The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 3

Laila POV

Turns out, I didn't have to worry about any of that.

His gaze swept past me. Empty. Dismissive.

Like I was just another face in the crowd. Some random woman cluttering up his space.

He didn't recognize me. Of course he didn't.

I wasn't that girl anymore.

The elevator doors started to slide closed, and my body finally remembered how to move.

I stepped inside on legs that felt like water. Pressed myself against the far wall. As far from Jason as the small space would allow.

His scent hit me immediately. Pine and leather, threaded with that wildness only an Alpha carried. It wrapped around me before I could shut it out, ripping through defenses I'd spent six years building.

I clenched my jaw. Forced myself to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose.

No breakdowns. Not here. Not in a damn hospital elevator with him.

He was looking at his phone, completely absorbed. Professional. Distant. Everything he'd always been.

The same man who'd whispered my name in the darkness. Who'd made me believe I mattered.

The same man who'd called me nobody important.

"What floor?" he asked without looking up.

His voice. God, his voice was exactly the same. Deep. Commanding. It used to make my pulse race.

Now it just made me want to disappear.

"Three, please." I managed. The words came out steadier than I felt.

He pressed the button. Still didn't really look at me. Just a polite glance, the kind you'd give any stranger.

His phone rang as the elevator lurched upward. He answered without checking the caller ID.

"Marcus? What's the update?"

My stomach clenched. Marcus - his Beta. Even after six years, some things never changed.

"Good. So the final acquisition papers went through?" Jason's voice carried clearly in the small space. "Mercy General is officially ours now?"

My blood turned to ice. Jason owned this hospital. The hospital where my daughter was a patient.

"Excellent. This expansion will give us exactly the medical edge we need. Both human and werewolf patients under one roof." He paused, listening. "Yes, I'm here now for the final walkthrough. The board agreed to all our terms?"

When the doors opened onto the pediatric floor, I bolted.

"Be sure to schedule a meeting with the administrators tomorrow…" I heard Jason say behind me as he stepped out. For a moment, I thought I felt his gaze on my back, but when I glanced over my shoulder, he was already heading toward the administrative offices, phone still pressed to his ear.

After checking on Ava one more time, I escaped to the cafeteria for coffee. Something bitter to hold onto while I tried to process what had just happened.

My hands shook as I studied the hospital map on the wall. My heart dropped when I realized exactly where we were.

Not just "near" werewolf territory. Right on the edge of it. Close enough to Moon Ridge that Jason showing up here wasn't even weird.

I hated that it made sense.

Of course he'd be expanding his territory. Of course, he'd want to control the medical facilities in the area. Jason had always been ambitious. Always thinking three steps ahead.

And now his world was colliding with mine again.

I pulled out my phone, scrolled until I found Riley's number. She was the only one from that old world I hadn't cut off. The only one I would call 'friend' in Jason's pack.

Riley had been a late shifter too. Back then, we'd been the outcasts in school together. We shared secrets and dreams and the bone-deep loneliness that came with never quite belonging.

Although Riley did not shift as late as I did -- she shifted at the age of 16 -- we still had a good relationship after that.

So Riley was the only soul who knew I was alive. The only one who knew Vanessa Harper and Laila were the same person.

"Riley? It's me."

"Nessa!" Her voice was warm, familiar. "How's Ava? You sounded worried in your text."

"She's stable for now. They want to run more tests." I dropped into a quiet corner booth, lowering my voice. "Listen, can we meet for a quick dinner? Somewhere near the hospital? "

"Of course. What's wrong? You sound off."

I closed my eyes. Pressed my palm to my forehead. "I saw Jason today."

Silence. Then a sharp exhale. "Shit. Did he recognize you?"

"No. Thank god." My laugh was humorless. "But Riley—if he's here, if Moon Ridge has their claws in this hospital... I don't want him to find me, or Ava. It's gonna make things too complicated."

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