Contract Marriage: The Lycan Queen's Tempting Fate [GL]

[KIYOMI]

Evening came by a little too fast, and even then, Kiyomi couldn't help the unsettling feeling that Izanami had crossed over to this side of the realm. 

She knew she was never going to outrun the woman her family had apparently wronged the most, but she had hoped that at least by coming to the human side, the same creatures Izanami Watanabe despised, the woman would never follow her here. 

It was her only hope because if Izanami got her then Sakura wouldn't do shit. 

Izanami was her mother and Sakura – as much as she was the daughter who had been through shit because of Izanami – would probably still listen to her mother. Kiyomi was scared and she had every right to be. 

This wasn't just any Lycan, and honestly, she wanted to make a run for it. But what realm was she supposed to go to? What side of the fucking hell hole was she supposed to head to when the other places had creatures that Izanami considered likable? 

She had a chance to stay here in the human lands but that was slowly going out of the window as she felt the woman's presence closing on her. 

A part of her wished that Sakura would be around with her mother but then she couldn't even feel Sakura's presence. It was like it had gone and honestly, Kiyomi couldn't blame the Lycan queen. 

At the end of the day, Kiyomi was just a pet that she had gotten interested in, just another Lycan she wanted to play mind games with. It was not that hard for Kiyomi to comprehend. 

A part of her was desperate to see Sakura again. 

Of course, it was just her wishful thinking, but then a girl could hope, right?

"Goddess, you sleep like a log and I was the one on sleeping pills," Kiyomi said as she shook Elif for the tenth time, her sister was dead asleep, almost like she had had enough sleep. Well, that was the case for both of them. 

They had been going into shifts like they were robots and Kiyomi couldn't exalt blame Elif for this. At the same time, there was something about the way that Elif was asleep that didn't sit right with her. 

It was almost like she was unconscious, but then there was no reason for the human girl to be unconscious, was there?

"Elif… wake up," Kiyomi tried again and her sister didn't even move. 

It was as if this was just her talking to the dead and shit. Kiyomi grabbed her stethoscope and checked for a pulse, since she didn't trust her Lycan hearing, the same hearing that was definitely sharper than any medical tool out there. 

Perhaps she just wanted to be sure that she wasn't going crazy and maybe she wasn't. 

The more Kiyomi listened to Elif's heartbeats, the more she realized that they had been deliberately slowed down, almost like a stoppage of time, only that this was done specifically to Elif. 

In that instant, there was only one thought in Kiyomi's mind. 

Izanami had found her. 

The Bogdan Lycans were also still coming for her.

And Sakura… She was home.

"Fuck," the good doctor sighed as she hurriedly cast an invisibility spell on Elif and carried her to the inner room that she had created in her office years ago. It was her safe space, but not because she was running, no. 

She had created this place for Elif, to make sure that her best friend didn't suffer a cruel fate like her or because of her. Maybe she was being paranoid, but with what was happening, she had to try and think, fast. 

With Elif set, Kiyomi conjured a few snacks and food varieties that would keep her sister occupied. The room was comfortable, almost like an entirely new office on its own, and soundproof, so she was sure Elif would be okay. 

She locked the door and braced for whatever the hell was coming for her, after leaving Elif a note that said she was in surgery and that she didn't want to wake her up. It was a lie, but lying to Elif was safer than having Izanami see her best friend. 

"Please keep her safe," Kiyomi said a silent prayer to the goddess for her sister before she stepped out of her office, making sure to leave it open so there wouldn't be any suspicions about her or her sister. 

She didn't have the strength to start fighting for Elif against Izanami because that was the one fight that even Kiyomi was smart enough to know she would never really win. Perhaps she just had to try and be rational? But how?

"Oh, you're awake… I was actually coming to your office," Dr. Zeydan, the hospital Chief, said to Kiyomi right as the good doctor stepped out. It was almost like this was something that they had to talk about but then what the fuck was Kiyomi supposed to even say to that?

"I am going on rounds. Or is it so urgent we have to talk in my office?" Kiyomi asked and the Chief just stared at her softly. It was clear that Kiyomi didn't trust the woman, and she had every right to, yeah? 

This woman had sold her out and planted fake information out there for her to be hunted. It was only right that Kiyomi wasn't as thrilled to be standing beside her, let alone go on a stroll in the hospital with her.

"No, wherever is fine. I just wanted to let you know that the patient coming on your schedule today is getting a transfer from Yana Hospital, and requested specifically for you. I know we haven't exactly been on the same page for a while;

"...but I just wanted to let you know that this patient is a high profile, and you will need to be at your best," Zeydan said and Kiyomi scoffed. 

She thought back to the year that had passed; the same time that she had been subjected to ridicule and her comfort ruined because this mad woman had put her name out there. 

Zeydan was right. 

Kiyomi didn't like her one bit and distrusted her. 

She hated the woman, and she didn't even want to associate with her, but at the same time, Odanera was the largest hospital in the city and had the best facilities out there that Kiyomi could use to save lives. 

If she wasn't so passionate about medicine and her work, she would have long murdered the human before her. That much she was sure of.

"I see you are caught up with the facts. I will take on the case on one condition," Kiyomi said and Zeydan stared at her intently. She could already imagine what Kiyomi was about to ask. 

Perhaps it was for the staff she trusted to be in there with her, or maybe it was for the woman to include Elif, right? It was all that Kiyomi could ask for and from any perspective, Zeydan was always almost right about Kiyomi. 

But was she this time though?

"What is it?" Zeydan asked excitedly. You would think that she loved it when people got sick and came in. Of course, at the end of the day, the hospital was still a business for the humans – the one aspect of the Doiwa hospitals that this palace didn't have. 

Doiwa hospitals were free of charge because everyone had a right to be treated the right way without any questions about bills. The kingdom was wealthy enough to foot the recovery of all their patients regardless of how many hundreds of thousand had to be attended to. 

They were always ready. But the humans were different and Kiyomi had always learned that a little too hard for her liking.

"Elif doesn't come to my surgery. I don't care if the patient is in the anesthesiology department or not. There is a surgery that's why you forced this on me. If Elif comes, I walk. We both know there isn't a thing you can use to threaten me anymore, Zeydan. 

"So, make your choice," Kiyomi said and the human looked at her defeatedly. 

The betrayal from a year ago had been the harshest on Kiyomi and even Zeydan was human enough to know she had fucked up. She had ruined shit for the good doctor and she wasn't about to start acting like she was the savior.

"Alright. The patient you are to expect," Zeydan handed Kiyomi the patient file and left.

"Patient name: Izanami Watanabe," Kiyomi read and paled.