Lycan's Mate (His Claim) Chapter 63

Fiona's POV

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously, analyzing the board as I waited patiently for his response.

"He is a bright young man, Fiona. He had always checked the patients and done the paperwork on his own in his office. Ever since you started working here, he's always asked for your assistance."

His words made my hand freeze in front of me, my eyes meeting his gray ones questionably.

"He did? No one ever told me that. I just assumed he always did so."

He let out a soft chuckle with a shake of his head.

"I must say love, although I care for you, you really are quite the blind one. Even more blind than the folks here who are already losing their eyesight."

I stuck out my tongue playfully before reaching down and moving a piece. "Thanks a lot, Joey. But trust me, I'm not special in any way and he probably saw I was good at what I do. Maybe that's why he had asked me to help him."

"Right," he said slowly before running a shaky hand over his gray hair. A heavy silence filled the air between us before his gray eyes stared intently at me. I had to admit, I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and I was extremely glad when his voice broke the silence.

"Are you interested in Sam?" Okay, maybe not that glad.

My eyes widened in surprise and I couldn't help but blush at his question.

"I beg your pardon?"

A small smile played at his lips as he said, "You heard me, Fiona."

I blinked several times, my mind coming up blank as I stared at him. Was he seriously asking me that question? "What do you mean, exactly?" I asked slowly, my voice sounding breathless all of a sudden.

"You know, as a potential partner for the future." Well, I clearly did not expect for him to be so upfront about it. Then again, Joey was never one to beat around the bush.

"Oh, umm……" I trailed off, his question consistently echoing around in my head. Was I actually interested in him? I mean, he was quite handsome and I sometimes found myself staring at him, but he was never a man who I considered spending the rest of my life with. There was only one man for that, but my choices destroyed any possible chance of that ever happening. A longing pain enveloped my chest and I couldn't help but rub it soothingly with my hand.

Stopping a few feet in front of us, she crossed her arms over her chest with a frown.

"Joel, aren't you supposed to be in your room sleeping? It's already past eleven!" She exclaimed, her voice echoing across the room.

I turned to look at him and noticed him rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"I couldn't sleep. Besides, I took a long nap earlier today," he said with a wink my way. All I did was shake my head in amusement.

"Which explains why you're up and about at this late hour." She took several steps forward until she stopped beside him. Leaning down, she grabbed a hold of his arm and lifted him up into a standing position with little effort.

"Now come on, let's go back to your room."

"Do I have to?" He asked in a childlike manner before stomping his foot for emphasis.

Her eyes narrowed at the old man before turning to me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your game of checkers, but he really must be going to bed."

I nodded in agreement before standing up and dusting off my uniform.

"No need to apologize, I was just keeping the old man some company."

With this, he frowned at my words before mimicking Laura's earlier actions.

"I'm not that old, you know."

"Oh, no," I said sarcastically before adding,

"but you're close."

With a wink his way, I began placing the checker pieces back in the wooden box along with the board. This man sure had an obsession with this game, but I don't blame him. It's an excellent way to pass the time. Playing with him brought back old memories of when I used to play with my mother, even during the last few days of her life.

With a sad smile, I handed the wooden box back to Joey before kissing him tenderly on the cheek.

"Goodnight Joe, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight sweetheart. Try to get some rest, you hear?"

I nodded before making my way towards the front entrance. Looking back, I caught a glimpse of Joey muttering something under his breath about them treating him like a child after all these years. With a low chuckle, I made my way towards the parking lot where my car remained waiting patiently for my arrival.

I willed my legs to move up the steps of my building and towards my front door. It was nights like these that I wished that I could simply live in the first floor. Sadly for me, that was the apartment of the owner of this rather small building. In a way, I had the best apartment compared to his own since I was the one above him and I didn't have to deal with him stomping around his apartment like he usually did. He was a heavy old man who would forget things easily and have to go back to the other room to retrieve an item. It was really annoying hearing his heavy footsteps in the middle of the night whenever I was close to falling asleep.

Twisting my doorknob, I entered my apartment slowly and placed the keys in the bowl right beside the door. Not wanting to have to walk all the way to my room and back despite the small size of the apartment, I threw my bag on top of the couch and entered the kitchen. After a long day of helping out, I was in dire need of something to eat. It was almost midnight but the time of the night was the least of my problems. As I reheated the lasagna I had made the night before, Joey's question consistently repeated over and over again in the back of my mind. But a more serious question overpowered his own: why was he so interested in the way I felt about Dr. Samson?

Coming up with no particular answer, I slowly began to feel a headache coming on so I easily dismissed it for a later date. It was too late for me to think of such things, even though the only thing my stomach seemed to think about was this delicious vegetarian lasagna. And yes, I'm still a vegetarian after all these years. That, my friends, is never going to change.

After taking a well needed hot shower, I found the strength to creep into my bed and allow my body to relax against the soft covers. Even though my body begged for sleep to consume me, my mind was wide awake and I couldn't seem to keep my eyes closed for very long before they instinctively popped wide open.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I turned my body towards the window to my left and concentrated my eyes on the moonlight that made its way into my room. The light created shadows that seemed to consume my room in darkness. The only reassurance I felt was that from the light of the moon

What seemed like forever, I began to feel unconsciousness creep into my restless mind. My eyes slowly began to close as my breathing became more shallow. I was slowly slipping away before a sound outside made me sit up straight on my bed

Oh no, it can't be. Here? How is that possible? It's a city for crying out loud. Shouldn't they live in an area filled with more open landscapes? This wasn't a place for them to reside in. Am I dreaming? I must be. This is impossible…

My body immediately reacted by jumping out of bed and heading straight towards the front door. I didn't care if I made too much noise, I needed to see if I was dreaming or not

The cold night air brushed against my face but I easily ignored it. My eyes searched frantically at the park in front of me. At night, it looked menacing and eerie. The mere sight of it frightened me some but I found the courage to continue searching through the thick trees that hid the small stream I knew was a few meters away from the park's perimeter. And yet, I saw nothing but darkness

I stood there for a few minutes longer, my mind on high alert the entire time. I could practically feel my heart quicken in pace against my chest when the sound I was desperately wishing was merely my subconscious mind creating to trick me pierced the night air, making my blood run cold

The loud sound of a wolf's howl.