Alisha jolted upright with a quiet scream, her breath hitching as the overhead lights flickered wildly, casting dancing shadows across the hospital room. Her sudden movement startled everyone, her mother was the first to reach her, rushing to the bedside with trembling hands, followed closely by Diana and Jake.
"Alisha...oh my God, are you okay?" her mother asked, her voice a mix of shock and relief.
Alisha's gaze swept over them, dazed and disoriented. Her heart was thudding against her ribs, but her mind was worse.....a swirling storm of confusion. Her memories were scattered and fragmented, just out of reach. The last thing she remembered clearly… was silence. Then darkness. Then nothing.
Her friends stood stiff beside her, their faces etched with concern. Even Jake looked pale, like he had aged in the past hour. Diana was quiet, chewing the corner of her lip, glancing nervously between Alisha and the machines beside her.
That cold fire she felt before jolting awake was gone. But its echo still lingered beneath her skin, like the haunting trace of a dream that she tried to forget but keep getting flashes of it.
"What… what happened?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why am I here?"
The silence that followed was loud and strange, like everyone was waiting for her to explain something she didn't understand.
Jake finally spoke. "We found you lying near James Creek Road. That was a week ago."
A week?
Alisha blinked slowly, as if trying to process the word in her mind. It couldn't have been that long. In her slumber, it felt like minutes....maybe an hour at most. How had time slipped so far without her?
She swallowed hard. Her throat was dry. Her thoughts were worse.
'What happened to me?' She asked inwardly.
But the harder she tried to reach into her mind for answers, the more something clenched around her chest, an anxiety so sharp it felt like her heart might break through her ribs. A heavy pressure. A thick fog of fear. Her hands trembled, and she clutched the bedsheet unconsciously.
She couldn't remember what happened at James Creek road, or how she got there.
But something inside her was screaming that maybe... that was for the best.
Once Alisha was cleared to go home, something about stepping through the front door felt… off. Not in a terrifying way, just familiar. That eerie stillness. The weightless silence pressing in from the walls. The way her skin tingled like someone's eyes were on her even when no one was there.
It felt like the first time she returned from the hospital all over again.
The feeling hadn't left. She thought it had, but she was wrong, all it took was just one unexplained event for her PTSD to return.
Her life wasn't normal anymore and she was starting to accept it.
The doorbell rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She walked over and opened it only to be met with a soft smile and a bouquet of wildflowers.
"Danny…" she breathed.
Before she could think, she threw her arms around him but he winced sharply, and she pulled back fast. That's when she noticed his right arm was in a sling, and through the slightly open shirt buttons, she could see his chest was bound in bandages.
"Oh my God....Danny, what happened to you?" Her voice cracked, horror blooming across her face as she inspected him.
"I got into an accident," he said simply. "About a week ago. That's why I couldn't come see you at the hospital. I wanted to. Really. I just…" He paused, extending the flowers. "I came to apologize."
"Oh my God, are you okay? Danny… You were in an accident and you're still healing. You shouldn't be walking around like this." She took the bouquet gently and stepped aside, ushering him in.
The living room was warm with quiet conversation. Jake and Diana were curled up on the couch, but the moment Danny entered, the air shifted slightly and things got tense between him and Jake. Jake's eyes immediately narrowed, his expression unreadable. Danny caught it, but chose not to react.
"Danny...oh my God, are you okay?" Diana jumped up, her face stricken.
He exhaled with an exaggerated groan. "God, you all gotta stop asking me that. I'm fine." He lowered himself into the couch with a wince, then slid an arm around Alisha's shoulder.
She stiffened in surprise, her cheeks flushing as heat climbed her face. The gesture was simple, casual even...but it felt intimate.
She glanced at Diana, who gave her a wide-eyed, teasing grin.
Jake didn't say anything right away. He stared for a moment with unreadable expression, then leaned forward.
"So… you two are serious now?" he asked.
Danny looked at Alisha, waiting. The unspoken question lingered between them, stretching in the silence. She met his gaze for just a second, then quickly looked away, her blush deepening as she pulled back, hiding behind the curtain of her hair.
Danny just chuckled.
"So, Alisha…" Danny leaned back against the couch, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Care to explain what you were doing alone on the road in the middle of the night?"
The question landed like a stone in still water. But it worked, successfully deflecting the attention from him.
Alisha's smile faded, her gaze drifting into the distance like she was watching something invisible unfold behind her eyes.
"I… don't remember." Her voice was low. "The last thing I recall is turning off my bedside lamp. After that, nothing."
The room fell quiet.
She knew her answer didn't hold water. But how was she supposed to explain something she had no memories of? If it had only been Diana and Jake, she would have brought up a supernatural theory and they would talk about it, but she didn't want to do that in front of Danny.
Danny studied her face carefully. "I totally believe you, Alisha," he said softly. "Sometimes, when people go through something traumatic, their subconscious erases it to protect them. It's… a defense mechanism." He tilted his head. "You've had PTSD before. Maybe this was your mind trying to shield you from another break."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "Wow," he said dryly. "Didn't know you were a therapist now."
For a split second, Danny's expression hardened. His jaw clenched, but then he laughed it off, shaking his head like it was nothing.
"I guess you're right…" Alisha said quietly, trying to believe it herself.
The conversation eventually softened, stretched into lighter topics. Laughter returned. But as the night wore on, the sky outside deepened into endless black.
Jake and Diana decided to head home. Diana gave Alisha a knowing smirk on her way out while Jake's glance lingered a moment longer on Danny, still guarded, still not fully at ease but he said nothing.
Once the door clicked shut, silence wrapped around the house like a blanket.
Alisha looked at Danny and grabbed his hand. "Come on. I want to show you something."
He blinked. "What is it?"
She didn't answer. Just smiled and pulled him toward the stairs.
Hand in hand, she led him up like gravity had nothing on her. Danny followed, not resisting, his body moving as if her touch carried some unspoken command. Like free will didn't matter anymore.
Alisha's room was warm with soft lights that poured from a tiny desk lamp in the corner, casting a glow across the space. The walls were painted a dusky lilac, shelves lined with books. Her comforter was a deep plum, thick and inviting, slightly rumpled like she'd just left it. The scent of vanilla and something uniquely her lingered in the air.
Danny stepped in slowly, eyes scanning the room and taking in the softness. But his gaze eventually landed where it shouldn't have.
Her bed.
His jaw tightened just a little as his eyes lingered just long enough to make his thoughts obvious. Then he sat on the edge, careful not to wince from his healing wounds. "Your room's… nice. Beautiful," he said, his voice just above a whisper.
"Thanks," Alisha replied, brushing hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling every beat of her heart.
The tension grew quickly. Maybe too quickly.
It was that kind of silence where every breath was loud. Both of them knew where this moment was heading, even if neither wanted to be the first to say it. But Alisha didn't need to say anything. Or hear anything, she has to invite it.
It happened fast.
One moment he was glancing around, the next, she was there, sitting on his laps. Her lips pressed softly against his like she'd been waiting days to do it. Weeks. Maybe longer. Cautiously at first, but when she felt him relax beneath her, her arms curled around his neck like they belonged there.
Danny's free hand....his uninjured one glided up her side and gripped her waist, his touch firm yet reverent. His body tensed under her as the kiss deepened, breath exchanged, the air between them thick and electrified. His wolf stirred violently beneath his skin, scratching at his ribs, aching for release but he held it back, barely.
Their mouths moved together in rhythm, lips exploring, tongues parting lips in slow, hungry movements. Soft moans escaped between them, muffled and breathy, like music made just for this moment. Her fingers tangled in his hair, his thumb grazed her spine. Every touch left heat behind.
She was fire. And he was seconds from burning.