Twenty minutes had turned to three days.
Doctor Morgan had come that first night, hooked her up to IVs, run tons of blood tests to determine what was wrong with her and finally managed to stabilise her breathing, but she was still unconscious.
I'd moved her to my penthouse that night since I couldn't risk anyone at the club asking questions.
Mina had handled the checkout and paid the staff to erase any traces that the woman had been at the club, which was essential because things could take a turn, and I had to be careful.
Now she lay in my guest bedroom, still unconscious, still pale but alive.
I sat on a chair beside the bed, watching her.
I haven't slept much since I brought her here from working long hours on set to coming home to continue babysitting her.
The door to the bedroom opened, and Andrew walked in.
Andrew was my childhood friend, turned business partner, and the owner of Skyline Legal, the firm that handles all of Apex Entertainment's legal matters.
"You look like a guy who just adopted a puppy," Andrew's voice cut through my thoughts as he walked in, holding two coffee cups.
I didn't look up. "That would imply I like puppies."
He chuckled and handed me one cup. "Well, you clearly like strays, but if this one dies, I'll try to convince the judge to reduce your sentence to five years, maybe four instead of twenty."
I gave a dry laugh and took a sip of the coffee. "I didn't kill her. She drank her own poison, besides, Dr. Morgan said she's not dying."
Andrew pulled out another chair and sat close to me. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you didn't ask her name either. It's been three days, and you didn't think to dig up anything about her yet?"
"I told you I had a lot going on and didn't remember that. You're the lawyer and my friend; you were supposed to do it without needing a reminder from me."
"Or, maybe you were worried about her?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, arching a brow.
"Dude. You had sex with a woman whose name you didn't even bother to ask. What if she had succeeded with the poisoning? How would we even begin to look for her?"
"She wasn't exactly talkative, and we didn't have sex. I told you we almost did…"
"Please." Andrew rolled his eyes. "I saw her dress on the floor and your shirt on her. Not to mention how untidy your suite had been. That's very unlike you. Usually, you're a cold bastard."
"Are you here for a reason? Or to annoy me?"
"Both," he chuckled, checking his watch. "Morgan should be here any minute to check up on her today and know how she's doing, right?"
Before I could respond, the door opened and Doctor Morgan walked in, pulling on his gloves.
Doctor Morgan was a family doctor turned my personal doctor. He was a Gamma and in his sixties.
"Gentlemen," he nodded at us, then moved to Naya's bedside. After hovering around her for at least fifteen minutes, he looked up at me. "There's significant improvement compared to two days ago."
"She'll survive?" I asked.
"Yes. The crisis has passed, and she's stable now." He pulled out a small flashlight and checked her pupils. "But I'm not sure when she'll wake up. It could take hours or days, but she'll wake up eventually and will not slip into a coma like I feared from the beginning."
"That's good news," I nodded and rose to my feet. "What about the lab results? What was in that vial?"
Dr Morgan set down his equipment and said grimly. "The results came in this morning. It was Lycantril with traces of Moonveil compound."
"Lycantril?" The smirk on Andrew's face vanished. "Someone tried to dose him with Lycantril? That's murder with intent."
"What is it?" I asked. I've heard the name before, but I couldn't remember what it was.
"Lycantril is a neural sedative developed for high-risk experiments on Luna-gene carriers. It was created decades ago for research purposes. It's illegal to use stuff like that in our world today. It was banned."
"Why? What does it do?" I asked.
"For humans?" Morgan glanced at the woman on the bed. "It induces deep sleep. It is uncomfortable but not deadly. She'll wake up with a headache and some nausea, but nothing permanent."
"And for our kind?"
"Far crueller," Morgan said with a sigh, pulling off his glasses. "First, it induces sleep, followed by temporary paralysis that can last for days. The victim would be conscious but would be unable to move or shift. They'll be trapped in their own body."
"And after the paralysis, what happens?" Andrew asked quietly.
"If the dose is high enough, it could lead to hallucinations, delirium, erratic shifts or even coma. Some victims never recover their sanity," Morgan put his glasses back on. "It was used on Lunas in those days during childbirth to help ease their minds off the pain. You got lucky, Hansel. If you'd taken that drink, even a sip, you would have met a far crueller fate than this young woman."
So, the end goal of whoever the woman was working for and with was to bring me to a state where I would be unable to defend myself? To make me unconscious.
During the full moon, my Raze would try to emerge, but the drug would prevent it.
The beast would tear me apart from the inside, and it would lead to my death. No one would suspect a thing; they would think my Raze killed me.
"And the trace of Moonveil compound you mentioned. What is that used for?" I asked.
"Moonveil veils a wolf's senses and power. It would make your wolf vulnerable and weak," as Morgan replied, he was packing up his medical bag. "Combined with Lycantril, it's torture. I've seen people lose their wolves completely from that combination; whoever sent this woman knew exactly what they were doing."
Someone wanted me dead and make it look like it was my fault.
"Do you want a detailed analysis of everything?" Morgan asked, pulling me from my thoughts. "Something you can submit to the police?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Everything you can document."
"I'll have it ready by tomorrow and send it to your email." He gave the woman one last check. "Keep her hydrated. The IV line will help, and as soon as she wakes up, try not to terrorise her too much so she doesn't go into shock. She'd be disoriented and scared, but they'll wear off after a few hours."
"Thank you, Doc." I nodded.
As soon as Dr Morgan left, I sat back down and stared at the unconscious form of the woman.
Someone had sent her to destroy me and had given her a weapon designed to kill me specifically.
But there was no way she knew I was a werewolf. She couldn't have. Humans didn't know.
So, whoever hired her knew, and they'd sent a human girl to do their dirty job.
"Can you think of anyone who might have done this?" Andrew came to stand next to me. "It's clear that the intent was murder. Perhaps someone you did business with."
I scoffed. "I am Hansel Ward, Andrew. I have enemies both in our world and with humans. This is not the first time."
"I know," Andrew nodded, "but this is brutal."
While he was still speaking, there was a knock at the door and Ted, Andrew's assistant, walked in carrying a manila folder.
"Mr Cady," Ted said. "The information you requested."
Andrew took the folder. "Thank you, Ted. That'll be all."
Ted nodded and left.
Andrew flipped it open, glanced through the pages before handing it to me.
"This is everything we could pull on your mystery woman. Her name is Naya Rivers, by the way."
"Naya," I mumbled as I took it, thumbing through the contents.
"I have a meeting with a client downtown," Andrew added, stepping back. "Call me if anything changes. Or if you need help hiding a body, and for moon's sake, don't try to seduce her. Workplace sexual harassment is dire compared to murder."
"I'm not going to kill her."
"Famous last words," he sneered and started walking towards the door. At the door, he paused. "Hansel? Be careful. Someone who can get their hands on Lycantril has serious connections. This isn't just some random attack."
"I know."
When Andrew left, I turned my attention back to Naya. She looked better now, and her colour had returned. That awful breathing had stopped, and she looked peaceful, almost as if she was sleeping.
I crossed the room to the window and opened the folder again. The first page featured a headshot of her. Her name was Naya Rivers, and she was twenty-four years old. She was beautiful in the photo and looked younger.
I flipped to the next page and started reading through her profile. Halfway through it, I heard rustling from the bed. When I turned, I saw it was her.
She was waking up. I stood still as I watched her eyelids flutter open, then stare at the ceiling with confusion. Her eyes then wandered around the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.
Groaning softly, she sat up slowly and winced, lifting a hand to rub her neck and massage her temple. Her eyes blinked slowly, adjusting to the light.
When they finally focused, they landed on me.
She froze, and for an eternity, neither of us moved.
I closed the folder and walked back to stand at the foot of the bed. She looked like she wanted to run, but had nowhere to go.
I tilted my head slightly, letting my lips curl into a dark smirk.
"So, tell me, Naya Rivers," I said quietly. "How does it feel to wake up in the home of the man you failed to murder?"