ASHER
I stood outside the infirmary, my hand on the door handle, trying to calm my racing heart. This was a terrible idea, but I was out of options; it was my last resort, as the mission briefing was in two days.
Seventy-two hours minimum in the contested territories with Reed Jackson and my last suppressant injection was already wearing off faster than it should.
I could feel it, the way my body temperature had been fluctuating, the way certain scents were getting stronger, more vivid, and the way my skin felt too sensitive, and too fucking aware of things around .
I was running out of ti, and the only person who knew my secret and could easily help was sitting behind this door, with this door as a damn barrier blocking from my help.
I heaved a deep breath, as I slowly pushed open the door and walked into the infirmary. Ms Chen was at her desk, reviewing what looked like dical charts, and she imdiately looked up the mont I entered. Her expression went from neutral to shocked in half a second.
"Asher?" She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "What are you doing here?"
I blinked. "I need to talk to you—"
"You shouldn’t be walking." Ms Chen was already moving toward , her clinical mask slipping into place as her eyes scanned from head to toe. "Sit down. Now, let examine you."
"I’m fine—"
"You should not be fine." Ms Chen grabbed my arm and guided firmly to the examination table. "The amount of suppressants you have been injecting into your system should have caused severe complications by now. Liver damage at minimum, possibly kidney failure, hormonal shock, and yet you’re walking into my infirmary looking perfectly healthy."
She pulled out a penlight and shone it in my eyes.
"Ms Chen, I’m not here because—"
"Pupils reactive and normal," Ms Chen muttered, more to herself than to . She pressed her fingers to my throat, checking my pulse. "Heart rate elevated but within acceptable range. No visible jaundice, and no signs of organ distress."
She stepped back, staring at with sothing between relief and disbelief.
"This doesn’t make sense," she said quietly. "You should be in agony right now. The suppressant dosage you have been giving is three tis the recomnded maximum. Your body should be shutting down."
"But it’s not," I said.
"No, it’s not." Ms Chen’s expression shifted from clinical to concerned. "Which is either a dical miracle or you’re hiding symptoms from . So tell the truth, Asher. What’s wrong? Are you experiencing pain, nausea, dizziness or bleeding?" She asked and I shook my head.
"No. Nothing like that." I answered truthfully and Ms Chen narrowed her eyes.
"Then why are you here?" She asked, her hands crossed on her chest.
I took a breath. "I need your help."
"Obviously." Ms Chen crossed her arms. "But if you’re not experiencing complications from the injections, then what—"
"The Academy is sending us on a mission," I interrupted. "Contested territories, tracking rogue packs. Seventy-two hours minimum."
Ms Chen’s face went pale. "What?"
"It’s a mandatory assignnt, and I leave in two days."
"That’s..." Ms Chen’s jaw clenched. "That’s absolute insanity. Sending students into contested territories against rogue packs after what happened to the last patrol. This does not make sense."
"I don’t have a choice." I told her, "Either that or I am suspended and I need to be strong or I die during the battles."
"That’s ssed up. So, who’s your partner?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.
I swallowed hard. "Reed Jackson."
The colour drained completely from Ms Chen’s face.
"Reed Jackson," she repeated slowly. "The Alpha who’s been hunting you, the one who declared war on you in front of the entire Academy, the one who tried to claim you at that party." She said and I bobbed my head. I wasn’t surprised that she knew. This is Stone Claw Academy, news travels faster than anything. So, her hearing about it wasn’t a big deal.
"Yep, the sa one," I said, sarcasm laced in my voice.
Ms Chen sat down heavily in her chair. "This is a nightmare."
"It gets worse," I continued. "My last injection was last week. I can already feel it wearing off, and I’ll be in the wilderness with Reed for at least three days, possibly longer. In close quarters, no privacy, and high stress situations."
"Which will accelerate the breakdown of the suppressants," Ms Chen finished quietly. "And trigger your heat faster."
"Exactly."
We sat in silence for a mont, then Ms Chen spoke, her voice carefully neutral. "What are you asking for, Asher?"
I t her eyes. "Suppressant pills. Ergency backup, and enough to get through the mission."
Ms Chen’s expression went from concerned to horrified in an instant.
"No."
"Ms Chen—"
"Absolutely not." She stood up abruptly, her voice rising. "Do you have any idea what you’re asking to do?"
"I’m asking you to help survive—"
"You’re asking to kill you faster." Ms Chen’s voice was harsh, trembling with emotion. "Switching from injectable suppressants to oral suppressants mid-cycle is incredibly dangerous, Asher. The chemical compounds are different. The absorption rates are different, and your body is already adapted to the injections and miraculously surviving a dosage that should have destroyed you."
"I know—"
"No, you don’t know." Ms Chen started pacing, her hands shaking. "If you switch to pills now, best case scenario, they don’t work at all and your heat starts imdiately or worst case scenario, the conflicting dications cause a cascade reaction that could stop your heat finally, hormonal shock, organ failure, or even death."
My stomach churned. "What are the actual odds of that happening?"
"High enough that I won’t prescribe them to you." Ms. Chen stopped pacing and faced . "You have already been giving yourself injections that should have killed you. I’ve been watching you walk a tightrope between survival and disaster for months, and now you want to add another variable that could push you over the edge?"
"Ms Chen, please—"
"I said no, Asher." Her voice was firm, and final. "I will not be responsible for what happens if you take those pills."
I stood up,.my legs were shaking as I walked towards her, and then I dropped to my knees.
"Please," I said, my voice breaking. "Please, Ms Chen, I’m begging you."
Ms Chen stared down at , shock written across her face. "Asher, get up—"
"If you don’t give those pills, I’m going into that wilderness with no protection," I said, the words tumbling out desperately. "Reed is already suspicious. He’s already noticed my scent changing, and if my suppressants fail completely out there, if I go into heat in the middle of contested territory with no backup, no escape, and an Alpha who hates —"
I looked up at her, tears burning in my eyes.
"My survival rate drops to zero. The rogues won’t kill , Reed will or worse, he’ll—"
I couldn’t finish the sentence when Ms Chen’s expression crumbled.
"Asher," she said softly.
"I know the risks," I continued. "I know the pills might not work, I know they might make things worse, I know my body might not survive the switch but at least it’s a chance, at least it’s sothing. Without them, I’m dead or worse."
Ms Chen closed her eyes while her hands were trembling. I could see she was fighting through her demons whether to help or not. The silence stretched between us, then finally, she spoke.
"Get up."
I stood on shaky legs, and Ms Chen walked to her dication cabinet and unlocked it. She pulled out a small orange bottle and stared at it for a long mont.
Then she turned back to .
"Five pills," she said quietly. "That’s all I can give you. One to be taken and not take more than one at a ti, no matter how much you think you need it. Understood?"
"Yes."
"These are weaker than your injections," Ms Chen continued, her voice clinical again, but detached like she was giving instructions to a patient she’d already written off. "They might hold for a few days, or they might not, and if they interact badly with the residual suppressants already in your system, if your body rejects the switch..."
She stopped then took a breath.
"You could go into heat faster than you would have naturally. You could experience organ failure, or you could die, Asher. Do you understand that?"
"I understand the risks."
"Do you?" Ms Chen’s eyes bored into mine. "Because once you take these pills, whatever happens is on you, and not on . I am docunting in your file that I advised against this course of action. That I warned you of the dangers, that I told you this could kill you, and that you insisted anyway."
"I understand, but please keep the file indeed in case Reed cos searching, please."
Ms Chen nodded and then handed the bottle, I took it with shaking hands.
"Five pills," Ms Chen repeated. "That’s seventy-two hours of coverage at best. After that, you’re on your own, and if your body rejects them before then..."
"I’ll deal with it. Thank you Ms. Chen, thank you very much for saving once again."
Ms Chen walked back to her desk and sat down heavily.
"Don’t thank ," she said without looking at . "Just survive, and if you make it back, when you make it back, we’re going to have a very serious conversation about your future at this Academy. About whether continuing this charade is worth your life."
I nodded.
"Good luck, Asher," she said quietly. "You’re going to need it."
I left the infirmary with the bottle of pills clutched in my hand, my heart pounding, and my mind racing.
Five pills.
One Alpha who wanted dead, and a secret that was getting harder to hide by the hour which I knew was going to end badly but I just hoped I’d survive long enough not regret it, and to give my mother the freedom she truly deserves.
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