Two hours later—after doing exactly what Luna Vasti wanted—I walk into the pack hospital and head straight for Dr. Dirge's office.
The building smells faintly of antiseptic and dried herbs, a comforting blend I've always associated with safety. The pack hospital is old, built from stone and reinforced wood, sturdy in a way that feels permanent. Dirge's office is tucked near the back, small but warm. A desk sits near the window, a worn couch pressed against one wall, and several tall bookshelves line the rest of the room, sagging slightly under the weight of ancient tomes.
Dirge stands by the shelves, a few heavy medical tomes cradled in his arms.
Shifter medical knowledge isn't digitized or printed—it's written, copied, and passed down through generations in leather-bound tomes. Every healer adds to them. I've read almost every one our pack owns, thanks entirely to Dirge.
"Ah," Dirge says in his low, raspy voice, glancing over his shoulder. "I was wondering what happened to you, dear."
He's a bit scrawny for a shifter. Shifters age slower than humans and live longer, but overall we age similarly. I'm fairly sure he's somewhere in his sixties, though he doesn't look a day over forty-five. Salt-and-pepper hair, just over six feet tall, faint wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. Handsome—for a dad.
Before I can answer, a high-pitched voice pierces the air.
"Girl, where you been?!" Cam screeches as she bursts through the doorway. "I was about to call out an Amber Alert on your ass!"
"Cameran, dear," Dirge says mildly, shaking his head, "there's no need for profanities."
I giggle despite myself.
Cam is what you'd call drop-dead gorgeous. She's the complete opposite of me. I have dark brown hair, pale skin, and brown eyes—your standard, unremarkable she-wolf. Cam has striking green eyes, long model legs, warm olive-toned skin, and dirty-blonde hair she inherited from her mother, Gin.
Gin—the she-wolf we lost in the fire.
I catch the way Dirge's shoulders tense just slightly whenever her name drifts too close to the surface of memory. The anniversary always hits him hard. They weren't fated mates, but they chose each other. Loved each other just as fiercely.
Cam is tall—well, taller than me. At this point, I think everyone is taller than me. I'm stuck at five-foot-seven, which is short for a shifter.
"I'm not the one who came in two hours late, Dad," Cam chirps.
"Luna wanted me to wash the Alpha's shirt," I say quickly. "She didn't want to wake the pack staff. I'm sorry for being late. Is there anything I can do? Any patients?"
I almost hope there are. Anything to distract me.
"Of course she did," Cam scoffs. "Ugh, I don't understand them. Why do they treat you so lowly? Don't they realize you're a gem to this pack? What if there's an attack? You'd want an actual LINSECED medical doctor!"
She winces. "No offense, Dad."
"None taken," Dirge sighs. "You're not wrong. I don't know why Jered and Vasti treat you so poorly. Only because you are low-born—and I say that with respect, dear."
I nod. I've heard this all my life.
"No one should be treated that way," he continues, shelving the tomes carefully. "It's almost as if they're trying to run you out of the pack. Shameless."
"It's okay," I say, forcing a smile. "I'm used to it."
'It's not okay, and you know it,' Emma whispers.
I sigh.
Cam slings an arm around my shoulders. "Hey, tonight's a full moon. How about we go for the pack run? Or just… try to shift?"
"Cam," I plead, stepping back. "You know I can't. Not since that one time. I—I can't."
I sink onto the couch, the words heavy and familiar. This topic always hurts.
The memory crashes in without warning.
"SAM! RUN! DON'T LET THEM SEE!"
My mother's voice echoes as burning debris rains down around us.
Heat. Smoke. Terror.
I try to answer, but only a terrified whine comes out.
"SAMANTHA—!"
I shake my head violently.
No. No. No.
I dig my nails into the couch cushions, grounding myself. A hand settles on my shoulder.
"Hey, hey," Cam says softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push."
"No," I rush to say. "I'm okay. I am. Really. Yeah—maybe I should try again. Maybe this time it'll work."
Huff.
'I'm not the problem, and you know it,' Emma mutters.
'Thanks, Em. Really.'
She rolls her eyes internally and retreats to the far corner of my mind.
"You know," Dirge says gently, "you could speak to someone. A therapist, perhaps. Not all injuries are physical."
"A therapist?" I snort. "What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, I'm supposed to turn into a giant wolf but my other half refuses to come out because I have debilitating childhood trauma?' They'd lock me up."
I stand quickly. "I'll take the walk-ins today. You two go home early. I'll see you at dinner."
Dirge gives me a sad smile. Cam follows me out.
"I'll walk with you after work," she says. "I need to vent about Nick. This relationship is going nowhere."
She launches into her rant as we walk down the long hospital corridor. I listen, smiling softly.
I love her. She's my best friend. I'd burn the world for her.
But her love life is a mess.
She talks about fated mates like they're real. Maybe they are—for some. Most shifters never find theirs. They choose instead. A bond formed under moonlight, tying two wolves in body, spirit, and soul.
Unbreakable.
Sometimes so strong that when one dies, the other follows.
Morbidly romantic.
The idea that the Goddess picked one specific wolf for you? Sounds like a fairy tale, way too far-fetched.
"It's just crazy," Cam says. "Bonding for power. And Seraphina thinks she's about to become top bitch because she's being mated to the Herculean Pack's heir—"
I stop walking.
"What?"
Serephina is the daughter of Alpha Jered and Luna Vasti. Their only daughter, they have a son who's to take over as Alpha when the current one steps down.
Valen. He's about three years older than me and, on the surface, maybe even a decent wolf. I barely spoke to him growing up, but whenever I did, he watched me with a look that made my skin prickle—like a hunter sizing up prey he'd already chosen. We've only crossed paths a handful of times this past year; his father sent him away for warrior training before he's meant to ascend as Alpha. He was never cruel the way his sister was, but he never intervened either—just stood by, smirking. I shudder. That entire family is twisted.
Seraphina, though?
A snake in a dress.
She used to be my friend—before the fire. After she shifted and realized she had an alpha aura, something in her snapped.
For her to become a Luna?
I pity that pack.
"That's if she doesn't go after the Wolf King," Cam says smugly.
I blink.
"You weren't listening! Earth to Sam! Are you in there!?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I say, smiling wickedly. "I was distracted by the good news of Seraphina leaving."
She grins at me.
" Don't get your hopes completely up. Like I was saying before you went to La La Land." She leaned against my desk as I sat in my chair behind it.
" The Alpha is trying to secure a mating between the Herculean Pack's heir and Serephina. Since we are such a big pack in this region we are hosting a huge ball with all packs in the country. It's going to be huge! Granted it is also for Seraphina's birthday so her head is inflating a shit ton. Double now since the Wolf King confirmed he was going to arrive. Rumor is he's looking for his fated mate. If he can't find her he will just take a chosen mate. I bet Serephina is going to try to bag him first. Nasty Bitch."
Cam said all this with a gleam in her eye. I wonder if she's hoping to find her fated. All the packs in the country. That's alot of people, alot of unmated males.
My wolf stirs at the thought. She's never given thought at any of the males I've dated. Not that there's many, but few dates here and there. One serious relationship lasted almost two years until I saw him in bed with her highness herself, Serephina. On Valentine's Day no less. Stayed away from dating since. That was a year ago.
'Should have let us rip her throat out.' Emma decided now to voice an opinion.
'No girl, killing the Alpha's daughter is not a good idea!'
'Disfigure her face?'
'What is wrong with you? Why are you so violent?' I chastised her.
'I'm not violent, she needs to know her place.' Emma growled
'She's the Alpha's daughter! She has an alpha wolf!' I hissed at her. Not understanding her sudden anger.
'SO DO Y—'
I cut off the connection to her not wanting to continue to fight. She's usually so passive and barely talks. I have no idea what's gotten into her. Sure, some random times she comes out with her violent tendencies like the time we found Steve in bed with Seraphina.
Cam is looking at me a bit wary. I shrug and ask,
" Isn't the Wolf King Old? Why would she go after him?"
"The power? Money? Knowing Seraphina? She's a power whore."
"Well you are not wrong."