Free Web NovelChapter 86: Be Okay
The drive to the clinic passed in tense, leaden silence.
Cobra’s hulking frame was wedged into the backseat of Anastasia’s SUV, his broad shoulders hunched and his expression unreadable beneath the curtain of his blond hair.
In the front, Philip and Caleb exchanged worried glances, their grips visibly tightening on the heavy manacles shackling the volatile Cobra’s wrists and ankles.
As the sleek, towering facade of the clinic came into view, its elegant architecture stood in stark contrast to the palpable tension filling the vehicle’s interior.
Glossy black iron wrought in sweeping, decorative curves bordered the property, and lush, manicured grounds surrounded the imposing main edifice.
Anastasia let out a slow, steadying breath as she guided the car through the arched front gates and up the immaculate drive.
Despite the pristine, almost regal facade, she found herself assailed by doubts and misgivings.
Was admitting Cobra here truly the right thing to do?
The screech of brakes snapped her from her gloomy daze as they rolled to a stop before the clinic’s ornate front entrance.
In her side mirror, Anastasia glimpsed the two guards exchanging another tight look before giving Cobra’s restraints a meaningful tug.
"Easy there," Philip growled in a low tone, though without true malice. "Let’s not make this any harder than it needs to be, eh?"
Cobra merely huffed a humorless sound and allowed himself to be half-led, half-dragged from the confines of the SUV.
His piercing gaze met Anastasia’s for a fleeting instant, his expression mysterious, before he lowered his face once more - a wild mane of blond hair blurring his chiseled features.
With leaden steps, she followed the mismatched trio up the broad, curving steps and through the richly assigned entrance.
Hushed voices echoed faintly from distant corridors beyond the reception area’s double doors - murmured exchanges between staff or patients, impossible to distinguish.
The subtle fragrances of sage, lavender, and mint hung like an omnipresent veil in the air.
Anastasia strode to the imposing walnut desk where a woman in crisp indigo robes looked up with an expression of polite inquiry.
"Welcome to the wolf clinic, alpha," she intoned in a soft, cultured accent. "We are honored by your presence. How may we be of assistance this day?"
For a beat, Anastasia simply stared at the attendant, momentarily forgetting how to speak.
Clearing her throat, she finally managed, "I...I made arrangements for an admission."
She extended the manila envelope containing the stack of tediously executed forms and documents with a trembling hand. "For him."
The receptionist’s gaze swept over Cobra’s restrained form, a flicker of wariness entering her eyes before she recovered her composure with admirable poise. "Of course. If you’ll give me a moment..."
Leaving the thick sheaf of paperwork on the polished desk surface, the woman drifted away into a side chamber.
Moments later she reemerged flanked by a pair of orderlies - strapping men in dove-grey tunics whose muscular builds spoke of preternatural strength.
With silent efficiency, the pair divested Cobra of his bonds while simultaneously binding him with lengths of shimmering chains seemingly spun from condensed moonlight.
The enchanted metal glowed with a pale, faintly pulsing luminescence as it encircled his wrists and throat, effectively nullifying his heightened werewolf abilities.
When it was done, the orderlies gestured briefly for their charge to follow.
For once, Cobra complied without protest or defiance, his shoulders sagging with resignation as he cast one final, hopeless look in Anastasia’s direction. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Then he turned and allowed himself to be led away, disappearing through a set of double doors and swallowed by the clinic’s hushed, labyrinthine depths.
Anastasia watched him go with a turmoil of emotions roiling in her chest - fear, uncertainty, grief, and the faintest glimmer of desperate hope all warring within her heart.
Only when Cobra’s retreating footsteps faded entirely did she let out the shuddering breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Nearby, the sounds and scents of the clinic continued to swirl around her in a muted susurrus - the muffled tread of footsteps in the corridor, indistinct murmurs and cries from unseen rooms, the tang of herbal tinctures and cleansing auras woven through the stale air.
Slowly, Anastasia peeled her fingers away from the countertop’s edge, uncurling them from the taloned grip they’d unconsciously lapsed into.
Drawing another long, shaking breath, she turned to regard the placid receptionist with red-rimmed eyes. "I’ll...want to see him when he is settled in before I leave today."
"Of course, alpha" the woman replied with a shallow nod of understanding. "We’ll make the arrangements presently. In the interim, would you care for some refreshments while you wait?"
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The corridor leading to Cobra’s private chambers was a hushed, dimly-lit passage lined with reinforced adamantium - the strongest known material capable of containing even an angry alpha werewolf’s fury.
Subtle runes and glyphs etched into the metal’s surface shimmered faintly, augmenting the doors’ supernatural fortifications with arcane safeguards.
As Anastasia approached the imposing door, the two burly orderlies flanking the entrance straightened almost gradually.
The guards opened the door for her, the door’s intricate locks disengaging with a series of dull, metallic clanks.
The room beyond was spartan but not unstylish.
Warm terracotta tiles covered the floor, the hues complementing the rich mahogany wainscoting adorning the walls.
Abstract tapestries in muted earth tones added splashes of color while floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over a secluded courtyard garden.
A wrought-iron framed bed stood as the room’s centerpiece, its thick mattress and linens exuding an air of monastic austerity.
As the door swung open on well-oiled hinges, Anastasia glimpsed Cobra’s towering silhouette amidst a knot of white-clad attendants.
The massive blond stood stiffly, allowing the nurses to ply their duties of divesting him of his clothes and dressing him in the clinic’s basic uniform - loose trousers and a sleeveless tunic of lightweight beige linen.
Cobra’s piercing regard immediately snapped to hers as she entered, his eyes shone with desperation for her. frёeωebɳovel.com
The nurses left after they finished their job and they took Cobra’s clothes with them.
When she drew near enough to touch, to scent the mingling notes of leather and woodsmoke that clung to Cobra’s frame, Anastasia reached out.
Her slender fingers cupped his cheek, encouraging him to lower his head until their foreheads could rest together in an intimate lean.
For a perilously long heartbeat, Cobra stayed utterly motionless - a statue carved of unyielding granite and simmering menace. Then, a low purring sounded deep in his chest.
Not quite a growl, but softer - an elemental sound of wolfish contentment as his eyes drifted shut.
As if seeking solace in her nearness, her steadfast strength and presence alone.
His heavy brow knitted, expression briefly flickering with naked vulnerability before he regained his inscrutable mask once more.
"Please..." Anastasia breathed, her voice a hushed plea that sent a tremor rippling through him. "Be okay. I’ll visit you every single day, I promise."
