Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 37: ALONE
FOUR WEEKS, SIX DAYS INTO THE CONTRACT - THURSDAY, 6:15 AM THIRTY MINUTES SINCE SEPARATION
The pain started small.
Just a dull ache in Eve’s chest, like someone had pressed their thumb against her sternum and forgotten to remove it. Uncomfortable but manageable. She could breathe through it. Could function through it.
Dr. Thorne had finished attaching all the monitors....electrodes on her chest tracking her heart rate, a blood pressure cuff on her arm that inflated every fifteen minutes, a pulse oximeter clipped to her finger, and a thermometer patch on her forehead that provided continuous temperature readings.
"Baseline vitals are good," Dr. Thorne said, making notes on her tablet. "Heart rate slightly elevated at 89 beats per minute, but that’s to be expected given the stress of separation. Blood pressure 128 over 82.....again, elevated but not dangerously so. Temperature is normal at 98.6. Respiratory rate is 16 breaths per minute."
Eve barely heard her. She was focused on the bond, on the thin golden thread she could feel stretching north, following the brothers as they drove away from her.
Still there. Still connected. Thin but unbroken.
"Miss Chen?" Dr. Thorne’s voice cut through her focus. "I need you to stay present. I know you want to focus on the bond, but I need you here with me. Can you do that?"
"Yes," Eve said, though it felt like a lie. Every instinct she had was screaming at her to follow that thread, to chase after them, to close the distance that was growing with each passing mile.
"Good." Dr. Thorne pulled up a chair beside the bed. "I’m going to ask you some questions, and I need honest answers. No trying to be brave, no downplaying symptoms. If something feels wrong, you tell me immediately. Understood?"
"Understood."
"How’s the pain? Scale of one to ten."
"Three," Eve said. "Maybe four. Just pressure in my chest. Manageable."
Dr. Thorne made a note. "Any nausea? Dizziness? Disorientation?"
"No. Just the chest pain."
"Any visual disturbances? Changes in your perception?"
Eve shook her head, then stopped. "Actually.....yes. The colors seem brighter. More intense. Like someone turned up the saturation on everything."
Dr. Thorne’s expression sharpened. "When did that start?"
"Just now. In the last few minutes."
"That’s the binding spell responding to the separation," Dr. Thorne explained. "Your suppressed supernatural senses are starting to bleed through. It will get more pronounced as the spell continues to degrade."
"Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily. It’s just a sign that the transformation is approaching. Your body is preparing for the change." Dr. Thorne checked her tablet. "I’m going to do a physical examination now. Just standard checks....reflexes, pupil response, that sort of thing. Try to relax."
Eve tried to relax as Dr. Thorne went through the examination, but it was impossible with the ache in her chest growing steadily worse. Not dramatically worse, just a slow, inexorable increase that made her breath come a little shorter, made her heart beat a little faster.
"Pupils are reactive but slightly dilated," Dr. Thorne murmured. "Reflexes are normal. No obvious physical distress beyond what we’d expect." She stepped back. "How are you feeling now? Any changes?"
"The pain is worse," Eve admitted. "Maybe a five now. And I can feel...." She stopped, trying to find words for the sensation. "I can feel them. The bond. It’s like a rubber band being stretched. Not breaking, but definitely straining."
"That’s normal," Dr. Thorne assured her. "The bond is designed to be flexible. It can stretch quite far before it actually breaks. The discomfort you’re feeling is just your body adjusting to the distance."
"How far can it stretch?" Eve asked.
Dr. Thorne hesitated. "I don’t know. Soul bonds are rare enough that there’s not much data on their limits. But theoretically? As long as both parties are alive and conscious, the bond should hold. It might be painful, it might be uncomfortable, but it shouldn’t break."
"Theoretically," Eve repeated.
"Theoretically," Dr. Thorne confirmed. "But Miss Chen....Eve....you need to understand that we’re in uncharted territory here. A soul bond combined with a degrading binding spell, three mates instead of one, separation during the most critical period....there’s no precedent for this. I can tell you what should happen based on theory, but reality might be very different."
"So I might die anyway," Eve said flatly.
"You might," Dr. Thorne said, her honesty brutal but somehow comforting. "Or you might survive and come through this stronger than ever. Or you might transform into something none of us expect. The truth is, I don’t know. And I won’t lie to you and pretend I do."
Eve appreciated that. Appreciated the stark honesty instead of false reassurances.
"What do I do if it gets worse?" Eve asked. "If the pain becomes unbearable?"
"You tell me immediately," Dr. Thorne said. "I have pain medication.....both conventional and some supernatural remedies Elder Markov provided. I can help manage your discomfort. But I need to know what’s happening so I can treat you appropriately."
Mrs. Blackwood appeared in the doorway carrying a tray. "I’ve brought breakfast. Just light things....toast, fruit, tea. You need to keep your strength up."
Eve’s stomach turned at the sight of food. "I’m not hungry." freewebnovel.cσ๓
"You need to eat anyway," Mrs. Blackwood said firmly, setting the tray on the bedside table. "Your body is about to go through an enormous transformation. It needs fuel."
"She’s right," Dr. Thorne agreed. "Even if you’re not hungry, try to eat something. Small bites. Take your time."
Eve forced herself to pick up a piece of toast, though the thought of eating made her nauseous. She took a small bite, chewing mechanically, and swallowed with difficulty.
"Good," Mrs. Blackwood approved. "Just like that. A little bit at a time."
ONE HOUR SINCE SEPARATION - 7:00 AM
The pain had progressed from manageable to genuinely uncomfortable.
Eve lay in the massive bed....the bed where just an hour ago all three brothers had claimed her so thoroughly....and tried to breathe through the increasingly sharp ache in her chest.
"Pain level?" Dr. Thorne asked, checking the monitors for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Seven," Eve gasped. "Maybe eight. It feels like someone’s squeezing my heart."
Dr. Thorne frowned at her tablet. "Your heart rate is up to 105. Blood pressure is climbing....138 over 88 now. Temperature is still normal, but you’re showing signs of significant distress."
"Can you give me something?" Eve asked. "For the pain?"
"I can, but I want to wait a bit longer. If this is just separation anxiety, it should plateau soon. If I medicate you now and the pain gets worse later, I’ll have fewer options." Dr. Thorne’s expression was sympathetic. "I know that’s not what you want to hear."
"No," Eve agreed, her hands fisting in the sheets. "But I understand."
She focused on the bond, on that golden thread stretching north. Still there. Still holding. But so thin now, so strained, like spider silk stretched to its limit.
I’m here, she thought, sending the message down the bond even though she didn’t know if they could receive it at this distance. I’m still here. I’m fighting.
For a moment....just a brief, shining moment....she thought she felt something come back. A pulse of warmth, of recognition, of love so fierce it made her breath catch.
Then it was gone, and she was alone again with just the pain and the monitors beeping their steady rhythm.
"I felt them," Eve said, her voice filled with wonder and grief. "Just for a second. I felt them respond."
Dr. Thorne’s expression softened. "The bond is holding. That’s good. That’s very good. It means you’re maintaining the connection even at this distance."
"How far away are they now?" Eve asked.
Dr. Thorne checked her phone. "Based on the time and assuming they’re driving at highway speeds? Probably sixty to seventy miles. They’re making good time."
Sixty to seventy miles. Such a small distance in the grand scheme of things. But it felt like continents. Like galaxies. Like an impossible chasm that could never be crossed.
Eve closed her eyes and tried to rest, but rest was impossible with the pain steadily increasing and the bond stretching thinner with each passing minute.
