to live.