[IRIS POV]
"You lied to me," Caius spat out, his face immediately twisting with hurt and hatred. He dropped my hand from his own as though it were vermin.
"I didn't! Caius, I didn't know who you were― I just thought―" I protested weakly, trying to reach out for him again, but he pushed me hard enough that I fell to the ground. My eyes watered from the pain. "It was an accident!"
"Go away! You're scum, just like your mother!"
I woke up with a sharp gasp, my temples beading with sweat. The white of the ceiling met my eyes, and I gingerly craned my head to see a bright green curtain surrounding my bed.
Oh. I was in the infirmary. After years of being bullied, I was a frequent visitor. I held a hand to my chest, thankful that the pain seemed to have receded somewhat. I could breathe normally again. I got up carefully and pulled the curtain away, preparing to leave.
"And where do you think you're going?" Healer Felix's voice was stern as he watched me over the metal rims of his glasses. They glinted under the light, and I gulped.
"Back to work?" I said hesitantly. I glanced at the clock and groaned. It was lunch hour, and I was missing my kitchen shift.
"You'd do no such thing, unless you have a death wish," Healer Felix said threateningly. "If you do, I can simply hand you a bottle of wolfsbane right here. It'll save me the effort of patching you up."
"Okay…" I nodded and sat back on my bed obediently.
Healer Felix narrowed his eyes at me before going back to his notes once he saw that I was tucked in.
The consequences of missing a shift were minuscule compared to the consequences that would arise from pissing off Healer Felix. If he said he would feed me wolfsbane, I believed him.
Despite being our pack's main healer, Healer Felix was young and bold. He did not care much for pack customs, politics, or hierarchy. He was probably one of the few in Ashbourne who didn't turn his nose up at my existence, treating me like an interesting medical case study.
To him, everyone was a patient, and if they didn't listen to him, he would turn them into one. He even told Alpha Rufus right to his face that there was no way to save his receding hairline, and if he continued yapping, he would get erectile dysfunction, and Alpha Rufus didn't have him executed.
Back then, I was surprised that Alpha Rufus had allowed him to mouth off at anyone, but I soon realised it was because Healer Felix was simply too good at his job to be dismissed.
After all, he was the one who formulated the prescription for my heats. Speaking of which… I cleared my throat.
"Healer Felix?" I began. "Can I have more of the herbs you gave me to control my heat?"
He paused, his pen hovering above his notes. "I beg your pardon?"
"I need more herbs," I repeated. "I'm completely out―"
"I heard you the first time," He said, crossing his arms. "I gave you enough to last the whole of next month at the very least. What did you do with them?"
"Nothing! I ate them! My heat came again last night," I explained frantically, in case he thought I flushed his precious herbs down the toilet. "It was stronger than usual, so I used up the last of your herbs to control it."
"It did?" A calculative gleam appeared in Healer Felix's eyes as he stood up. He began to examine me, and I felt like a specimen underneath a microscope. "Was there a reason why your heat is triggered a month early?"
"I…" My mouth ran dry. "You can't tell anyone about this."
"Did you kill someone?"
"No! Of course not! I… I found my fated mate yesterday. At the masquerade ball," I said softly, my voice hushed.
"The very ball you were expressly forbidden to attend?" Healer Felix raised an eyebrow.
I nodded so hard my head bobbed up and down like a broken toy.
Healer Felix rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Teenagers. Moon Goddess, save me from their idiocy."
I pursed my lips, resisting the urge to grumble. It wasn't as though he was much older than me.
"I'll have to take your blood and run some tests," Healer Felix continued, and I obediently rolled my sleeve for him to draw my blood. He took it away and stowed it in one of his machines, and he took out a small box and handed it over to me.
"Are these my herbs?" I asked curiously, carefully opening the box, only to freeze.
Healer Felix had handed me condoms.
"Since you found your fated mate, you don't need the herbs anymore," Healer Felix said. "Your fated mate can handle your heats for you. As long as you don't repress it, your heats will be more manageable than before. The only thing I would worry about is pregnancy. Your body is not exactly at the peak of health to be carrying a child."
I spluttered, my face burning with a mixture of shame and anger. I couldn't tell Healer Felix that there was no way these condoms would be used, because Caius was my fated mate. While Healer Felix treated me better than most pack members, I didn't think he would keep such a huge secret for me.
So I could only pocket it. The box was small, but it felt as though it was burning a hole in my pocket.
"But what if I want some herbs anyway? In case my fated mate can't help," I asked anxiously, twisting my fingers as I looked up at him.
"Then tough luck. There aren't any left," Healer Felix said simply with a shrug. "You used up the last of them, and the next delivery will only come the earliest next month. There's a herb shortage because the harvests are poor."
My face paled at his words.
Without the herbs, I was effectively a ticking time bomb of pheromones, just waiting to be mated by anyone who passed by. Since Yvette could break into my room, that meant that it was a walk in the park for any able-bodied wolf in this pack if they got a whiff of my scent.
Of course, that was assuming Caius didn't get wind of it first and kill me once he found out I was actually his fated mate. The condoms weren't going to save me from his wrath.
Maybe I should drink that bottle of wolfsbane after all.
I was doomed.