Chapter 319: Unconscious

Hayley’s POV:

Seeing the man before me, I could hardly believe I was encountering him in the underground world. But Hera’s intense reaction made it clear—it was him, my destined mate, Benjamin. There was something both familiar and unfamiliar about Benjamin as I looked at him. Thankfully, I was wearing a mask, so he probably didn’t recognize me.

“What are you waiting for? Get on,” Benjamin repeated.

After a moment of hesitation, I got onto the bike. Benjamin revved the engine, and we shot off. The motorcycle raced through the darkness, and I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay awake despite the pain in my injured arm.

We didn’t stop until we reached a safe place. Benjamin finally brought the motorcycle to a halt. “We’re safe now. You can go.”

I lowered my gaze and got off his bike. With sincere gratitude, I said, “Thank you so much. If you ever need anything, come find me at Drakon Claw.”

Benjamin studied me carefully, making me feel uneasy. Did he recognize me? He probably wouldn’t. To better conceal my identity, whenever I appear as the leader of Drakon Claw, I wear a mask and even alter my voice. Since I never allowed my scent to fully slip around him, it was unlikely he could identify me.

As I expected, his next words reassured me. “Just seeing the true face of Drakon Claw’s leader is enough. As for the rest, I don’t think I’ll need your help.”

Then Benjamin glanced at my injured arm. “You’re hurt. You should go take care of that. Hopefully, when we meet again, we can be friends.”

With that, he revved the engine and sped off without looking back. I frowned, feeling like there was a deeper meaning behind his words. But the pain in my arm quickly pulled me back to reality, and I decided not to dwell on it. I looked around and quickly hailed a car to take me to Drakon Claw’s private hospital.

Because it was a gunshot wound, I was careful not to draw attention. I had the bullet taken out at the hospital, but the pain made me pass out.

When I finally woke up, it was already the following morning. I slowly sat up in bed, feeling the bandages wrapped around my arm. I knew that once I was out of the underground world, I would heal quickly. I grabbed my phone and was surprised to see I had several missed calls.

Snapping back to reality, I quickly dialed Benjamin’s number to call him back.

“Where are you?” Benjamin asked.

I glanced around at my surroundings before responding with a question. “Why are you looking for me so early?”

Benjamin was silent for a moment before answering gently, “Nothing. I just noticed you aren’t home and got worried.”

“I’m glad you’re alright. I won’t take you to school today, then.”

I muttered, “It’s fine, I can manage on my own.”

After ending the call, I let out a heavy sigh. I hated lying to him, but how could I explain my true identity to Benjamin? And how would I explain the gunshot wound on my arm? Even as an alpha, self-healing still takes time. But tonight, I would see Benjamin. It felt like this was a huge dilemma.

After a moment of hesitation, I sighed in resignation. I decided to just take things one step at a time. I left the hospital, hailed a car, and headed to school. Hera, excited inside me, alerted me that Benjamin was nearby. As expected, when I looked up, I saw his car parked nearby. To avoid him from seeing my gunshot wound, I pretended not to see him and walked straight into the school. Thankfully, it seemed like Benjamin didn’t see me either.

Belle’s POV:

When I saw Alpha Benjamin at the school gate, I could barely contain my excitement. I had planned to walk over and greet him, but unexpectedly, he didn’t even glance in my direction and just drove away.

I couldn’t accept this, so I followed the direction where Alpha Benjamin was looking. To my shock, I happened to spot Hayley.