"I've changed my mind," Asher said once the doctor and Theo were out of sight. "The deal is off. I don't want you hanging out with that guy."

"Stop acting like a jealous Alpha." I glared at him.

"I'm not jealous," Asher scoffed, picking up the soda can from the floor and putting on his jaw.

"Right, and I'm Queen Latifah. Here's the truth: no matter how jealous or possessive you get, Theo will always be around."

"Why?" He asked with a scowl on his face.

"Because he was there for me," I said, directly looking into his blue eyes. The rest of the sentence didn't need to be said out loud.

Asher took a step forward to speak, but Doctor Wood came into the room and cleared his throat. "I don't know who started the fight, nor do I care, but your pheromones are freaking out the other patients in this ward," He pointed at Asher. "So, you're going to have to leave."

"Good," I grinned.

"Which means you'll have to leave too." The doctor turned to face me, and I furrowed my brows.

"What? Why? I'm still injured. I gestured to my body and the bed.

"You may be healing slower than most Wolves, but you should be fine in a couple of days. A little sore at most. And new mates are encouraged to stay by each other's side for at least two weeks." Doctor Wood explained.

"And if they are not?" Asher asked.

Doctor Wood shrugged, "Most mates are happy to be by one another. In the case of unwanted pairings, couples are asked to at least be in the same mile radius."

Asher and I both looked at each other. My house wasn't that far from his. That was doable. We both nodded at each other, and Asher said, "Fine."

"Right, so I'll give you time to change into your clothes, and something for the pain." Doctor Wood hummed with content and left the room.

"I'll leave first," Asher said, looking around the room. He found a notepad and a pen by the computer in the corner of the room, and scribbled his number onto the pad before handing it to me. "If you need something, text me."

"So, the deal is still on?" I asked, not caring to hide my excitement. I'll check on Theo and come up with something to say to my parents and Alfie when they inevitably find out what happened.

"Yeah," He said, pulling out his phone and giving it a shake in my direction. I said nothing as his muscles stretched and tightened as he raised his arms up and brushed his hands through his hair. He subtly tugged at his hair and dropped his hands to his sides with a smack before walking out of the room.

I sighed and leaned my head against the bedframe, happy to finally be alone. After a few minutes, the air in the room tasted stale, and I felt a low wave of nausea wash over me. I took a deep breath and tried to relax, but I couldn't quite catch my full breath. I was uncomfortable, but if this was as bad as it got without Asher, then I would be fine.

My eyes snapped to the door when Doctor Wood came back into the room with a bag of clothes and some medication. Asher had left me with a pair of shorts and a large hoodie. His scent still lingered on the clothes, and it took all of my willpower not to jump out of bed and shove my face into them. The thought alone reminded me that biologically, I still craved him, even if logically I couldn't wait to be as far away from him as possible.

"Where's Fisher?" Doctor Wood asked, looking at my heart monitor and then around to the rest of the room.

"He's getting the car," I lied. "Said he didn't want me to have to walk so far."

There was a beat before the doctor spoke, and he looked at me, not believing a word of what I said. "Look," Doctor Wood frowned. "Whatever you two are planning, it's not going to work. You'll just be miserable until you come to your senses."

"It's just two weeks of freedom," I shrugged, ignoring the pain in my neck. "Then I'll be a good mated Omega."

"Well, good luck with that." Doctor Wood deadpanned. "Here, take this."

He tossed me a prescription bottle.

"It will help with the pain and nausea. But I don't want to see you back here, high out of your mind, okay?"

I thanked him, inspecting the opaque, yellow bottle.  

Before he left for good, he added, "And for the record," I looked up at him. "Ash isn't the type of guy to treat you differently because you're an Omega."

I nodded slowly, letting his words sink in, and wondered just how close Doctor Wood was to Asher. When he left I changed into the clothes from Asher and not a moment later, I was nearly tackled to the ground. A familiar scent of cinnamon wrapped around me.

"Theo!" I said, hugging the Beta extra hard. "You shouldn't be here. Wood will get mad."

"It's fine." He said, squeezing me like a tube of toothpaste. "I had to make sure you were okay," He pulled away from me to look at me in earnest, "Like really okay."

"I will be," I huffed out and looked toward the door. "But let's get out of here before Wood finds out you escaped again."

"Sure," Theo said, putting his forehead next to mine, "You're going to have to help me, though, I still feel like a dumpster fire." I laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist. Having Theo by my side always made things easier. "And Jonah, I will find a way to fix this. I promise."