Chapter 9 Billionaire in the Hood

MEREDITH

Everything felt heavy. My eyes, arms, even my head. It felt like my body didn't want to move. The first thing I noticed wasn't pain, It was the smell.

I'm a wolf so my nose is basically a superpower, even when I'm half-dead. My office smells clean and expensive. My penthouse smells soft and sweet.

This place didn't.

This place smelled bad. Like old socks, cold pizza, and cheap soap.

Oh God. Where am I?

I tried to open my eyes, but the light was too bright. It wasn't the soft light from my room. It was hard and flickering. It made a low noise.

"She's moving!"

That was Elena. She sounded like she'd been crying for three hours straight.

I forced my eyes open. The ceiling was white, but not a "clean" white. It had a weird water stain in the corner that looked like a cat. I blinked, trying to clear the blur.

"Meredith? Can you hear me?"

I groaned, the sound catching in my throat. I tried to sit up, but a hand pressed gently on my shoulder, keeping me down.

"Don't even try it," a voice barked.

Dave. Of course.

I turned my head slowly. I wasn't in a hospital. I was on a couch that felt like it was made of stones. Dave was leaning over me, looking like he hadn't slept for more than a week. His tie was loose, his hair was a mess, and he had a look on his face that was somewhere between worried and "I'm definitely going to jail for this."

"Where am I?" I rasped. My throat felt like I'd swallowed a handful of sand

"My place," he said. "In Queens. Fourth floor, not exactly the Four Seasons, but paparazzi don't know it exists."

"Queens?" I croaked. "Are you kidding me? I'm dying in Queens?"

"You're not dying," Dave said, though he didn't look entirely sure. "But someone was at your penthouse. Your security system went off right after you passed out. We couldn't take you home."

I looked around, even with the pain. The walls were dull white. There was a folding chair in the corner, used like a table. Outside the window was a brick wall and an old fire escape.

My head started to clear. The red box on the laptop. The breach.

Lucas.

Fear hit me before the pain. I tried to sit up again. I got halfway, then my side burned like fire. I gasped and grabbed my ribs.

"Meredith!" Elena was right there, her face hovering over mine. "Please, just stay still. The Detective... he said he knows what he's doing."

I looked at Elena. She looked terrified. Her perfect professional chignon was falling apart, and she was wearing a hoodie that definitely didn't belong to her.

"You... you brought her here too?" I asked Dave, glaring at him.

"I didn't have a choice," Dave said, crossing his arms. "She wasn't going to let me leave with you unless I dragged her along. Plus, she has your laptop and your bag.

I felt Elena sit on the edge of the couch. She took my hand. It was cold, but hers was warm.

"Meredith," she whispered, her voice shaking. "What is going on? Why did you say no hospitals? And why is your skin so cold?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. How do you tell your perfect PA that you're a werewolf who's been poisoned by a silver-wielding stalker?

Dave sat on the edge of the mattress. He looked at my side, where the bandage was already staining dark again. He looked back at me, his expression serious.

"Remember at your apartment? When I said I knew a doctor? Someone discreet?" Dave asked. "I wanted to call him before you even woke up. But I figured you'd probably try to sue me for medical kidnapping if I didn't ask first."

"No doctors," I said, the old fear sparking in my chest. Doctors meant blood tests. Blood tests meant the government finding out I was different "I have my own... treatments."

"Your 'treatments' aren't working, Meredith," Dave said, his voice dropping an octave. "That wound is turning a color that isn't found in nature. You're shivering, but you're burning up. If I don't call this guy, you're not going to make it.

"He's right," Elena chimed in, stepping closer. She looked at Dave, then at me.

"Look, I don't trust this guy's but he's the only one who knows we're here. If you go to a real hospital, Victor Langford will have the press there in minutes. He'll tell everyone you're unstable."

I bit my lip. The silver was moving. I could feel the poison crawling toward my heart. If I didn't get it out, I wouldn't just lose my company. I'd lose my life.

"Is he... safe?" I asked Dave, searching his blue eyes for any sign of a trap.

"He was a top-tier surgeon until he got into some trouble with the hospital. Now he works for people who need to stay off the grid. He doesn't ask questions, and he doesn't keep records," Dave promised. "He's the only shot you've got."

I looked at my shaking hands. I was a CEO. I was an Alpha. And right now, I was at the mercy of a Queens detective.

"Fine," I whispered. "Call him."

Dave nodded and stood up, reaching for his phone. As he walked out of the room, I looked at Elena.

"Elena?"

"Yeah?"

"If I die in this apartment, here, tell the police I was taken somewhere nicer," I said. "I can't be found in a place like this."

Elena gave a watery laugh. "Don't worry, boss. I'll lie for you."

But as I felt the fever take hold again, I wondered if even a doctor could fix what was wrong with me. The silver was in deep, and I could hear the howling in the back of my mind getting louder. Lucas was still out there. And I was stuck In a small apartment in Queens.