A Warrior’s Second Chance novel Chapter 308

ROMAN

The door had barely closed behind them when the room felt… different.

Quieter… Not just empty.

Different.

I let out a slow breath and leaned back slightly against the headboard. My arm still tingled faintly where Mr. Alexander had given me the injection. It wasn’t painful. Just warm.

I pressed my fingers lightly against the spot.

It was nothing.

Just a vaccine.

That’s what he said. I had agreed to it because I didn’t want to refuse help from the only people who seemed to be concerned about me.

For some reason, I was starting to question that decision a little. Not like I actually had a choice, though.

I was feeling weird now. I tried to focus on something ordinary–the sound of footsteps fading down the corridor, the distant clatter of dishes somewhere below. Normal sounds. Safe sounds.

Then the warmth in my arm spread.

Not sharply.

Slowly.

Like heat slipping under my skin.

I frowned and shifted my shoulder, rolling it slightly. I winced a little as I accidentally strained my injured ribs.

My heartbeat picked up.

I swallowed.

Maybe it was anxiety. Maybe it was because I had only just realized I didn’t know what that vaccine was really for.

The warmth moved up my arm and into my chest.

My breathing changed before I understood why.

It wasn’t fast.

It was heavy.

Like the air had thickened.

I sat up straighter.

My ears rang faintly. No… not ringing.

It was like the room had stretched.

The quiet wasn’t quiet anymore.

I could hear something in my ears.

My hand tightened against the bedsheet.

What is happening?

My pulse thudded against my ribs, harder now. Slightly painful.

The air shifted again.

And then…

My chest tightened suddenly, and I sucked in a breath that felt too deep, too wide for my lungs.

Something moved beneath my skin.

I had no idea what it was, but there was pressure.

Like something pushing against a wall inside me.

I grabbed the edge of the mattress.

My vision blurred at the edges.

I blinked hard.

The sound grew louder.

A low, distant sound that didn’t belong in walls or ceilings.

It felt like it belonged in forests.

In open spaces.

In something older than this room,

My body leaned forward without me meaning to.

I pressed my palm against my chest.

My heart wasn’t just beating.

It was pounding.

Hard enough to hurt.

I tried to stand.

Faint.

From inside the room.

Faye froze mid–breath.

Another sound followed–sharper this time. A strained, broken gasp.

Her head turned toward the door.

We didn’t speak.

She moved first. She pushed the door open…

And stopped.

Roman was on the floor.

His body jerked violently, muscles tightening and releasing in an unnatural rhythm. His fingers clawed at the air, at the sheets that had been dragged down with him. His back arched sharply as if something inside him was pulling him upward by force.

Faye’s voice tore through the room.

“Help!”

For a fraction of a second, I did not move.

Shock held me in place.

This was not a mild reaction.

This was not a delayed response I could have imagined.

I forced myself forward, shoving the paralysis aside.

“Move,” I said sharply as I reached him.

His body was rigid under my hands, trembling with a strength that did not match his weakened state. His breathing was erratic, almost feral. His pulse hammered against my fingers.

I lifted him back onto the bed, restraining his shoulders just enough to prevent him from injuring himself. His skin burned beneath my grip.

“Roman,” Faye was saying, her voice frantic now. “Roman, can you hear me?”

His eyes were unfocused, his pupils blown wide.

I pulled my phone from my pocket immediately.

“Mr. Adams,” I said the moment the call connected. “Come to the house. Now… it’s an emergency.”

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew one thing for sure… if anything happened to Roman, Faye would not let it slide.

Wolfsbane would not kill him… but his reaction was worse than any reaction to Wolfsbane I had seen before.