Confucius Ads Library: Ads

Id	Vlad	Saved	Scrape Time	Status	Scrape Result	Title	Body	Cta Type	Link Url	Page Name	Page Profile Uri	Page Like Count	Enddate	Cta Text	Caption	Display Format	Link Description	Link Url	Creation Time	Page Profile Picture Url	Page Entity Type	Page Is Profile Page	Current Page Name	Startdate	Actions
2,747,334	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759		Be part of our Biohack Miami community and experience health, wellness and fitness innovations. * Complimentary IV-drips * Yoga & Breathwork * HIIT Movement Sessions * Normatec chairs * In-Body Assessment * High Polyphenol olive oil * Cold Plunge Therapy * Exclusive VIP Access * Free Sample Products * Cupping, Electro therapy and Facials * Gratitude Closing Ceremony Also lots of cutting-edge biohacking innovations will be available for you to test and experience. Explore technologies like vagus nerve stimulation, ozone therapy, heavy metal and vitamin testing, PEMF, electric neuromuscular activation, microcurrent therapy, cellular optimization, and more. Valet and metered street parking available. Ride-share apps encouraged 📅 March 9th \| 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM 📍 The Elser Hotel & Residences, Miami Limited tickets available – Secure yours now! 🔗 LINK IN BIO - LIMITED TICKETS LEFT @thebroadwayhealth @healthspan.official @tonythomassports @lifemed.cafeoflife @theozoneguru @cyborggainz @biohackerexpo @theelsermiami @theelserhotelmiami @thatkoalife @naventwins @socialbrand.mia @jefflioon	LEARN_MORE	https://www.sweatpals.com/event/biohack-miami	biohackmiami	https://www.instagram.com/_u/biohackmiami	0	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	www.sweatpals.com	VIDEO		https://www.sweatpals.com/event/biohack-miami	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-19/476872851_1516920059711371_6060127923128031547_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s206x206_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=525117&_nc_ohc=W47mxanvZfEQ7kNvgGpZnYG&_nc_oc=AdgRINTfa8uZ5DT2lCZ3n0cMmmi_4ODdeMKnTIRGGU2fp4z1m-DBQvZ_ahxSQJlme25ZlWqPE211zMbcaQ2wavSd&_nc_zt=24&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com&oh=00_AYCKcIqnZZASrdZEIlxw4JL2xG4qr47XwjqFq92TZofR6Q&oe=67CBA34F	IG_ADS_IDENTITY	1	biohackmiami	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,268	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747238}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	"Mine." The dangerous and menacing voice demanded in front of everyone in the room. "You are mistaken. Her father has already promised her hand to me in marriage. Once she turns 18 we will be marked and mated." Mason announced proudly and another menacing growl erupted from that man's throat. "You are not touching my mate." He growled out through gritted teeth. "He's your mate." Bella whispered. "Who are you?" I asked. "Tyler Lowe. Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack." He announced. And my mouth almost dropped open. __________ I was covered in black and blue bruises and fresh cuts from that beating. But also bruises under the new bruises that were yet to heal. I was malnourished and didn't heal as fast as werewolves. But I was used to it. Ever since my mother died when I was 6 my father has been getting progressively worse until it finally got to this kind of abuse. Which was the worst kind. Where I could barely walk or even look at myself in the mirror. I had a quick shower because the water stung my skin too much and I washed my length snow blonde hair and I came out of the bathroom and walked into my wardrobe. I got dressed into a pair of black tights, a loose fitting shirt and a hoodie over the top. It was pretty much my signature look. When I was putting my books in my bag my bedroom door slammed open and I jumped almost to the ceiling because it scared me so badly. Dad was standing there and I was surprised that he was actually able to stand. "Hurry up. The pack breakfast is starting." He demanded still slurring his words. How was he going to explain that to the pack elders? This was going to be interesting. But I really didn't care. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs and we left our side of the packhouse and walked through long corridors together and when I couldn't keep up with dad's pace he grabbed my arm and dragged me along which only hurt my ribs even more. "Quit your complaining. What is the matter with you?" He snarled at me. I wasn't surprised that he didn't remember. He was too drunk to remember. But when we got to the main part of the pack house he made sure that his clothes were neat and his balding gray hair and goatee weren't disheveled and we walked into the large dining room where a lot of important pack members had breakfast every morning. Including the Alpha, his daughter Bella, the pack elders and other influential people around the pack. Like the doctor ect. There were several tables set out and a buffet where you could eat all you wanted. And I was practically drooling at the food as dad approached it and he piled one plate up with heaps of food and then gave me the second plate with only toast and a pancake on it. I found Bella sitting at a table by herself next to the window. She was the Alpha's second born and only daughter. And my best friend. We're the same age and we've known each other since we were in diapers. "I see you've brought the hoodie out again." Bella whispers as I try to sit down without drawing any attention to myself at how much pain I was in. We all know what it means when we see the hoodie - It's for covering the bruises. "I didn't realize that I ever put it away." I say. "Well, I'm glad that I don't have to wear mine today." She commented. "Yeah. Your dad has eased off of you. Is there a reason why?" I asked curiously and a little jealous. "Yep. Because my brother is coming home today." She beamed at me. And a huge smile spread across my face as well. "You're kidding. Ethan is finally coming home." I say. And she nods her head. I could tell that she was trying everything to hide her excitement. "I can't believe that. That's fantastic." I said. I noticed Bella looking around at the room but she didn't say anything. So I glanced around as well and when I did everyone quickly stopped looking at me. Dad tried to hide his evil side. But he wasn't fooling anyone. When he got drunk, he would always start fights with people and become unbearable. And he was getting drunk a lot more lately. People had an idea of what was going on in our apartment. But no one was willing to go up against the Beta. Because they all knew that the Alpha would be there to support him and they would be kicked out of the pack. Or worse. A lot of pack members lived in fear of our Alpha and Beta. It was a horrible way to live. But if they tried to leave then the Alpha would send warriors after them to kill them. He's done it more than once. The warriors were ordered to kill entire families that were fleeing. Which included children. That's what made this pack the strongest on the East Coast. Because no one was game enough to leave so it was a huge pack and all the warriors trained relentlessly. The only problem was that girls weren't allowed to train. We basically lived in the stone ages. The Alpha believed that she-wolves are only here to find their mates and produce pups for their mates to keep the pack going strong. It was barbaric and insulting. But he was the Alpha. His word was law. "How long do we need to stay here to be respectful? I hate everyone staring at me." I whisper to Bella. "Just a couple more minutes. Then we can leave for school." She whispers back. I then saw the head warrior Mason walk in with his two sidekicks Levi and Lockie trailing behind him and Mason's eyes set straight on me. They got themselves some food and then invited themselves to join me and Bella. Mason sat right next to me and moved his chair over so he could be closer to me, but I squirmed away from him as much as possible. He was big and good looking but he was a horrible person. And I knew that from first hand experience. He was the one that they always called to track down those families that ran away. And I know that he personally killed a child of those fleeing families. I wanted nothing to do with him. "I have exciting news for you Tessa." Mason says, looking at me. "And what is that?" I asked, exhaling while drinking a little coffee. "I have you're fathers blessing." He said slowly. And my head snapped towards him. "What?" I almost shouted and a few people looked our way before they went back to what they were talking about. And Mason was smirking at me. "As soon as you turn 18, I am taking you as my mate." He says. "And what about my true mate? My goddess given mate? What about him? He's out there somewhere." I say. "Who cares. He'll find someone else. Or he'll just wither and die after you reject him. I really don't care. But you will be mine. That's all I've wanted for years." He says lightly while playing with my hair. And I look at Bella pleading with my eyes. "Yeah. We have to get to school now. It was good seeing you Mason." Bella says standing up and I stood up as well. They stayed sitting at the table as us two grabbed our bags and left the dining hall as quickly as we could and we didn't even stop to say goodbye to anyone. Least of all our fathers. But we weren't that lucky. "You two will be home straight after school. We're having a party here tonight with a lot of visiting Alpha's." The Alpha shouted across the room. We both stopped and nodded to him before leaving the house. "I can't believe that your father promised you to that sack of prick." Bella yelled as we were walking down the road. "I can. My father knows his own kind." I say. "I am so sorry Tess. What are you going to do?" Bella asked sympathetically. "I don't know. But I'll figure something out. Even if I have to run away before it can happen. I will definitely do that." I declare. "Well, tell me before you do. I'm coming with you." She says. "Sounds like a plan." I say. And then a black BMW stopped right in our walkway and we stopped before we hit the car and we both stepped back not knowing what to expect right now. Then a 6 foot 4 man with short brown hair and cleanly shaved with muscles that looked like they were going to rip his shirt off his body got out of the driver's seat and smiled at both of us. "What? Don't I even get a hug?" He asked. "Ethan." Bella yelled, jumping into his arms. And the other door opened to reveal an equally big man with dirty blonde hair and a little facial hair got out of the passenger seat. That was Ethan's best friend Wyatt. When Bella finally let Ethan go he walked over to me and hugged me and I winced a little in pain but tried to hide it and then I hugged Wyatt. And I had to do the same thing. "Are you hurt?" Ethan asked. "Yeah. It was stupid. Rough housing with a couple of the warriors and this is what happened. I should know better." I lied through my teeth. "Girls aren't allowed to train. Why are you rough housing with warriors?" Wyatt asked. "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time." I shrugged. " Come on Bells, we're gonna be late." I say. "We'll see you tonight." Bella says hugging Ethan again and we start walking off down the road again. But when I looked to the side I could see Ethan and Wyatt leaning against the side of their car watching us and talking about something. I was afraid that they didn't believe my rough housing with the warrior's excuse. "Bella. What would Ethan do if he found out about my dad?" I asked nervously. "You know Ethan as well as I do. What do you think he would do to your dad?" Bella responded confidently. "Just wait until he finds out that your dad gave you away to Mason. Ethan has always hated Mason. I don't think that mating will go through if Ethan is here. That's a good thing." Bella says. "Yeah. I'll take your word for it." I say skeptically. My father always had his way of getting his own way. No matter what it was. If he wanted me to mark and mate with Mason, then it was pretty much as good as done. When we got to school we walked inside and we went to Bella's locker first and then mine. Everyone obviously knew who we were but they kept their distance from us. Both of our fathers were known for being crazy. And no one wanted to mess with the Alpha or Beta's daughters. So we only had each other at school. Which was fine with us. The further we stayed away from people, the least likely they were to find out about what was actually happening in our house. When we got to our first class we sat at the back of the classroom as usual and I pulled out my notebook and pen and started scribbling on the page in front of me. When our geography teacher arrived and started the class I just sat there with my head on my hand scribbling in my book and barely paying attention. When I was 6 years old I woke up in the morning to my 26-year-old mother and my 48-year-old father screaming at each other in our old house. The one that we had before we moved to the packhouse. I stayed in bed for ages because I couldn't find the courage to get out of bed and go out there to see what was going on. I could hear things smashing and my mother screaming at my father. I then heard the slap that he gave my mother while yelling at her. And that's when I got out of bed. I opened my door and slowly crept down the hallway and stood at the kitchen doorway and my mother was on the floor holding her face and dad was standing over her. She saw me standing there and scrambled to her feet. "It's alright sweetie. I'm alright. Hey, why don't you go and get dressed and then you can go outside and play with Bella. How does that sound?" My mother asked, crouching down to my level. But I just shook my head and looked at my father before I turned back to my room and I closed the door. I started getting dressed but their fight wasn't over. I could still hear them screaming at each other and I was shaking while I was buttoning up my shirt. But I managed to get dressed and I walked back to the kitchen. My father was storming out the backdoor from what I could see and my mother was holding a rag to her bloody nose. "Why does daddy get so angry all the time?" I asked. "I don't know sweetie. He just does. Hey, are you all ready? I think Bella is alright outside. I saw her playing in the playground earlier. Why don't you go and find her while I clean up this mess and all the broken glass." Mummy says to me. "Okay mummy." I say. And I hugged her before I walked outside and Bella was still at the playground. I got on the swing next to her and she looked at me and then back to the house. "I could hear your daddy screaming from here." Bella says. But I just nod my head. She knew that meant that I didn't want to talk about it. " Do you wanna go and annoy Ethan. He's with his friends." She says. And I smile at that and shake my head. So we jumped off the swings and went running to find Ethan so we could annoy him. Something that we loved to do all the time. And it always cheered us up. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Bella nudging me so I looked at her and she pointed down at the picture that I was absent mindedly drawing. It was a big snarling wolf attacking a woman and child. I quickly changed the page and started paying attention to the class that we were in. Try to get my mind to concentrate on what needs to be done at school. The day went by pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was time to head home. But we always took our time before going home. We slowly went to our lockers to get our things and then we headed outside but we saw that same black BMW sitting out the front waiting for us. "Ethan. What are you doing here?" Bella asked. "I'm giving you guys a lift home." He responded with a beaming smile. "It's alright. We can walk. It's not that far." I say. "Too bad. Get in." Ethan ordered. So we got in his car and he actually took us into town instead of taking us home. "The Alpha told us to get home straight after school because of that party tonight." I told Ethan. "Don't worry. Dad and the Beta know that you girls are with me. I told them before I picked you guys up. Don't worry. You won't get in trouble." Ethan assured us. Ethan took us to an ice cream store downtown and took us inside. "You do know that we're not 10 years old anymore, right?" I asked Ethan. "I know. But I thought we could all sit down and talk." He says. "A coffee shop would have been better." I say sitting down. The other two got ice cream but I didn't order anything. "So Tessa, how are the ribs going?" Ethan asked. "Pretty good. I think they're just bruised. They'll be back to normal soon." I say. "Yeah. Thank goddess for werewolf healing." Ethan says. And I just smile at him. "So Bells, how has dad been since I left? Has he gotten any worse?" Ethan asked. "About the same, I guess." Bella says eating a bit of her ice cream and then she side eyed me. But unfortunately, Ethan managed to see us. But he didn't say anything about it. I had a really bad feeling that he only brought us here to fish for information. He was asking too many questions and I didn't really like it. So I kept quiet for most of that ice cream adventure and Bella and Ethan just kept talking like always. Like they were just talking about old times. When we got back to the packhouse Ethan said that he needed to go run some errands for his dad before the party so Bella and I went inside. Both of our dad's were sitting in the living room waiting for us and we knew that couldn't be good. "We are having people here in a few hours and you two have been out galavanting with Ethan." The Alpha says. "He picked us up from school. What did you want us to do? If we didn't go with him then he knew that something would have been up." I defended us while Bella sank back a little. She was never able to stand up against them. "Well, now you two have a lot of work to do, don't you. There's cooking that needs to be done and all the bedrooms in the packhouse need to be ready in case anyone decides to stay over." My father says. "I'll go and help Bella with the rooms and then I will get started in the kitchen." I say. "There's not enough time. Bella can clean the bedrooms. That means scrub the bathrooms, change the sheets, vacuum, everything. In every bedroom in this packhouse. And Tessa, you need to get started on appetizers, then the first course, then the second course, then the main course and then dessert." The Alpha ordered. "Yes sir." I say. I looked at Bella and we had to head in separate directions. I went to the kitchen and there was no one there. Hardly any omega's worked at the packhouse because the Alpha and dad made us two girls do everything. It was a wonder that we were even allowed to go to school most of the time. But I grabbed some ingredients out and I started making the main course because it would take hours to cook and then I got started on several different appetizers to give the guests some variety. While I was in the kitchen my father walked in and he lingered behind me and I could feel my whole body tense up but he stood behind me watching me. He didn't even try to move any closer to me. He was just intimidating me. That's all it was to him. A game. He thought it was funny. By the time everything was ready the omega's arrived because they had to serve the food and I went up the backstairs to our apartment and I went straight to my bedroom. I had a shower and I couldn't even bear to look at myself in the mirror this time, so I just had a quick shower and I got out and went to the wardrobe. I got dressed into a floor length gown with a white strapless bodice with a light pink floral lace over the top that also went over my shoulders to make the straps and black the skirt of it was plain black and black strappy high heels. I then brushed my length snow blonde hair and I put on a silver and diamond bracelet and matching earrings. But I kept my neck out, except for my hair hanging down. And then I started to walk downstairs. I made it to the main area of the house and I stopped at Bella's room just as she was coming out and she was looking a little nervous about this party. "Alright. Just relax and greet a few people. There's nothing to worry about. Once we do that then us two can sit at one of the tables in the ballroom and everyone else can do whatever it is that they do." I told her. "Alright. You know I hate these parties. Getting all dressed up. It's like our father's are putting us on display." She says. "That's exactly what they're doing. And they know it too. Come on, before they get pissed at us for being too long." I say hooking my arm around hers and we started walking down the hall. We walked down the staircase and off to the right was the living room but all the furniture had been cleared out of it and the rooms adjacent to it so people would walk around freely and talk and have a good time. And the main ballroom was set up for dancing while the dining room had been lined with four very long tables that could easily seat a couple hundred people. Walking to the living room was really nerve wracking but I made sure that I held my head high and people did look at us. "It's only because we are the hottest ones here. Just remember that." I whispered to Bella as I felt her tense up. And we continued walking into the room. Alpha's from other packs would come over and introduce themselves and of course we needed to be on our best behavior and represent the pack well and we were nice and polite to everyone and we would have light conversations with people. I noticed that there were older Alpha's with their teenage sons who were obviously learning the ropes to becoming Alpha's themselves and there were others in their 20's and 30's that were there with friends or even their Beta's. I wasn't sure. We had been at the party for about 20 minutes mingling when a familiar scent filled my nose and strong arms wrapped around my waist and I knew immediately that it was Mason. "Take note of the people that you like in this room sweetie. We can invite them to our wedding." Mason hissed in my ear while smelling the crook of my neck. I tried to unravel his arms from around my stomach because I was now in a lot of pain with the broken ribs but he wasn't letting go for anything. I didn't have the strength to get him to let go. All of a sudden there was a growl that ripped through the room and the band stopped playing and I heard something smash. Like it was a wooden chair or something. Everyone looked in that direction and there was a man standing there that I had never noticed before. He would have been in his early 20's, brown hair to his shoulders, a brown goatee, 6-foot 6 at least and very defined muscles that were now tense as his intense gaze was staring directly at me and Mason. But I didn't know who he was. I was frozen in the spot and this man was just staring at us with pure hatred in his eyes. But then I realized that the hatred was for Mason. Not me. "Mine." He demanded. "Mine." The dangerous and menacing voice demanded in front of everyone in the room. All the Alpha's from nearby packs and even ones that have traveled long distances to be here. Mason finally loosened his grip around me and I noticed the woman standing next to that stranger with a horrified look on her face. She tried to grab his arm but he shook her off and marked towards Mason and me. I very subtly pushed Bella to the side away from where this man was coming for us. Just in case anything happened, she could be ready to duck and cover. "You are mistaken. Her father has already promised her hand to me in marriage. Once she turns 18 we will be marked and mated." Mason announced proudly and another menacing growl erupted from that man's throat. "You are not touching my mate." He growled out through gritted teeth. "He's your mate." Bella whispered. "Who are you?" I asked. "Tyler Lowe. Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack." He announced. And my mouth almost dropped open. They were a large pack. They were known for their strength. They were not to be messed with. I knew of their pack, but I had never met their Alpha and didn't know what his name was. "She is not your mate. She has been promised to me." Mason gritted out. This was going to get out of hand. Really quickly. But another man stood in and placed his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "My name is Cade. I am Tyler's Beta. And I'm sure you know young man that it is against werewolf rules and nature to come between a wolf and his mate. Especially that of an Alpha wolf." Cade educated Mason. "I know the laws. And I don't care. Her father promised her to me. And she will be mine." Mason insisted and Cade had to hold Tyler back after that.	LEARN_MORE	https://b.chaptersapps.com/ad/L0NoYXB0ZXJzLyR7bGlu	Hut001	https://www.facebook.com/61550056771112/	195	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	b.chaptersapps.com	VIDEO		https://b.chaptersapps.com/ad/L0NoYXB0ZXJzLyR7bGlua0lkfS8xNzQwMzc1NTYxODEzL3BhZ2V3YmFqcQ==?adid={{ad.id}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/480778572_1003206725052597_6866147743611865609_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=TlExLHSJDkMQ7kNvgF-jc5v&_nc_oc=AdhTDleRe9MEjrhZHZxGSxpfcReMobJPrYOayQEFZBPiXQYGudSDuDfn9LWam-UK667auhicMJlrEJX1MeW4N_Dy&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AhgAUIE0q4_ey4ZHkh7DOyv&oh=00_AYC8CckEC2wiZO4kBUGZeGNZmqenDObunmEtlhfnNM_9Ig&oe=67CBA083	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Hut001	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,285	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747240}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	"She's not an ex or a bunny, is she?" "What? No. Cora and I went to school together. Her stepfather was my coach in high school. We were friends." "Just friends?" "Just friends. She's probably the only girl who's ever just been my friend. I've known her since kindergarten." Until she wasn't my friend anymore. Until I screwed it up. ____________ Cora The night is busier than usual, and I've run myself ragged trying to keep up in the ER. As a nurse, I don't normally work the ER, but I've had trauma training, and when three nurses called off, I came in. The overtime will be a nice bonus. I'm behind on my rent, and I hope this extra money will help me not only catch up on that, but on the other bills as well. "Cora!" I glance up from my charts to see Mrs. Hesh, my supervisor in the ER, hurrying toward me. She looks panicked. "What's wrong?" "We have several VIP patients coming in. I need your help." "Of course." I close the chart and put it back in the pile I still need to go through. "What do I need to know?" "Several of the hockey players from the Raptors got injured and are being rushed here. We need to make sure they're taken care of straight away and that the team and coaches are kept informed of their status. Can you do that?" "Shouldn't Shelia do that? She's the senior RN. I'm only filling in." Hockey players make me uneasy. Bad past experience. "I don't trust her not to ask them all for autographs. She's a total fangirl." My eyes widen. I didn't know Mrs. H. knew what that term even meant. "And I heard you say you knew hockey." "I do." "Good. I trust you not to lose your mind when confronted by the team." "No, ma'am, I won't." "You may need to wrangle some of the other nurses, too. I'll be busy with the patients." "They're not going to like it, especially the ones who have seniority over me." "Does that mean you can't do it?" The older woman turns and looks me dead in the eye, hers shrewd and assessing. But she can change my status here at the hospital. I'm not going to do anything to disappoint her. It says a lot she's trusting me with this. "I can do it." "Good." We both rush to the ER entrance, waiting for the ambulances to arrive. I pull my ponytail down and redo it, tucking the loose strands of my heavy blonde hair behind my ear. I learned during my first real rotation to always keep my hair up and out of the way. Otherwise, you could get run over in a packed ER because you can't see when your hair is swinging everywhere. It only takes a few moments for the first two ambulances to come screeching into the ER entrance, sirens blaring. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes for two seconds then move forward, meeting the ambulance doors and waiting for them to open. The first player out is Jamison O'Brian. He has a nasty cut to the face, and his leg is propped up and held immobile by the board strapped to it. He looks rough, but not in danger. Dr. Billings waves him off with the nurse standing behind me. I don't remember the guy's name. I'm not down here enough to know everyone. The second ambulance holds a more serious injury. Myers is the name emblazoned on his jersey. His head is a bloody mess, as is his arm, a nasty looking gash that was most likely caused by a blade. That's going to keep him out for a couple of weeks at least, depending on any kind of nerve or muscle damage. He goes with Ava, the other nurse down here from my regular floor. Ava and I are friends, and we both frown at the seriousness of the injury. Ava is a huge hockey fan, but she can be trusted not to lose her mind over treating a player, which is why she's been called out to meet the ambulances. The last ambulance is the one Mrs. H. seems the most concerned with. As soon as the doors spring open and the EMTs start shouting stats, I get a good look at the unconscious man lying prone and bleeding on the stretcher. All the air rushes out of my lungs, and all I can do is stare. No. It can't be. He's in Florida. Not Minnesota. "Cora?" The sharp tone snaps me out of my funk. "Sorry. It's just I know him." "You know him?" We run after the stretcher. "I went to school with him." "Is this going to be a problem?" "No, ma'am. I was just shocked is all. I hadn't realized he'd been traded to the Raptors. I'm good." She nods and we get to work, me helping cut his clothes off, revealing the extent of his injuries. He has massive bruises on his abdomen, which might indicate internal bleeding. There's also a nasty cut along one thigh, and his shoulder is at an odd angle. The doctors twist it back into its socket while he's unconscious. I wince when they do, glad he's unconscious for that. Resetting a shoulder is extremely painful. As the doctors do that, we keep working, helping to clean away the mess so they can evaluate him. The bleeding is stopped, and then he's gone to CT to make sure there was no damage to the brain and to see if he has internal bleeding where the bruising is. I go to check on the next patient, who is currently complaining that he's fine and he doesn't need all the fuss. The doctor and the male nurse are disagreeing with him, but he just gets louder. They do not know how to deal with hockey players, apparently. Or they don't want to upset a VIP patient. Either way, the patient's care comes first, even when said patient is acting like a big baby. "Sit." My tone is sharp and commanding when he tries to get off the table. His brown eyes snap to mine, and I just arch a brow. "I'm fine." He stands up, daring me to say a word. He has no idea he's dealing with someone who grew up around hockey players. "You are not fine. Now, sit down before you fall down." The nurse and doctor look at me like I've grown two heads, but O'Brian sits, a scowl on his face. He might terrify everyone else with that look, but not me. "Don't give me that look. Your leg could be broken, and the more you stand on it, the more damage you'll be doing. Which means longer time off the ice. So stop being a whiney prick and let us take care of you so you can get back out there." "Fine," he mutters, and I shake my head. Hockey players. Mrs. H. stands to the side, a small smile on her face. "Cora, we need you in here, please." I peel my gloves off and don a new pair when I push into the room where Myers sits, growling at everyone. The nurses are all a little too giddy and not really doing their job. Sighing, I push through them, snapping for them to get to work or get out. The low chuckle from the bed catches my attention, and I arch that same brow. "That's a nasty cut, Mr. Myers." "I've had worse." Dark green eyes dance with mischief even with the twinge of pain in them. "I'm sure you have." Ava hustles over, looking exasperated. "Thanks for that. They weren't listening to me." "No problem." Between the two of us, we get him stripped and cleaned, working around the doctors and getting them what they need as well. Soon he's hustled off to x-ray, and Ava and I take a moment to catch our breath. "That was intense." "I forget how surly they can be when they're hurt." "Your stepfather was a high school coach, wasn't he?" I nod, not really paying attention. "So that's how you know so much about hockey." We both jump at the sound of Mrs. H.'s voice. "Sorry, we just needed a moment." "Understandable. Cora if you can go inform the team of what's going on, I'd appreciate it. They're camped out in the waiting room." "And being very loud, I take it?" Her lips twitch, and I know I'm right. Sighing, I push off the wall and take a glance at the charts before walking down the hall to the waiting room. I hear the noise before I even reach the doors. Loud isn't quite the word I'd use. Think of about thirty two-year-olds all screaming at the top of their lungs. That would be the most accurate picture of the noise coming from out there. No fewer than six nurses, male and female alike, are trying to talk above the noise. But honestly, they're not asking about injuries or informing the team about the patients. They're talking about the game. "Excuse me." I make myself louder than normal, but it's not doing a thing to get anyone attention. So I do the one thing I know will get through. I put fingers to my lips and let out a whistle so shrill it hurts the ears. Another thing left over from my high school days. A little trick my stepfather taught me. But it's effective, and every single bit of noise dies down. "Thank you. Now, where is the head coach?" He stands and walks forward. "I'm Coach Baptist." "All three of your players are being taken care of. O'Brian's in x-ray, and Myers and Chandler are upstairs in CT. They're checking for head trauma and internal bleeding. As soon as we know more, I'll come out and let you know." I turn my attention back to the nurses. "You lot have things to do other than stand around out here and gossip. Get back to work." "I outrank you." The snottiest of them grins. "Yes, but Mrs. H. put me in charge. Sure you want to tell her why you decided to pull that snarky little comment out of your a$s?" Her eyes widen, and she turns and marches back through the doors. Idiot. "Well, what are the rest of you waiting for?" They grumble but shuffle off. Which leaves the team to deal with. "Is there anyone else out here who needs medical attention?" A collective shake of heads is the only answer. "Now, I know you're all tired, and anxious to find out about your teammates, but this is a hospital. There are sick people here, and all this noise isn't helping." More grumbling. "I get it, guys, I do, but I swear if you don't settle down, you're going to deal with me, and trust me, ladder drills have nothing on my ire, so please do us all a favor and behave." "Ladder drills, huh?" one player asks. "You know hockey?" "Yes. Now, unless you guys need something, I'll be back when I have more to report." I turn around, and a wolf whistle follows me. It takes me two seconds to have the offender's ear in between my fingers. You'd be amazed at how quickly a man will come to heel with a little pressure on his earlobe. "Ow!" he screeches. "I'm not your honey, babe, or a bunny. I'm Nurse Stevens, and if you disrespect me again, I will have your balls. Understand?" "Yes, ma'am." I turn him loose and give them all a level stare. "Understand?" A chorus of "yes, ma'ams" follow me as I turn around and disappear behind the doors leadings back to the ER. Hockey players. Cora Has it really been only four hours since the worst shock of my life? But my trusty watch says it has. Thank God for all my training, or I might have run from the hospital and never come back. Shaw Chandler. Dear sweet baby Jesus. I never expected to see him again, especially not in Minnesota, of all places. He swore he never wanted to play where it was cold ever again. The southern states or the warmer ones on the west coast are where he wanted to play. It's why I felt so safe moving here. Even though hockey is king in this state the same way football is in Texas, I knew he'd never play here. But then, players don't dictate trades. He might not have been given a choice. And besides, it's not like he'd care I'm here, anyway. We haven't spoken in over four years. Shaking my head, I pull myself together and focus on the patient who needs the nausea meds. Poor man seems to have gotten food poisoning. He's thrown up three times since he got here twenty minutes ago. He's dehydrated, but the IV I put in with the fluids should start to help soon. "Here you go, Mr. Croom. This will ease the nausea." I hand him the tablets and small paper cup. He takes it and swallows the pills down. "God, I hope this stays down." Me too. He threw up on me earlier. Glancing at the clock, a sigh escapes when I see my shift is over. I can go home and forget I saw Shaw Chandler. But the pale stillness of him when he came in worries me. Shaw was my best friend all throughout school, and as much as he hurt me, part of me still worries about him. I always will. "I'm getting ready to leave, Mr. Croom, but Amber will be the charge nurse on duty. She should be by in just a few minutes. Is there anything you need before I go?" He shakes his head miserably, and I smile encouragingly at him. Food poisoning is one of the worst things in the world. "Hey, Cora." Amber shoots me a smile when I walk over to the nurses' station to clock out on the computer. "Watch that one. He's got food poisoning and has already thrown up on me." "Ouch." I wrinkle my nose. I smell like vomit, but at least I have on clean scrubs. I learned early on to keep several extra sets on hand. I give her the rundown on the rest of the patients as I gather my things. "I heard about the hockey mess that came in." "Yeah. Two serious injuries and one very loud, very vocal team." "We've had them in a few times over the years. Takes some wrangling." "I handled it." "I knew you could." She waves me off as I walk around the station. "See you tomorrow!" No, she won't, but I don't bother mentioning that. Amber is one of the nicest people in this place, and I try not to let my snarky nature disrupt her bubbly attitude. It's not until I'm in the elevator stepping off onto the floor where Shaw is that I realize I've even done it. I shouldn't be here. I know it, but I'm worried. He looked so pale. Groaning at my own gluttony for punishment, I walk down the hall to his room. No one is around. He's probably still passed out. He had a nasty concussion, but because of the surgery to repair his spleen, he had to have anesthesia. If I remember correctly, he doesn't respond well to the stuff. It knocks him out for days afterward, so I should be good just to sneak in and check to make sure he's okay. But he's not alone. One of the nurses from the waiting room is standing there, taking photos on his phone. What the... "Just what the heck do you think you're doing?" He whirls around, and his eyes go round. I whip out my phone and text Mrs. H. She's the one nurse I know who will take care of this. "What are you doing?" he asks, voice low. "Texting my supervisor to let her know what you're doing." He looks from the phone to me and then shrugs. He knows he can sell those photos for a few hundred thousand, easy. It's no biggie if he gets fired. He breezes by me and out the door. Oh, he did not! Running after him, I catch his arm and pull him around. "You're not..." "Don't make me hurt you, babe." His tone is threatening, but it doesn't register. All I'm thinking about is those photos. Photos of Shaw when he's vulnerable and unable to defend himself. "You are not getting out of here with those pictures." "You going to stop me, babe?" Without thinking, I grab his phone and slam it on the ground, smashing it in the process. Well, cracking the screen more than the phone flying into little bits and pieces. "You little bimbo!" And before I can dodge, his fist has connects with my face. Everyone on the floor sees it. He seems to notice and tries to run, but one of the hockey guys from downstairs is only a few steps away and snags him. "You okay, Cora?" Natalee, one of my good friends, asks as she helps me up. "Did you hit your head?" The pain vibrating across my cheek is horrible. The bruise is going to be epically bad. My head does hurt, but it's not as bad as the cheek. "She broke my phone!" the offender shouts. "That doesn't give you the right to hit a girl, dude." Mr. Tall Dark and Deadly hockey player doesn't look impressed with the nurse's outburst. Mrs. H. arrives and, seeing my face, rushes over to check it, her fingers gentle on my jaw. "This needs x-rayed." "It'll be fine." I can't afford a hospital bill. Even with our insurance taking care of most of the bill, I still can't afford what would be left. "No, it won't," she rebukes. "Or do I need to pull the same spiel you gave earlier?" I try to smile, but it hurts too much. "Now, is this the man you texted about?" I nod. "Yes, ma'am. He was taking pictures of Sha...Mr. Chandler. When he tried to run, I smashed his phone. I'm sorry about that, but it's the only thing I could think to do. Our job is to take care of our patients, not exploit them when they're unconscious." "He did what?" The voice of the player holding the nurse drops two octaves and turns from soft to hard so fast it would make your head spin. Even those pretty brown eyes have gone so cold and dark, they're nearly black. "She's lying!" "I don't think so." Mrs. H. collects the smashed phone off the floor. "The police should be able to pull any photos from the phone. It's not damaged too badly." The man's face pales. "We'll take care of this." Mrs. H. turns to Natalee. "Get her checked in then off to x-ray. Someone will be by to fill out an incident report, and Cora, don't worry about the bill. You won't be getting one since it's a work-related injury." Her expression dares me to argue, so instead I pull out my own phone and text my babysitter that I'll be later than I thought. At least I don't have to worry about one more bill I can't afford. When I get back from x-ray, they don't take me down to the ER like I expected. They bring me back to Shaw's floor and to a room. Natalee winks when she comes in. "Can't have one of ours down there in the mess." I smile gratefully, knowing she pulled a few strings. This is my normal floor, and I love the nurses I work with up here. "You got some ninja skills, girlfriend." "Ha, if I had skills, I wouldn't have gotten hit." "Yeah, I didn't see that coming either. I was already up and coming over when you snatched Marty's phone, but I wasn't able to stop him. Sorry." I wave off her apology. "How much longer do you think this is going to be? Noah's already up and probably mad that I'm not there to make his breakfast." "How is the kiddo?" "He's good, adjusting better than I thought he would when we moved out here." "It had to be hard on him. When John and I moved here two years ago, our daughter declared us horrible people and said she'd never forgive us." "How'd that go?" "She was five. She got over it when we took her ice skating." I laugh and then wince. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts." "Sorry." She hands me the cup of coffee she'd been holding. "I brought this for you. It's from the stand outside, not the cafeteria. Thought you'd need some caffeine." "Thanks, Nat." "Anytime. I have to go check on patients, but the doctor shouldn't be too long. He has to haul it up from the ER, so..." I shrug. It'll probably be a while longer than she let on. I'll drink my coffee and try not to focus on the man a few doors down from me. The one I shouldn't even have checked on. But I'm glad I did. No matter what happened between Shaw and me, no one deserves to have their photo taken while they're at their most vulnerable. Especially not by the people who are supposed to be taking care of them. "Knock, knock." The hockey player who snagged the nurse walks in. "that looks bad." "I'd say it looks worse than it feels, but I'd be lying." He comes closer, his hands in his pockets. His black hoodie with the Raptors logo isn't nearly as dark as his hair. The stubble on his face gives him a rakish look. He reminds me of a pirate and is way hotter than Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. The man is gorgeous, and he knows it. It's the way he moves, the confidence of his stride. I take a sip of my coffee, careful to blow on it first. "That's not from the cafeteria." "Nope. There's a little coffee vendor outside the hospital. Better than Starbucks." "No sh-it?" "No sh-it." "Good to know." After he stands there awkwardly for a full minute, I decide to put him out of his misery. "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Oh...uh...I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay." He doesn't sound nearly as confident as his stride. He sounds nervous. "I'm good." "And to thank you for what you did." "Not necessary. I'm sorry it happened. I didn't think anyone here would do something like that." "You'd be surprised at what people will do for money." The darkness lurking in his eyes tells me that he's well acquainted with the subject. Another minute goes by, and then his phone buzzes. He pulls it out and frowns at the message. "Everything okay?" He sighs. "My kid has terrorized another nanny. She's threatening to quit." Now that, I smile at. "My son went through three sitters when we moved here six months ago. He was adjusting to a new place, a new city, and sitters he didn't know." "My son has lived here his whole life, which is all of four years. He loves to cause chaos, and the nannies I hire don't like the chaos. I wish he was more like his sister. She's as sweet as can be." I laugh at that, not caring about the wince. "Three- and four-year-old little boys are a handful and take a certain brand of crazy to deal with all its own." "That they do." He smiles, and it lights up his entire face. "I'm Blaine Kirkos, by the way." "Nice to meet you, Mr..." He's shaking his head, interrupting me before I can get the word out. "No mister. Call me Blaine. We parents have to stick together. At least now I know how you handled a room full of hockey players and wrangled Myers and O'Brian. They said you were like a little general, daring them to disobey you." "Hockey players are very much like little boys." "I'm not saying I agree, but..." "But you do." His smile is my only answer. "So, I was thinking I could get you tickets to a game or something...to say thank you for taking care of everyone and stopping that guy from getting away with photos." "Oh, no, that's okay. You don't have to do that." "But I want to." "I work most nights you guys have games." "You could switch a shift or call in..." "Can't call in. Bills to pay and all that." "How about I send you tickets, and if you can come, then you come?" I start to tell him thank you but no when the doctor comes in. He glances at Blaine and does a double take. "Oh, Mr. Kirkos, I didn't know you knew Cora." He winks at me and shakes the doctor's hand. "Just in here checking on our favorite nurse. I'll let you talk to her so she can get out of here and home to her son. I'll be seeing you Nurse Stevens!" He walks out whistling, and the doctor turns to me, one eyebrow raised. I refrain from saying a word, and when he realizes I'm not about to gossip, he gets down to business. My cheekbone is not fractured as they'd feared, but it's going to hurt like crazy. He offers pain meds, and I decline, so he writes me a prescription for Ibuprofen 800 and calls it a day. Once my discharge papers are firmly in hand, I tell Natalee goodbye and waver in front of Shaw's door. Giving in to temptation, I go in and walk over to the bed. He's just as gorgeous as I remember. His skin is darker, pecked by the Florida sun. The blond hair that always made him look like the boy next door is lighter, sun bleached from days spent on the beach. His eyes are a dark stormy gray, and even though they're closed, I can picture them. His body has filled out a lot since the last time I saw him. He's become the man that the boy only hinted at. "Hey..." I turn to see Natalee come in. She's got questions in her eyes, but I shrug, not up to answering them. "How is he?" I ask instead. "In and out of consciousness, which is good, especially with the concussion. Surgery was successful, but he's not going to be on the ice anytime soon. Nasty concussion." I nod. It's what I assumed when they started talking about concussions in the ER. At least he's okay. I can go home and forget about him now. "Tinkerbell?" The hoarsely whispered word pulls my attention to pain-filled eyes. He's staring at me with an intensity that's hard to shake. But I have to. Without a word, I turn and walk out of the room.	LEARN_MORE	https://a.bingecherry.com/ad/L0JpbmdlQ2hlcnJ5LyR7b	ForFun-100	https://www.facebook.com/100094441775812/	280	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	a.bingecherry.com	VIDEO		https://a.bingecherry.com/ad/L0JpbmdlQ2hlcnJ5LyR7bGlua0lkfS8xNzQwMzc1ODM0NjgyL3BhZ2VjaHNqdg==?adid={{ad.id}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/480810826_1155113156277187_8014067569316057689_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=faUTX7HHV_AQ7kNvgGGrjjH&_nc_oc=AdhdgFvRud_5LaYelREauByui5BdVaKXxc1CPYFXvclpCs_4ezDZdVk6FyM5kX7aP0_freW-NmKw0W5iqI_I8IZv&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AKugcj9FiU9hFemCyrLHt9B&oh=00_AYBNHI9Fd7yUQSSsIH4BqQSWVoR3_INg-em9gWEpOtkuFQ&oe=67CBA16B	PERSON_PROFILE	0	ForFun-100	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,112	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	Yes	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Guide to Magnesium for Better Health 🧘‍♀️	Ever wonder why magnesium is essential for overall wellness? 🥗 Learn more.	LEARN_MORE	https://searchlabz.com/understanding-the-importanc	Finally Media	https://www.facebook.com/100067978975745/	265	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	searchlabz.com	IMAGE	Understanding the importance of magnesium is becoming increasingly crucial in today's health-conscious society. Magnesium serves as a powerhouse mineral essential for over 300 enzymatic reactions, including energy production, muscle and nerve function, and blood sugar regulation. Despite its signifi...	https://searchlabz.com/understanding-the-importance-of-magnesium/?cid=ch15060+ch15065&adtext=Guide to Magnesium for Better Health �&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_medium={{ad.id}}&utm_source=fb&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&fb_pixel_id=1178421023860202&fpcv=Lead&lang=en_US&stid=8238594636	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481244991_993622166012001_2761772616471674487_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=yYcTBidPBkkQ7kNvgHpkAX9&_nc_oc=AdjuGAG0pvh3UQdgiKv3Zo_0TgCiKfsNZhs02H4ZmwjCY7fZ2E57Sg0EqkMrTttiw7XKrjqqpAWboKjmrI8njitM&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AwSovMrf1-5EH1WgfRrBDgS&oh=00_AYBfm6jcCOFxWJaQcR4Wh4-h-dyOQ5GVJRZmW9RMHGJ-vw&oe=67CB841C	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Finally Media	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,340	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747280}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759		Aidan Stein, the Eternal Lord Sovereign of the magnificent Eternity Palace, temporarily loses his memory and intelligence due to his 60-year cycle. He lives alone in Vertania until he encounters Jade Yule, who saves his life and becomes his wife. Years later, Jack Foley, an aristocrat of Vertania, develops an interest in Jade. He sends his men after Aidan, inadvertently triggering the resurgence of his memories and power.	WATCH_MORE	https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.	DramaBox- drama movies5	https://www.facebook.com/61550943223936/	12,706	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	fb.dramabox.com	VIDEO		https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.html?language=en&timestamp=1740755049948&channelCode=DALPF1052189&bid=41000112468&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&ad_group_name={{adset.name}}&ad_group_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481508331_639892028984732_1130992326579686048_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=z5TKVqjlCeYQ7kNvgHRCcC8&_nc_oc=AdiXEzaIHToBc7-1gg2a4g-DqKyLD9Vk51qg5tRGBOu1ZlhORUpdTOg9lx2jrkR6ApiOlvNhs21YnmuHU8z1eiG4&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=Aj6YBpZHmTa1nqKNJxuj_Vj&oh=00_AYB9zAjrhI_TEDgLHzqqGjg83PKu3gayVRXIt_ClIALCng&oe=67CBA9A9	PERSON_PROFILE	0	DramaBox- drama movies5	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,253	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747383}'	Yes	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Continue Watching👉👉	Aidan Stein, the Eternal Lord Sovereign of the magnificent Eternity Palace, temporarily loses his memory and intelligence due to his 60-year cycle. He lives alone in Vertania until he encounters Jade Yule, who saves his life and becomes his wife. Years later, Jack Foley, an aristocrat of Vertania, develops an interest in Jade. He sends his men after Aidan, inadvertently triggering the resurgence of his memories and power.	WATCH_MORE	http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.s	DramaBox- movies&drama	https://www.facebook.com/DramaBoxMoviesDrama/	9,339,609	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	play.google.com	VIDEO		http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.storymatrix.drama	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481262226_1159401875727783_5237084479799050286_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=uPnEiWk8Y9wQ7kNvgFXLTMz&_nc_oc=AdghFmE-dZmwQf51nV3dKG9pAjqpSJaVV2KP1wClgjCcuwLBlEzG1-y2IuxFWuQ_VFVfTDBtZ3NbclUHZRVoweYJ&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AhgAUIE0q4_ey4ZHkh7DOyv&oh=00_AYBpDHnVpA8Hpvv3eq2XLq2EEjnvitNzs1keoCQAZVf2pw&oe=67CB96FB	PERSON_PROFILE	0	DramaBox- movies&drama	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,414	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747411}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔞🔥Click to Read more about📜The Pack's Doctor📜	💖🔞💋 Yara It’s been too long since I’ve let Annika out to run. With the number of classes that I’m taking and the heavy schedule I’m keeping at the university, there isn’t a lot of time to eat, much less let Annika run. But I have to let her out. She’s becoming more and more restless. ‘School is boring. Humans are boring. I want to do something fun,’ she grumbles in my head. ‘We’re going for a run, Annika. Calm down.’ ‘Next time, don’t wait so long.’ It’s been a couple of months since I took her out. She’s right, it’s been too long. But I know how the packs fight, and I haven’t wanted to risk getting in the middle of a battle, or worse, getting caught by Simon. ‘I’m too smart for him to catch us. Besides, he has no idea that we’re still so close to the pack.’ By ‘so close’ she means two hours, but it is too close. A wolf can run nearly as fast as a car, and when that wolf is on the hunt? Goddess forbid anyone gets in their way. In the past, when I’ve taken Annika out to run, I’ve taken her in the opposite direction of Simon’s pack. Well, technically, it’s not his pack, it’s his father’s pack. Alpha Solomon has been the Alpha of my previous pack for as long as I can remember. His son, Simon, is a nasty piece of work. He loves to fight and he loves to kill. The two of us couldn’t be any more different. I like to heal, and I like to save. For whatever reason, Simon set his sights on me. I don’t know why. I’m an orphan, I’m not ranked. My parents were warriors and while I can fight, I prefer to use my biggest strength, my brain. Simon much prefers to use his strength, his Alpha strength. He doesn’t have to work for it, being genetically predisposed to being larger and stronger than most wolves in the pack, so he doesn’t appreciate what he has, in my opinion. Me, on the other hand, I’ve had to work for everything I’ve achieved in this life, with the help of Alpha Solomon. My parents were killed in a pack war when I was young. Alpha Solomon took over as my guardian and made sure that I was cared for all my life. Maybe it’s because he never had a daughter, or maybe it’s because I’m more like him than his own son, but he’s always looked after me, even to the point of sending me away from the pack when he realized that his son had taken an interest in me. He knows Simon is no good, and he didn’t want me to suffer with his son’s infatuation. When we get to the spot where we like to run, I stop, sniffing the air, making sure there are no other wolves around here. ‘Annika?’ I ask, making sure she’s not smelling something I’m not. ‘No other wolves,’ she says, almost sadly. She misses the companionship of being in a pack. I look around once more, then make my way into the forest before stripping off my clothes and tucking them onto a tree branch, high enough that someone would have to look up to see them. I have a spare set of clothes in the car, just in case anyone steals these. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Rather than assume that someone was being malicious, I choose to believe that they needed the clothes more than I did. They’re only clothes after all. I let Annika pull the shift, feeling my bones snapping and reshaping after so long of not shifting. It’s more painful than it should be, but soon enough, Annika is shaking out her reddish-brown fur and taking off into the woods. Even though I’m in the background while Annika runs, I can feel how good it is to stretch her legs, to feel her muscles flexing in her body as she runs. It’s quiet tonight, thankfully, and Annika’s paws on the ground are nearly silent as she runs, giving both of us a chance to enjoy the sounds of the forest around us. I’m not sure how long she’s been running when we smell it, blood. She slows, lifting her nose in the air. ‘There was fighting nearby,’ she says in our shared mind space. ‘Do you hear anyone?’ I ask. ‘I’m not sure. I hear rustling, what sounds like a wolf in trouble. Do you hear it?’ she asks as she tilts her head from one side to the other. I do hear it. It does sound like a large animal who is struggling. ‘Annika…’ ‘I’ll be careful,’ she says, knowing that, if I can, I will want to help this animal, even if it is a werewolf. It may not be possible, they may not let me get close enough to help. But I’m going to school to become a doctor for a reason. So, I can help wolves in just this type of situation. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way to the sound of the struggling animal. As we get closer, I can tell that it is a wolf by the soft sounds that it’s making. I can’t figure out what it’s doing though. Maybe it’s caught in a snare of some sort and trying to figure out how to get out. Or maybe it’s just stuck in a hole that one of the packs dug to capture other pack members so they can interrogate them for information. ‘Please be careful, Annika. We can’t afford to get caught.’ “I’ll be careful, Yara.’ When we get close, she begins to belly crawl, slowly making her way closer. When the wind shifts, her whole body goes rigid, the scent of teakwood filling my nose and making my body tingle with unwanted desire. ‘Mate,’ she says softly. ‘WHAT?’ ‘That’s our mate, Yara. Our mate is injured.’ This is terrible. This isn’t just an injured animal, it’s our mate. I can’t leave him out here to die, but I also can’t have him trying to take me back to his pack. I have school, and I’m still in hiding from Simon. It’s takes me a moment too long to realize that the wolf, my mate, has stopped moving around. Annika barely breathes, waiting to see what he’ll do. He chuffs at us, letting us know that he knows we’re here. I’m not sure how I know that he’s not going to hurt us, but something in his chuff seems more like a request for help, than a threat of violence. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way through some bushes until we can see him. SHIT! He’s caught in a bear trap. No wonder he’s still in wolf form. If he shifts, it will rip his leg off. ‘I can’t believe he’s not howling in pain,’ Annika says. She’s right. His leg, where it’s caught in the trap is shattered, no question. ‘You have to help him, Yara. He’s our mate. You have to,” Annika practically begs me. ‘I know. I will, if he’ll let me.’ As much as I hate the idea of being naked in front of this unknown man, even though he’s my mate, I have no choice if I’m going to talk to him and try to help him. I pull the shift, standing in front of the midnight black wolf who is watching me with his beautiful, intelligent green eyes. “Hey, big guy. I see you’re caught in a trap. I want to help you. I know you can’t shift, or you’ll rip that leg off and that looks really painful. Your bones are probably shattered but I want to help you, if you’ll let me,” I say softly, keeping my tone gentle. I slowly approach the wolf. Mate or no, this wolf must be in terrible pain and he’s going to be feeling vulnerable, unable to escape. I extend my hand, letting him sniff me and see that I mean no harm. “I’m a doctor. Well, I’m studying to be a doctor, to both humans and wolves. I don’t want to hurt you. Will you let me see if I can help you?” The wolf sniffs my hand, then nuzzles me. I gently run my hand through his fur, stopping when I come to stiff fur that smells like blood. I don’t want to know what else is in this wolf’s fur, but I can guess that guts and bones are stuck in there as well. He’s obviously been fighting and whether he got separated from his pack, or he was part of a group that intentionally separated out trying to cut off the other pack’s escape, he’s now out here alone without anyone to help him. Well, anyone except me. I look up, trying to see where the moonlight is so I can get a better look at the trap. “Okay, big guy, are you able to move to your right a bit? I need the moonlight to help me see how I can spring this trap and set you free.” He moves to his right, keeping an eye on me as I carefully look over the trap. “Nasty piece of work,” I mumble to myself. “Stupid idiots doing this to each other.” I look back up at him. “Okay, I think I’ve figured it out. Before I spring this trap, you need to know that when I release this, it’s going to hurt, really bad. But then you’ll be free and I can take a look at how badly your leg is broken,” I tell him. I already know it’s shattered. I can see bone splinters sticking out of his skin from above the trap. I move my hands in position. I’m going to need Annika’s strength to help me open this trap. “Try not to bite me and if you can, try not to howl. I have no idea if there is anyone else nearby that might hear you, or try to come hurt you,” I tell him. He chuffs at me again, letting me know he understands. “On three, ready? One… two … three!” I say and push the release with all my strength, Annika pushing with hers as well. I feel the spring give and the trap snaps open. The wolf yelps but it’s quickly cut off as he moves away from the trap, keeping his injured leg off the ground. He turns, looking at me a moment before his bones begin to snap as he shifts back into his human form, his ridiculously gorgeous, tall, muscular form. .............................................................................. Warren I can’t believe that Arric and I got caught in this bear trap. Brady! I know he’s the one who set this trap. He knew that he and his pack would retreat this way. I raced around, attempting to cut off their escape route, but I’d ended up caught in the trap. I know my pack will come back for me, but they’re in a battle and I’ve been waiting for them to find me for hours. When I wasn’t able to cut Brady off, they continued following his pack, hunting them down like the dogs they are. I knew immediately that I couldn’t shift. While I could use my hands to spring the trap, it was too risky. I wasn’t willing to lose my leg and therefore my rank as Alpha. While the pain is significant, Arric and I are strong Alphas, and I know it's only a matter of time before the pack finds me and gets me out of here. We’d been struggling with a way to get the damn trap off when we’d smelled her. I’ve been looking for my mate for over ten years and now, here, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of an area covered in blood from a recent battle, I find her. Her cinnamon and nutmeg scent instantly calms Arric. Her wolf is a beautiful reddish-brown color and she’s obviously a skittish little thing. Through all of her conversation with Arric, she never once gave us her name. So, as soon as she releases the trap, I step back and begin to shift so I can talk to her. The shift hurts like a bitch, my bones trying to reshape but unable to in my leg because they’re in pieces. I watch her eyes go wide and she scoots back, farther away from me. “Easy there. You just got me out of a trap. I may be a vicious Alpha when I’m hunting my pack’s attackers, but I’m not the kind of man who kills someone who just helped me,” I say. Because she didn’t give me her name, I’m resistant to giving her mine until I know what pack she’s from. “You said you’re a doctor?” “I’m studying to be one,” she says, watching me carefully. “For humans and wolves?” I ask her. It’s unusual and I’m in desperate need of a good doctor in my pack. My doctor needs to retire. I need someone young, someone intelligent, someone like my little mate here, to take over my pack hospital. “What pack are you from?” I ask, not sure I care. I’m at war with so many packs that the odds of her being from one of them are highly likely. Of course, she’s out here on her own, not fighting with a pack, which is also unusual. “I’m not from a pack. I’m a lone wolf. Did you want me to look at your leg?” I notice that she changes the subject away from her. Interesting. Or maybe not, lone wolves are alone for a reason. It makes me wonder what happened to make my mate a lone wolf. “Yes. I would appreciate your medical assessment,” I say, wanting her closer to me. I know her touch will help with the pain. She moves closer and her intoxicating scent fills my nose as I take in her beautiful body. She had looked shy but determined when she’d shifted. Her lean body isn’t as muscular as the wolves in my pack, which makes me think she hasn’t been part of the pack wars for a while. However, the softness of her only adds to the allure. My finger twitch with my desire to touch her. “What’s a lone wolf doing out here all by herself?” I ask. “Letting my wolf out. It’s not easy when you go to a human university,” she says, not looking up at me. I, on the other hand, can’t look away from her. She’s beautiful. The reddish-brown fur of her wolf is now long reddish-brown hair on the woman. It falls over her shoulder as she looks at my leg and I watch as she distractedly flicks it back over her shoulder and out of her way, as if this is a common occurrence in her daily life. “You know there are pack wars going on around here,” I say. She may not be mine yet, but I want her safe. “There are pack wars going on everywhere. If I tried to find someplace where war isn’t happening, I’d have to run in the human areas and risk hunters shooting Annika. You’re going to need surgery on this leg. You have multiple fractures, several being compound fractures,” she says, once again diverting the conversation from herself. I already knew I was going to need surgery. I could see Arric’s bones sticking out of his leg when we were in the trap. “Annika? Your wolf’s name means merciful? How appropriate for a doctor,” I say, still studying her. Her fingers on my leg are gentle. She seems to inherently know where to touch so that it only causes minor discomfort. “Gracious or merciful, yes. And Annika is a wonderful wolf,” she says proudly, still not looking up at me. I’m about to tell her that Arric agrees when I hear my Beta’s howl. My mate’s head snaps up and I smell the scent of her fear as her heart rate spikes. However, she doesn’t run. She looks like she’s about to take a protective stance in front of me. A perfect Luna, pushing her own fear aside to help someone in need. I smile. She’s perfect for me. “Relax, it’s my pack coming back for me,” I tell her. “Oh, well then, that’s good, you need to get someplace safe. Hopefully, they won’t attack me for helping you.” “I’ll protect you,” I say, smiling at her discomfort. My warriors come rushing up, surrounding us as my Beta, Charlie, shifts and snarls at my mate. “Who are you?” I snarl at him, startling both of them. “She’s the one who got me out of the bear trap I was in. Stand down!” I command. I won’t allow anyone to disrespect my mate. He looks at her, then turns back to me frowning before crouching to look at my leg. “How bad is it?” “Bad.” “Okay, let’s get you back to the pack,” he says, getting a couple of warriors to help me up. I wrap my arms around their shoulders and lift my bad leg, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Ready, Alpha?” Charlie asks. “Yeah, let’s go.” Charlie shifts, taking point as guard, and the warriors holding me start to move fast. “Wait!” I say, and everyone stops. “Bring the doctor." "The doctor?" one of my warriors asks. "The girl! Bring the girl," I bark, turning to look at her. I can see that she was ready to slink away. I watch her turn and look behind her as if judging whether or not she can make a run for it. “Don’t even think about it,” I say to her. Charlie’s wolf, Gregor, moves swiftly to her side, nudging her forward with his head. I don’t like how close he is to my naked mate and Arric growls softly. Her eyes flash up to mine. “I should go,” she says. “Like you said, there are a lot of pack wars going on around here. I probably should get home.” “Home?” I ask. I know I sound arrogant. The woman is a lone wolf going to school. Where exactly is home for her? I’m not letting her go back to wherever she wants to go. I’ll never see her again. I know from the little I’ve learned about her that she’ll never let her wolf run in these woods again. And, by the time I healed and went to find her at the university, I’m sure she’d have transferred. She’s too skittish to stay where she might get caught. “School,” she says, clarifying her intended destination. “Hmm, well, as you just reiterated, it’s not safe out here, especially for a lone wolf. What kind of Alpha would I be if I left you to fend for yourself? No, I think you should come with us,” I say and my voice holds no room for argument. She presses her lips together and stands, nodding, and reluctantly following behind me. .............................................................................. Warren Charlie orders two wolves to flank my mate, keeping her safe, but also making sure she follows my order. ‘Alpha?’ Charlie asks in the mind link. ‘She’s my mate.’ ‘Oh shit.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Does she know? She doesn’t act like she recognizes you as her mate.’ ‘I’m not sure. She’s a lone wolf, but she’s going to school for human and veterinary medicine.’ He turns and looks at her. “Wow. A smart one.’ ‘Apparently.’ ‘What did she say about your leg?’ ‘That I need surgery.’ ‘Well, no offense but I could have told you that.’ ‘Let’s see what she says when we get to the pack. And find her a shirt. I don’t like her walking around our warriors with no clothes on.’ He takes off, rushing toward our pack lands. When he returns, his wolf carries a shirt to her in his mouth. I watch while she looks up at me. “We’re about to enter my pack. You’re an unmarked, unknown, young female. I thought you might like a shirt to put on to cover yourself,” I say. If she says no, I’ll insist, but I’m hoping she’ll choose to put it on without me having to demand it. Thankfully she does, looking almost relieved. Good. She’s not the kind of woman who flaunts her beautiful body for all to see. When we get back, I’m taken straight to the pack hospital, asking Charlie about other injuries the warriors sustained and what happened to Brady’s pack. He gives me the list of injuries as we walk in, shifting and continuing to talk to me out loud as Dr. Stevens rushes up. “Alpha, let’s get you into a room so we can look at your leg. You’ll need x-rays,” he says. “Yes, I will,” I say. “The girl comes too.” “The girl has a name,” she mumbles. I stop and turn to look at her, her eyes going wide. She obviously hasn’t been around a lot of Alphas or it’s been a long time. She keeps mumbling to herself as if I can’t hear her. It’s kind of cute. “If you’ll give me your name, I’ll be happy to use it,” I say to her. “Yara.” “Yara. I’m Alpha Warren. Come with me,” I say, turning back and letting the warriors help me into the x-ray room. “Who are you? Get out!” Dr. Stevens barks at her as we walk into the room. “She’s with me,” I say, ignoring his blustery attitude that a young woman is in the room with us. She looks at him and I’m pleased when she instinctively moves closer to me. I get settled onto the table and Dr. Stevens sets up the x-ray machine. While he does, I watch Yara. She has a very expressive face. Now that I can see her in the light, I can tell that she’s a pretty little thing. I’m sure I’d think so even if she weren’t my mate, but based on the glances my warriors keep giving her, she’s a natural beauty. Yep, good thing she’s got that shirt on, or I’d have to rip their eyes from their sockets. Because I’m watching her, I see her frown, her head tilting to the side as she watches Dr. Stevens. I crook my finger at her beckoning her forward as Dr. Stevens leaves the room. “What was that look?” I ask, realizing that my mate’s eyes are a grey-green color, almost sage. My eyes are green too, but not as dark as hers. “What look?” I just raise an eyebrow at her. Perhaps the pain in my leg is making me less amenable to small talk. I’m trying to ignore it, but it’s not easy and Arric can’t heal me until the bones are set properly. So, I’m not as patient as I might normally be in this situation. She turns and looks behind her to see if the doctor is there, then leans in, her scent filling my nose. “Why isn’t he taking side views? He only took a view from the top,” she whispers as Dr. Stevens walks back in. He glares at her but puts the x-ray up on the lightbox. “Well, Alpha, your leg isn’t salvageable. I’m afraid we’re going to have to remove it,” he says dispassionately, as if he didn’t just tell me that my entire world was about to collapse around me. I feel my stomach clench and my heart skips a beat. At the same time, I hear Yara suck in air. “Dr. Yara, what do you think?” I ask her. If she has any suggestions for me to save this leg, I’m doing it. I don’t care how much pain it’ll cause me, or how long it will take me to recover. I’ve been an Alpha for twelve years. Before that, I was an Alpha in training. Without my rank, without a pack to lead and protect, I have no idea who I am. She looks at me, then at Dr. Stevens who is glaring at her again. “Doctor?” he asks condescendingly. He’s of the old school mindset where women are nurses, meant to be at the beck and call of a male doctor. It’s another reason he has to go. My nurses are constantly complaining and threatening to leave. “Studying to be, but I would suggest getting x-rays of the sides of the leg before determining if the leg has to be removed,” she says, more confidently than I was expecting. She may not be comfortable around me, or even in the pack, but here, in this hospital room, her confidence is clear. “You heard her, Dr. Stevens. Side x-rays,” I say, seeing her glance at me appreciatively for supporting her. In truth, I’m thankful she’s giving me an option, any option to save my leg. “Young lady, what are your credentials?” he demands. “HER credentials are not in what’s in question, doctor. I gave you the order. Side x-rays! NOW!” I bark. Yara jumps as I yell, but really, this asshole is going to tell me my leg needs to be removed and think that I’m not going to fight it? He continues to glare at Yara while he does the x-rays, and when he comes back, he puts them on the lightbox and turns to her with a sneer on his face. I’m about ready to come off this table and rip that look off his smug face. “What do you think now, doctor?” he asks, as if questioning the truth in her title. Yara walks to the lightbox, looking closely at first one, then the other x-ray. “Do you have the original?” she asks, turning to Dr. Stevens. He huffs, but hands it to her and she sets it up on the lightbox beside the others. She stands back, her head tilting from one side to the other. “Yara?” I ask, unable to stop the flutter of hope in my chest. “We can salvage the leg,” she says, turning to me and making me sigh in relief. “You’ve got to be joking!” Dr. Stevens says. “His leg is shattered!” “Yes, it is. And it will take a lot of time and patience. But Alpha Warren has time, and I have patience,” she says, looking at me. “Do it,” I tell her, putting my future into this woman’s hands and hoping I won’t regret it. .............................................................................. Yara I’m not sure if Alpha Warren brought me here because he recognized me as his mate and he didn’t have the strength to reject me in the woods, or if he knew that his pack doctor was well past his retirement years. Either way, I’m here and since I am, I’ll help this Alpha. This is the reason I chose medicine. He doesn't have to lose his leg. It will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm excited to finally get to work on a werewolf, an Alpha no less. “I’m assuming you want to do this now, Alpha?” I ask him. “Yes, the sooner the better.” “Okay.” I give him the list of items that I’ll need to get his bones put back together properly. “Oh, and we’ll need to sedate you,” I say, looking around the room to see how they have their hospital rooms set up. “Is this where…” “No,” Alpha Warren says. I turn to look at him. “No?” “No sedation.” “Okay then, a nerve block, I’ll just need…” “No,” he says again. “Alpha, please, I’m going to have to wash the area, scrub it clean, I’m going to cut your leg open, pin your skin and muscle back so that I can get to the bones and then slowly put them back where they belong. The pain will be excruciating. You need the nerve block.” “No,” he says again, holding my gaze. I finally look away, mumbling about stupid, stubborn Alphas. When I turn back, he’s watching me with a raised eyebrow as if he heard me. I wasn’t that loud, was I? Crap, I’ve been hanging around humans who can’t hear anything for too long. How much can he hear of my mumbling. The irritable Dr. Stevens comes in, throwing the things I asked for on the table. I jump when I hear a warning growl, looking up to see Alpha Warren glaring at him. “Will there be anything else, doctor?” Dr. Stevens asks. He somehow makes my title, which is the same as his, sound like a dirty word. “No, thank you, doctor. I’ll take it from here.” I go to the sink and begin scrubbing my hands. I’m nervous for a lot of reasons. First, I’m in an unknown pack with an Alpha who is my mate. I have no idea what to expect from him, or really why I’m here. And almost worse than that, he wants me to operate on him while he’s awake! What the hell kind of crazy Alpha is he? “You’re thinking so hard that there’s steam coming out of your ears, Yara. What are so worried about?” he asks me. I turn and look at him over my shoulder. How does he even know I’m worried? Why is he paying so much attention to me? Is this the mate bond? I’ve only had exposure to two Alphas in my life, Alpha Solomon and Alpha Simon. Alpha Solomon is a good Alpha, but he was never this in tune with what I was doing or thinking. And Simon…a shiver of revulsion rolls through me. He was in tune for a whole other reason. The man gave me the creeps. When I finish scrubbing my hands, I turn back to Alpha Warren. I see he’s waiting for a response to his question. “This is going to be very painful. Can I at least give you a local anesthetic? “No, I need to be alert so I can protect my pack,” he says. “You can’t exactly protect your pack with only one leg, Alpha," I snap, my nerves making me bold. “Warren. Call me Warren, and you said you could save my leg.” “I can, IF you are under sedation and I’m not worried about you flinching or yanking your leg away while I’m operating.” “I have a very high tolerance to pain.” That doesn’t surprise me. He wasn’t even whimpering when Annika and I found him. He also has multiple, very faint scars all over his body. The man has been fighting in the pack wars for a long time. He must have a very strong wolf that is able to heal him, over and over. “How strong is your wolf right now?” I ask, getting his leg prepped to wash. “I am very strong, little one,” a deep voice says, and my eyes snap up as Annika begins purring in my head. Warren's wolf is forward, answering for himself. Warren smiles, once again looking as if he knows the effect his wolf is having on mine. Can he hear Annika purring? I shake my head, trying to clear it. I need to focus my attention and NOT on Warren’s incredible teakwood scent. “If I hold the bones in place, one at a time, how long will it take for you to set them?” I ask. “Not long, little one,” he says but it’s practically a purr. “I am a very strong, powerful Alpha wolf.” The way he says it isn’t bragging, but more like preening. My brain flashes an image of a peacock strutting around flaunting his feathers for his chosen mate. “Right,” I say, feeling my body responding to the deep tenor of his voice. It feels like his voice is caressing the nerves in my body, making them all light up with a need I’m unused to feeling, especially when I’m about to do surgery. I look up into the intense, jade green eyes of Alpha Warren. “Are you ready, Alpha?” “Warren,” he corrects. I nod. “Are you ready, Warren?” “Yes, Yara.” I grit my teeth, hating that I know this is going to hurt him, but if he won’t let me at least numb his leg, I can’t help it. I begin washing the blood off his leg, laying a wet cloth over the bloody area, careful that I don’t tug on the bones that are still jutting out. His body is covered with caked blood, guts, and bits of bone, just like I thought it would be. Under the teakwood scent, he smells like war and death. It’s good practice for me, learning how to ignore the smell of battle while I work. I don’t get this kind of training at the university. “Talk to me,” he says through gritted teeth. “What do you want to talk about?” I ask, not looking up as I begin to scrub the blood from his leg. “You know what you are to me?” he asks, although it’s more of a statement than a question. My stomach feels like it’s twisting into knots. "Yes," I say without looking up. "After you have healed, you can reject me. If you do it before, it could impact your healing." I don’t know why the thought of this man rejecting me feels so painful. I don’t even know him. I have no intention of becoming his mate and returning to the packs, at least not until I’m done with school anyway. And this pack is much too close to Simon for my comfort. "Who says I'm going to reject you?" he asks, sounding offended. Now I do look up at him. “But I’m a lone wolf.” “What you are, is my future Luna.” “You don’t even know me,” I say going back to my work. “I know that you’re intelligent, you’re compassionate, you’re brave, and I know that you’re lonely,” he says. The intelligent and compassionate parts I get. That could easily be discerned from me being a doctor and helping him, those two make sense. The brave part I’m not sure about, but the lonely part… “Why do you say I’m lonely?” I ask him, wiping off the blood and turning to get the scalpel. I lift it up, showing him that I’m about to cut into his leg. He nods and continues. “The closest university with a medical school is about an hour north of here. Between here and there, there are many areas where a lone wolf could run, if she wanted to. But instead,” he stops, grunting as I carefully slice into his leg. “Instead, you chose to come to an area that is full of wolves.” He’s partially right. Annika misses being in a pack, she misses the companionship of being with other wolves. Me, I’d be fine living alone the rest of my life, but my wolf likes the smell of the forest and it makes her feel more settled to smell the scent of other wolves. Warren hisses and I glance up at him, watching him take deep breaths to control his pain. “How do you do that?” I ask. “Do what?” “Manage this level of pain?” “Mind over matter. Physical pain will break you mentally if you let it. That’s why people get tortured for information. If you can break the body, you can usually break the mind. My mind is stronger than my body and my body is very strong.” I glance at the scars on his legs again. They're a testament to the accuracy of his words. “You’ve been fighting for a long time?” I ask, cutting and pulling the muscles away from where his bones have snapped into pieces. “Since I became an Alpha, nearly twelve years ago.” “Twelve years?” I exclaim, standing up and looking at him. He’s older than I thought. That eyebrow shoots up again. It’s an arrogant look, but on Warren, its oh so sexy. “I took over the pack when I was eighteen, I’m now thirty, that’s twelve years, little wolf.” “Annika’s not that little,” I say, returning my attention to his leg. “She is compared to Arric.” “Well, Arric is an Alpha wolf. Only another Alpha would be larger than an Alpha wolf,” I say, as I carefully pluck out the first bone. I look at it, checking to see where it goes and then I press it against the bone it snapped off of. “Okay, Arric, let’s see what you’ve got,” I say, carefully holding the bone in place so Arric can begin to heal the fracture. I watch as the bone begins to connect and seal in front of my eyes. “Cool!” I say, forgetting where I am and who I’m with. I’ve been working with humans for so long that I forgot how quickly wolves can heal, especially Alpha wolves. “Is it that exciting?” Warren asks me drolly. I shrug. I know not everyone finds medicine and surgery thrilling, but I do. “It is for me.” “Then it must be my lucky day,” he says, just as there is a knock at the door. I look at the door, then at Alpha Warren, wondering who could possibly be knocking. “I told you I would protect you,” he says smiling. His smile is so beautiful that it nearly takes my breath away. “Come in, Charlie,” he says, not taking his eyes off of me. “Alpha…what the are you doing in here?” he asks angrily, striding quickly to the table and looking at Alpha Warren’s leg, filleted and open on the table. .............................................................................. Warren As much pain as I’m in, I’m enjoying watching and talking to my mate. She’s unlike any woman or she-wolf I’ve ever met. Besides the crazy notion that I would reject her, she’s funny. I love how she’s constantly murmuring to herself, talking to herself as if no one else can hear her. I can hear every word and without being marked, it’s a good second option to knowing what’s going on inside that interesting mind of hers. Her face is nearly as expressive as her murmurs. She hasn’t learned or doesn’t care about hiding her facial expressions. Once again, I find it refreshing. She isn’t trying to be coy or impress me because I’m an Alpha. On the contrary, it’s almost as if she’s trying to get away from me BECAUSE I’m an Alpha. It's not going to happen. I’ve searched for this little doctor too long to let her go now. “To answer your question, Charlie, Dr. Yara here is piecing me back together, slowly and painstakingly, which is preferable to Dr. Stevens plan which was to remove my leg,” I say and my Beta’s eyes flash up to mine. He understands the ramifications of what I’ve said. And as my Beta, he’s in line to take over the pack. Thankfully, I trust my Beta and I know that he has no desire to be an Alpha. It’s not an easy job and he makes it easier by being an incredible Beta. “Are you at least numb?” he asks, his lip curling as he looks at what Yara is doing. “Utterly ridiculous Alpha,” Yara murmurs, obviously listening in to our conversation and giving her own opinions of me that she thinks we can’t hear. Charlie looks at me frowning. ‘She knows we can hear her, right?’ he asks in the mind link. ‘Apparently not,’ I say, smiling. “No, no numbing,” I tell him out loud. ‘I might agree with her,’ he says, scowling at me. “Give me the run down on Brady. Did you kill him?” I ask, watching my mate. “Arric, you ready?” she asks softly, all her concentration on her work. “Yes, mate,” Arric answers and Charlie turns to look at her again, leaning over to watch as Arric heals my bone. “Oh shit! That’s awesome!” he says. “I know right,” my mate says, smiling a huge smile at my Beta. Without thinking, I snarl jealously. Both of them jolt and while it hurts that she tugs on my newly healed bone, it doesn’t break again. “Sorry, Alpha,” Charlie says, showing his neck. She looks at Charlie submitting and then at me and her lips press tightly together. She doesn’t approve. I lean forward so she’s sure that I’m talking to her. “You’re MY mate.” “What I am is your DOCTOR. Temporarily. And if you don’t want me walking out of here and letting Dr. Stevens take your leg, I’d suggest that you not pull that shit while my hands are in your shattered leg again,” she snaps. I sit back, having to fight hard not to smile. Damn, I like her spunk. I turn my head to my Beta, not looking away from Yara. “So what happened with Brady?” “When you couldn’t cut him off, he made it back to his pack. Since we know it’s booby-trapped, we didn’t pass his borders.” “Booby-trapped how? Arric, again,” Yara says, still not looking up at us. I tilt my head. Does she think that she’s part of this conversation? I don’t care if she is, I just know that most doctors would pretend to ignore the conversation going on around them. Not my mate, though. She’s not pretending anything. And somehow, she’s multi-tasking, listening to us and still working on my leg, letting Arric know when he needs to start healing a bone. “Spring-loaded wooden stakes buried in the ground,” Charlie answers her, careful now in the way he interacts with her so he doesn't piss me off. “Stupid pack wars, killing for no good reason,” she mumbles to herself. Charlie’s eyes snap back to mine and I smile. “Anywho,” he says, refocusing on me. “We did get one disturbing piece of information.” “What’s that?” I ask. “Alpha Solomon is dead. Simon is Alpha now.” If I hadn’t been so focused on her, I’d have missed it. Her very steady hand slipped. I lift my hand, telling Charlie to stop. I frown as her hand begins to shake. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I need a break,” she says, stepping away and not waiting for me to release her. She pulls off her gloves and rushes from the room. “Follow her. Don’t approach, but make sure she doesn’t leave,” I tell Charlie. “Yes, Alpha.” When they’re gone, I sit back, thinking, which is hard because my leg is throbbing and laying open on the table in front of me. The door opens and Dr. Stevens walks in. “I knew she wouldn’t make it Alpha. I mean…” he stops staring at my leg. “Just look at this mess! I’ll get ready to remove the leg.” “The you will. She’s taking a break and for your information, she’s getting my bones back together. So, get the out of my surgery room, doctor,” I snarl. “Alpha, I must insist…” “What you must do is listen to your Alpha. GET OUT!” I shout. The door opens and Yara rushes back in, seeing Dr. Stevens. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t leave a patient in the middle of surgery!” “CHARLIE!” I bark. “Dr. Stevens,” he says much more calmly than I am, holding the door open and gesturing for Dr. Stevens to leave. Dr. Stevens huffs, but walks out. “My apologies, Alpha. Dr. Stevens is right. I shouldn’t leave in the middle of surgery.” She’s not looking at me and I look at Charlie who shrugs. “What did you call me?” I ask, my irritation with Dr. Stevens tainting my tone. Her head snaps up to mine. “Alpha?” I crook my finger at her and she walks over to me. “And what did I tell you to call me?” I ask her, forcing my tone to be gentler as I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to hold my gaze. “Warren,” she says, her dark green eyes nearly making me forget that I’m in a surgical room. “Warren,” I confirm, reluctantly releasing her. “Continue, Dr. Yara.” She nods and returns to my leg. I watch her take a deep breath before picking out several more bones until she finds the one she wants. “Arric?” “Ready, my mate,” he says, beginning to purr which helps her to steady her hand and her nerves. When she does, I gesture for Charlie to return. “Any other serious injuries that Dr. Stevens is threatening to do something ridiculously over the top with?” I ask. “Yours is the worst, Alpha. There are a couple with deep wounds that he’s washing out with alcohol." Yara sucks in air again and stands up straight looking at us. “Not the right course of treatment?” I ask her, raising my eyebrow. I'm starting to trust her medical knowledge much more than my current doctor. “Why wouldn’t he just stitch them up?” she asks. “He said it would take too long and there are too many injured,” Charlie says, watching her closely. I like my Beta, a lot. But until my mate is wearing my mark, I don’t like all the interest he’s showing in her. Yara, however, turns to me. “Don’t you have omegas in your packhouse who sew your clothing?” “Yes,” I say, frowning at her. “It’s basically the same. Yes, skin feels a bit different, it’s a bit tougher than fabrics, but they could do it and not cause the pain that pouring alcohol into their wounds is causing,” she says. I look at Charlie. “Call the omegas, get them over here. Tell Dr. Stevens that he can go.” “But who is going to assess the warriors?” he asks me. “Have the nurses give a diagnosis and recommended treatment, then bring it in here to ask Dr. Yara’s opinion.” “My opinion?” she asks me, obviously surprised. “Yes, Yara. Your opinion. I’m beginning to think that you are the perfect replacement for Dr. Stevens.” .............................................................................. Yara Replacement? I can’t be a replacement. I’m not staying. As soon as Alpha…as soon as Warren’s leg is done, I’m out of here. I glance up at the broody Alpha and wonder if that’s true. Is he going to let me go? The news about Simon has me worried. If there is a paper trail of his father helping me though medical school…he’ll find me. “Arric?” I say distractedly, holding the bones together while he heals them. I have to get my car, my clothes. I have to get back to school, I’m a resident, I can’t just up and leave. “Tell me where your car is and I’ll have someone go get it. Same with your clothes. As far as your schooling goes, we’ll have to talk about you taking classes online and working your ‘residency’ did you call it, here,” Warren says. I frown at him. “How did you…?” “You were talking to yourself. It wasn’t hard to hear you.” “I can’t leave school, Warren,” I say, looking at him like he’s crazy. “I didn’t say you’d be leaving school. I said you’d be doing your residency here. You can take classes online,” he says as if that settles it. “Excuse me? You can’t keep me here!” He merely raises that damn eyebrow at me again. “You’re not my Alpha…” I begin. He leans forward. “What I am is your mate. Tell me truthfully, if I let you go back to school and I come to visit you in say a week’s time, will you still be there?” I look away, beginning to work on his leg again and refusing to answer him. Even if he wasn’t my mate, knowing that Simon may be able to figure out where I am, would have me transferring immediately. “That’s what I thought and that, my dear mate, is why I’m not letting you leave.” He sits back and both of us get lost in our own thoughts again as I let Arric know when I’m ready for him to heal the bones. “Why did you say I was brave earlier?” “What?” he asks, and I can tell the pain is getting to him. “Earlier, you said you knew I was intelligent, compassionate, brave, and lonely. The intelligent and compassionate I understand, the lonely you explained, but why did you say you think I’m brave?” I ask him. “When you heard my pack, you didn’t run. You could have. You didn’t know they were my pack members. You looked like you were ready to fight, to defend me. For someone who’s not a fighter, that takes guts.” I look up at him, frowning. “How do you know I’m not a fighter?” “You’re not built like one,” he says simply. “Are you saying I’m fat?” I ask, insulted. I work out at the human gym. I know I need to let Annika out more often to run, but I’m not overweight, even by werewolf standards. “You know you’re not,” he says, watching me. “But I saw you naked. Those of us who have been fighting in pack wars almost daily for years don’t have the softness to their body that you have. And before you go jumping to any conclusions, I find your body very attractive, very sexy.” I stop what I’m doing, not sure how to respond to that. “Sexy. That’s not a word that has been used to describe me in the past,” I say, and realize that once again I spoke out loud. I look up at him and see him smiling at me. “Some people, like myself, find intelligence sexy. But, I’ve been itching to touch you, to run my hands over the softness of your body, since the moment I saw you.” “Some people, like myself, find it hard to believe that someone caught in a bear trap was ‘itching’ to touch me,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. “Then that should tell you just how strong the pull of the mate bond is. As much as what you’re doing hurts, just having you touch me helps with the pain. Your scent in this room, which gets stronger the longer you are in here, is helping me manage the pain. As an Alpha, it’s one of the benefits of finding your Luna, your fated mate. You are the other half of my soul, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, you complete me on more than one level. Now, I have a question for you.” “Okay,” I say, still focusing on his leg. “Why didn’t you run?” I stop and look at him like he’s crazy. “You were injured. If they weren’t your pack, they would have killed you.” That damn eyebrow goes up again. “And they would have killed you too.” “I didn’t rescue from a bear trap to leave you to die at the hands of the assholes who set it in the first place!” I say. “Sooo, you’re more stubborn than brave?” “Call it what you will. I wasn’t going to leave you to die,” I say. “Thank you.” I wait for more, and when there isn’t, I look up at him. “For what?” “For getting me out of that bear trap, for not leaving when I could have been killed, and for not letting Dr. Stevens take my leg.” “He really needs to retire,” I say. “Which is why you’re going to replace him,” he says arrogantly. “I am not going to replace him, Warren. I have school. I have…labs and exams and things like that. “We can talk to the school and figure out the labs. As I said, and you must know, you’ll get more opportunity to practice your skills here in my pack than you will in some human school’s laboratory. And exams can be taken online. People do it all the time. Any other arguments that I can negate for you?” he asks me. “So arrogant,” I mutter angrily. “Confident,” he says. “What?” I ask, frowning. “I’m not arrogant, I’m confident. There’s a difference.” “How do you keep hearing what I’m saying?” I ask him. “How long have you been living with humans? I think you’ve forgotten how sensitive a werewolf’s hearing is and I’m an Alpha, mine’s more sensitive than most.” UGH! I’ve been living with humans long enough that I’ve gotten used to muttering to myself without others being able to hear me. Now, I’m going to have to start being careful what I say so I don’t offend anyone. There’s a knock at the door. “Come in,” Warren calls out. “Does no one know that this is a surgery room?” I mutter, already forgetting that he can hear me. “Uh, excuse me doctor. I have one of the omegas here that sews our clothing, but she says she doesn’t know how to sew up a warrior,” Warren’s Beta, Charlie, says. I turn and see a wide-eyed young woman staring at Warren’s leg on the table. “Give me a moment, I’ll be right there,” I say, quickly taking a towel and covering his leg. I don’t want to have to smell vomit while I work. Charlie takes her from the room and I turn back to Warren’s leg. “Okay, I have all the small pieces underneath back in place. There are going to be some slivers that I won’t be able to put back in, but hopefully Arric can work around the small pieces of missing bone.” “I’m a strong Alpha wolf, mate. I’ll make it work,” he says, once again sounding like he’s strutting proudly for me. “Right. So, I’m going to put the big bone fragment against the existing bone and let you start healing it while I go check on these other warriors. When I come back, I’ll finish putting the smaller pieces over top and then we can get you sewn up and nearly back to normal, Alpha.” “Warren, Yara. Call me Warren," he says and I can hear the fatigue in his voice. I look up into his brownish-green eyes, his very expressive eyes. And right now, those eyes look exhausted. I move closer to him and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back into a lying down position. “Why don’t you rest while I’m gone?” I say gently. “You’ve had a long day and your body needs to heal.” I watch as his eyes start to drift closed. I know it’s a bad idea, I know I shouldn’t, but my fingers have been itching to touch him since I’ve seen him too. I gently run my fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it is in the places where it isn’t covered in blood. “Sleep, Warren. I’ll be here when you wake up.” I’m not sure what makes me do it, but I lean in and press my lips to his, hearing him sigh as his body falls into a deep sleep. “Sleep well, Warren,” I whisper in his ear, then I cover his leg and step out of the room, letting his Beta know that someone needs to watch the room and protect their Alpha while I go help the nurses and omegas in the hospital.	LEARN_MORE	https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12kl	Lereader-Excellent Novel	https://www.facebook.com/61550357834620/	676	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	www.kwmobi.com	VIDEO		https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12klzsffqskveq?ad_id={{ad.id}}&sid=120218211196940082&campaign={{campaign.name}}&adgroup={{adset.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481271474_1016321707211546_6918466231842978755_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=1z8mtzFtHX4Q7kNvgG2mWsB&_nc_oc=AdgwR_Fv4bnMnUc7e3scPlBHT0PpeRPhGmG7WXqoqL-O_fvQ_KJkrv830GmERi7b8r7kDvzGDPRPZB_inoWxugn7&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A6KscwmZWxf2pjfK2sEYbiL&oh=00_AYB3r7zbzGRE740u1RF4l36FSFcQ5k2he6w8eECPLbN7Dg&oe=67CB86AF	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Lereader-Excellent Novel	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,060	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	I Quit Dangerous Meds - Here's How 👉	I stopped trusting meds not made for us (Black People) and found natural healing. Learn how you can do it too👇🏾	LEARN_MORE	https://infiniteage.com/pages/bldprsr-a	Infinite Age	https://www.facebook.com/infiniteage/	45,857	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn More	infiniteage.com	DCO	100% Money-Back Guarantee	https://infiniteage.com/pages/bldprsr-a	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/472144751_525676167297719_4974808326316182715_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=WSMFX_GHJIkQ7kNvgHR6-FL&_nc_oc=Adh_4vm4MrMsOtSpcXDj4dq-YBy6epYCP2D8dLYNayamGm_CsniAy5ATdWmAjL_hH5mnqE9B_LMECiFDUvac6DI0&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AKKs2JOQirhir41eNtIzQ_6&oh=00_AYB5gEpe0z1MuO_mogMHUr8ODOvpAJVCGjfyImkRlH5yxA&oe=67CB7E9F	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Infinite Age	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,325	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747280}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759		Aidan Stein, the Eternal Lord Sovereign of the magnificent Eternity Palace, temporarily loses his memory and intelligence due to his 60-year cycle. He lives alone in Vertania until he encounters Jade Yule, who saves his life and becomes his wife. Years later, Jack Foley, an aristocrat of Vertania, develops an interest in Jade. He sends his men after Aidan, inadvertently triggering the resurgence of his memories and power.	WATCH_MORE	https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.	DramaBox- drama movies5	https://www.facebook.com/61550943223936/	12,706	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	fb.dramabox.com	VIDEO		https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.html?language=en&timestamp=1740755049948&channelCode=DALPF1052189&bid=41000112468&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&ad_group_name={{adset.name}}&ad_group_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481160172_647378487653267_1605657727239609950_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=bLrF5xbxC3sQ7kNvgGzRvZf&_nc_oc=AdhOfoAk8ka-gi3pxo3pTBWdyNAVxBS90xiAnKWNQLVgLqkuA09ZQXIibjv21vJayvquvGfmTvgf996WHZrToTs7&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=A-nHK1t_Oixzwn5lrhH50wM&oh=00_AYAjzsXcfhvBSgXwYrX8iXaTC1YTQjawlnduE9ujclRTIQ&oe=67CB832B	PERSON_PROFILE	0	DramaBox- drama movies5	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,348	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747347}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Absolutely Free Reading:📖Alpha's Caged Mat👉🏻	“Murderer…”“Liar…”“Traitor!”Each vile word spat at Ava stung like the cut of a blade, digging deep and slicing her up from the inside out. These weren’t strangers hurling profane slurs at her and glaring at her with such intense hatred in their glowing eyes; these were the people who’d watched her grow up, taught her what it meant to be a Wolf. Now, they bared their fangs at her in rage, the shadow of their inner Wolves threatening to rise to the surface, to come tear Ava apart. These had been her people once, but tonight it was clear they were her enemies. “Burn, you fucking traitor!” A rock sailed out of the darkness and caught Ava across the forehead. Ava hissed in a yelp of pain and dropped to her knees. “On your knees where you belong, rogue bitch!” The crowd erupted in a round of raucous cheers seeing the girl felled. The guards holding the lead to her shackles continued on, forcing Ava to stumble back to her feet or risk being dragged through the mud. Determined to maintain her dignity in spite of her rising sense of panic, Ava blinked the warm trickle of blood out of her eye and quickly got her feet under her. She was a rising Beta of the Red Moon Pack, whether they liked it or not. She refused to show such weakness in front of her subordinates. Ava bit back a heaving breath. She felt the oppressive weight of his gaze land on her, once again. Xavier. Alpha. Best friend. Potential lover. Now, potential executioner. He’d meant the world to Ava her entire life. Before he’d grown into a powerful male, before he’d inherited the title of Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, he’d been Xavi. He’d been hers. Along with Sophia and Samantha, he’d been her closest companion and confidante. Now, everything had changed. Everything. Ava’s guard finally came to a stop in the middle of a familiar clearing. A small stream ran through it and coupled with the break in the forest canopy, the spot made for a peaceful place to stargaze. She and her friends came here often. And although they hadn’t visited the glade in some time, Samantha and Sophia’s scents permeated the clearing, only overpowered by the overwhelming scent of their blood. There were no bodies to be seen, but she knew this was where they had died. The dread building in her chest increased as she caught another scent on the wind. Inexplicably, she smelled her own violet-tinged musk intermingled with theirs. Faint enough to distinguish from her current presence in the area, but strong enough to suggest she’d been in the glade recently. Ava started to sweat. If she could scent herself her, the other Wolves had, as well. Now, the tree line was crowded with representatives of their community, come to witness the trial and punishment of a so-called murderer. Standing in the center of the clearing were two figures whose shadows cut imposing silhouettes against the night. The first was Xavier. Beside him, standing tall and proud, was his father, August, who telegraphed absolutely nothing despite having just lost a daughter. “Let her burn!” “Make the filthy rogue whore pay!” The jeers continued as Ava was brought to a stop before the former and current Alphas. Ava watched the males closely, eagerly looking for any sign that might tip her on to their intentions. August began making a move forward, but a soft growl from Xavier made him pause. The exchange was nearly imperceivable, but Ava still caught the tiny nod August gave to Xavier, acquiescing the reigns in Xavier’s first real act as Alpha. Stepping forward, Xavier raised a hand toward the crowd that was practically vibrating with furious energy. “Peace, Wolves! By the end of the night, I promise you justice will be served.” Ava swallowed heavily as the surrounding Wolves cheered and settled, ready for the bloodshed to begin. Xavier nodded, satisfied that Pack had immediately responded to his command. “Then, let the tribunal begin.” He strode up to where Ava stood shackled. She wanted him to say that he didn’t believe the lies, that he knew her better than she knew herself – just like she knew him. He didn’t. Instead, he took her in, from the mussed pajamas she’d been wearing when she’d been dragged into custody, to the fresh, seeping wound on her forehead. This close, he let Ava see the uncertainty and regret written all over his handsome face. Behind him, August cleared his throat, low and sharp – a clear reprimand, reminding Xavier of who he was and what they were there for. The admonishment worked as Xavier’s expression shuttered taking her friend away and leaving only the austere leader in his place. “Kneel.” “Xavier– “Ava started to protest. “Kneel.” His voice went hard. “Xavier, please! You know I had nothing to do with S– “ “Your loyalty to this Pack is already in question. Think long and hard on whether or not you also want to openly defy its leader.” Ava heard the disguised plea in his words, to not make things harder on herself. Swallowing, Ava ducked her head in a sign of submission and lowered herself to her knees before Xavier. He gave another satisfied nod and pitched his voice low, “You’ll have your chance to speak.” “As we all know,” Xavier faced her, but addressed the crowd. “We stand here together in mourning over the loss of two of our own. Ava Davis, you’re under suspicion of making treacherous dealings and sundering a hole within the Red Moon Pack that can never be replaced. What say you?” “I’m innocent!” She looked around to the crowed before settling her entreating gaze back on Xavier, “You all know me – Xavier, you know me. Sophia and Samantha were like sisters to me, there’s no way I could ever hurt them.” Xavier’s jaw tightened at the word ‘sister’ and Ava knew he was thinking about Sophia. But he composed himself quickly, “Noted.” Turning toward a spot in the trees, he called out, “Victor, it was you who brought these allegations up against Ava. Tell us why.” “Alpha!” Victor stormed forward to join them in the center of the clearing. The slight Omega had been August’s right-hand for years and was Sam’s father. He shook with rage as he considered her, vengeful satisfaction filling his eyes as he took in her shackled, subjugated form. “I’m honored to help bring this filthy traitor the retribution she deserves.” Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the crowd as Victor spun to address them, “This…beast murdered our own.” Ava’s head began shaking her denial even as he continued to speak. “I did not– “ “The future of our Pack and she betrayed their trust. She’s betrayed our trust.” He spat, never once looking her in the eye as he spelled out her death sentence. “Victor, I know that you’re hurting- “Ava pled. “Because she was my daughter!” Victor spun toward her, bellowing. His cry echoed through the night, his pain sharp as a knife. He took a few breaths to compose himself before turning to face the Pack again. Wrong or not, he’d resonated with them. Members, both male and female were openly weeping in their anger, feeling the open wound Sam and Sophia’s deaths had opened in our community. “Your proof, Omega.” Xavier calmly demanded. This trial was a joke, most of those gathered here had already judged her and found her guilty in their minds. Even so, she couldn’t be punished without proper evidence. “We all scented her on the wind upon our arrival,” he started, drawing furious nods from the masses. With a dejected heart, Ava saw Xavier’s nostrils flare as he, too, gave a solemn nod. “Beyond that telling truth, my daughter’s phone!” Any hope she felt died as Victor pulled a cell phone out of his coat pocket. The bejeweled leopard-print case looked stunningly out of place in this gloomy field. He pulled up their text thread and began reading aloud. “’Sam, you made me look like a damn fool. We need to talk.’ Sent from the accused’s phone number yesterday afternoon. Then, at half past midnight last night my daughter replied, ‘I’m here. Where are you?’” His revelation was met with heavy silence. “That isn’t proof!” Ava cried, frustrated tears finally leaking past her defenses, the last vestiges of her façade shredded by the blatant accusation leveled toward her. Such evidence would never hold up in human court, but this wasn’t the human world. Here, Pack Law reigned, and the Pack ran on emotion, instinct. The tide of public opinion had turned against her and that was enough. “What reason would I have for doing this?” “She had what you couldn’t!” Victor’s implication was clear. It was a bold claim he made, and it painted a torrid picture for the jury. Rumors of Samantha’s budding relationship with Xavier had apparently been circulating. Unfortunately, Ava hadn’t heard them before she’d made her confession to him. She chanced a glance at Xavier, but his eyes where doggedly trained on Victor. His eyebrows were drawn low, and Ava knew he was thinking about that night, too. Two nights ago, she’d poured out her heart to him, hoping that he could envision the future she saw for them. Then, his gentle dismissal had crushed her even if she refused to let him see it. Now, it was cause for homicide. She’d been so bold, so confident in herself and comfortable with her and Xavier’s relationship. Daughter of the Pack’s second-in-command, she wasn’t bred to be shy, in fact she was known for being the brash one of their group. It wouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone to find out she’d propositioned their Alpha, not like it would if Samantha had done so. Given the difference between mine and Samantha’s ranks, Xavier picking Samantha over her would be a shock to our Pack’s hierarchy. To many, it’d seem like an insult to Ava’s rank and honor. Retaliation on her part might be accepted, even expected, but murder… “Your pathetic pride was hurt, and my daughter died for it,” Victor continued. “What’s more, our beloved princess was caught in your crossfire!” The mention of Sophia elicited a strong reaction from the crowd, just like he knew it would. Sophia, indeed, had been beloved. She’d been warmth and levity, the kindest friend and fiercest protector. Victor said as much, causing the Pack to erupt in mournful howls, quickly replaced by calls for her head. “Traitor! Murderer!” An intense itch erupted underneath the surface of Ava’s skin. Mia, her Wolf, threatening to unleash herself to protect Ava from the other Wolves, but trapped inside by the shackles binding her wrists. “Xavier, please, you know none of this is true.” She supplicated herself to him further, head bowed, neck bared. Xavier looked at the crowd and began to speak when his father stepped up to him for the first time since the trial had started. The shouts of the crowd masked the words that would doom Ava. “Think very hard, Xavier,” The older male’s voice was stern, but calm, with the subtle charisma of a master manipulator. “Look at your people and the pain this girl has caused.” “The evidence was circumstantial, at best, father.” Xavier said, though he seemed unsure of himself, especially under his father’s scrutiny. “The good of the Pack comes first, Xavier. Always.” He subtly nodded at the raging crowd, hyped up by Victor’s angry chants for retribution. “This chaos cannot be allowed to fester within our ranks. It needs to end here.” His voice held a little too much of his previous command and Xavier tensed at the perceived encroachment on his control. August backed up a step and smirked, “But, of course, the decision is up to you…Alpha.” Xavier stood a moment contemplating his father’s whispered words and the increasingly hostile crowd calling for Ava’s head. The evidence wasn’t fool proof, but it was there. It was enough. He turned to Ava, “The messages, your scent…It’s too much, Ava. It’s too clear. The Pack has spoken!” “No!” She screamed as the insults turned to cheers. Hands roughly dragged Ava to her feet. “Given what evidence we’ve gathered and the dishonor you’ve brought upon this Pack,” Xavier’s voice boomed across the field like thunder. “As Alpha of the Red Moon Pack, I sentence you, Ava Davis, daughter of the Beta, to life imprisonment.” Ava grew silent. Life imprisonment. The rest of her life would be spent in a glorified dungeon. Numb, she turned to look at her parents in a final bid for salvation. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. No one would go against the Alpha’s decision. After all, a Beta’s first commitment was to the Alpha. Xavier followed her gaze leveling her shivering parents with a ruthless glare. “Do you object to my judgment and the will of your Pack?” Tense silence quickly fell, everyone waiting with bated breath to hear the Beta’s response, Ava included. Under the Pack’s scrutiny, her father’s shoulders straightened while her mother’s fell, ever-so-slightly. Ava knew then what they’d say. “We do not, Alpha.” Her father proclaimed. There was no containing Ava’s sorrow and panic. Heaving sobs ripped from her chest, all semblance of pride completely gone. She’d been damned after all. As Ava’s jailers hauled her out of the clearing past Xavier, he uttered one final nail in her coffin. “It should’ve been you.” Three years later... “Ava Davis!” The gruff yell of a guard yelling her name startled Ava from her fraught sleep. Momentarily caught in the fuzzy in-between state of dreaming and the waking world, Ava felt the blissfully numb for the precious few seconds before reality caught back up to her. All too quickly, the dark stone walls surrounding her came back into focus, the stale smell of under-washed Wolves caused her nostrils to flare. As she shifted on her rock-hard cot, the aching in her back wrenched reluctant groans from her perpetually parched throat. Thirsty. Hungry. Sore and tired. Ava’s breath caught as the misery of her reality weighed on her like a boulder crushing her chest. And yet, tonight was nothing special. She’d woken up in a similar state, or worse, every night for the past three years. Ever since everyone she’d ever known and loved had turned their backs on her and left her to rot, alone and forgotten. Then, she recalled her dream. For the love of the moon, Ava’s thoughts were as wretched as the rest of her felt. Even in my dreams, I can’t get any goddamn peace. “Davis, I said move!” The guard banged her cell door with a baton. “Catherine Maddison! You, too.” A sharp pain knifed through Ava’s torso as she made to stand. Biting back another groan, she only took a moment to put pressure on her bruised ribs, determined to catch her breath and compose herself before making her way to the door. The ache that throbbed across her midsection was bone-deep, but Ava gritted her teeth and didn’t make a sound. Over the past three years, Ava had learned how this place operated, what was important to survive. Her name and status, none of that mattered in this depressing little hellhole. In fact, they’d only put a target on her back when she’d first gotten here. It hadn’t taken her too long to realize that pride wouldn’t get her far among the prisoners. It had taken her even less time to realize that her pride would get her even less so with the guards. Everyone was a prisoner here, whether they’d been sentenced here or not, and Ava represented the very system that had ruined all their lives. There would be no solace here, no rescue. That had been her first lesson, but it wouldn’t be her last. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . She hadn’t been imprisoned long the first time she was drug from her bunk. Rough hands yanked her across the cold concrete floor and, before her lupin eyes could adjust to the dark, a boot caught her in the stomach. “Like that, Beta bitch?” The voice that taunted her was deep for a female and raspy. “Who’s top dog, now?” Gritting her teeth against the pain, Ava grabbed her attacker’s foot and yanked hard, throwing them off-balance. As the shadowy figure crashed to the ground, Ava was on them. She rolled to her knees and leapt upon the assailant’s chest with reflexes honed by years of combat training. “Still me.” Ava sneered. Ava pulled back her fist and smashed it into the attacker’s face one, two, three times before another hand grabbed her wrist. “Ooh, she’s feisty!” Another voice barked. Shit. It was dark and she’d assumed the person attacking her was alone, a stupid rookie mistake. The unknown assailant behind her twisted her arm, wrenching her shoulder until it popped. Ava gasped, her body going rigid and allowing the attacker to drag her off of the first goon who was currently writhing in pain, hand clasped to a pulverized nose. Ava felt a final flash of satisfaction before she was shoved to the ground. Suddenly, a couple of attackers seemed to multiply as half a dozen aggressive shadows surrounded her. “What do you want from me?” She gasped, her voice laced with anger and pain. A hot, wet glob pelted her in the face. “You still think you’re better than us. You’re about to learn your place.” Then a foot slammed into her dislocated shoulder, grinding the abused joint into the stone floor below. Ava screamed and, as if her pained cry was a cue for the mob, the pelting began in earnest and didn’t let up. Ava reflexively curled in on herself, raising her one working hand over her head trying desperately, futilely to protect herself. Whenever she kicked, there was someone there to hold her down. Whenever she opened her mouth to scream, an arm was there to snake its way around her throat, cutting off her cries for help. There were just too many of them and she’d never been taught to fight alone. She was supposed to have her Pack for backup, that’s how every Wolf was raised. The lone wolf seldom survives. Now, Ava was the lone wolf against a rabid mob. Ava knew that if it weren’t for the silver shackles keeping all of their Wolves at bay, she’d be dead. And no one would care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ava learned the value of silence that night and it had served her well these past three agonizingly slow years. After she’d been jumped, she’d gone to a guard and was sent to her cot without supper for the inconvenience. Even though it was nearly impossible to avoid physical altercations in the prison, the gang beatings ended after that night. Ava suspected that had more to do with Layla than any of the guards, though. “Davis. I will not ask nicely again.” Damn. She’d tarried too long, and the guard had circled back around to her cell. The broad female stormed up to Ava, grasping her by a bruised wrist and pulled her out of the cell. In the hallway, she was shoved to the back of a line of girls being paraded out of the main living area. “Was the other night not enough to teach you to toe the line?” Ava choked back the tears that immediately rushed to the surface at the crass reminder of three nights ago, by far the hardest lesson the dungeon had given to Ava. Right, Ava thought. You don’t need a mob for things to get deadly down here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ava was flat on her back, reeling from the sudden severance of her connection to Mia, her Wolf. Different from the usual suppression caused by their silver shackles, Mia was…gone. She heard a choked gasp and looked over to see Layla, sweet Layla, gasping for air that couldn’t quite make it past the gaping slash across her throat. “No,” Ava fought down her pain and confusion, crawling to kneel beside the dying girl. How did this happen? Who’d hurt Layla? She was the kindest soul Ava had ever met in her life, the only prisoner who never caused or attracted trouble. She’d taken Ava under her wing and saved her from herself countless times over the years. This was…unfathomable. “Layla, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “Please hold on.” Through her own blood and tears, Layla’s lips twitched up into a smile. She whispered something Ava couldn’t quite catch right before the light faded from her warm brown eyes. “Layla –” A baton came down on Ava’s back as she was dragged away, sobbing not just for the loss of another friend, but for the soul who never deserved to be here and would never get the chance to leave. Ava knew she’d have to do it for her, somehow. It was Layla’s last wish, even if Ava couldn’t hear her, she knew what Layla had reminded her with her last breath. California. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “We have enough.” Ava looked up to find herself in a holding room with a dozen other females. An unfamiliar female walked down the line of women, examining them closely. When she came to Ava at the end of the line, the female grimaced at Ava’s smattering of deep purple bruises. “They’ll do,” she nodded. With a shove, the guard behind her prompted her to follow the line of girls out of a set of metal doors Ava hadn’t seen since she’d been brought here. A gentle breeze caressed her feverish skin, halting Ava in her tracks. Looking up, she nearly cried at the sight of the moon cradled by a sea of stars overhead. They were outside! For the first time in three years, Ava could see the sky. By the sobbing gasps around her, Ava knew she wasn’t the only one feeling a weight lifted from their shoulders. “Enough! Get them inside before we’re seen.” The clipped command was the last thing Ava heard before a back was thrown over her head. Cries from the girls were muffled by the sound of an engine revving to life. Ava was hefted bodily into the air, ribs screaming, and thrown into what could only be the back of a van. Her protests joined the other women’s as metal doors slammed shut and their new cage began to move. After three years, Ava was finally leaving the dungeon. Only, she had a sinking feeling she was going to wish she’d stayed. By the time the truck had rolled to a stop, Ava had successfully navigated the extreme sense of panic and dread that had plagued her for most of the sightless ride and settled into a grim determination to face whatever was coming head-on. If she’d learned anything over the last three years, it was that the adaptable ones survive the longest. To make it in the dungeon she’d figured out how to cage the fighter she’d been born to be and cow herself in effort to not draw unwanted attention. She didn’t know what fresh hell these new circumstances would bring, but Ava was ready to re-light her fire, if the opportunity called for it. Even if Mia was still silent. Despite the countless morbid scenarios flitting across her mind, the jagged hole in her…inner self where Mia should be, was an ever-present distraction. She didn’t know what exactly had been done to her to sever their bond, in fact that entire cursed night was a blur. Even as she focused on her memories of a couple nights ago, only vague fleeting images flashed across her mind’s eye. There had been a confrontation that had turned violent, as most confrontations usually did in the dungeon. Ava’s body was consumed with a pain more deeply profound than any she’d experienced during her time in the dungeon or before. It went beyond physical pain, manifesting in ways Ava simply didn’t have the correct vocabulary to properly verbalize. It had been as if her soul had been torn in two, but that didn’t feel like a proper explanation, either. Mia was part of Ava, as all Wolves were a part of their hosts, but she was her own entity as well – the primal beast inside the sentient female. They shared a body and a fate, but both functioned independently of one another, Ava had full rein of their human body and when it came time to hand over the reins and transform, Mia took control of their lupine form. The relationship between a host and their Wolf is a symbiotic one with each consciousness contributing unique attributes to the other in order to make both forms strong. Ava gave Mia sentience, the ability to cognate above a common wolf’s level, making her a fierce strategist, as well as an asset to the Pack both in and out of human form. For Ava, Mia heightened her humanity, giving her increased reflexes, senses, and strength. Mia gave Ava a canine’s sixth sense of primal instinct and established the preternatural bonds that shape a Wolf Pack, allowing them to recognize one another’s status. In another life, Mia might have recognized her mate in another Wolf, solidifying a bond with their perfect partner, ensuring a life a connection and contentment for them both. Now, that reality seemed so far outside the realm of impossibility, least of all being the fact that Ava hadn’t felt a trace of Mia’s latent consciousness in the three days since Layla died. Currently sitting shackled and hooded in the back of a van going the moon knows where, Ava would be lucky if anything other than a gory, prolonged death awaited her whenever the doors finally opened. When they finally do, Ava braced herself for the worst, her body going taught as a bow string when a calloused hand drags her out of the back of the vehicle. Silently, she tries to gain her bearings, straining to hone her senses, looking for any clue as to where they’ve been taken. With Mia out of commission, though, all she can hear is the panicked heavy breaths of a dozen terrified women being shuffled out of a murder van. “Where are we?” Ava chances the question, willing to risk getting hit in order to suss out any useful information about their situation. “Quiet female. You’ll find out soon enough.” A guard answered. Female. Not ‘rat,’ which is what the dungeon guards called most of the prisoners, or ‘beta bitch,’ which is what they usually reserved especially for her. And when a hand grasped her arm, prompting her to move, it guided her rather than dragged her wherever she was meant to go. “You aren’t the prison guards.” She already knew by the lack of vitriol in the way that they moved, spoke, and comported themselves. Her suspicions were confirmed when her escort scoffed. “Hardly.” He didn’t elaborate and Ava didn’t need Mia to know better than to push her luck with him. They might not be the jaded, cruel prison guards she’d known for the past three years, but she didn’t know these people or what they were planning to do with her and the other females. Ava watched true crime religiously. Just because they weren’t being abused now didn’t mean they weren’t in store for worse than the dungeon had to offer. So, she’d continue to keep her guard up. Without Mia’s superhuman senses, Ava soon loses track of where they’re being led. Eventually, the cool night air falls away to the artificial bite of central air conditioning. We’re in a building with AC, Ava warily mused. Murderers don’t use AC, right? Ava felt her confusion grow as she picked up the distant sound of dance music. Not the kind you’d find on the radio or in a night club, but a more curated international sound better suited to the fancy lounges her dad and the other men in the Pack were fond of visiting in the city. Finally, the line came to a stop. For a long couple of minutes nothing happened and, despite her shackles, Ava tensed to bolt just as the hood was ripped from her head. She winced at the sudden light, but as the sunspots faded from her eyes and her vision came into focus, Ava’s confusion solidified into a hefty lump of apprehension sitting low in her stomach. The room they were in looked an awful lot like the lounges Ava had thought of before. Dark leather couches accented with emerald velveteen settees and ottomans filled a room that’s walls were lined with far too many mirrors, gilded though they were. The ceiling of the room was covered in dormant strobe lights and, of course, more mirrors. Ava’s eyes followed the long shiny line of bronze poles to where they stood affixed in immaculately polished black marble floors. Ava’s expectations for the upcoming events quickly realigned as she took in the room’s more…specific details. Like the bronze chains that hung from the ceiling, some ending in bronze bars, while others led to leather handcuffs. When she spotted a large dark X-shaped structure at one end of the room, Ava’s suspicions were all but confirmed. A sex club. Within the span of a few hours, Ava had gone from resigning herself to dying early and unacknowledged in a pit to standing in what looked to be a posh bar for the kinkily inclined. Ava was scared, of course she was. On her mental list of worst-case scenarios, being sold to a sex club was surely up there. But, taking in her surroundings, this didn’t look like the seedy urban underbelly she’d imagined. This looked like a way out. Ava was steadily putting together the bones of a plan when a beautiful woman walks through a gilded glass door. Tall with long black hair and cheekbones like steel, this woman had presence. Her dulled senses prevented Ava from picking up any specific information about the woman, but Ava knew she was a Wolf and that, whatever this establishment was, it was hers. “Madame Bella, they’ve arrived,” the female from the prison walked stand behind their tall, lavishly dressed hostess. Lighting a cigarette, Madame Bella slowly walked down the line considering each of the filthy, trembling females, much like her minion had back in the holding room. “Such. Pretty. Omegas.” Each of her words was punctuated by the sharp click of her six-inch stilettos. When she came to Ava she stopped, taking a drag of her cigarette without breaking eye-contact. “Not an Omega.” She raised her hand with the cigarette in summons, “Dorinda, explain this one.” The female from prison, their handler Ava guessed, rushed to Madame Bella’s side, “This one’s not an Omega, Madame. But, if the guards were to be believed, she is untouched.” Bella’s eyebrow quirks in interest, “In this day and age? Impressive find, Dorinda. Why can’t I read her?” Dorinda swallows silently, “There’s something wrong with her Wolf. They didn’t elaborate, but her connection was severed, she’s effectively human.” Ava refused to flinch at the stark words and held her chin up when the other females had nerve enough to stare at her, appalled. Even now, she was the odd one out. “Human,” Bella said it the same way one says unexpected garbage. “And what am I supposed to do with something so weak, Dorinda? Take it back.” With a dismissive wave, Bella began to turn away. “But…she’s…a –“ “A what, Dorinda? A virgin?” She cut the other woman off. “Woman, please. Even I’m not so callous to give a defenseless innocent to a rutting Alpha. She’ll be torn to shreds before she can pay off the cost of the clean-up crew.” Several of the other females begin to weep as Madame Bella rolls her expressionless eyes. “She’s useless to me. Take her back.” When the female turned to leave again, Ava knew her chance for survival would walk away with her. “Wait!” She put every bit of authority she’d inherited from her title into her voice. If there was a time for gambling, it was now. “You can’t send me back.” Bella paused, eyebrow quirking again, this time, Ava expected, in amusement. “And why, pray tell, is that?” “The dungeon is a lot of things, but it’s not a brothel,” Ava gestured to the other girls. “Whatever this deal was, I highly doubt it was on the up-and-up. If you send me back, I might let something slip.” Any amusement abruptly vacated the woman’s diamond-hard face. Ava knew she was over-playing her hand, but she felt more in her element parlaying with this intimidating female than she had in years. “You raise a fair point. Why don’t I just dispose of you instead?” Ava set her jaw, “This is a pretty nice-looking establishment, all things considered. I don’t think you like getting your hands dirty.” Bella cocked her head in bemusement, “Darling, if you think I need to sully my hands to get things done, you’re not as quick as I was beginning to think you were.” Ava shrugged, effecting an air of nonchalance she didn’t feel, “Fair point,” she parroted. “I may not be able to make you money in the…traditional sense, but I’ve got something the others don’t.” When Bella didn’t cut her off, she gestured to the crying bewildered girls beside her, “I have drive. I want to be here. I’ll wait tables or wash your unmentionables, whatever you need me to do, I’m willing.” The stern female considered Ava again, a new emotion almost like respect reflecting in her gaze. “Why? Cry as they might, they’ll earn enough to buy their way out of here within a couple of years. Scrubbing toilets isn’t nearly as lucrative. Where’s your hope, girl?” Ava smirked mirthlessly, “That died a long time ago. And have you seen the prison? If you had, scrubbing toilets wouldn’t seem so bad.” A quick almost-smile flashed across Bella’s lips, gone before Ava was certain it had ever been there at all. “Fine,” was all she said before sauntering out of the room, leaving the handlers to see to the shaken girls. Twenty minutes later, Ava found herself in a closet-sized room, bland and small, but dry and relatively safe. Best of all, it had a tiny window, small enough to ensure she stay in place, but just enough to let her watch the stars. And she did. For the first time in years, Ave prayed directly to the moon until dawn broke. ————————— Download the app and read the follow-up of the story>>> Free reading without any hidden fees>>>	LEARN_MORE	https://ads.novelflow.app/prod/template/1934.html?	Global Free Novel Craze	https://www.facebook.com/61569924960322/	302	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	ads.novelflow.app	VIDEO		https://ads.novelflow.app/prod/template/1934.html?id=1934&v=v40&ch=1&ch_b=1&ch_e=3&channel_id=NFF100268&ad_id={{ad.id}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&campaign_id={{campaign.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}}&adset_name={{adset.name}}&campaign_name={{campaign.name}}&t=0	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481458658_1854550078667197_182148639224617385_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=90AXSIOgYKMQ7kNvgGXIIQB&_nc_oc=AdhRhrNgqdDU1ZzqHGGG0hXo8wBnVyVt80oRqXojEhPq67xTFRgdb_dTxsKmlLi_oTjt9e9J4_x6YX2irMjuy36F&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AQHaeBI6iNdshAeJr9nqdrh&oh=00_AYAglAC5327q2sU04Mxi8eaz3x8KFfYESqoTIPkMezj0Gg&oe=67CB985D	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Global Free Novel Craze	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,269	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747235}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	"Mine." The dangerous and menacing voice demanded in front of everyone in the room. "You are mistaken. Her father has already promised her hand to me in marriage. Once she turns 18 we will be marked and mated." Mason announced proudly and another menacing growl erupted from that man's throat. "You are not touching my mate." He growled out through gritted teeth. "He's your mate." Bella whispered. "Who are you?" I asked. "Tyler Lowe. Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack." He announced. And my mouth almost dropped open. __________ I was covered in black and blue bruises and fresh cuts from that beating. But also bruises under the new bruises that were yet to heal. I was malnourished and didn't heal as fast as werewolves. But I was used to it. Ever since my mother died when I was 6 my father has been getting progressively worse until it finally got to this kind of abuse. Which was the worst kind. Where I could barely walk or even look at myself in the mirror. I had a quick shower because the water stung my skin too much and I washed my length snow blonde hair and I came out of the bathroom and walked into my wardrobe. I got dressed into a pair of black tights, a loose fitting shirt and a hoodie over the top. It was pretty much my signature look. When I was putting my books in my bag my bedroom door slammed open and I jumped almost to the ceiling because it scared me so badly. Dad was standing there and I was surprised that he was actually able to stand. "Hurry up. The pack breakfast is starting." He demanded still slurring his words. How was he going to explain that to the pack elders? This was going to be interesting. But I really didn't care. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs and we left our side of the packhouse and walked through long corridors together and when I couldn't keep up with dad's pace he grabbed my arm and dragged me along which only hurt my ribs even more. "Quit your complaining. What is the matter with you?" He snarled at me. I wasn't surprised that he didn't remember. He was too drunk to remember. But when we got to the main part of the pack house he made sure that his clothes were neat and his balding gray hair and goatee weren't disheveled and we walked into the large dining room where a lot of important pack members had breakfast every morning. Including the Alpha, his daughter Bella, the pack elders and other influential people around the pack. Like the doctor ect. There were several tables set out and a buffet where you could eat all you wanted. And I was practically drooling at the food as dad approached it and he piled one plate up with heaps of food and then gave me the second plate with only toast and a pancake on it. I found Bella sitting at a table by herself next to the window. She was the Alpha's second born and only daughter. And my best friend. We're the same age and we've known each other since we were in diapers. "I see you've brought the hoodie out again." Bella whispers as I try to sit down without drawing any attention to myself at how much pain I was in. We all know what it means when we see the hoodie - It's for covering the bruises. "I didn't realize that I ever put it away." I say. "Well, I'm glad that I don't have to wear mine today." She commented. "Yeah. Your dad has eased off of you. Is there a reason why?" I asked curiously and a little jealous. "Yep. Because my brother is coming home today." She beamed at me. And a huge smile spread across my face as well. "You're kidding. Ethan is finally coming home." I say. And she nods her head. I could tell that she was trying everything to hide her excitement. "I can't believe that. That's fantastic." I said. I noticed Bella looking around at the room but she didn't say anything. So I glanced around as well and when I did everyone quickly stopped looking at me. Dad tried to hide his evil side. But he wasn't fooling anyone. When he got drunk, he would always start fights with people and become unbearable. And he was getting drunk a lot more lately. People had an idea of what was going on in our apartment. But no one was willing to go up against the Beta. Because they all knew that the Alpha would be there to support him and they would be kicked out of the pack. Or worse. A lot of pack members lived in fear of our Alpha and Beta. It was a horrible way to live. But if they tried to leave then the Alpha would send warriors after them to kill them. He's done it more than once. The warriors were ordered to kill entire families that were fleeing. Which included children. That's what made this pack the strongest on the East Coast. Because no one was game enough to leave so it was a huge pack and all the warriors trained relentlessly. The only problem was that girls weren't allowed to train. We basically lived in the stone ages. The Alpha believed that she-wolves are only here to find their mates and produce pups for their mates to keep the pack going strong. It was barbaric and insulting. But he was the Alpha. His word was law. "How long do we need to stay here to be respectful? I hate everyone staring at me." I whisper to Bella. "Just a couple more minutes. Then we can leave for school." She whispers back. I then saw the head warrior Mason walk in with his two sidekicks Levi and Lockie trailing behind him and Mason's eyes set straight on me. They got themselves some food and then invited themselves to join me and Bella. Mason sat right next to me and moved his chair over so he could be closer to me, but I squirmed away from him as much as possible. He was big and good looking but he was a horrible person. And I knew that from first hand experience. He was the one that they always called to track down those families that ran away. And I know that he personally killed a child of those fleeing families. I wanted nothing to do with him. "I have exciting news for you Tessa." Mason says, looking at me. "And what is that?" I asked, exhaling while drinking a little coffee. "I have you're fathers blessing." He said slowly. And my head snapped towards him. "What?" I almost shouted and a few people looked our way before they went back to what they were talking about. And Mason was smirking at me. "As soon as you turn 18, I am taking you as my mate." He says. "And what about my true mate? My goddess given mate? What about him? He's out there somewhere." I say. "Who cares. He'll find someone else. Or he'll just wither and die after you reject him. I really don't care. But you will be mine. That's all I've wanted for years." He says lightly while playing with my hair. And I look at Bella pleading with my eyes. "Yeah. We have to get to school now. It was good seeing you Mason." Bella says standing up and I stood up as well. They stayed sitting at the table as us two grabbed our bags and left the dining hall as quickly as we could and we didn't even stop to say goodbye to anyone. Least of all our fathers. But we weren't that lucky. "You two will be home straight after school. We're having a party here tonight with a lot of visiting Alpha's." The Alpha shouted across the room. We both stopped and nodded to him before leaving the house. "I can't believe that your father promised you to that sack of prick." Bella yelled as we were walking down the road. "I can. My father knows his own kind." I say. "I am so sorry Tess. What are you going to do?" Bella asked sympathetically. "I don't know. But I'll figure something out. Even if I have to run away before it can happen. I will definitely do that." I declare. "Well, tell me before you do. I'm coming with you." She says. "Sounds like a plan." I say. And then a black BMW stopped right in our walkway and we stopped before we hit the car and we both stepped back not knowing what to expect right now. Then a 6 foot 4 man with short brown hair and cleanly shaved with muscles that looked like they were going to rip his shirt off his body got out of the driver's seat and smiled at both of us. "What? Don't I even get a hug?" He asked. "Ethan." Bella yelled, jumping into his arms. And the other door opened to reveal an equally big man with dirty blonde hair and a little facial hair got out of the passenger seat. That was Ethan's best friend Wyatt. When Bella finally let Ethan go he walked over to me and hugged me and I winced a little in pain but tried to hide it and then I hugged Wyatt. And I had to do the same thing. "Are you hurt?" Ethan asked. "Yeah. It was stupid. Rough housing with a couple of the warriors and this is what happened. I should know better." I lied through my teeth. "Girls aren't allowed to train. Why are you rough housing with warriors?" Wyatt asked. "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time." I shrugged. " Come on Bells, we're gonna be late." I say. "We'll see you tonight." Bella says hugging Ethan again and we start walking off down the road again. But when I looked to the side I could see Ethan and Wyatt leaning against the side of their car watching us and talking about something. I was afraid that they didn't believe my rough housing with the warrior's excuse. "Bella. What would Ethan do if he found out about my dad?" I asked nervously. "You know Ethan as well as I do. What do you think he would do to your dad?" Bella responded confidently. "Just wait until he finds out that your dad gave you away to Mason. Ethan has always hated Mason. I don't think that mating will go through if Ethan is here. That's a good thing." Bella says. "Yeah. I'll take your word for it." I say skeptically. My father always had his way of getting his own way. No matter what it was. If he wanted me to mark and mate with Mason, then it was pretty much as good as done. When we got to school we walked inside and we went to Bella's locker first and then mine. Everyone obviously knew who we were but they kept their distance from us. Both of our fathers were known for being crazy. And no one wanted to mess with the Alpha or Beta's daughters. So we only had each other at school. Which was fine with us. The further we stayed away from people, the least likely they were to find out about what was actually happening in our house. When we got to our first class we sat at the back of the classroom as usual and I pulled out my notebook and pen and started scribbling on the page in front of me. When our geography teacher arrived and started the class I just sat there with my head on my hand scribbling in my book and barely paying attention. When I was 6 years old I woke up in the morning to my 26-year-old mother and my 48-year-old father screaming at each other in our old house. The one that we had before we moved to the packhouse. I stayed in bed for ages because I couldn't find the courage to get out of bed and go out there to see what was going on. I could hear things smashing and my mother screaming at my father. I then heard the slap that he gave my mother while yelling at her. And that's when I got out of bed. I opened my door and slowly crept down the hallway and stood at the kitchen doorway and my mother was on the floor holding her face and dad was standing over her. She saw me standing there and scrambled to her feet. "It's alright sweetie. I'm alright. Hey, why don't you go and get dressed and then you can go outside and play with Bella. How does that sound?" My mother asked, crouching down to my level. But I just shook my head and looked at my father before I turned back to my room and I closed the door. I started getting dressed but their fight wasn't over. I could still hear them screaming at each other and I was shaking while I was buttoning up my shirt. But I managed to get dressed and I walked back to the kitchen. My father was storming out the backdoor from what I could see and my mother was holding a rag to her bloody nose. "Why does daddy get so angry all the time?" I asked. "I don't know sweetie. He just does. Hey, are you all ready? I think Bella is alright outside. I saw her playing in the playground earlier. Why don't you go and find her while I clean up this mess and all the broken glass." Mummy says to me. "Okay mummy." I say. And I hugged her before I walked outside and Bella was still at the playground. I got on the swing next to her and she looked at me and then back to the house. "I could hear your daddy screaming from here." Bella says. But I just nod my head. She knew that meant that I didn't want to talk about it. " Do you wanna go and annoy Ethan. He's with his friends." She says. And I smile at that and shake my head. So we jumped off the swings and went running to find Ethan so we could annoy him. Something that we loved to do all the time. And it always cheered us up. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Bella nudging me so I looked at her and she pointed down at the picture that I was absent mindedly drawing. It was a big snarling wolf attacking a woman and child. I quickly changed the page and started paying attention to the class that we were in. Try to get my mind to concentrate on what needs to be done at school. The day went by pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was time to head home. But we always took our time before going home. We slowly went to our lockers to get our things and then we headed outside but we saw that same black BMW sitting out the front waiting for us. "Ethan. What are you doing here?" Bella asked. "I'm giving you guys a lift home." He responded with a beaming smile. "It's alright. We can walk. It's not that far." I say. "Too bad. Get in." Ethan ordered. So we got in his car and he actually took us into town instead of taking us home. "The Alpha told us to get home straight after school because of that party tonight." I told Ethan. "Don't worry. Dad and the Beta know that you girls are with me. I told them before I picked you guys up. Don't worry. You won't get in trouble." Ethan assured us. Ethan took us to an ice cream store downtown and took us inside. "You do know that we're not 10 years old anymore, right?" I asked Ethan. "I know. But I thought we could all sit down and talk." He says. "A coffee shop would have been better." I say sitting down. The other two got ice cream but I didn't order anything. "So Tessa, how are the ribs going?" Ethan asked. "Pretty good. I think they're just bruised. They'll be back to normal soon." I say. "Yeah. Thank goddess for werewolf healing." Ethan says. And I just smile at him. "So Bells, how has dad been since I left? Has he gotten any worse?" Ethan asked. "About the same, I guess." Bella says eating a bit of her ice cream and then she side eyed me. But unfortunately, Ethan managed to see us. But he didn't say anything about it. I had a really bad feeling that he only brought us here to fish for information. He was asking too many questions and I didn't really like it. So I kept quiet for most of that ice cream adventure and Bella and Ethan just kept talking like always. Like they were just talking about old times. When we got back to the packhouse Ethan said that he needed to go run some errands for his dad before the party so Bella and I went inside. Both of our dad's were sitting in the living room waiting for us and we knew that couldn't be good. "We are having people here in a few hours and you two have been out galavanting with Ethan." The Alpha says. "He picked us up from school. What did you want us to do? If we didn't go with him then he knew that something would have been up." I defended us while Bella sank back a little. She was never able to stand up against them. "Well, now you two have a lot of work to do, don't you. There's cooking that needs to be done and all the bedrooms in the packhouse need to be ready in case anyone decides to stay over." My father says. "I'll go and help Bella with the rooms and then I will get started in the kitchen." I say. "There's not enough time. Bella can clean the bedrooms. That means scrub the bathrooms, change the sheets, vacuum, everything. In every bedroom in this packhouse. And Tessa, you need to get started on appetizers, then the first course, then the second course, then the main course and then dessert." The Alpha ordered. "Yes sir." I say. I looked at Bella and we had to head in separate directions. I went to the kitchen and there was no one there. Hardly any omega's worked at the packhouse because the Alpha and dad made us two girls do everything. It was a wonder that we were even allowed to go to school most of the time. But I grabbed some ingredients out and I started making the main course because it would take hours to cook and then I got started on several different appetizers to give the guests some variety. While I was in the kitchen my father walked in and he lingered behind me and I could feel my whole body tense up but he stood behind me watching me. He didn't even try to move any closer to me. He was just intimidating me. That's all it was to him. A game. He thought it was funny. By the time everything was ready the omega's arrived because they had to serve the food and I went up the backstairs to our apartment and I went straight to my bedroom. I had a shower and I couldn't even bear to look at myself in the mirror this time, so I just had a quick shower and I got out and went to the wardrobe. I got dressed into a floor length gown with a white strapless bodice with a light pink floral lace over the top that also went over my shoulders to make the straps and black the skirt of it was plain black and black strappy high heels. I then brushed my length snow blonde hair and I put on a silver and diamond bracelet and matching earrings. But I kept my neck out, except for my hair hanging down. And then I started to walk downstairs. I made it to the main area of the house and I stopped at Bella's room just as she was coming out and she was looking a little nervous about this party. "Alright. Just relax and greet a few people. There's nothing to worry about. Once we do that then us two can sit at one of the tables in the ballroom and everyone else can do whatever it is that they do." I told her. "Alright. You know I hate these parties. Getting all dressed up. It's like our father's are putting us on display." She says. "That's exactly what they're doing. And they know it too. Come on, before they get pissed at us for being too long." I say hooking my arm around hers and we started walking down the hall. We walked down the staircase and off to the right was the living room but all the furniture had been cleared out of it and the rooms adjacent to it so people would walk around freely and talk and have a good time. And the main ballroom was set up for dancing while the dining room had been lined with four very long tables that could easily seat a couple hundred people. Walking to the living room was really nerve wracking but I made sure that I held my head high and people did look at us. "It's only because we are the hottest ones here. Just remember that." I whispered to Bella as I felt her tense up. And we continued walking into the room. Alpha's from other packs would come over and introduce themselves and of course we needed to be on our best behavior and represent the pack well and we were nice and polite to everyone and we would have light conversations with people. I noticed that there were older Alpha's with their teenage sons who were obviously learning the ropes to becoming Alpha's themselves and there were others in their 20's and 30's that were there with friends or even their Beta's. I wasn't sure. We had been at the party for about 20 minutes mingling when a familiar scent filled my nose and strong arms wrapped around my waist and I knew immediately that it was Mason. "Take note of the people that you like in this room sweetie. We can invite them to our wedding." Mason hissed in my ear while smelling the crook of my neck. I tried to unravel his arms from around my stomach because I was now in a lot of pain with the broken ribs but he wasn't letting go for anything. I didn't have the strength to get him to let go. All of a sudden there was a growl that ripped through the room and the band stopped playing and I heard something smash. Like it was a wooden chair or something. Everyone looked in that direction and there was a man standing there that I had never noticed before. He would have been in his early 20's, brown hair to his shoulders, a brown goatee, 6-foot 6 at least and very defined muscles that were now tense as his intense gaze was staring directly at me and Mason. But I didn't know who he was. I was frozen in the spot and this man was just staring at us with pure hatred in his eyes. But then I realized that the hatred was for Mason. Not me. "Mine." He demanded. "Mine." The dangerous and menacing voice demanded in front of everyone in the room. All the Alpha's from nearby packs and even ones that have traveled long distances to be here. Mason finally loosened his grip around me and I noticed the woman standing next to that stranger with a horrified look on her face. She tried to grab his arm but he shook her off and marked towards Mason and me. I very subtly pushed Bella to the side away from where this man was coming for us. Just in case anything happened, she could be ready to duck and cover. "You are mistaken. Her father has already promised her hand to me in marriage. Once she turns 18 we will be marked and mated." Mason announced proudly and another menacing growl erupted from that man's throat. "You are not touching my mate." He growled out through gritted teeth. "He's your mate." Bella whispered. "Who are you?" I asked. "Tyler Lowe. Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack." He announced. And my mouth almost dropped open. They were a large pack. They were known for their strength. They were not to be messed with. I knew of their pack, but I had never met their Alpha and didn't know what his name was. "She is not your mate. She has been promised to me." Mason gritted out. This was going to get out of hand. Really quickly. But another man stood in and placed his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "My name is Cade. I am Tyler's Beta. And I'm sure you know young man that it is against werewolf rules and nature to come between a wolf and his mate. Especially that of an Alpha wolf." Cade educated Mason. "I know the laws. And I don't care. Her father promised her to me. And she will be mine." Mason insisted and Cade had to hold Tyler back after that.	LEARN_MORE	https://a.letsreadnovel.com/ad/bGV0c3JlYWQvNDQzNzc	ForFun-120	https://www.facebook.com/61554751622817/	201	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	a.letsreadnovel.com	VIDEO		https://a.letsreadnovel.com/ad/bGV0c3JlYWQvNDQzNzc2LzIwMjUwMjI4MTYxODUyL3BhZ2U=?adid={{ad.id}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481079064_1148761109745201_5025882962617973357_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=w1jpggF3lm8Q7kNvgFEVbfc&_nc_oc=AdgKkRb3qACeLnpn4vV0dOGC-qEym-DNDCJGOH5z-SywhttiKxqkkDj1kKCk5-7-6bDPGgDWwbHVZyxZRYRRu5Vh&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AhgAUIE0q4_ey4ZHkh7DOyv&oh=00_AYAeQ_E0ho-utIF330ZnnM7AUrnkU2RylxbJ4HXIdDuEPg&oe=67CBAAE0	PERSON_PROFILE	0	ForFun-120	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,410	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747411}'	Yes	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔞🔥Click to Read more about📜The Pack's Doctor📜	💖🔞💋 Yara It’s been too long since I’ve let Annika out to run. With the number of classes that I’m taking and the heavy schedule I’m keeping at the university, there isn’t a lot of time to eat, much less let Annika run. But I have to let her out. She’s becoming more and more restless. ‘School is boring. Humans are boring. I want to do something fun,’ she grumbles in my head. ‘We’re going for a run, Annika. Calm down.’ ‘Next time, don’t wait so long.’ It’s been a couple of months since I took her out. She’s right, it’s been too long. But I know how the packs fight, and I haven’t wanted to risk getting in the middle of a battle, or worse, getting caught by Simon. ‘I’m too smart for him to catch us. Besides, he has no idea that we’re still so close to the pack.’ By ‘so close’ she means two hours, but it is too close. A wolf can run nearly as fast as a car, and when that wolf is on the hunt? Goddess forbid anyone gets in their way. In the past, when I’ve taken Annika out to run, I’ve taken her in the opposite direction of Simon’s pack. Well, technically, it’s not his pack, it’s his father’s pack. Alpha Solomon has been the Alpha of my previous pack for as long as I can remember. His son, Simon, is a nasty piece of work. He loves to fight and he loves to kill. The two of us couldn’t be any more different. I like to heal, and I like to save. For whatever reason, Simon set his sights on me. I don’t know why. I’m an orphan, I’m not ranked. My parents were warriors and while I can fight, I prefer to use my biggest strength, my brain. Simon much prefers to use his strength, his Alpha strength. He doesn’t have to work for it, being genetically predisposed to being larger and stronger than most wolves in the pack, so he doesn’t appreciate what he has, in my opinion. Me, on the other hand, I’ve had to work for everything I’ve achieved in this life, with the help of Alpha Solomon. My parents were killed in a pack war when I was young. Alpha Solomon took over as my guardian and made sure that I was cared for all my life. Maybe it’s because he never had a daughter, or maybe it’s because I’m more like him than his own son, but he’s always looked after me, even to the point of sending me away from the pack when he realized that his son had taken an interest in me. He knows Simon is no good, and he didn’t want me to suffer with his son’s infatuation. When we get to the spot where we like to run, I stop, sniffing the air, making sure there are no other wolves around here. ‘Annika?’ I ask, making sure she’s not smelling something I’m not. ‘No other wolves,’ she says, almost sadly. She misses the companionship of being in a pack. I look around once more, then make my way into the forest before stripping off my clothes and tucking them onto a tree branch, high enough that someone would have to look up to see them. I have a spare set of clothes in the car, just in case anyone steals these. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Rather than assume that someone was being malicious, I choose to believe that they needed the clothes more than I did. They’re only clothes after all. I let Annika pull the shift, feeling my bones snapping and reshaping after so long of not shifting. It’s more painful than it should be, but soon enough, Annika is shaking out her reddish-brown fur and taking off into the woods. Even though I’m in the background while Annika runs, I can feel how good it is to stretch her legs, to feel her muscles flexing in her body as she runs. It’s quiet tonight, thankfully, and Annika’s paws on the ground are nearly silent as she runs, giving both of us a chance to enjoy the sounds of the forest around us. I’m not sure how long she’s been running when we smell it, blood. She slows, lifting her nose in the air. ‘There was fighting nearby,’ she says in our shared mind space. ‘Do you hear anyone?’ I ask. ‘I’m not sure. I hear rustling, what sounds like a wolf in trouble. Do you hear it?’ she asks as she tilts her head from one side to the other. I do hear it. It does sound like a large animal who is struggling. ‘Annika…’ ‘I’ll be careful,’ she says, knowing that, if I can, I will want to help this animal, even if it is a werewolf. It may not be possible, they may not let me get close enough to help. But I’m going to school to become a doctor for a reason. So, I can help wolves in just this type of situation. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way to the sound of the struggling animal. As we get closer, I can tell that it is a wolf by the soft sounds that it’s making. I can’t figure out what it’s doing though. Maybe it’s caught in a snare of some sort and trying to figure out how to get out. Or maybe it’s just stuck in a hole that one of the packs dug to capture other pack members so they can interrogate them for information. ‘Please be careful, Annika. We can’t afford to get caught.’ “I’ll be careful, Yara.’ When we get close, she begins to belly crawl, slowly making her way closer. When the wind shifts, her whole body goes rigid, the scent of teakwood filling my nose and making my body tingle with unwanted desire. ‘Mate,’ she says softly. ‘WHAT?’ ‘That’s our mate, Yara. Our mate is injured.’ This is terrible. This isn’t just an injured animal, it’s our mate. I can’t leave him out here to die, but I also can’t have him trying to take me back to his pack. I have school, and I’m still in hiding from Simon. It’s takes me a moment too long to realize that the wolf, my mate, has stopped moving around. Annika barely breathes, waiting to see what he’ll do. He chuffs at us, letting us know that he knows we’re here. I’m not sure how I know that he’s not going to hurt us, but something in his chuff seems more like a request for help, than a threat of violence. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way through some bushes until we can see him. SHIT! He’s caught in a bear trap. No wonder he’s still in wolf form. If he shifts, it will rip his leg off. ‘I can’t believe he’s not howling in pain,’ Annika says. She’s right. His leg, where it’s caught in the trap is shattered, no question. ‘You have to help him, Yara. He’s our mate. You have to,” Annika practically begs me. ‘I know. I will, if he’ll let me.’ As much as I hate the idea of being naked in front of this unknown man, even though he’s my mate, I have no choice if I’m going to talk to him and try to help him. I pull the shift, standing in front of the midnight black wolf who is watching me with his beautiful, intelligent green eyes. “Hey, big guy. I see you’re caught in a trap. I want to help you. I know you can’t shift, or you’ll rip that leg off and that looks really painful. Your bones are probably shattered but I want to help you, if you’ll let me,” I say softly, keeping my tone gentle. I slowly approach the wolf. Mate or no, this wolf must be in terrible pain and he’s going to be feeling vulnerable, unable to escape. I extend my hand, letting him sniff me and see that I mean no harm. “I’m a doctor. Well, I’m studying to be a doctor, to both humans and wolves. I don’t want to hurt you. Will you let me see if I can help you?” The wolf sniffs my hand, then nuzzles me. I gently run my hand through his fur, stopping when I come to stiff fur that smells like blood. I don’t want to know what else is in this wolf’s fur, but I can guess that guts and bones are stuck in there as well. He’s obviously been fighting and whether he got separated from his pack, or he was part of a group that intentionally separated out trying to cut off the other pack’s escape, he’s now out here alone without anyone to help him. Well, anyone except me. I look up, trying to see where the moonlight is so I can get a better look at the trap. “Okay, big guy, are you able to move to your right a bit? I need the moonlight to help me see how I can spring this trap and set you free.” He moves to his right, keeping an eye on me as I carefully look over the trap. “Nasty piece of work,” I mumble to myself. “Stupid idiots doing this to each other.” I look back up at him. “Okay, I think I’ve figured it out. Before I spring this trap, you need to know that when I release this, it’s going to hurt, really bad. But then you’ll be free and I can take a look at how badly your leg is broken,” I tell him. I already know it’s shattered. I can see bone splinters sticking out of his skin from above the trap. I move my hands in position. I’m going to need Annika’s strength to help me open this trap. “Try not to bite me and if you can, try not to howl. I have no idea if there is anyone else nearby that might hear you, or try to come hurt you,” I tell him. He chuffs at me again, letting me know he understands. “On three, ready? One… two … three!” I say and push the release with all my strength, Annika pushing with hers as well. I feel the spring give and the trap snaps open. The wolf yelps but it’s quickly cut off as he moves away from the trap, keeping his injured leg off the ground. He turns, looking at me a moment before his bones begin to snap as he shifts back into his human form, his ridiculously gorgeous, tall, muscular form. .............................................................................. Warren I can’t believe that Arric and I got caught in this bear trap. Brady! I know he’s the one who set this trap. He knew that he and his pack would retreat this way. I raced around, attempting to cut off their escape route, but I’d ended up caught in the trap. I know my pack will come back for me, but they’re in a battle and I’ve been waiting for them to find me for hours. When I wasn’t able to cut Brady off, they continued following his pack, hunting them down like the dogs they are. I knew immediately that I couldn’t shift. While I could use my hands to spring the trap, it was too risky. I wasn’t willing to lose my leg and therefore my rank as Alpha. While the pain is significant, Arric and I are strong Alphas, and I know it's only a matter of time before the pack finds me and gets me out of here. We’d been struggling with a way to get the damn trap off when we’d smelled her. I’ve been looking for my mate for over ten years and now, here, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of an area covered in blood from a recent battle, I find her. Her cinnamon and nutmeg scent instantly calms Arric. Her wolf is a beautiful reddish-brown color and she’s obviously a skittish little thing. Through all of her conversation with Arric, she never once gave us her name. So, as soon as she releases the trap, I step back and begin to shift so I can talk to her. The shift hurts like a bitch, my bones trying to reshape but unable to in my leg because they’re in pieces. I watch her eyes go wide and she scoots back, farther away from me. “Easy there. You just got me out of a trap. I may be a vicious Alpha when I’m hunting my pack’s attackers, but I’m not the kind of man who kills someone who just helped me,” I say. Because she didn’t give me her name, I’m resistant to giving her mine until I know what pack she’s from. “You said you’re a doctor?” “I’m studying to be one,” she says, watching me carefully. “For humans and wolves?” I ask her. It’s unusual and I’m in desperate need of a good doctor in my pack. My doctor needs to retire. I need someone young, someone intelligent, someone like my little mate here, to take over my pack hospital. “What pack are you from?” I ask, not sure I care. I’m at war with so many packs that the odds of her being from one of them are highly likely. Of course, she’s out here on her own, not fighting with a pack, which is also unusual. “I’m not from a pack. I’m a lone wolf. Did you want me to look at your leg?” I notice that she changes the subject away from her. Interesting. Or maybe not, lone wolves are alone for a reason. It makes me wonder what happened to make my mate a lone wolf. “Yes. I would appreciate your medical assessment,” I say, wanting her closer to me. I know her touch will help with the pain. She moves closer and her intoxicating scent fills my nose as I take in her beautiful body. She had looked shy but determined when she’d shifted. Her lean body isn’t as muscular as the wolves in my pack, which makes me think she hasn’t been part of the pack wars for a while. However, the softness of her only adds to the allure. My finger twitch with my desire to touch her. “What’s a lone wolf doing out here all by herself?” I ask. “Letting my wolf out. It’s not easy when you go to a human university,” she says, not looking up at me. I, on the other hand, can’t look away from her. She’s beautiful. The reddish-brown fur of her wolf is now long reddish-brown hair on the woman. It falls over her shoulder as she looks at my leg and I watch as she distractedly flicks it back over her shoulder and out of her way, as if this is a common occurrence in her daily life. “You know there are pack wars going on around here,” I say. She may not be mine yet, but I want her safe. “There are pack wars going on everywhere. If I tried to find someplace where war isn’t happening, I’d have to run in the human areas and risk hunters shooting Annika. You’re going to need surgery on this leg. You have multiple fractures, several being compound fractures,” she says, once again diverting the conversation from herself. I already knew I was going to need surgery. I could see Arric’s bones sticking out of his leg when we were in the trap. “Annika? Your wolf’s name means merciful? How appropriate for a doctor,” I say, still studying her. Her fingers on my leg are gentle. She seems to inherently know where to touch so that it only causes minor discomfort. “Gracious or merciful, yes. And Annika is a wonderful wolf,” she says proudly, still not looking up at me. I’m about to tell her that Arric agrees when I hear my Beta’s howl. My mate’s head snaps up and I smell the scent of her fear as her heart rate spikes. However, she doesn’t run. She looks like she’s about to take a protective stance in front of me. A perfect Luna, pushing her own fear aside to help someone in need. I smile. She’s perfect for me. “Relax, it’s my pack coming back for me,” I tell her. “Oh, well then, that’s good, you need to get someplace safe. Hopefully, they won’t attack me for helping you.” “I’ll protect you,” I say, smiling at her discomfort. My warriors come rushing up, surrounding us as my Beta, Charlie, shifts and snarls at my mate. “Who are you?” I snarl at him, startling both of them. “She’s the one who got me out of the bear trap I was in. Stand down!” I command. I won’t allow anyone to disrespect my mate. He looks at her, then turns back to me frowning before crouching to look at my leg. “How bad is it?” “Bad.” “Okay, let’s get you back to the pack,” he says, getting a couple of warriors to help me up. I wrap my arms around their shoulders and lift my bad leg, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Ready, Alpha?” Charlie asks. “Yeah, let’s go.” Charlie shifts, taking point as guard, and the warriors holding me start to move fast. “Wait!” I say, and everyone stops. “Bring the doctor." "The doctor?" one of my warriors asks. "The girl! Bring the girl," I bark, turning to look at her. I can see that she was ready to slink away. I watch her turn and look behind her as if judging whether or not she can make a run for it. “Don’t even think about it,” I say to her. Charlie’s wolf, Gregor, moves swiftly to her side, nudging her forward with his head. I don’t like how close he is to my naked mate and Arric growls softly. Her eyes flash up to mine. “I should go,” she says. “Like you said, there are a lot of pack wars going on around here. I probably should get home.” “Home?” I ask. I know I sound arrogant. The woman is a lone wolf going to school. Where exactly is home for her? I’m not letting her go back to wherever she wants to go. I’ll never see her again. I know from the little I’ve learned about her that she’ll never let her wolf run in these woods again. And, by the time I healed and went to find her at the university, I’m sure she’d have transferred. She’s too skittish to stay where she might get caught. “School,” she says, clarifying her intended destination. “Hmm, well, as you just reiterated, it’s not safe out here, especially for a lone wolf. What kind of Alpha would I be if I left you to fend for yourself? No, I think you should come with us,” I say and my voice holds no room for argument. She presses her lips together and stands, nodding, and reluctantly following behind me. .............................................................................. Warren Charlie orders two wolves to flank my mate, keeping her safe, but also making sure she follows my order. ‘Alpha?’ Charlie asks in the mind link. ‘She’s my mate.’ ‘Oh shit.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Does she know? She doesn’t act like she recognizes you as her mate.’ ‘I’m not sure. She’s a lone wolf, but she’s going to school for human and veterinary medicine.’ He turns and looks at her. “Wow. A smart one.’ ‘Apparently.’ ‘What did she say about your leg?’ ‘That I need surgery.’ ‘Well, no offense but I could have told you that.’ ‘Let’s see what she says when we get to the pack. And find her a shirt. I don’t like her walking around our warriors with no clothes on.’ He takes off, rushing toward our pack lands. When he returns, his wolf carries a shirt to her in his mouth. I watch while she looks up at me. “We’re about to enter my pack. You’re an unmarked, unknown, young female. I thought you might like a shirt to put on to cover yourself,” I say. If she says no, I’ll insist, but I’m hoping she’ll choose to put it on without me having to demand it. Thankfully she does, looking almost relieved. Good. She’s not the kind of woman who flaunts her beautiful body for all to see. When we get back, I’m taken straight to the pack hospital, asking Charlie about other injuries the warriors sustained and what happened to Brady’s pack. He gives me the list of injuries as we walk in, shifting and continuing to talk to me out loud as Dr. Stevens rushes up. “Alpha, let’s get you into a room so we can look at your leg. You’ll need x-rays,” he says. “Yes, I will,” I say. “The girl comes too.” “The girl has a name,” she mumbles. I stop and turn to look at her, her eyes going wide. She obviously hasn’t been around a lot of Alphas or it’s been a long time. She keeps mumbling to herself as if I can’t hear her. It’s kind of cute. “If you’ll give me your name, I’ll be happy to use it,” I say to her. “Yara.” “Yara. I’m Alpha Warren. Come with me,” I say, turning back and letting the warriors help me into the x-ray room. “Who are you? Get out!” Dr. Stevens barks at her as we walk into the room. “She’s with me,” I say, ignoring his blustery attitude that a young woman is in the room with us. She looks at him and I’m pleased when she instinctively moves closer to me. I get settled onto the table and Dr. Stevens sets up the x-ray machine. While he does, I watch Yara. She has a very expressive face. Now that I can see her in the light, I can tell that she’s a pretty little thing. I’m sure I’d think so even if she weren’t my mate, but based on the glances my warriors keep giving her, she’s a natural beauty. Yep, good thing she’s got that shirt on, or I’d have to rip their eyes from their sockets. Because I’m watching her, I see her frown, her head tilting to the side as she watches Dr. Stevens. I crook my finger at her beckoning her forward as Dr. Stevens leaves the room. “What was that look?” I ask, realizing that my mate’s eyes are a grey-green color, almost sage. My eyes are green too, but not as dark as hers. “What look?” I just raise an eyebrow at her. Perhaps the pain in my leg is making me less amenable to small talk. I’m trying to ignore it, but it’s not easy and Arric can’t heal me until the bones are set properly. So, I’m not as patient as I might normally be in this situation. She turns and looks behind her to see if the doctor is there, then leans in, her scent filling my nose. “Why isn’t he taking side views? He only took a view from the top,” she whispers as Dr. Stevens walks back in. He glares at her but puts the x-ray up on the lightbox. “Well, Alpha, your leg isn’t salvageable. I’m afraid we’re going to have to remove it,” he says dispassionately, as if he didn’t just tell me that my entire world was about to collapse around me. I feel my stomach clench and my heart skips a beat. At the same time, I hear Yara suck in air. “Dr. Yara, what do you think?” I ask her. If she has any suggestions for me to save this leg, I’m doing it. I don’t care how much pain it’ll cause me, or how long it will take me to recover. I’ve been an Alpha for twelve years. Before that, I was an Alpha in training. Without my rank, without a pack to lead and protect, I have no idea who I am. She looks at me, then at Dr. Stevens who is glaring at her again. “Doctor?” he asks condescendingly. He’s of the old school mindset where women are nurses, meant to be at the beck and call of a male doctor. It’s another reason he has to go. My nurses are constantly complaining and threatening to leave. “Studying to be, but I would suggest getting x-rays of the sides of the leg before determining if the leg has to be removed,” she says, more confidently than I was expecting. She may not be comfortable around me, or even in the pack, but here, in this hospital room, her confidence is clear. “You heard her, Dr. Stevens. Side x-rays,” I say, seeing her glance at me appreciatively for supporting her. In truth, I’m thankful she’s giving me an option, any option to save my leg. “Young lady, what are your credentials?” he demands. “HER credentials are not in what’s in question, doctor. I gave you the order. Side x-rays! NOW!” I bark. Yara jumps as I yell, but really, this asshole is going to tell me my leg needs to be removed and think that I’m not going to fight it? He continues to glare at Yara while he does the x-rays, and when he comes back, he puts them on the lightbox and turns to her with a sneer on his face. I’m about ready to come off this table and rip that look off his smug face. “What do you think now, doctor?” he asks, as if questioning the truth in her title. Yara walks to the lightbox, looking closely at first one, then the other x-ray. “Do you have the original?” she asks, turning to Dr. Stevens. He huffs, but hands it to her and she sets it up on the lightbox beside the others. She stands back, her head tilting from one side to the other. “Yara?” I ask, unable to stop the flutter of hope in my chest. “We can salvage the leg,” she says, turning to me and making me sigh in relief. “You’ve got to be joking!” Dr. Stevens says. “His leg is shattered!” “Yes, it is. And it will take a lot of time and patience. But Alpha Warren has time, and I have patience,” she says, looking at me. “Do it,” I tell her, putting my future into this woman’s hands and hoping I won’t regret it. .............................................................................. Yara I’m not sure if Alpha Warren brought me here because he recognized me as his mate and he didn’t have the strength to reject me in the woods, or if he knew that his pack doctor was well past his retirement years. Either way, I’m here and since I am, I’ll help this Alpha. This is the reason I chose medicine. He doesn't have to lose his leg. It will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm excited to finally get to work on a werewolf, an Alpha no less. “I’m assuming you want to do this now, Alpha?” I ask him. “Yes, the sooner the better.” “Okay.” I give him the list of items that I’ll need to get his bones put back together properly. “Oh, and we’ll need to sedate you,” I say, looking around the room to see how they have their hospital rooms set up. “Is this where…” “No,” Alpha Warren says. I turn to look at him. “No?” “No sedation.” “Okay then, a nerve block, I’ll just need…” “No,” he says again. “Alpha, please, I’m going to have to wash the area, scrub it clean, I’m going to cut your leg open, pin your skin and muscle back so that I can get to the bones and then slowly put them back where they belong. The pain will be excruciating. You need the nerve block.” “No,” he says again, holding my gaze. I finally look away, mumbling about stupid, stubborn Alphas. When I turn back, he’s watching me with a raised eyebrow as if he heard me. I wasn’t that loud, was I? Crap, I’ve been hanging around humans who can’t hear anything for too long. How much can he hear of my mumbling. The irritable Dr. Stevens comes in, throwing the things I asked for on the table. I jump when I hear a warning growl, looking up to see Alpha Warren glaring at him. “Will there be anything else, doctor?” Dr. Stevens asks. He somehow makes my title, which is the same as his, sound like a dirty word. “No, thank you, doctor. I’ll take it from here.” I go to the sink and begin scrubbing my hands. I’m nervous for a lot of reasons. First, I’m in an unknown pack with an Alpha who is my mate. I have no idea what to expect from him, or really why I’m here. And almost worse than that, he wants me to operate on him while he’s awake! What the hell kind of crazy Alpha is he? “You’re thinking so hard that there’s steam coming out of your ears, Yara. What are so worried about?” he asks me. I turn and look at him over my shoulder. How does he even know I’m worried? Why is he paying so much attention to me? Is this the mate bond? I’ve only had exposure to two Alphas in my life, Alpha Solomon and Alpha Simon. Alpha Solomon is a good Alpha, but he was never this in tune with what I was doing or thinking. And Simon…a shiver of revulsion rolls through me. He was in tune for a whole other reason. The man gave me the creeps. When I finish scrubbing my hands, I turn back to Alpha Warren. I see he’s waiting for a response to his question. “This is going to be very painful. Can I at least give you a local anesthetic? “No, I need to be alert so I can protect my pack,” he says. “You can’t exactly protect your pack with only one leg, Alpha," I snap, my nerves making me bold. “Warren. Call me Warren, and you said you could save my leg.” “I can, IF you are under sedation and I’m not worried about you flinching or yanking your leg away while I’m operating.” “I have a very high tolerance to pain.” That doesn’t surprise me. He wasn’t even whimpering when Annika and I found him. He also has multiple, very faint scars all over his body. The man has been fighting in the pack wars for a long time. He must have a very strong wolf that is able to heal him, over and over. “How strong is your wolf right now?” I ask, getting his leg prepped to wash. “I am very strong, little one,” a deep voice says, and my eyes snap up as Annika begins purring in my head. Warren's wolf is forward, answering for himself. Warren smiles, once again looking as if he knows the effect his wolf is having on mine. Can he hear Annika purring? I shake my head, trying to clear it. I need to focus my attention and NOT on Warren’s incredible teakwood scent. “If I hold the bones in place, one at a time, how long will it take for you to set them?” I ask. “Not long, little one,” he says but it’s practically a purr. “I am a very strong, powerful Alpha wolf.” The way he says it isn’t bragging, but more like preening. My brain flashes an image of a peacock strutting around flaunting his feathers for his chosen mate. “Right,” I say, feeling my body responding to the deep tenor of his voice. It feels like his voice is caressing the nerves in my body, making them all light up with a need I’m unused to feeling, especially when I’m about to do surgery. I look up into the intense, jade green eyes of Alpha Warren. “Are you ready, Alpha?” “Warren,” he corrects. I nod. “Are you ready, Warren?” “Yes, Yara.” I grit my teeth, hating that I know this is going to hurt him, but if he won’t let me at least numb his leg, I can’t help it. I begin washing the blood off his leg, laying a wet cloth over the bloody area, careful that I don’t tug on the bones that are still jutting out. His body is covered with caked blood, guts, and bits of bone, just like I thought it would be. Under the teakwood scent, he smells like war and death. It’s good practice for me, learning how to ignore the smell of battle while I work. I don’t get this kind of training at the university. “Talk to me,” he says through gritted teeth. “What do you want to talk about?” I ask, not looking up as I begin to scrub the blood from his leg. “You know what you are to me?” he asks, although it’s more of a statement than a question. My stomach feels like it’s twisting into knots. "Yes," I say without looking up. "After you have healed, you can reject me. If you do it before, it could impact your healing." I don’t know why the thought of this man rejecting me feels so painful. I don’t even know him. I have no intention of becoming his mate and returning to the packs, at least not until I’m done with school anyway. And this pack is much too close to Simon for my comfort. "Who says I'm going to reject you?" he asks, sounding offended. Now I do look up at him. “But I’m a lone wolf.” “What you are, is my future Luna.” “You don’t even know me,” I say going back to my work. “I know that you’re intelligent, you’re compassionate, you’re brave, and I know that you’re lonely,” he says. The intelligent and compassionate parts I get. That could easily be discerned from me being a doctor and helping him, those two make sense. The brave part I’m not sure about, but the lonely part… “Why do you say I’m lonely?” I ask him, wiping off the blood and turning to get the scalpel. I lift it up, showing him that I’m about to cut into his leg. He nods and continues. “The closest university with a medical school is about an hour north of here. Between here and there, there are many areas where a lone wolf could run, if she wanted to. But instead,” he stops, grunting as I carefully slice into his leg. “Instead, you chose to come to an area that is full of wolves.” He’s partially right. Annika misses being in a pack, she misses the companionship of being with other wolves. Me, I’d be fine living alone the rest of my life, but my wolf likes the smell of the forest and it makes her feel more settled to smell the scent of other wolves. Warren hisses and I glance up at him, watching him take deep breaths to control his pain. “How do you do that?” I ask. “Do what?” “Manage this level of pain?” “Mind over matter. Physical pain will break you mentally if you let it. That’s why people get tortured for information. If you can break the body, you can usually break the mind. My mind is stronger than my body and my body is very strong.” I glance at the scars on his legs again. They're a testament to the accuracy of his words. “You’ve been fighting for a long time?” I ask, cutting and pulling the muscles away from where his bones have snapped into pieces. “Since I became an Alpha, nearly twelve years ago.” “Twelve years?” I exclaim, standing up and looking at him. He’s older than I thought. That eyebrow shoots up again. It’s an arrogant look, but on Warren, its oh so sexy. “I took over the pack when I was eighteen, I’m now thirty, that’s twelve years, little wolf.” “Annika’s not that little,” I say, returning my attention to his leg. “She is compared to Arric.” “Well, Arric is an Alpha wolf. Only another Alpha would be larger than an Alpha wolf,” I say, as I carefully pluck out the first bone. I look at it, checking to see where it goes and then I press it against the bone it snapped off of. “Okay, Arric, let’s see what you’ve got,” I say, carefully holding the bone in place so Arric can begin to heal the fracture. I watch as the bone begins to connect and seal in front of my eyes. “Cool!” I say, forgetting where I am and who I’m with. I’ve been working with humans for so long that I forgot how quickly wolves can heal, especially Alpha wolves. “Is it that exciting?” Warren asks me drolly. I shrug. I know not everyone finds medicine and surgery thrilling, but I do. “It is for me.” “Then it must be my lucky day,” he says, just as there is a knock at the door. I look at the door, then at Alpha Warren, wondering who could possibly be knocking. “I told you I would protect you,” he says smiling. His smile is so beautiful that it nearly takes my breath away. “Come in, Charlie,” he says, not taking his eyes off of me. “Alpha…what the are you doing in here?” he asks angrily, striding quickly to the table and looking at Alpha Warren’s leg, filleted and open on the table. .............................................................................. Warren As much pain as I’m in, I’m enjoying watching and talking to my mate. She’s unlike any woman or she-wolf I’ve ever met. Besides the crazy notion that I would reject her, she’s funny. I love how she’s constantly murmuring to herself, talking to herself as if no one else can hear her. I can hear every word and without being marked, it’s a good second option to knowing what’s going on inside that interesting mind of hers. Her face is nearly as expressive as her murmurs. She hasn’t learned or doesn’t care about hiding her facial expressions. Once again, I find it refreshing. She isn’t trying to be coy or impress me because I’m an Alpha. On the contrary, it’s almost as if she’s trying to get away from me BECAUSE I’m an Alpha. It's not going to happen. I’ve searched for this little doctor too long to let her go now. “To answer your question, Charlie, Dr. Yara here is piecing me back together, slowly and painstakingly, which is preferable to Dr. Stevens plan which was to remove my leg,” I say and my Beta’s eyes flash up to mine. He understands the ramifications of what I’ve said. And as my Beta, he’s in line to take over the pack. Thankfully, I trust my Beta and I know that he has no desire to be an Alpha. It’s not an easy job and he makes it easier by being an incredible Beta. “Are you at least numb?” he asks, his lip curling as he looks at what Yara is doing. “Utterly ridiculous Alpha,” Yara murmurs, obviously listening in to our conversation and giving her own opinions of me that she thinks we can’t hear. Charlie looks at me frowning. ‘She knows we can hear her, right?’ he asks in the mind link. ‘Apparently not,’ I say, smiling. “No, no numbing,” I tell him out loud. ‘I might agree with her,’ he says, scowling at me. “Give me the run down on Brady. Did you kill him?” I ask, watching my mate. “Arric, you ready?” she asks softly, all her concentration on her work. “Yes, mate,” Arric answers and Charlie turns to look at her again, leaning over to watch as Arric heals my bone. “Oh shit! That’s awesome!” he says. “I know right,” my mate says, smiling a huge smile at my Beta. Without thinking, I snarl jealously. Both of them jolt and while it hurts that she tugs on my newly healed bone, it doesn’t break again. “Sorry, Alpha,” Charlie says, showing his neck. She looks at Charlie submitting and then at me and her lips press tightly together. She doesn’t approve. I lean forward so she’s sure that I’m talking to her. “You’re MY mate.” “What I am is your DOCTOR. Temporarily. And if you don’t want me walking out of here and letting Dr. Stevens take your leg, I’d suggest that you not pull that shit while my hands are in your shattered leg again,” she snaps. I sit back, having to fight hard not to smile. Damn, I like her spunk. I turn my head to my Beta, not looking away from Yara. “So what happened with Brady?” “When you couldn’t cut him off, he made it back to his pack. Since we know it’s booby-trapped, we didn’t pass his borders.” “Booby-trapped how? Arric, again,” Yara says, still not looking up at us. I tilt my head. Does she think that she’s part of this conversation? I don’t care if she is, I just know that most doctors would pretend to ignore the conversation going on around them. Not my mate, though. She’s not pretending anything. And somehow, she’s multi-tasking, listening to us and still working on my leg, letting Arric know when he needs to start healing a bone. “Spring-loaded wooden stakes buried in the ground,” Charlie answers her, careful now in the way he interacts with her so he doesn't piss me off. “Stupid pack wars, killing for no good reason,” she mumbles to herself. Charlie’s eyes snap back to mine and I smile. “Anywho,” he says, refocusing on me. “We did get one disturbing piece of information.” “What’s that?” I ask. “Alpha Solomon is dead. Simon is Alpha now.” If I hadn’t been so focused on her, I’d have missed it. Her very steady hand slipped. I lift my hand, telling Charlie to stop. I frown as her hand begins to shake. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I need a break,” she says, stepping away and not waiting for me to release her. She pulls off her gloves and rushes from the room. “Follow her. Don’t approach, but make sure she doesn’t leave,” I tell Charlie. “Yes, Alpha.” When they’re gone, I sit back, thinking, which is hard because my leg is throbbing and laying open on the table in front of me. The door opens and Dr. Stevens walks in. “I knew she wouldn’t make it Alpha. I mean…” he stops staring at my leg. “Just look at this mess! I’ll get ready to remove the leg.” “The you will. She’s taking a break and for your information, she’s getting my bones back together. So, get the out of my surgery room, doctor,” I snarl. “Alpha, I must insist…” “What you must do is listen to your Alpha. GET OUT!” I shout. The door opens and Yara rushes back in, seeing Dr. Stevens. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t leave a patient in the middle of surgery!” “CHARLIE!” I bark. “Dr. Stevens,” he says much more calmly than I am, holding the door open and gesturing for Dr. Stevens to leave. Dr. Stevens huffs, but walks out. “My apologies, Alpha. Dr. Stevens is right. I shouldn’t leave in the middle of surgery.” She’s not looking at me and I look at Charlie who shrugs. “What did you call me?” I ask, my irritation with Dr. Stevens tainting my tone. Her head snaps up to mine. “Alpha?” I crook my finger at her and she walks over to me. “And what did I tell you to call me?” I ask her, forcing my tone to be gentler as I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to hold my gaze. “Warren,” she says, her dark green eyes nearly making me forget that I’m in a surgical room. “Warren,” I confirm, reluctantly releasing her. “Continue, Dr. Yara.” She nods and returns to my leg. I watch her take a deep breath before picking out several more bones until she finds the one she wants. “Arric?” “Ready, my mate,” he says, beginning to purr which helps her to steady her hand and her nerves. When she does, I gesture for Charlie to return. “Any other serious injuries that Dr. Stevens is threatening to do something ridiculously over the top with?” I ask. “Yours is the worst, Alpha. There are a couple with deep wounds that he’s washing out with alcohol." Yara sucks in air again and stands up straight looking at us. “Not the right course of treatment?” I ask her, raising my eyebrow. I'm starting to trust her medical knowledge much more than my current doctor. “Why wouldn’t he just stitch them up?” she asks. “He said it would take too long and there are too many injured,” Charlie says, watching her closely. I like my Beta, a lot. But until my mate is wearing my mark, I don’t like all the interest he’s showing in her. Yara, however, turns to me. “Don’t you have omegas in your packhouse who sew your clothing?” “Yes,” I say, frowning at her. “It’s basically the same. Yes, skin feels a bit different, it’s a bit tougher than fabrics, but they could do it and not cause the pain that pouring alcohol into their wounds is causing,” she says. I look at Charlie. “Call the omegas, get them over here. Tell Dr. Stevens that he can go.” “But who is going to assess the warriors?” he asks me. “Have the nurses give a diagnosis and recommended treatment, then bring it in here to ask Dr. Yara’s opinion.” “My opinion?” she asks me, obviously surprised. “Yes, Yara. Your opinion. I’m beginning to think that you are the perfect replacement for Dr. Stevens.” .............................................................................. Yara Replacement? I can’t be a replacement. I’m not staying. As soon as Alpha…as soon as Warren’s leg is done, I’m out of here. I glance up at the broody Alpha and wonder if that’s true. Is he going to let me go? The news about Simon has me worried. If there is a paper trail of his father helping me though medical school…he’ll find me. “Arric?” I say distractedly, holding the bones together while he heals them. I have to get my car, my clothes. I have to get back to school, I’m a resident, I can’t just up and leave. “Tell me where your car is and I’ll have someone go get it. Same with your clothes. As far as your schooling goes, we’ll have to talk about you taking classes online and working your ‘residency’ did you call it, here,” Warren says. I frown at him. “How did you…?” “You were talking to yourself. It wasn’t hard to hear you.” “I can’t leave school, Warren,” I say, looking at him like he’s crazy. “I didn’t say you’d be leaving school. I said you’d be doing your residency here. You can take classes online,” he says as if that settles it. “Excuse me? You can’t keep me here!” He merely raises that damn eyebrow at me again. “You’re not my Alpha…” I begin. He leans forward. “What I am is your mate. Tell me truthfully, if I let you go back to school and I come to visit you in say a week’s time, will you still be there?” I look away, beginning to work on his leg again and refusing to answer him. Even if he wasn’t my mate, knowing that Simon may be able to figure out where I am, would have me transferring immediately. “That’s what I thought and that, my dear mate, is why I’m not letting you leave.” He sits back and both of us get lost in our own thoughts again as I let Arric know when I’m ready for him to heal the bones. “Why did you say I was brave earlier?” “What?” he asks, and I can tell the pain is getting to him. “Earlier, you said you knew I was intelligent, compassionate, brave, and lonely. The intelligent and compassionate I understand, the lonely you explained, but why did you say you think I’m brave?” I ask him. “When you heard my pack, you didn’t run. You could have. You didn’t know they were my pack members. You looked like you were ready to fight, to defend me. For someone who’s not a fighter, that takes guts.” I look up at him, frowning. “How do you know I’m not a fighter?” “You’re not built like one,” he says simply. “Are you saying I’m fat?” I ask, insulted. I work out at the human gym. I know I need to let Annika out more often to run, but I’m not overweight, even by werewolf standards. “You know you’re not,” he says, watching me. “But I saw you naked. Those of us who have been fighting in pack wars almost daily for years don’t have the softness to their body that you have. And before you go jumping to any conclusions, I find your body very attractive, very sexy.” I stop what I’m doing, not sure how to respond to that. “Sexy. That’s not a word that has been used to describe me in the past,” I say, and realize that once again I spoke out loud. I look up at him and see him smiling at me. “Some people, like myself, find intelligence sexy. But, I’ve been itching to touch you, to run my hands over the softness of your body, since the moment I saw you.” “Some people, like myself, find it hard to believe that someone caught in a bear trap was ‘itching’ to touch me,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. “Then that should tell you just how strong the pull of the mate bond is. As much as what you’re doing hurts, just having you touch me helps with the pain. Your scent in this room, which gets stronger the longer you are in here, is helping me manage the pain. As an Alpha, it’s one of the benefits of finding your Luna, your fated mate. You are the other half of my soul, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, you complete me on more than one level. Now, I have a question for you.” “Okay,” I say, still focusing on his leg. “Why didn’t you run?” I stop and look at him like he’s crazy. “You were injured. If they weren’t your pack, they would have killed you.” That damn eyebrow goes up again. “And they would have killed you too.” “I didn’t rescue from a bear trap to leave you to die at the hands of the assholes who set it in the first place!” I say. “Sooo, you’re more stubborn than brave?” “Call it what you will. I wasn’t going to leave you to die,” I say. “Thank you.” I wait for more, and when there isn’t, I look up at him. “For what?” “For getting me out of that bear trap, for not leaving when I could have been killed, and for not letting Dr. Stevens take my leg.” “He really needs to retire,” I say. “Which is why you’re going to replace him,” he says arrogantly. “I am not going to replace him, Warren. I have school. I have…labs and exams and things like that. “We can talk to the school and figure out the labs. As I said, and you must know, you’ll get more opportunity to practice your skills here in my pack than you will in some human school’s laboratory. And exams can be taken online. People do it all the time. Any other arguments that I can negate for you?” he asks me. “So arrogant,” I mutter angrily. “Confident,” he says. “What?” I ask, frowning. “I’m not arrogant, I’m confident. There’s a difference.” “How do you keep hearing what I’m saying?” I ask him. “How long have you been living with humans? I think you’ve forgotten how sensitive a werewolf’s hearing is and I’m an Alpha, mine’s more sensitive than most.” UGH! I’ve been living with humans long enough that I’ve gotten used to muttering to myself without others being able to hear me. Now, I’m going to have to start being careful what I say so I don’t offend anyone. There’s a knock at the door. “Come in,” Warren calls out. “Does no one know that this is a surgery room?” I mutter, already forgetting that he can hear me. “Uh, excuse me doctor. I have one of the omegas here that sews our clothing, but she says she doesn’t know how to sew up a warrior,” Warren’s Beta, Charlie, says. I turn and see a wide-eyed young woman staring at Warren’s leg on the table. “Give me a moment, I’ll be right there,” I say, quickly taking a towel and covering his leg. I don’t want to have to smell vomit while I work. Charlie takes her from the room and I turn back to Warren’s leg. “Okay, I have all the small pieces underneath back in place. There are going to be some slivers that I won’t be able to put back in, but hopefully Arric can work around the small pieces of missing bone.” “I’m a strong Alpha wolf, mate. I’ll make it work,” he says, once again sounding like he’s strutting proudly for me. “Right. So, I’m going to put the big bone fragment against the existing bone and let you start healing it while I go check on these other warriors. When I come back, I’ll finish putting the smaller pieces over top and then we can get you sewn up and nearly back to normal, Alpha.” “Warren, Yara. Call me Warren," he says and I can hear the fatigue in his voice. I look up into his brownish-green eyes, his very expressive eyes. And right now, those eyes look exhausted. I move closer to him and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back into a lying down position. “Why don’t you rest while I’m gone?” I say gently. “You’ve had a long day and your body needs to heal.” I watch as his eyes start to drift closed. I know it’s a bad idea, I know I shouldn’t, but my fingers have been itching to touch him since I’ve seen him too. I gently run my fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it is in the places where it isn’t covered in blood. “Sleep, Warren. I’ll be here when you wake up.” I’m not sure what makes me do it, but I lean in and press my lips to his, hearing him sigh as his body falls into a deep sleep. “Sleep well, Warren,” I whisper in his ear, then I cover his leg and step out of the room, letting his Beta know that someone needs to watch the room and protect their Alpha while I go help the nurses and omegas in the hospital.	LEARN_MORE	https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12kl	Lereader-Excellent Novel	https://www.facebook.com/61550357834620/	676	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	www.kwmobi.com	VIDEO		https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12klzsffqskveq?ad_id={{ad.id}}&sid=120218211196940082&campaign={{campaign.name}}&adgroup={{adset.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481227884_3995998434016678_8807583517430286518_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=3fsfYBygCWAQ7kNvgGhx8yF&_nc_oc=AdhIt2Nec-5NOdkkf2q9pVf4wrsObxaQnyQqofnnH9SEmc6f6vVzuVrBioSnwVWCmEcsmBKk76rIjEWlEsTu_jWv&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A6KscwmZWxf2pjfK2sEYbiL&oh=00_AYAPaXR60pRQG6xezMq_gQPWd2lRgNnfpGMGZdrE0ann0g&oe=67CB7F7B	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Lereader-Excellent Novel	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,266	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747285}'	Yes	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔥🔥 Click to Read 👉🏻👉🏻	"She's not an ex or a bunny, is she?" "What? No. Cora and I went to school together. Her stepfather was my coach in high school. We were friends." "Just friends?" "Just friends. She's probably the only girl who's ever just been my friend. I've known her since kindergarten." Until she wasn't my friend anymore. Until I screwed it up. ____________ Cora The night is busier than usual, and I've run myself ragged trying to keep up in the ER. As a nurse, I don't normally work the ER, but I've had trauma training, and when three nurses called off, I came in. The overtime will be a nice bonus. I'm behind on my rent, and I hope this extra money will help me not only catch up on that, but on the other bills as well. "Cora!" I glance up from my charts to see Mrs. Hesh, my supervisor in the ER, hurrying toward me. She looks panicked. "What's wrong?" "We have several VIP patients coming in. I need your help." "Of course." I close the chart and put it back in the pile I still need to go through. "What do I need to know?" "Several of the hockey players from the Raptors got injured and are being rushed here. We need to make sure they're taken care of straight away and that the team and coaches are kept informed of their status. Can you do that?" "Shouldn't Shelia do that? She's the senior RN. I'm only filling in." Hockey players make me uneasy. Bad past experience. "I don't trust her not to ask them all for autographs. She's a total fangirl." My eyes widen. I didn't know Mrs. H. knew what that term even meant. "And I heard you say you knew hockey." "I do." "Good. I trust you not to lose your mind when confronted by the team." "No, ma'am, I won't." "You may need to wrangle some of the other nurses, too. I'll be busy with the patients." "They're not going to like it, especially the ones who have seniority over me." "Does that mean you can't do it?" The older woman turns and looks me dead in the eye, hers shrewd and assessing. But she can change my status here at the hospital. I'm not going to do anything to disappoint her. It says a lot she's trusting me with this. "I can do it." "Good." We both rush to the ER entrance, waiting for the ambulances to arrive. I pull my ponytail down and redo it, tucking the loose strands of my heavy blonde hair behind my ear. I learned during my first real rotation to always keep my hair up and out of the way. Otherwise, you could get run over in a packed ER because you can't see when your hair is swinging everywhere. It only takes a few moments for the first two ambulances to come screeching into the ER entrance, sirens blaring. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes for two seconds then move forward, meeting the ambulance doors and waiting for them to open. The first player out is Jamison O'Brian. He has a nasty cut to the face, and his leg is propped up and held immobile by the board strapped to it. He looks rough, but not in danger. Dr. Billings waves him off with the nurse standing behind me. I don't remember the guy's name. I'm not down here enough to know everyone. The second ambulance holds a more serious injury. Myers is the name emblazoned on his jersey. His head is a bloody mess, as is his arm, a nasty looking gash that was most likely caused by a blade. That's going to keep him out for a couple of weeks at least, depending on any kind of nerve or muscle damage. He goes with Ava, the other nurse down here from my regular floor. Ava and I are friends, and we both frown at the seriousness of the injury. Ava is a huge hockey fan, but she can be trusted not to lose her mind over treating a player, which is why she's been called out to meet the ambulances. The last ambulance is the one Mrs. H. seems the most concerned with. As soon as the doors spring open and the EMTs start shouting stats, I get a good look at the unconscious man lying prone and bleeding on the stretcher. All the air rushes out of my lungs, and all I can do is stare. No. It can't be. He's in Florida. Not Minnesota. "Cora?" The sharp tone snaps me out of my funk. "Sorry. It's just I know him." "You know him?" We run after the stretcher. "I went to school with him." "Is this going to be a problem?" "No, ma'am. I was just shocked is all. I hadn't realized he'd been traded to the Raptors. I'm good." She nods and we get to work, me helping cut his clothes off, revealing the extent of his injuries. He has massive bruises on his abdomen, which might indicate internal bleeding. There's also a nasty cut along one thigh, and his shoulder is at an odd angle. The doctors twist it back into its socket while he's unconscious. I wince when they do, glad he's unconscious for that. Resetting a shoulder is extremely painful. As the doctors do that, we keep working, helping to clean away the mess so they can evaluate him. The bleeding is stopped, and then he's gone to CT to make sure there was no damage to the brain and to see if he has internal bleeding where the bruising is. I go to check on the next patient, who is currently complaining that he's fine and he doesn't need all the fuss. The doctor and the male nurse are disagreeing with him, but he just gets louder. They do not know how to deal with hockey players, apparently. Or they don't want to upset a VIP patient. Either way, the patient's care comes first, even when said patient is acting like a big baby. "Sit." My tone is sharp and commanding when he tries to get off the table. His brown eyes snap to mine, and I just arch a brow. "I'm fine." He stands up, daring me to say a word. He has no idea he's dealing with someone who grew up around hockey players. "You are not fine. Now, sit down before you fall down." The nurse and doctor look at me like I've grown two heads, but O'Brian sits, a scowl on his face. He might terrify everyone else with that look, but not me. "Don't give me that look. Your leg could be broken, and the more you stand on it, the more damage you'll be doing. Which means longer time off the ice. So stop being a whiney prick and let us take care of you so you can get back out there." "Fine," he mutters, and I shake my head. Hockey players. Mrs. H. stands to the side, a small smile on her face. "Cora, we need you in here, please." I peel my gloves off and don a new pair when I push into the room where Myers sits, growling at everyone. The nurses are all a little too giddy and not really doing their job. Sighing, I push through them, snapping for them to get to work or get out. The low chuckle from the bed catches my attention, and I arch that same brow. "That's a nasty cut, Mr. Myers." "I've had worse." Dark green eyes dance with mischief even with the twinge of pain in them. "I'm sure you have." Ava hustles over, looking exasperated. "Thanks for that. They weren't listening to me." "No problem." Between the two of us, we get him stripped and cleaned, working around the doctors and getting them what they need as well. Soon he's hustled off to x-ray, and Ava and I take a moment to catch our breath. "That was intense." "I forget how surly they can be when they're hurt." "Your stepfather was a high school coach, wasn't he?" I nod, not really paying attention. "So that's how you know so much about hockey." We both jump at the sound of Mrs. H.'s voice. "Sorry, we just needed a moment." "Understandable. Cora if you can go inform the team of what's going on, I'd appreciate it. They're camped out in the waiting room." "And being very loud, I take it?" Her lips twitch, and I know I'm right. Sighing, I push off the wall and take a glance at the charts before walking down the hall to the waiting room. I hear the noise before I even reach the doors. Loud isn't quite the word I'd use. Think of about thirty two-year-olds all screaming at the top of their lungs. That would be the most accurate picture of the noise coming from out there. No fewer than six nurses, male and female alike, are trying to talk above the noise. But honestly, they're not asking about injuries or informing the team about the patients. They're talking about the game. "Excuse me." I make myself louder than normal, but it's not doing a thing to get anyone attention. So I do the one thing I know will get through. I put fingers to my lips and let out a whistle so shrill it hurts the ears. Another thing left over from my high school days. A little trick my stepfather taught me. But it's effective, and every single bit of noise dies down. "Thank you. Now, where is the head coach?" He stands and walks forward. "I'm Coach Baptist." "All three of your players are being taken care of. O'Brian's in x-ray, and Myers and Chandler are upstairs in CT. They're checking for head trauma and internal bleeding. As soon as we know more, I'll come out and let you know." I turn my attention back to the nurses. "You lot have things to do other than stand around out here and gossip. Get back to work." "I outrank you." The snottiest of them grins. "Yes, but Mrs. H. put me in charge. Sure you want to tell her why you decided to pull that snarky little comment out of your a$s?" Her eyes widen, and she turns and marches back through the doors. Idiot. "Well, what are the rest of you waiting for?" They grumble but shuffle off. Which leaves the team to deal with. "Is there anyone else out here who needs medical attention?" A collective shake of heads is the only answer. "Now, I know you're all tired, and anxious to find out about your teammates, but this is a hospital. There are sick people here, and all this noise isn't helping." More grumbling. "I get it, guys, I do, but I swear if you don't settle down, you're going to deal with me, and trust me, ladder drills have nothing on my ire, so please do us all a favor and behave." "Ladder drills, huh?" one player asks. "You know hockey?" "Yes. Now, unless you guys need something, I'll be back when I have more to report." I turn around, and a wolf whistle follows me. It takes me two seconds to have the offender's ear in between my fingers. You'd be amazed at how quickly a man will come to heel with a little pressure on his earlobe. "Ow!" he screeches. "I'm not your honey, babe, or a bunny. I'm Nurse Stevens, and if you disrespect me again, I will have your balls. Understand?" "Yes, ma'am." I turn him loose and give them all a level stare. "Understand?" A chorus of "yes, ma'ams" follow me as I turn around and disappear behind the doors leadings back to the ER. Hockey players. Cora Has it really been only four hours since the worst shock of my life? But my trusty watch says it has. Thank God for all my training, or I might have run from the hospital and never come back. Shaw Chandler. Dear sweet baby Jesus. I never expected to see him again, especially not in Minnesota, of all places. He swore he never wanted to play where it was cold ever again. The southern states or the warmer ones on the west coast are where he wanted to play. It's why I felt so safe moving here. Even though hockey is king in this state the same way football is in Texas, I knew he'd never play here. But then, players don't dictate trades. He might not have been given a choice. And besides, it's not like he'd care I'm here, anyway. We haven't spoken in over four years. Shaking my head, I pull myself together and focus on the patient who needs the nausea meds. Poor man seems to have gotten food poisoning. He's thrown up three times since he got here twenty minutes ago. He's dehydrated, but the IV I put in with the fluids should start to help soon. "Here you go, Mr. Croom. This will ease the nausea." I hand him the tablets and small paper cup. He takes it and swallows the pills down. "God, I hope this stays down." Me too. He threw up on me earlier. Glancing at the clock, a sigh escapes when I see my shift is over. I can go home and forget I saw Shaw Chandler. But the pale stillness of him when he came in worries me. Shaw was my best friend all throughout school, and as much as he hurt me, part of me still worries about him. I always will. "I'm getting ready to leave, Mr. Croom, but Amber will be the charge nurse on duty. She should be by in just a few minutes. Is there anything you need before I go?" He shakes his head miserably, and I smile encouragingly at him. Food poisoning is one of the worst things in the world. "Hey, Cora." Amber shoots me a smile when I walk over to the nurses' station to clock out on the computer. "Watch that one. He's got food poisoning and has already thrown up on me." "Ouch." I wrinkle my nose. I smell like vomit, but at least I have on clean scrubs. I learned early on to keep several extra sets on hand. I give her the rundown on the rest of the patients as I gather my things. "I heard about the hockey mess that came in." "Yeah. Two serious injuries and one very loud, very vocal team." "We've had them in a few times over the years. Takes some wrangling." "I handled it." "I knew you could." She waves me off as I walk around the station. "See you tomorrow!" No, she won't, but I don't bother mentioning that. Amber is one of the nicest people in this place, and I try not to let my snarky nature disrupt her bubbly attitude. It's not until I'm in the elevator stepping off onto the floor where Shaw is that I realize I've even done it. I shouldn't be here. I know it, but I'm worried. He looked so pale. Groaning at my own gluttony for punishment, I walk down the hall to his room. No one is around. He's probably still passed out. He had a nasty concussion, but because of the surgery to repair his spleen, he had to have anesthesia. If I remember correctly, he doesn't respond well to the stuff. It knocks him out for days afterward, so I should be good just to sneak in and check to make sure he's okay. But he's not alone. One of the nurses from the waiting room is standing there, taking photos on his phone. What the... "Just what the heck do you think you're doing?" He whirls around, and his eyes go round. I whip out my phone and text Mrs. H. She's the one nurse I know who will take care of this. "What are you doing?" he asks, voice low. "Texting my supervisor to let her know what you're doing." He looks from the phone to me and then shrugs. He knows he can sell those photos for a few hundred thousand, easy. It's no biggie if he gets fired. He breezes by me and out the door. Oh, he did not! Running after him, I catch his arm and pull him around. "You're not..." "Don't make me hurt you, babe." His tone is threatening, but it doesn't register. All I'm thinking about is those photos. Photos of Shaw when he's vulnerable and unable to defend himself. "You are not getting out of here with those pictures." "You going to stop me, babe?" Without thinking, I grab his phone and slam it on the ground, smashing it in the process. Well, cracking the screen more than the phone flying into little bits and pieces. "You little bimbo!" And before I can dodge, his fist has connects with my face. Everyone on the floor sees it. He seems to notice and tries to run, but one of the hockey guys from downstairs is only a few steps away and snags him. "You okay, Cora?" Natalee, one of my good friends, asks as she helps me up. "Did you hit your head?" The pain vibrating across my cheek is horrible. The bruise is going to be epically bad. My head does hurt, but it's not as bad as the cheek. "She broke my phone!" the offender shouts. "That doesn't give you the right to hit a girl, dude." Mr. Tall Dark and Deadly hockey player doesn't look impressed with the nurse's outburst. Mrs. H. arrives and, seeing my face, rushes over to check it, her fingers gentle on my jaw. "This needs x-rayed." "It'll be fine." I can't afford a hospital bill. Even with our insurance taking care of most of the bill, I still can't afford what would be left. "No, it won't," she rebukes. "Or do I need to pull the same spiel you gave earlier?" I try to smile, but it hurts too much. "Now, is this the man you texted about?" I nod. "Yes, ma'am. He was taking pictures of Sha...Mr. Chandler. When he tried to run, I smashed his phone. I'm sorry about that, but it's the only thing I could think to do. Our job is to take care of our patients, not exploit them when they're unconscious." "He did what?" The voice of the player holding the nurse drops two octaves and turns from soft to hard so fast it would make your head spin. Even those pretty brown eyes have gone so cold and dark, they're nearly black. "She's lying!" "I don't think so." Mrs. H. collects the smashed phone off the floor. "The police should be able to pull any photos from the phone. It's not damaged too badly." The man's face pales. "We'll take care of this." Mrs. H. turns to Natalee. "Get her checked in then off to x-ray. Someone will be by to fill out an incident report, and Cora, don't worry about the bill. You won't be getting one since it's a work-related injury." Her expression dares me to argue, so instead I pull out my own phone and text my babysitter that I'll be later than I thought. At least I don't have to worry about one more bill I can't afford. When I get back from x-ray, they don't take me down to the ER like I expected. They bring me back to Shaw's floor and to a room. Natalee winks when she comes in. "Can't have one of ours down there in the mess." I smile gratefully, knowing she pulled a few strings. This is my normal floor, and I love the nurses I work with up here. "You got some ninja skills, girlfriend." "Ha, if I had skills, I wouldn't have gotten hit." "Yeah, I didn't see that coming either. I was already up and coming over when you snatched Marty's phone, but I wasn't able to stop him. Sorry." I wave off her apology. "How much longer do you think this is going to be? Noah's already up and probably mad that I'm not there to make his breakfast." "How is the kiddo?" "He's good, adjusting better than I thought he would when we moved out here." "It had to be hard on him. When John and I moved here two years ago, our daughter declared us horrible people and said she'd never forgive us." "How'd that go?" "She was five. She got over it when we took her ice skating." I laugh and then wince. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts." "Sorry." She hands me the cup of coffee she'd been holding. "I brought this for you. It's from the stand outside, not the cafeteria. Thought you'd need some caffeine." "Thanks, Nat." "Anytime. I have to go check on patients, but the doctor shouldn't be too long. He has to haul it up from the ER, so..." I shrug. It'll probably be a while longer than she let on. I'll drink my coffee and try not to focus on the man a few doors down from me. The one I shouldn't even have checked on. But I'm glad I did. No matter what happened between Shaw and me, no one deserves to have their photo taken while they're at their most vulnerable. Especially not by the people who are supposed to be taking care of them. "Knock, knock." The hockey player who snagged the nurse walks in. "that looks bad." "I'd say it looks worse than it feels, but I'd be lying." He comes closer, his hands in his pockets. His black hoodie with the Raptors logo isn't nearly as dark as his hair. The stubble on his face gives him a rakish look. He reminds me of a pirate and is way hotter than Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. The man is gorgeous, and he knows it. It's the way he moves, the confidence of his stride. I take a sip of my coffee, careful to blow on it first. "That's not from the cafeteria." "Nope. There's a little coffee vendor outside the hospital. Better than Starbucks." "No sh-it?" "No sh-it." "Good to know." After he stands there awkwardly for a full minute, I decide to put him out of his misery. "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Oh...uh...I just wanted to check on you, make sure you were okay." He doesn't sound nearly as confident as his stride. He sounds nervous. "I'm good." "And to thank you for what you did." "Not necessary. I'm sorry it happened. I didn't think anyone here would do something like that." "You'd be surprised at what people will do for money." The darkness lurking in his eyes tells me that he's well acquainted with the subject. Another minute goes by, and then his phone buzzes. He pulls it out and frowns at the message. "Everything okay?" He sighs. "My kid has terrorized another nanny. She's threatening to quit." Now that, I smile at. "My son went through three sitters when we moved here six months ago. He was adjusting to a new place, a new city, and sitters he didn't know." "My son has lived here his whole life, which is all of four years. He loves to cause chaos, and the nannies I hire don't like the chaos. I wish he was more like his sister. She's as sweet as can be." I laugh at that, not caring about the wince. "Three- and four-year-old little boys are a handful and take a certain brand of crazy to deal with all its own." "That they do." He smiles, and it lights up his entire face. "I'm Blaine Kirkos, by the way." "Nice to meet you, Mr..." He's shaking his head, interrupting me before I can get the word out. "No mister. Call me Blaine. We parents have to stick together. At least now I know how you handled a room full of hockey players and wrangled Myers and O'Brian. They said you were like a little general, daring them to disobey you." "Hockey players are very much like little boys." "I'm not saying I agree, but..." "But you do." His smile is my only answer. "So, I was thinking I could get you tickets to a game or something...to say thank you for taking care of everyone and stopping that guy from getting away with photos." "Oh, no, that's okay. You don't have to do that." "But I want to." "I work most nights you guys have games." "You could switch a shift or call in..." "Can't call in. Bills to pay and all that." "How about I send you tickets, and if you can come, then you come?" I start to tell him thank you but no when the doctor comes in. He glances at Blaine and does a double take. "Oh, Mr. Kirkos, I didn't know you knew Cora." He winks at me and shakes the doctor's hand. "Just in here checking on our favorite nurse. I'll let you talk to her so she can get out of here and home to her son. I'll be seeing you Nurse Stevens!" He walks out whistling, and the doctor turns to me, one eyebrow raised. I refrain from saying a word, and when he realizes I'm not about to gossip, he gets down to business. My cheekbone is not fractured as they'd feared, but it's going to hurt like crazy. He offers pain meds, and I decline, so he writes me a prescription for Ibuprofen 800 and calls it a day. Once my discharge papers are firmly in hand, I tell Natalee goodbye and waver in front of Shaw's door. Giving in to temptation, I go in and walk over to the bed. He's just as gorgeous as I remember. His skin is darker, pecked by the Florida sun. The blond hair that always made him look like the boy next door is lighter, sun bleached from days spent on the beach. His eyes are a dark stormy gray, and even though they're closed, I can picture them. His body has filled out a lot since the last time I saw him. He's become the man that the boy only hinted at. "Hey..." I turn to see Natalee come in. She's got questions in her eyes, but I shrug, not up to answering them. "How is he?" I ask instead. "In and out of consciousness, which is good, especially with the concussion. Surgery was successful, but he's not going to be on the ice anytime soon. Nasty concussion." I nod. It's what I assumed when they started talking about concussions in the ER. At least he's okay. I can go home and forget about him now. "Tinkerbell?" The hoarsely whispered word pulls my attention to pain-filled eyes. He's staring at me with an intensity that's hard to shake. But I have to. Without a word, I turn and walk out of the room.	LEARN_MORE	https://a.bingecherry.com/ad/L0JpbmdlQ2hlcnJ5LyR7b	ForFun-100	https://www.facebook.com/100094441775812/	280	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	a.bingecherry.com	VIDEO		https://a.bingecherry.com/ad/L0JpbmdlQ2hlcnJ5LyR7bGlua0lkfS8xNzQwMzc1ODM0NjgyL3BhZ2VjaHNqdg==?adid={{ad.id}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/480756136_1179657726871321_1320267535732559969_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=ag1L4XoZDrsQ7kNvgHBJOfC&_nc_oc=Adh9Slk8-PTBvGhgUFxHNVL8gPz1u6XYf-yLv4oYZszPNj7B3Y7NY0MRy45IQRQElf4p1MkztYD38-yP55FiB5JA&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AhgAUIE0q4_ey4ZHkh7DOyv&oh=00_AYC0MREAW8smH2HtZA6ME8bQoV9jM7M-fFIKAbG8TVhSqg&oe=67CB8F91	PERSON_PROFILE	0	ForFun-100	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,408	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747305}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Golden Touch Equine Services		MESSAGE_PAGE		Golden Touch Equine Services	https://www.facebook.com/61570335485780/	22	1969-12-31 18:00	Send Message		CAROUSEL			1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481914636_1713248892930584_6005988060014319628_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=IQ7SgVTdn2MQ7kNvgEAdhZ3&_nc_oc=AdgxK1HilFoVlD8Xxw2BwB586uoA6MskpQWMmuLuhTC77CLvgv9ci-ftuMdit7fO1qNm3OTAqFpODYmy-cFEkSvJ&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=A6KscwmZWxf2pjfK2sEYbiL&oh=00_AYClnYpkSk0MFHfVCgxls0oTspkYT8mkBwpVO1GfKu8j2A&oe=67CBB286	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Golden Touch Equine Services	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,318	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	Yes	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	👉😍《Reborn to My Engagement Night》Join our reading community now!😍	Chapter 1 Poison The prison was chillingly cold, filled with a strong stench of blood. “Why...” Madelyn was painfully curled up on the ground, the oversized prison garb enveloping her and accentuating her frail, emaciated body. A violent coughing fit racked her body, and blood gushed out of her mouth. The pain was unbearable. It felt as though ten thousand knives were churning in her stomach, causing such intense pain that her vision started to darken. The poison was terrifyingly potent, even piercing her guts. “Why... Why are you treating me like this?” Madelyn mustered all her strength to lift her head, her eyes filled with deep-seated hatred as she stared at the prisoner before her. “Hehe, are you asking why I poisoned your food?” The prisoner laughed cruelly, looking down at the woman kneeling on the ground with a mix of disdain and pity. “Someone paid me to kill you. Your very existence stands in the way of her happiness!” “Who?” Madelyn braced her stomach with her knee, struggling to maintain a shred of consciousness. “Fine, since you're already on the brink of death, I'll tell you who it is so you can rest in peace. Aren't you going to marry Mr. Lockhart? That's why she doesn't want you around! Once you're gone, they can be together...” The excruciating pain coursed through her body, engulfing her nerve endings in torment. Despite the agony, a woman's face flashed through her mind, albeit fleetingly. It's her! It's Janessa, that despicable woman! I can't believe she actually stooped so low! Madelyn cried out in agony, her tear-filled eyes reflecting an overwhelming sense of regret and remorse. Janessa, once her closest and dearest friend, had meticulously plotted against her, causing her to be incarcerated. It was because of that woman, she had given up the best man in the world. That handsome man once pampered and doted on Madelyn, but due to Janessa's instigation, Madelyn used every trick in the book to make him despise her and push him away from her. Only then did Madelyn realize she had been manipulated by Janessa. I'm such a fool. I ended up being imprisoned, and now, I'm even losing my life. But it's too late for regrets... I'm no longer worthy of him. She spewed out yet another mouthful of blood. Lying in a pool of crimson blood, she gazed upon the darkness that enveloped the room through tear-filled eyes. She could no longer feel the gut-wrenching pain. Only profound regret engulfed her, so intense that even death couldn't erase it. Seeing her in such a state, the prisoner couldn't help sighing in pity. He stepped forward, gently brushing his fingers over her eyes. The next second, her eyes, wide with anger and filled with hatred, were shut. All that remained was a beautiful face devoid of any vitality. Once again, the prisoner sighed lamentably, then rose to his feet and left. All that was left was the pungent smell of blood filling the room. Pain and resentment intertwined, gradually engulfing Madelyn from head to toe like a rising tide. Shuddering, Madelyn let out a yelp. She found herself submerged in an abyss of suffering, utterly overwhelmed. Before she could muster a response, a strange sensation surged through her body, shattering her thoughts and consciousness once more. The man's seductively deep voice, coupled with palpable pain, evoked a sense of familiarity that left her feeling bewildered. Before she had a chance to ponder, the man's domineering actions to claim her interrupted her train of thought. After what felt like an eternity, Madelyn opened her eyes laboriously, only to be stunned by the sight before her. The pristine yet plain, boring furnishings were exactly the same as those in the hotel she spent the night in seven years ago. She incredulously turned her head to look at the person beside her. The man's distinctive features loomed before her. His thin lips bore the mark of a harsh bite, the wound scabbing over with a dark red tint. A subtle trace of a smile played at the corner of his lips as he slept. Madelyn covered her mouth, muffling the uncontrollable sobs that threatened to escape. It's Sebastian! It's really him! To her surprise, she found herself transported back seven years, to the night she had become engaged to him and, ultimately, slept with him. That evening remained deeply etched in her memory, not solely because it was the night she lost her virginity, but also because her family pressured her into marrying Sebastian, to which she adamantly rejected. Rumors had it that Sebastian was not only a formidable figure in both sides of the law, but also a hot-tempered man with a tendency toward cruelty. She was terrified, so she vehemently opposed the arranged marriage between their families. She even once suspected that her father and stepmother harbored ill intentions, intending to throw her into hell. That night, she didn't want to be touched by Sebastian. In her desperation, she blurted out that she was in love with Christopher Gale and even declared that she wanted to save herself for him. She vividly recalled how those very words had sparked Sebastian's fury, causing him to forcefully claim her. After that night, she was even more convinced that the heir of the Lockhart family was indeed as terrifying as the rumors suggested. It was only later that she realized, the man she had pegged as cold-hearted was actually the man who loved her the most in this world. However, she had squandered all his affection for her. She was filled with regret. But now, she had been reborn. Madelyn sobbed with joy, tears flowing uncontrollably. Her trembling fingers gently brushed over the man's injured lip. Since fate had granted her a second chance at life, she vowed to reclaim everything that was rightfully hers, including this man. She wouldn't make the same foolish mistakes again, let alone allow herself to be played like a fiddle by Janessa, the woman who had killed her. Madelyn gently moved closer to the man, her trembling lips kissing the corner of his mouth. Knock! Knock! A flurry of rapid knocks echoed from the door. Taken aback, Madelyn froze, her gaze fixed on the source of the sound. If my memory serves me right, Janessa should be outside the door. She's here. Chapter 2 What Is Wrong Madelyn narrowed her eyes, scenes from the past playing out in her mind like a movie. Every word that Janessa had uttered in her previous life was etched in her heart. That woman was unscrupulous, doing anything she could to trick Madelyn. As a result, Madelyn was led astray, even believing that marrying Sebastian was akin to stepping into hell. Janessa had told her that the man who loved her the most was Christopher and that she would only find true happiness with him. That was how Janessa gradually persuaded her to walk straight into a trap, causing her to be doomed eternally. Looking back, Madelyn found herself ridiculous. Back then, she was foolish enough to believe everything Janessa said, even convincing herself that she was truly in love with Christopher. As a result, she went out of her way to oppose Sebastian, striving to distance herself from him. In the end, she became the talk of the town and was widely criticized for being promiscuous. Madelyn closed her eyes, tears of regret streaking down her face. Having recognized the true nature of Janessa, she was determined to prevent history from repeating itself. There's no way I'm going to let Janessa have her way again! Madelyn rose from the bed, slipping into her bathrobe. She paused for a few moments, her hand gripping the doorknob before finally turning it open. Janessa breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly grabbed onto Madelyn's arm, exclaiming, “You finally opened the door. I thought something had happened to you. You really scared me to death.” Janessa stood on tiptoes to peek into the room and asked with a tone of reproach, almost like she was interrogating Madelyn. “Madelyn, I thought we agreed on this. Did you not sneak out last night? Why did you end up spending the night in the room? Did... Did Mr. Lockhart do anything to you?” Janessa scrutinized Madelyn intently, her gaze piercingly sharp, as if trying to see through her. Madelyn cast her eyes down, her fingers tightly clenched, striving to keep her emotions under control. How could I possibly forget what Janessa persuaded me to do? Last night was the night of her engagement to Sebastian. As all the elders were present, Madelyn had no choice but to follow Sebastian into the room. At that time, Janessa immediately sent her a text message, urging her to devise a plan to get Sebastian drunk and find an opportunity to slip away in the middle of the night. However, Janessa was left disappointed. Madelyn scoffed inwardly. She had indeed acted according to Janessa's suggestions the previous night. Unfortunately, Sebastian's tolerance for alcohol was frighteningly high, and he had even seen through her tricks. Madelyn had decided not to explain any further. Having experienced death, Madelyn discerned Janessa's feelings for Sebastian. It's pretty obvious, actually. How was I foolish enough to be blinded in the past? Madelyn couldn't help but mock herself inwardly. Swiftly, she collected her thoughts and responded nonchalantly, “Oh, I accidentally fell asleep last night.” Janessa panicked. “You feel asleep? How did you just fall asleep like that? What about Mr. Lockhart? Were you two together last night?” Clenching her jaw, Janessa was frustrated. She had been waiting for Madelyn all night, but the latter did not emerge from the room. This made her feel uneasy, which was why she couldn't resist rushing over to knock on their door first thing in the morning. “Yes, we are together. Last night was our engagement night. There's nothing wrong with him and I being alone in the same room, right?” Madelyn stared at her. Caught off guard by the question, Janessa couldn't shake off the feeling Madelyn was hinting at something. Even her gaze seemed to carry a sharp edge. “Madelyn, what are you talking about? That's not what I meant...” Janessa's voice trailed off. Her attention was instantly drawn to the love bite on the back of Madelyn's neck. Narrowing her eyes, she exclaimed in shock, “Madelyn, what's that on your neck? Is that...” Madelyn reached up to touch her neck and tried covering the hickey with her hair, feigning anxiousness. Lowering her gaze, she fell silent. Just as Janessa was about to press for more details, she saw a tall and slender emerge from the room. It was none other than Sebastian. He was clad in a black suit, exuding an imposing aura. “Mr. Lockhart...” Janessa murmured, her gaze revealing a hint of admiration and love she couldn't hide. Sebastian merely gave her a cold glance, nodded slightly, and then, without a word of greeting, walked past the two of them. Madelyn wanted to call out to him, but she hadn't changed her clothes yet, so all she could do was watch him walk away. Oh, well. I'll deal with Janess first. Reluctantly, she pulled her gaze away and looked at Janessa, who was gazing at the man's retreating figure longingly. The flames of passion ablaze in her eyes grew more intense, and her jealousy burst forth. What she had been worried about had indeed happened last night. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, but as she turned around, she regained her composure. As she spoke, however, her tone was tinged with indignation, as if she was upset on behalf of Madelyn. “Madelyn, I can't believe he had the nerve to force himself on you. That's just too much... I feel so bad for you. We must do something about it, or things will only become worse for you!” Madelyn looked at Janessa's pretentious demeanor and scoffed internally. “Oh? So...how exactly do you plan to help me?” Janessa blurted out, “Of course, you need to break off the engagement. Madelyn, you need to find an opportunity to end the marriage! Only then can you be truly free to pursue your own happiness! Don't you like Christopher?” Madelyn sneered inwardly yet again, but she concealed her thoughts. “I do, but as you know, the elders from both the Lockhart and Thornton families won't allow it.” “No worries. I can help you figure out another solution!” Observing Janessa's eager demeanor, Madelyn really wished she could tear off her hypocritical mask right then and there. However, it just wasn't the right time yet. “Let's talk about this later. I'm going to change my clothes now. Wait for me.” With that, Madelyn closed the door. Janessa stood rooted to the spot. She was aware that something about Madelyn seemed different. Yet, she couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly had changed. All she was certain of was that, following that night, Madelyn seemed off. As Madelyn changed in front of the mirror, she couldn't help but let out a smirk of derision. Janessa toyed with me in my past life. This time around, let's see how the tables will turn. Fifteen minutes later, Madelyn arrived at the hotel lobby. Janessa swiftly waved at Madelyn and trotted over to link arms with her, pretending to be the best of friends with her. “Let's go shopping, Madelyn. I saw a beautiful dress in a boutique a few days ago. I really want it... Madelyn, you've always thought I have good taste, haven't you?” Madelyn flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She knew all too well that Janessa was once again expecting her to foot the bill. This was exactly what had happened in her previous life, where she was practically Janessa's personal ATM. Nevertheless, after everything she had experienced, she would no longer be foolish enough to let Janessa manipulate her. With a weary expression, Madelyn looked at Janessa. “I'm sorry, but I'll pass. I'm a bit tired from last night and I'm not really up for anything, so I think I'll head home and rest first.” Janessa's expression froze. She didn't expect Madelyn to turn her down, and once she registered what Madelyn was talking about, her features almost contorted. “Oh, how could I forget about that? Of course you'll be tired after what happened last night. Be careful on your way then,” Janessa said with an awkward smile. Madelyn paid her no heed. As she hailed a cab to leave, she distinctly felt a malevolent gaze boring into her from behind. In the car, Madelyn massaged her temples. As she began to relax, she thought of Sebastian. In her past life, he began keeping his distance from her after what transpired the previous night. He had never even set foot in the marital home prepared by both of their families. In her previous life, she had broken his heart. Hence, in this life, she was determined to win him back. I must succeed. Chapter 3 Dream On Madelyn glanced at her phone to check the time, speculating that Sebastian should be at the office by now. Making up her mind, Madelyn asked the driver to turn around. A few minutes later, she found herself standing in front of Lockhart Group's building. Glancing up at the towering skyscraper, Madelyn couldn't help but squint as the sunlight hit the glass exterior of the building, refracting a dazzling light. Sebastian was in the CEO's office, located at the very top floor. Madelyn entered the grand hall, heading straight for the exclusive elevator reserved for a privileged few. Those in the hall recognized her identity and didn't dare to stop her. She made her way straight to the top floor. Upon reaching the assistant's office, Sebastian's assistant Malcolm Schultz was taken aback upon seeing Madelyn. “Ms. Thornton... No, I should address you as Mrs. Lockhart now. How come you're here, Mrs. Lockhart?” Malcolm rose, so surprised that he stammered. In the past, Madelyn never deigned to set foot in Lockhart Group, a sentiment that she had once verbally expressed. Every time she visited, chaos would ensue in the company, and Malcolm was always the one who had to clean up the mess and bear the brunt of Sebastian's anger. Therefore, he was afraid of Madelyn. Madelyn evidently remembered the horrible things she used to do. In fact, Malcolm had been nice to her in her previous life. He had even defended her because of Sebastian. However, she had harbored a deep aversion toward Malcolm. Looking back, she was filled with regret. Hence, her attitude changed for the better, and she asked gently, “Is Sebastian around?” Malcolm was clearly taken aback, seemingly unaccustomed to the change in her demeanor. Furthermore, she used to call Sebastian by his full name, never as intimate as she did now. Nevertheless, he responded truthfully, “Mr. Lockhart is in a meeting.” Madelyn nodded. “I'll go in and wait for him then. You carry on with your work.” After speaking, she headed straight for the CEO's office. Malcolm was stunned. For a moment, he almost questioned if Madelyn had gone mad. However, he quickly regained his composure and busied himself catering to Madelyn's every need, serving her tea and attending to her diligently. He was afraid that if she got upset, she might cause trouble again. Three hours later, after finishing his meeting, Sebastian returned to the top floor. Noticing the complicated look on Malcolm's face, he frowned and pushed the door open. Madelyn was lounging comfortably on the guest couch, flipping through a magazine in her hand. Sebastian's frown deepened, and his tone was icy cold when he spoke. “Why are you here? What do you want?” Upon hearing that, Madelyn put down the magazine she was holding and sat upright. As soon as her gaze met Sebastian's, she couldn't look away. He stood tall and sturdy, and his well-tailored suit highlighted his outstanding physique. His features were distinct, his lips thin and tightly pursed as his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Even the displeased look on his face was incredibly pleasing to the eye. Madelyn instinctively ignored the imposing icy aura that surrounded him. This man is so attractive. To say his looks could captivate the whole world wouldn't be an exaggeration. Madelyn couldn't help but berate herself in silence. Had I been blind back then? Why on earth did I let such a good man go? I was such a fool! “Do I need a reason to visit? It's almost noon. Let's go grab some lunch together.” With a playful smile curling the corners of her lips, Madelyn snuggled up to the man beside her. Her face, filled with smiles, drew closer. Seeing her act so out of character, Sebastian furrowed his brows and scoffed coldly. “What now? Concocting some scheme to break off our engagement? Let me tell you, it's too late for that! I advise you to give up on that idea immediately!” The icy tone carried an undeniable authority, which left Madelyn momentarily stunned. He's so indifferent! But I can only blame my past self for being too much of a nuisance. It's no wonder he'd think like that and say such things. Madelyn didn't get upset. Still wearing a smile, she took a few steps forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. “Don't forget what you just said. I'll take your word for it. So, are you going to join me for lunch? If not, I guess I'll ask Christopher out instead.” Sebastian's face fell, and a hint of hostility could be discerned in his expression. Madelyn shuddered in fear upon noticing that. However, her purpose for going to the company was Sebastian. Having already resorted to provocation, there was no reason for her to give up halfway. Moreover, she had indeed been causing a lot of trouble and had multiple tricks up her sleeve in the past, so it was understandable that Sebastian was on his guard. Hence, she had to take it slow and start by getting close to him, No matter the approach, she must bridge the gap between them and build a close relationship with him. With that in mind, Madelyn had no choice but to continue clinging to the man's neck, waiting for his response. Sebastian narrowed his eyes, giving her a cold stare. He couldn't comprehend what game this woman was playing. After a moment, he pried Madelyn's arms off him, turned around, and grabbed the car keys from his desk. Walking out first, he asked, “What do you feel like eating?” Madelyn's smile widened when he agreed. She quickly caught up to him and took his hand. “I'm not sure. How about you choose for me?” Sebastian pursed his thin lips and shook her hand off without a word. Madelyn pouted, noticing that Malcolm was standing by the door. An idea popped up in her mind, and in the next instant, she turned and linked arms with Malcolm. Sebastian observed with an expression. Before Malcolm could even react, Sebastian had grabbed Madelyn's hand and placed it back on his arm. Madelyn chuckled to herself. He might seem aloof, but he still cares about me. I believe I'll be able to win his heart someday! Malcolm froze as he observed the couple's interaction. It took him a long while to regain his composure and take note of the love in the air. For a moment, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, for everything was just too surreal. In the past, Madelyn would never get close to Sebastian. Has she lost her mind today? Chapter 4 The Madelyn In The Past The sun was blazing. When the black Rolls-Royce came to a halt, Madelyn eagerly climbed out of the car and went into a nearby restaurant, dragging the man behind her. It was a Clusian restaurant she had gone to before. Although she had only been there once, the authenticity of its dishes had left a lasting impression. The local cuisine was particularly notable for its genuine flavors. When ordering the food, Madelyn handed the menu to Sebastian, who was sitting across from her. “You can choose. I have difficulty making decisions.” Sebastian nonchalantly chose around seven to eight dishes. The dishes were soon served. Madelyn picked up her fork and began to savor the food, but after only a few bites, she was shocked. Every dish he ordered was her favorite. Her heart skipped a beat, and she was nearly brought to tears. She was surprised that Sebastian even remembered all her favorite foods. But I don't know his preferences at all! How I wish I could slap myself! Seeing that she had stopped eating, Sebastian tasted the food and asked, “Why did you stop eating? Is it not to your liking?” Madelyn sniffled, responding in a soft voice, “No. It's delicious.” She immediately began digging in, albeit distractedly. Her gaze was fixated on the man across from her. Sebastian quickly grew uncomfortable under her gaze. Setting down his fork, he frowned and inquired, “Come on, spill it. What are you really up to? Have you decided playing hardball won't work, so you're trying a roundabout approach instead?” Madelyn was left speechless by the question. I'm just trying to figure out what are his favorite foods. However, she didn't voice these thoughts. After all, his skepticism stemmed from her own misbehavior. Even if she did tell him the truth, he wouldn't have believed her. Madelyn didn't respond directly. Instead, she changed the topic and said calmly, “I'm planning to return to Lockhart Villa tonight. Would you... like to come back with me?” It was Sebastian's turn to be shocked. He clearly hadn't expected her to say such a thing. From what he knew about Madelyn, she would have stayed as far away from Lockhart Villa as possible. Yet, now, she was the one inviting him to return to Lockhart Villa. After much deliberation, Sebastian finally concluded that she indeed had ulterior motives. He stood up abruptly, his tone cold. “No matter what you're planning, you won't succeed! Because I will never agree!” With that, he turned and walked away. His tall figure disappeared at the door. Madelyn couldn't help but sigh. Looks like I'm too eager. That was too abrupt. I'll have to take things one step at a time. After dinner, Madelyn returned to Lockhart Villa. It felt like an eternity since she last returned to Lockhart Villa after dying once. However, everything that had happened in the past was still vivid in sight. Upon entering the villa, she nodded at the butler, Lydia, with a friendly smile. Lydia stood frozen in shock upon seeing Madelyn. Madelyn merely smiled without saying a word upon seeing how astonished Lydia was. She then ascended the stairs. Pushing open the bedroom door, Madelyn felt a warm sensation filling her heart as she looked around at the familiar setup and decorations in the room. The room was decorated according to her preferences, almost replicating everything from her bedroom in the Thornton residence. Apparently, Sebastian put a lot of thought into arranging this bedroom. However, she had been too unappreciative in the past. Madelyn was in the midst of reminiscing when her phone began to ring. She picked it up and saw that the incoming call was from Janessa. She answered the call, and a gentle, alluring voice came through. “Madelyn, where are you right now?” Madelyn didn't hide the truth. “I'm at Lockhart Villa.” Janessa was silent for a couple of seconds before speaking again, her voice noticeably sharper. “Why on earth did you go back there? What are you thinking?” Madelyn sneered, her voice steady as she replied, “This is my marital home. It's only natural for me to return. Besides, I can't really go back home now. Knowing my father's temper, even if I did return, he'd just send me back here.” Janessa tightened her grip on her phone. She was almost certain that something was definitely off with Madelyn. Once she returns to Lockhart Villa, she'll have more opportunities to spend time with Sebastian. That's the last thing I want to see. I will not allow that! Janessa's gaze hardened as she tightly gripped her phone, saying, “Well, of course. You misunderstood me. That's not what I meant. The reason I called is just to let you know that there's a class reunion tomorrow, and Christopher will be there, too.” Madelyn couldn't help scoffing. Janessa's just way too nervous. If I remember correctly, Janessa set me up after I had a few drinks during the alumni gathering in my previous life. I don't know what came over me back then, but I ended up in a hotel room with Christopher. To make matters worse, we were caught in the act by Sebastian. The incident escalated to the point where even the Thorntons and Lockharts became aware of it. Things turned ugly, and ultimately, the elders intervened to suppress the situation. Madelyn scoffed inwardly. She's trying to use the same old trick again, huh? She has no idea that the past Madelyn, who used to be at her beck and call, has already died. Since that's what she wants to do, I'll happily play along. Chapter 5 Never Let Him Down The following afternoon, Madelyn pushed open the door to her walk-in closet, intending to pick out an appropriate outfit to wear to the class reunion dinner. The moment she opened it, she was stunned to see a wide variety of clothes of all shapes, colors, and styles. The walk-in closet was filled to the brim with haute couture, all imported from abroad. Sebastian had personally instructed designers to prepare these for her. Yet, in her previous life, she did not appreciate his efforts and didn't even bother sparing these exquisite pieces a glance. Only then did she realize these clothes were all of her favorite styles and were incredibly flattering to her figure. Knocks sounded at the door, and Lydia arrived carrying a tray of snacks. She set down the tray, noticing Madelyn was picking out clothes. Despite her surprise, an amicable smile still spread across her face. She could sense that Madelyn had changed. Upon seeing Lydia, Madelyn seized the opportunity to ask her, “Lydia, did Sebastian have someone send these clothes?” Lydia chuckled. She had always been fond of Madelyn, and since the latter was behaving surprisingly amiable and cheerful today, she told her the truth. “Yes. Mr. Lockhart personally selected all these designs. He didn't want me to tell you, probably worried that you might not like them and his efforts would go down the drain. But, I think you must already know Mr. Lockhart's feelings,” she said, laughing softly. Madelyn cast her gaze downward, sighing inwardly. It's just as I expected. I must have been out of my mind back then, mistaking sincerity for pretense and pushing away those who truly care about me. Such a wonderful man was right by my side. How could I have missed it? Luckily, I've come back to life. I won't miss out again in this lifetime. I will never let him down. After spending a long time deciding, Madelyn settled on an elegant yet stunning dress. She held it up against herself, gauging how she might look in it. Turning to Lydia, she asked, “What do you think? Is it nice?” Lydia smiled. “With a face as stunning as yours, you'd look beautiful in anything.” Madelyn was embarrassed. “You flatter me, Lydia.” Lydia took a few steps inside and opened a wardrobe. “Mrs. Lockhart, there are high heels and designer handbags in here that match the dress. There's also quite a bit of jewelry. Feel free to wear whatever you like.” As she spoke, she eagerly brought out several jewelry boxes, presenting them to Madelyn. Madelyn felt moved and said gratefully, “Thanks, Lydia.” With a bright smile, Lydia responded, “If Mr. Lockhart sees you wearing the clothes he has prepared, he will be delighted.” Madelyn pondered for a moment before swiftly slipping into the light purple dress she had selected, admiring her reflection in the full-length mirror. Handing her phone to Lydia, she flashed a charming smile and said, “Could you take a full-body picture of me, please?” Before the camera, Madelyn donned a graceful yet endearing smile, her clear, captivating eyes possessing the power to effortlessly captivate hearts. After the photo was taken, Madelyn immediately sent it to Sebastian and texted him, asking: How do I look? She waited for a while without receiving a response, but she didn't mind, assuming he was busy. Madelyn was halfway through applying light makeup before the mirror when Janessa's call came through again. “Madelyn, are you getting ready? It's just a simple class reunion. You don't need to dress up too much. Just wear your usual attire. I just wanted to remind you that the gathering is about to start soon. Remember to arrive on time.” Madelyn listened to her in silence, not responding to a single word she said, and then hung up the phone. She began sneering inwardly from the moment she answered that phone call, for Janessa had also said the same exact words in her previous life. However, when she reached the venue back then, she saw Janessa all dolled up, stealing the spotlight. As for Madelyn, standing next to Janessa, seemed dull and unremarkable in contrast. Today, I'm not going to listen to her. When Madelyn left the house, she made her way to Sebastian's garage and selected a sleek, cool-looking Porsche sports car. She drove all the way to the exclusive club. Upstairs, within the private room, people were clinking their glasses clinked and exchanging toasts. When Madelyn walked in, she immediately sensed everyone's gaze shifting toward her. They were all in awe. Her classmates didn't recognize her and were all busy guessing who she was. With a faint smile gracing her lips, Madelyn spoke. “I apologize for being late.” “Is that you, Madelyn? You look absolutely stunning today!” someone exclaimed in surprise. Everyone was taken aback. Though they all knew Madelyn was pretty, she had never put much effort into her appearance before. In fact, she was often a bit unkempt, and her outfits could best be described as eccentric. However, no one expected her to be drop-dead gorgeous once she made an effort to dress up. She was draped in the softest lilac gown, its delicate hue accentuating her flawless figure. The elegant length of her neck, the low cut of her dress revealing a generous expanse of smooth, alabaster skin, the graceful curve of her chest, her slender waist, and the hint of her long legs—all combined to captivate the onlookers. Her features exuded natural elegance, enhanced by a touch of light makeup, rendering her even more charming and captivating. Whether it was her gentle smile or a subtle shift of her body, she epitomized grace, her light purple gown adding to her ethereal presence. Among the myriad of astonished gazes, one stood out—a stare brimming with jealousy. Janessa downed a gulp of wine. She had been basking in the glow of others' compliments, having worn a costly designer dress specifically for this gathering. However, the moment Madelyn made her appearance, she outshone everyone else, and just like that, Janessa's spotlight was stolen away. The room was abuzz with chatter; all singing praises for Madelyn. Even the women who were originally surrounding Janessa were drawn to Madelyn. “Madelyn, you looked stunning today. This dress looks perfect on you! It must have been quite expensive, right?” “Yeah! May I touch it?” “Wow, this fabric feels so comfortable! And it's gorgeous, too!” “Madelyn, so many men would've fallen for you if you had dressed up before this!” Madelyn nodded at every one of them as a greeting. She then picked up a glass of champagne and delicately took a sip. Thinking back to how she used to dress herself, she found it amusing. I must have been crazy to have believed what Janessa had said. She remembered distinctly that Janessa had told her that Christopher preferred the unconventional, advising her to dress according to his tastes. Back then, she had been surprised by Christopher's kinky preferences of favoring women in heavy metal attire. Only then did she realize that was all part of Janessa's deceptive scheme. Madelyn looked up once again, only to find Christopher was also present at the scene. He fixed his gaze on her, unable to conceal the admiration in his eyes. At that moment, Janessa approached with a frown and asked, “Why are you dressed like this? It's a bit too formal, don't you think?” Madelyn smiled. “Didn't you ask me to dress simply? It's such a hassle to wear those heavy metal clothes I usually wear.” Wearing a stiff expression, Janessa let out an awkward laugh. “No, that's not what I meant. You look great in this outfit, Madelyn. I've been waiting for you for a while. Come on, I've saved a spot for you.” Madelyn glanced over, noting the still unoccupied seat right next to Christopher.	LEARN_MORE	https://page.joyreadland.com/h5-book-share-custom4	The novel	https://www.facebook.com/100085523883301/	20,950	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	page.joyreadland.com	IMAGE		https://page.joyreadland.com/h5-book-share-custom4.html?lang=en&id=7639&brand=2&app=0&ppid=3901&pid=FBW2A&utm_source=FBW2A&utm_medium=%7B%7Bplacement%7D%7D&utm_campaign=%7B%7Bcampaign.id%7D%7D&utm_term=%7B%7Badset.id%7D%7D&utm_content=%7B%7Bad.id%7D%7D&pixel_id=816574679413893&ori_campaign_id=120216214760830490&ori_adset_id=120216214768770490&ori_ad_id=120216214781940490	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481656078_932015978761843_5322730828792325963_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=Wr6bMMNWBIIQ7kNvgFpvqvO&_nc_oc=Adjdc3UvWGBtOeToEfk7Vbed7NkqbJxbPH-FEqZjl_nhwQqC1L1zXTWh4JQey_Qd92_VdukILW4lQ2UeLnRUlx_s&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A-nHK1t_Oixzwn5lrhH50wM&oh=00_AYBwxrBuKkgk4lGARBy28l5GC5-a0FGKwZ_e8OLqs_uwjw&oe=67CBA50A	PERSON_PROFILE	0	The novel	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,321	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747280}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759		Aidan Stein, the Eternal Lord Sovereign of the magnificent Eternity Palace, temporarily loses his memory and intelligence due to his 60-year cycle. He lives alone in Vertania until he encounters Jade Yule, who saves his life and becomes his wife. Years later, Jack Foley, an aristocrat of Vertania, develops an interest in Jade. He sends his men after Aidan, inadvertently triggering the resurgence of his memories and power.	WATCH_MORE	https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.	DramaBox- drama movies5	https://www.facebook.com/61550943223936/	12,706	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	fb.dramabox.com	VIDEO		https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DALPF1052189.html?language=en&timestamp=1740755049948&channelCode=DALPF1052189&bid=41000112468&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&ad_group_name={{adset.name}}&ad_group_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481243226_1003522875003856_4975738089447947260_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=e4o5xgOrcK8Q7kNvgH6doCl&_nc_oc=AdjyUjx0INg_pYVuB3TD3aMhsi2geBr9o_CL5-frHExmGpZWl25f1th9qJ0JOJSS4qQullp_VXo9TCApZxb9SZDv&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=A-nHK1t_Oixzwn5lrhH50wM&oh=00_AYCIC6p6egfIe4Iy6K-nC_wldejx09RjnmlK7twkJyYWUQ&oe=67CBAEC5	PERSON_PROFILE	0	DramaBox- drama movies5	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,417	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747411}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	🔞🔥Click to Read more about📜The Pack's Doctor📜	💖🔞💋 Yara It’s been too long since I’ve let Annika out to run. With the number of classes that I’m taking and the heavy schedule I’m keeping at the university, there isn’t a lot of time to eat, much less let Annika run. But I have to let her out. She’s becoming more and more restless. ‘School is boring. Humans are boring. I want to do something fun,’ she grumbles in my head. ‘We’re going for a run, Annika. Calm down.’ ‘Next time, don’t wait so long.’ It’s been a couple of months since I took her out. She’s right, it’s been too long. But I know how the packs fight, and I haven’t wanted to risk getting in the middle of a battle, or worse, getting caught by Simon. ‘I’m too smart for him to catch us. Besides, he has no idea that we’re still so close to the pack.’ By ‘so close’ she means two hours, but it is too close. A wolf can run nearly as fast as a car, and when that wolf is on the hunt? Goddess forbid anyone gets in their way. In the past, when I’ve taken Annika out to run, I’ve taken her in the opposite direction of Simon’s pack. Well, technically, it’s not his pack, it’s his father’s pack. Alpha Solomon has been the Alpha of my previous pack for as long as I can remember. His son, Simon, is a nasty piece of work. He loves to fight and he loves to kill. The two of us couldn’t be any more different. I like to heal, and I like to save. For whatever reason, Simon set his sights on me. I don’t know why. I’m an orphan, I’m not ranked. My parents were warriors and while I can fight, I prefer to use my biggest strength, my brain. Simon much prefers to use his strength, his Alpha strength. He doesn’t have to work for it, being genetically predisposed to being larger and stronger than most wolves in the pack, so he doesn’t appreciate what he has, in my opinion. Me, on the other hand, I’ve had to work for everything I’ve achieved in this life, with the help of Alpha Solomon. My parents were killed in a pack war when I was young. Alpha Solomon took over as my guardian and made sure that I was cared for all my life. Maybe it’s because he never had a daughter, or maybe it’s because I’m more like him than his own son, but he’s always looked after me, even to the point of sending me away from the pack when he realized that his son had taken an interest in me. He knows Simon is no good, and he didn’t want me to suffer with his son’s infatuation. When we get to the spot where we like to run, I stop, sniffing the air, making sure there are no other wolves around here. ‘Annika?’ I ask, making sure she’s not smelling something I’m not. ‘No other wolves,’ she says, almost sadly. She misses the companionship of being in a pack. I look around once more, then make my way into the forest before stripping off my clothes and tucking them onto a tree branch, high enough that someone would have to look up to see them. I have a spare set of clothes in the car, just in case anyone steals these. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Rather than assume that someone was being malicious, I choose to believe that they needed the clothes more than I did. They’re only clothes after all. I let Annika pull the shift, feeling my bones snapping and reshaping after so long of not shifting. It’s more painful than it should be, but soon enough, Annika is shaking out her reddish-brown fur and taking off into the woods. Even though I’m in the background while Annika runs, I can feel how good it is to stretch her legs, to feel her muscles flexing in her body as she runs. It’s quiet tonight, thankfully, and Annika’s paws on the ground are nearly silent as she runs, giving both of us a chance to enjoy the sounds of the forest around us. I’m not sure how long she’s been running when we smell it, blood. She slows, lifting her nose in the air. ‘There was fighting nearby,’ she says in our shared mind space. ‘Do you hear anyone?’ I ask. ‘I’m not sure. I hear rustling, what sounds like a wolf in trouble. Do you hear it?’ she asks as she tilts her head from one side to the other. I do hear it. It does sound like a large animal who is struggling. ‘Annika…’ ‘I’ll be careful,’ she says, knowing that, if I can, I will want to help this animal, even if it is a werewolf. It may not be possible, they may not let me get close enough to help. But I’m going to school to become a doctor for a reason. So, I can help wolves in just this type of situation. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way to the sound of the struggling animal. As we get closer, I can tell that it is a wolf by the soft sounds that it’s making. I can’t figure out what it’s doing though. Maybe it’s caught in a snare of some sort and trying to figure out how to get out. Or maybe it’s just stuck in a hole that one of the packs dug to capture other pack members so they can interrogate them for information. ‘Please be careful, Annika. We can’t afford to get caught.’ “I’ll be careful, Yara.’ When we get close, she begins to belly crawl, slowly making her way closer. When the wind shifts, her whole body goes rigid, the scent of teakwood filling my nose and making my body tingle with unwanted desire. ‘Mate,’ she says softly. ‘WHAT?’ ‘That’s our mate, Yara. Our mate is injured.’ This is terrible. This isn’t just an injured animal, it’s our mate. I can’t leave him out here to die, but I also can’t have him trying to take me back to his pack. I have school, and I’m still in hiding from Simon. It’s takes me a moment too long to realize that the wolf, my mate, has stopped moving around. Annika barely breathes, waiting to see what he’ll do. He chuffs at us, letting us know that he knows we’re here. I’m not sure how I know that he’s not going to hurt us, but something in his chuff seems more like a request for help, than a threat of violence. Annika slowly and carefully makes her way through some bushes until we can see him. SHIT! He’s caught in a bear trap. No wonder he’s still in wolf form. If he shifts, it will rip his leg off. ‘I can’t believe he’s not howling in pain,’ Annika says. She’s right. His leg, where it’s caught in the trap is shattered, no question. ‘You have to help him, Yara. He’s our mate. You have to,” Annika practically begs me. ‘I know. I will, if he’ll let me.’ As much as I hate the idea of being naked in front of this unknown man, even though he’s my mate, I have no choice if I’m going to talk to him and try to help him. I pull the shift, standing in front of the midnight black wolf who is watching me with his beautiful, intelligent green eyes. “Hey, big guy. I see you’re caught in a trap. I want to help you. I know you can’t shift, or you’ll rip that leg off and that looks really painful. Your bones are probably shattered but I want to help you, if you’ll let me,” I say softly, keeping my tone gentle. I slowly approach the wolf. Mate or no, this wolf must be in terrible pain and he’s going to be feeling vulnerable, unable to escape. I extend my hand, letting him sniff me and see that I mean no harm. “I’m a doctor. Well, I’m studying to be a doctor, to both humans and wolves. I don’t want to hurt you. Will you let me see if I can help you?” The wolf sniffs my hand, then nuzzles me. I gently run my hand through his fur, stopping when I come to stiff fur that smells like blood. I don’t want to know what else is in this wolf’s fur, but I can guess that guts and bones are stuck in there as well. He’s obviously been fighting and whether he got separated from his pack, or he was part of a group that intentionally separated out trying to cut off the other pack’s escape, he’s now out here alone without anyone to help him. Well, anyone except me. I look up, trying to see where the moonlight is so I can get a better look at the trap. “Okay, big guy, are you able to move to your right a bit? I need the moonlight to help me see how I can spring this trap and set you free.” He moves to his right, keeping an eye on me as I carefully look over the trap. “Nasty piece of work,” I mumble to myself. “Stupid idiots doing this to each other.” I look back up at him. “Okay, I think I’ve figured it out. Before I spring this trap, you need to know that when I release this, it’s going to hurt, really bad. But then you’ll be free and I can take a look at how badly your leg is broken,” I tell him. I already know it’s shattered. I can see bone splinters sticking out of his skin from above the trap. I move my hands in position. I’m going to need Annika’s strength to help me open this trap. “Try not to bite me and if you can, try not to howl. I have no idea if there is anyone else nearby that might hear you, or try to come hurt you,” I tell him. He chuffs at me again, letting me know he understands. “On three, ready? One… two … three!” I say and push the release with all my strength, Annika pushing with hers as well. I feel the spring give and the trap snaps open. The wolf yelps but it’s quickly cut off as he moves away from the trap, keeping his injured leg off the ground. He turns, looking at me a moment before his bones begin to snap as he shifts back into his human form, his ridiculously gorgeous, tall, muscular form. .............................................................................. Warren I can’t believe that Arric and I got caught in this bear trap. Brady! I know he’s the one who set this trap. He knew that he and his pack would retreat this way. I raced around, attempting to cut off their escape route, but I’d ended up caught in the trap. I know my pack will come back for me, but they’re in a battle and I’ve been waiting for them to find me for hours. When I wasn’t able to cut Brady off, they continued following his pack, hunting them down like the dogs they are. I knew immediately that I couldn’t shift. While I could use my hands to spring the trap, it was too risky. I wasn’t willing to lose my leg and therefore my rank as Alpha. While the pain is significant, Arric and I are strong Alphas, and I know it's only a matter of time before the pack finds me and gets me out of here. We’d been struggling with a way to get the damn trap off when we’d smelled her. I’ve been looking for my mate for over ten years and now, here, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of an area covered in blood from a recent battle, I find her. Her cinnamon and nutmeg scent instantly calms Arric. Her wolf is a beautiful reddish-brown color and she’s obviously a skittish little thing. Through all of her conversation with Arric, she never once gave us her name. So, as soon as she releases the trap, I step back and begin to shift so I can talk to her. The shift hurts like a bitch, my bones trying to reshape but unable to in my leg because they’re in pieces. I watch her eyes go wide and she scoots back, farther away from me. “Easy there. You just got me out of a trap. I may be a vicious Alpha when I’m hunting my pack’s attackers, but I’m not the kind of man who kills someone who just helped me,” I say. Because she didn’t give me her name, I’m resistant to giving her mine until I know what pack she’s from. “You said you’re a doctor?” “I’m studying to be one,” she says, watching me carefully. “For humans and wolves?” I ask her. It’s unusual and I’m in desperate need of a good doctor in my pack. My doctor needs to retire. I need someone young, someone intelligent, someone like my little mate here, to take over my pack hospital. “What pack are you from?” I ask, not sure I care. I’m at war with so many packs that the odds of her being from one of them are highly likely. Of course, she’s out here on her own, not fighting with a pack, which is also unusual. “I’m not from a pack. I’m a lone wolf. Did you want me to look at your leg?” I notice that she changes the subject away from her. Interesting. Or maybe not, lone wolves are alone for a reason. It makes me wonder what happened to make my mate a lone wolf. “Yes. I would appreciate your medical assessment,” I say, wanting her closer to me. I know her touch will help with the pain. She moves closer and her intoxicating scent fills my nose as I take in her beautiful body. She had looked shy but determined when she’d shifted. Her lean body isn’t as muscular as the wolves in my pack, which makes me think she hasn’t been part of the pack wars for a while. However, the softness of her only adds to the allure. My finger twitch with my desire to touch her. “What’s a lone wolf doing out here all by herself?” I ask. “Letting my wolf out. It’s not easy when you go to a human university,” she says, not looking up at me. I, on the other hand, can’t look away from her. She’s beautiful. The reddish-brown fur of her wolf is now long reddish-brown hair on the woman. It falls over her shoulder as she looks at my leg and I watch as she distractedly flicks it back over her shoulder and out of her way, as if this is a common occurrence in her daily life. “You know there are pack wars going on around here,” I say. She may not be mine yet, but I want her safe. “There are pack wars going on everywhere. If I tried to find someplace where war isn’t happening, I’d have to run in the human areas and risk hunters shooting Annika. You’re going to need surgery on this leg. You have multiple fractures, several being compound fractures,” she says, once again diverting the conversation from herself. I already knew I was going to need surgery. I could see Arric’s bones sticking out of his leg when we were in the trap. “Annika? Your wolf’s name means merciful? How appropriate for a doctor,” I say, still studying her. Her fingers on my leg are gentle. She seems to inherently know where to touch so that it only causes minor discomfort. “Gracious or merciful, yes. And Annika is a wonderful wolf,” she says proudly, still not looking up at me. I’m about to tell her that Arric agrees when I hear my Beta’s howl. My mate’s head snaps up and I smell the scent of her fear as her heart rate spikes. However, she doesn’t run. She looks like she’s about to take a protective stance in front of me. A perfect Luna, pushing her own fear aside to help someone in need. I smile. She’s perfect for me. “Relax, it’s my pack coming back for me,” I tell her. “Oh, well then, that’s good, you need to get someplace safe. Hopefully, they won’t attack me for helping you.” “I’ll protect you,” I say, smiling at her discomfort. My warriors come rushing up, surrounding us as my Beta, Charlie, shifts and snarls at my mate. “Who are you?” I snarl at him, startling both of them. “She’s the one who got me out of the bear trap I was in. Stand down!” I command. I won’t allow anyone to disrespect my mate. He looks at her, then turns back to me frowning before crouching to look at my leg. “How bad is it?” “Bad.” “Okay, let’s get you back to the pack,” he says, getting a couple of warriors to help me up. I wrap my arms around their shoulders and lift my bad leg, gritting my teeth against the pain. “Ready, Alpha?” Charlie asks. “Yeah, let’s go.” Charlie shifts, taking point as guard, and the warriors holding me start to move fast. “Wait!” I say, and everyone stops. “Bring the doctor." "The doctor?" one of my warriors asks. "The girl! Bring the girl," I bark, turning to look at her. I can see that she was ready to slink away. I watch her turn and look behind her as if judging whether or not she can make a run for it. “Don’t even think about it,” I say to her. Charlie’s wolf, Gregor, moves swiftly to her side, nudging her forward with his head. I don’t like how close he is to my naked mate and Arric growls softly. Her eyes flash up to mine. “I should go,” she says. “Like you said, there are a lot of pack wars going on around here. I probably should get home.” “Home?” I ask. I know I sound arrogant. The woman is a lone wolf going to school. Where exactly is home for her? I’m not letting her go back to wherever she wants to go. I’ll never see her again. I know from the little I’ve learned about her that she’ll never let her wolf run in these woods again. And, by the time I healed and went to find her at the university, I’m sure she’d have transferred. She’s too skittish to stay where she might get caught. “School,” she says, clarifying her intended destination. “Hmm, well, as you just reiterated, it’s not safe out here, especially for a lone wolf. What kind of Alpha would I be if I left you to fend for yourself? No, I think you should come with us,” I say and my voice holds no room for argument. She presses her lips together and stands, nodding, and reluctantly following behind me. .............................................................................. Warren Charlie orders two wolves to flank my mate, keeping her safe, but also making sure she follows my order. ‘Alpha?’ Charlie asks in the mind link. ‘She’s my mate.’ ‘Oh shit.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Does she know? She doesn’t act like she recognizes you as her mate.’ ‘I’m not sure. She’s a lone wolf, but she’s going to school for human and veterinary medicine.’ He turns and looks at her. “Wow. A smart one.’ ‘Apparently.’ ‘What did she say about your leg?’ ‘That I need surgery.’ ‘Well, no offense but I could have told you that.’ ‘Let’s see what she says when we get to the pack. And find her a shirt. I don’t like her walking around our warriors with no clothes on.’ He takes off, rushing toward our pack lands. When he returns, his wolf carries a shirt to her in his mouth. I watch while she looks up at me. “We’re about to enter my pack. You’re an unmarked, unknown, young female. I thought you might like a shirt to put on to cover yourself,” I say. If she says no, I’ll insist, but I’m hoping she’ll choose to put it on without me having to demand it. Thankfully she does, looking almost relieved. Good. She’s not the kind of woman who flaunts her beautiful body for all to see. When we get back, I’m taken straight to the pack hospital, asking Charlie about other injuries the warriors sustained and what happened to Brady’s pack. He gives me the list of injuries as we walk in, shifting and continuing to talk to me out loud as Dr. Stevens rushes up. “Alpha, let’s get you into a room so we can look at your leg. You’ll need x-rays,” he says. “Yes, I will,” I say. “The girl comes too.” “The girl has a name,” she mumbles. I stop and turn to look at her, her eyes going wide. She obviously hasn’t been around a lot of Alphas or it’s been a long time. She keeps mumbling to herself as if I can’t hear her. It’s kind of cute. “If you’ll give me your name, I’ll be happy to use it,” I say to her. “Yara.” “Yara. I’m Alpha Warren. Come with me,” I say, turning back and letting the warriors help me into the x-ray room. “Who are you? Get out!” Dr. Stevens barks at her as we walk into the room. “She’s with me,” I say, ignoring his blustery attitude that a young woman is in the room with us. She looks at him and I’m pleased when she instinctively moves closer to me. I get settled onto the table and Dr. Stevens sets up the x-ray machine. While he does, I watch Yara. She has a very expressive face. Now that I can see her in the light, I can tell that she’s a pretty little thing. I’m sure I’d think so even if she weren’t my mate, but based on the glances my warriors keep giving her, she’s a natural beauty. Yep, good thing she’s got that shirt on, or I’d have to rip their eyes from their sockets. Because I’m watching her, I see her frown, her head tilting to the side as she watches Dr. Stevens. I crook my finger at her beckoning her forward as Dr. Stevens leaves the room. “What was that look?” I ask, realizing that my mate’s eyes are a grey-green color, almost sage. My eyes are green too, but not as dark as hers. “What look?” I just raise an eyebrow at her. Perhaps the pain in my leg is making me less amenable to small talk. I’m trying to ignore it, but it’s not easy and Arric can’t heal me until the bones are set properly. So, I’m not as patient as I might normally be in this situation. She turns and looks behind her to see if the doctor is there, then leans in, her scent filling my nose. “Why isn’t he taking side views? He only took a view from the top,” she whispers as Dr. Stevens walks back in. He glares at her but puts the x-ray up on the lightbox. “Well, Alpha, your leg isn’t salvageable. I’m afraid we’re going to have to remove it,” he says dispassionately, as if he didn’t just tell me that my entire world was about to collapse around me. I feel my stomach clench and my heart skips a beat. At the same time, I hear Yara suck in air. “Dr. Yara, what do you think?” I ask her. If she has any suggestions for me to save this leg, I’m doing it. I don’t care how much pain it’ll cause me, or how long it will take me to recover. I’ve been an Alpha for twelve years. Before that, I was an Alpha in training. Without my rank, without a pack to lead and protect, I have no idea who I am. She looks at me, then at Dr. Stevens who is glaring at her again. “Doctor?” he asks condescendingly. He’s of the old school mindset where women are nurses, meant to be at the beck and call of a male doctor. It’s another reason he has to go. My nurses are constantly complaining and threatening to leave. “Studying to be, but I would suggest getting x-rays of the sides of the leg before determining if the leg has to be removed,” she says, more confidently than I was expecting. She may not be comfortable around me, or even in the pack, but here, in this hospital room, her confidence is clear. “You heard her, Dr. Stevens. Side x-rays,” I say, seeing her glance at me appreciatively for supporting her. In truth, I’m thankful she’s giving me an option, any option to save my leg. “Young lady, what are your credentials?” he demands. “HER credentials are not in what’s in question, doctor. I gave you the order. Side x-rays! NOW!” I bark. Yara jumps as I yell, but really, this asshole is going to tell me my leg needs to be removed and think that I’m not going to fight it? He continues to glare at Yara while he does the x-rays, and when he comes back, he puts them on the lightbox and turns to her with a sneer on his face. I’m about ready to come off this table and rip that look off his smug face. “What do you think now, doctor?” he asks, as if questioning the truth in her title. Yara walks to the lightbox, looking closely at first one, then the other x-ray. “Do you have the original?” she asks, turning to Dr. Stevens. He huffs, but hands it to her and she sets it up on the lightbox beside the others. She stands back, her head tilting from one side to the other. “Yara?” I ask, unable to stop the flutter of hope in my chest. “We can salvage the leg,” she says, turning to me and making me sigh in relief. “You’ve got to be joking!” Dr. Stevens says. “His leg is shattered!” “Yes, it is. And it will take a lot of time and patience. But Alpha Warren has time, and I have patience,” she says, looking at me. “Do it,” I tell her, putting my future into this woman’s hands and hoping I won’t regret it. .............................................................................. Yara I’m not sure if Alpha Warren brought me here because he recognized me as his mate and he didn’t have the strength to reject me in the woods, or if he knew that his pack doctor was well past his retirement years. Either way, I’m here and since I am, I’ll help this Alpha. This is the reason I chose medicine. He doesn't have to lose his leg. It will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm excited to finally get to work on a werewolf, an Alpha no less. “I’m assuming you want to do this now, Alpha?” I ask him. “Yes, the sooner the better.” “Okay.” I give him the list of items that I’ll need to get his bones put back together properly. “Oh, and we’ll need to sedate you,” I say, looking around the room to see how they have their hospital rooms set up. “Is this where…” “No,” Alpha Warren says. I turn to look at him. “No?” “No sedation.” “Okay then, a nerve block, I’ll just need…” “No,” he says again. “Alpha, please, I’m going to have to wash the area, scrub it clean, I’m going to cut your leg open, pin your skin and muscle back so that I can get to the bones and then slowly put them back where they belong. The pain will be excruciating. You need the nerve block.” “No,” he says again, holding my gaze. I finally look away, mumbling about stupid, stubborn Alphas. When I turn back, he’s watching me with a raised eyebrow as if he heard me. I wasn’t that loud, was I? Crap, I’ve been hanging around humans who can’t hear anything for too long. How much can he hear of my mumbling. The irritable Dr. Stevens comes in, throwing the things I asked for on the table. I jump when I hear a warning growl, looking up to see Alpha Warren glaring at him. “Will there be anything else, doctor?” Dr. Stevens asks. He somehow makes my title, which is the same as his, sound like a dirty word. “No, thank you, doctor. I’ll take it from here.” I go to the sink and begin scrubbing my hands. I’m nervous for a lot of reasons. First, I’m in an unknown pack with an Alpha who is my mate. I have no idea what to expect from him, or really why I’m here. And almost worse than that, he wants me to operate on him while he’s awake! What the hell kind of crazy Alpha is he? “You’re thinking so hard that there’s steam coming out of your ears, Yara. What are so worried about?” he asks me. I turn and look at him over my shoulder. How does he even know I’m worried? Why is he paying so much attention to me? Is this the mate bond? I’ve only had exposure to two Alphas in my life, Alpha Solomon and Alpha Simon. Alpha Solomon is a good Alpha, but he was never this in tune with what I was doing or thinking. And Simon…a shiver of revulsion rolls through me. He was in tune for a whole other reason. The man gave me the creeps. When I finish scrubbing my hands, I turn back to Alpha Warren. I see he’s waiting for a response to his question. “This is going to be very painful. Can I at least give you a local anesthetic? “No, I need to be alert so I can protect my pack,” he says. “You can’t exactly protect your pack with only one leg, Alpha," I snap, my nerves making me bold. “Warren. Call me Warren, and you said you could save my leg.” “I can, IF you are under sedation and I’m not worried about you flinching or yanking your leg away while I’m operating.” “I have a very high tolerance to pain.” That doesn’t surprise me. He wasn’t even whimpering when Annika and I found him. He also has multiple, very faint scars all over his body. The man has been fighting in the pack wars for a long time. He must have a very strong wolf that is able to heal him, over and over. “How strong is your wolf right now?” I ask, getting his leg prepped to wash. “I am very strong, little one,” a deep voice says, and my eyes snap up as Annika begins purring in my head. Warren's wolf is forward, answering for himself. Warren smiles, once again looking as if he knows the effect his wolf is having on mine. Can he hear Annika purring? I shake my head, trying to clear it. I need to focus my attention and NOT on Warren’s incredible teakwood scent. “If I hold the bones in place, one at a time, how long will it take for you to set them?” I ask. “Not long, little one,” he says but it’s practically a purr. “I am a very strong, powerful Alpha wolf.” The way he says it isn’t bragging, but more like preening. My brain flashes an image of a peacock strutting around flaunting his feathers for his chosen mate. “Right,” I say, feeling my body responding to the deep tenor of his voice. It feels like his voice is caressing the nerves in my body, making them all light up with a need I’m unused to feeling, especially when I’m about to do surgery. I look up into the intense, jade green eyes of Alpha Warren. “Are you ready, Alpha?” “Warren,” he corrects. I nod. “Are you ready, Warren?” “Yes, Yara.” I grit my teeth, hating that I know this is going to hurt him, but if he won’t let me at least numb his leg, I can’t help it. I begin washing the blood off his leg, laying a wet cloth over the bloody area, careful that I don’t tug on the bones that are still jutting out. His body is covered with caked blood, guts, and bits of bone, just like I thought it would be. Under the teakwood scent, he smells like war and death. It’s good practice for me, learning how to ignore the smell of battle while I work. I don’t get this kind of training at the university. “Talk to me,” he says through gritted teeth. “What do you want to talk about?” I ask, not looking up as I begin to scrub the blood from his leg. “You know what you are to me?” he asks, although it’s more of a statement than a question. My stomach feels like it’s twisting into knots. "Yes," I say without looking up. "After you have healed, you can reject me. If you do it before, it could impact your healing." I don’t know why the thought of this man rejecting me feels so painful. I don’t even know him. I have no intention of becoming his mate and returning to the packs, at least not until I’m done with school anyway. And this pack is much too close to Simon for my comfort. "Who says I'm going to reject you?" he asks, sounding offended. Now I do look up at him. “But I’m a lone wolf.” “What you are, is my future Luna.” “You don’t even know me,” I say going back to my work. “I know that you’re intelligent, you’re compassionate, you’re brave, and I know that you’re lonely,” he says. The intelligent and compassionate parts I get. That could easily be discerned from me being a doctor and helping him, those two make sense. The brave part I’m not sure about, but the lonely part… “Why do you say I’m lonely?” I ask him, wiping off the blood and turning to get the scalpel. I lift it up, showing him that I’m about to cut into his leg. He nods and continues. “The closest university with a medical school is about an hour north of here. Between here and there, there are many areas where a lone wolf could run, if she wanted to. But instead,” he stops, grunting as I carefully slice into his leg. “Instead, you chose to come to an area that is full of wolves.” He’s partially right. Annika misses being in a pack, she misses the companionship of being with other wolves. Me, I’d be fine living alone the rest of my life, but my wolf likes the smell of the forest and it makes her feel more settled to smell the scent of other wolves. Warren hisses and I glance up at him, watching him take deep breaths to control his pain. “How do you do that?” I ask. “Do what?” “Manage this level of pain?” “Mind over matter. Physical pain will break you mentally if you let it. That’s why people get tortured for information. If you can break the body, you can usually break the mind. My mind is stronger than my body and my body is very strong.” I glance at the scars on his legs again. They're a testament to the accuracy of his words. “You’ve been fighting for a long time?” I ask, cutting and pulling the muscles away from where his bones have snapped into pieces. “Since I became an Alpha, nearly twelve years ago.” “Twelve years?” I exclaim, standing up and looking at him. He’s older than I thought. That eyebrow shoots up again. It’s an arrogant look, but on Warren, its oh so sexy. “I took over the pack when I was eighteen, I’m now thirty, that’s twelve years, little wolf.” “Annika’s not that little,” I say, returning my attention to his leg. “She is compared to Arric.” “Well, Arric is an Alpha wolf. Only another Alpha would be larger than an Alpha wolf,” I say, as I carefully pluck out the first bone. I look at it, checking to see where it goes and then I press it against the bone it snapped off of. “Okay, Arric, let’s see what you’ve got,” I say, carefully holding the bone in place so Arric can begin to heal the fracture. I watch as the bone begins to connect and seal in front of my eyes. “Cool!” I say, forgetting where I am and who I’m with. I’ve been working with humans for so long that I forgot how quickly wolves can heal, especially Alpha wolves. “Is it that exciting?” Warren asks me drolly. I shrug. I know not everyone finds medicine and surgery thrilling, but I do. “It is for me.” “Then it must be my lucky day,” he says, just as there is a knock at the door. I look at the door, then at Alpha Warren, wondering who could possibly be knocking. “I told you I would protect you,” he says smiling. His smile is so beautiful that it nearly takes my breath away. “Come in, Charlie,” he says, not taking his eyes off of me. “Alpha…what the are you doing in here?” he asks angrily, striding quickly to the table and looking at Alpha Warren’s leg, filleted and open on the table. .............................................................................. Warren As much pain as I’m in, I’m enjoying watching and talking to my mate. She’s unlike any woman or she-wolf I’ve ever met. Besides the crazy notion that I would reject her, she’s funny. I love how she’s constantly murmuring to herself, talking to herself as if no one else can hear her. I can hear every word and without being marked, it’s a good second option to knowing what’s going on inside that interesting mind of hers. Her face is nearly as expressive as her murmurs. She hasn’t learned or doesn’t care about hiding her facial expressions. Once again, I find it refreshing. She isn’t trying to be coy or impress me because I’m an Alpha. On the contrary, it’s almost as if she’s trying to get away from me BECAUSE I’m an Alpha. It's not going to happen. I’ve searched for this little doctor too long to let her go now. “To answer your question, Charlie, Dr. Yara here is piecing me back together, slowly and painstakingly, which is preferable to Dr. Stevens plan which was to remove my leg,” I say and my Beta’s eyes flash up to mine. He understands the ramifications of what I’ve said. And as my Beta, he’s in line to take over the pack. Thankfully, I trust my Beta and I know that he has no desire to be an Alpha. It’s not an easy job and he makes it easier by being an incredible Beta. “Are you at least numb?” he asks, his lip curling as he looks at what Yara is doing. “Utterly ridiculous Alpha,” Yara murmurs, obviously listening in to our conversation and giving her own opinions of me that she thinks we can’t hear. Charlie looks at me frowning. ‘She knows we can hear her, right?’ he asks in the mind link. ‘Apparently not,’ I say, smiling. “No, no numbing,” I tell him out loud. ‘I might agree with her,’ he says, scowling at me. “Give me the run down on Brady. Did you kill him?” I ask, watching my mate. “Arric, you ready?” she asks softly, all her concentration on her work. “Yes, mate,” Arric answers and Charlie turns to look at her again, leaning over to watch as Arric heals my bone. “Oh shit! That’s awesome!” he says. “I know right,” my mate says, smiling a huge smile at my Beta. Without thinking, I snarl jealously. Both of them jolt and while it hurts that she tugs on my newly healed bone, it doesn’t break again. “Sorry, Alpha,” Charlie says, showing his neck. She looks at Charlie submitting and then at me and her lips press tightly together. She doesn’t approve. I lean forward so she’s sure that I’m talking to her. “You’re MY mate.” “What I am is your DOCTOR. Temporarily. And if you don’t want me walking out of here and letting Dr. Stevens take your leg, I’d suggest that you not pull that shit while my hands are in your shattered leg again,” she snaps. I sit back, having to fight hard not to smile. Damn, I like her spunk. I turn my head to my Beta, not looking away from Yara. “So what happened with Brady?” “When you couldn’t cut him off, he made it back to his pack. Since we know it’s booby-trapped, we didn’t pass his borders.” “Booby-trapped how? Arric, again,” Yara says, still not looking up at us. I tilt my head. Does she think that she’s part of this conversation? I don’t care if she is, I just know that most doctors would pretend to ignore the conversation going on around them. Not my mate, though. She’s not pretending anything. And somehow, she’s multi-tasking, listening to us and still working on my leg, letting Arric know when he needs to start healing a bone. “Spring-loaded wooden stakes buried in the ground,” Charlie answers her, careful now in the way he interacts with her so he doesn't piss me off. “Stupid pack wars, killing for no good reason,” she mumbles to herself. Charlie’s eyes snap back to mine and I smile. “Anywho,” he says, refocusing on me. “We did get one disturbing piece of information.” “What’s that?” I ask. “Alpha Solomon is dead. Simon is Alpha now.” If I hadn’t been so focused on her, I’d have missed it. Her very steady hand slipped. I lift my hand, telling Charlie to stop. I frown as her hand begins to shake. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I need a break,” she says, stepping away and not waiting for me to release her. She pulls off her gloves and rushes from the room. “Follow her. Don’t approach, but make sure she doesn’t leave,” I tell Charlie. “Yes, Alpha.” When they’re gone, I sit back, thinking, which is hard because my leg is throbbing and laying open on the table in front of me. The door opens and Dr. Stevens walks in. “I knew she wouldn’t make it Alpha. I mean…” he stops staring at my leg. “Just look at this mess! I’ll get ready to remove the leg.” “The you will. She’s taking a break and for your information, she’s getting my bones back together. So, get the out of my surgery room, doctor,” I snarl. “Alpha, I must insist…” “What you must do is listen to your Alpha. GET OUT!” I shout. The door opens and Yara rushes back in, seeing Dr. Stevens. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t leave a patient in the middle of surgery!” “CHARLIE!” I bark. “Dr. Stevens,” he says much more calmly than I am, holding the door open and gesturing for Dr. Stevens to leave. Dr. Stevens huffs, but walks out. “My apologies, Alpha. Dr. Stevens is right. I shouldn’t leave in the middle of surgery.” She’s not looking at me and I look at Charlie who shrugs. “What did you call me?” I ask, my irritation with Dr. Stevens tainting my tone. Her head snaps up to mine. “Alpha?” I crook my finger at her and she walks over to me. “And what did I tell you to call me?” I ask her, forcing my tone to be gentler as I take her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to hold my gaze. “Warren,” she says, her dark green eyes nearly making me forget that I’m in a surgical room. “Warren,” I confirm, reluctantly releasing her. “Continue, Dr. Yara.” She nods and returns to my leg. I watch her take a deep breath before picking out several more bones until she finds the one she wants. “Arric?” “Ready, my mate,” he says, beginning to purr which helps her to steady her hand and her nerves. When she does, I gesture for Charlie to return. “Any other serious injuries that Dr. Stevens is threatening to do something ridiculously over the top with?” I ask. “Yours is the worst, Alpha. There are a couple with deep wounds that he’s washing out with alcohol." Yara sucks in air again and stands up straight looking at us. “Not the right course of treatment?” I ask her, raising my eyebrow. I'm starting to trust her medical knowledge much more than my current doctor. “Why wouldn’t he just stitch them up?” she asks. “He said it would take too long and there are too many injured,” Charlie says, watching her closely. I like my Beta, a lot. But until my mate is wearing my mark, I don’t like all the interest he’s showing in her. Yara, however, turns to me. “Don’t you have omegas in your packhouse who sew your clothing?” “Yes,” I say, frowning at her. “It’s basically the same. Yes, skin feels a bit different, it’s a bit tougher than fabrics, but they could do it and not cause the pain that pouring alcohol into their wounds is causing,” she says. I look at Charlie. “Call the omegas, get them over here. Tell Dr. Stevens that he can go.” “But who is going to assess the warriors?” he asks me. “Have the nurses give a diagnosis and recommended treatment, then bring it in here to ask Dr. Yara’s opinion.” “My opinion?” she asks me, obviously surprised. “Yes, Yara. Your opinion. I’m beginning to think that you are the perfect replacement for Dr. Stevens.” .............................................................................. Yara Replacement? I can’t be a replacement. I’m not staying. As soon as Alpha…as soon as Warren’s leg is done, I’m out of here. I glance up at the broody Alpha and wonder if that’s true. Is he going to let me go? The news about Simon has me worried. If there is a paper trail of his father helping me though medical school…he’ll find me. “Arric?” I say distractedly, holding the bones together while he heals them. I have to get my car, my clothes. I have to get back to school, I’m a resident, I can’t just up and leave. “Tell me where your car is and I’ll have someone go get it. Same with your clothes. As far as your schooling goes, we’ll have to talk about you taking classes online and working your ‘residency’ did you call it, here,” Warren says. I frown at him. “How did you…?” “You were talking to yourself. It wasn’t hard to hear you.” “I can’t leave school, Warren,” I say, looking at him like he’s crazy. “I didn’t say you’d be leaving school. I said you’d be doing your residency here. You can take classes online,” he says as if that settles it. “Excuse me? You can’t keep me here!” He merely raises that damn eyebrow at me again. “You’re not my Alpha…” I begin. He leans forward. “What I am is your mate. Tell me truthfully, if I let you go back to school and I come to visit you in say a week’s time, will you still be there?” I look away, beginning to work on his leg again and refusing to answer him. Even if he wasn’t my mate, knowing that Simon may be able to figure out where I am, would have me transferring immediately. “That’s what I thought and that, my dear mate, is why I’m not letting you leave.” He sits back and both of us get lost in our own thoughts again as I let Arric know when I’m ready for him to heal the bones. “Why did you say I was brave earlier?” “What?” he asks, and I can tell the pain is getting to him. “Earlier, you said you knew I was intelligent, compassionate, brave, and lonely. The intelligent and compassionate I understand, the lonely you explained, but why did you say you think I’m brave?” I ask him. “When you heard my pack, you didn’t run. You could have. You didn’t know they were my pack members. You looked like you were ready to fight, to defend me. For someone who’s not a fighter, that takes guts.” I look up at him, frowning. “How do you know I’m not a fighter?” “You’re not built like one,” he says simply. “Are you saying I’m fat?” I ask, insulted. I work out at the human gym. I know I need to let Annika out more often to run, but I’m not overweight, even by werewolf standards. “You know you’re not,” he says, watching me. “But I saw you naked. Those of us who have been fighting in pack wars almost daily for years don’t have the softness to their body that you have. And before you go jumping to any conclusions, I find your body very attractive, very sexy.” I stop what I’m doing, not sure how to respond to that. “Sexy. That’s not a word that has been used to describe me in the past,” I say, and realize that once again I spoke out loud. I look up at him and see him smiling at me. “Some people, like myself, find intelligence sexy. But, I’ve been itching to touch you, to run my hands over the softness of your body, since the moment I saw you.” “Some people, like myself, find it hard to believe that someone caught in a bear trap was ‘itching’ to touch me,” I say, rolling my eyes at him. “Then that should tell you just how strong the pull of the mate bond is. As much as what you’re doing hurts, just having you touch me helps with the pain. Your scent in this room, which gets stronger the longer you are in here, is helping me manage the pain. As an Alpha, it’s one of the benefits of finding your Luna, your fated mate. You are the other half of my soul, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, you complete me on more than one level. Now, I have a question for you.” “Okay,” I say, still focusing on his leg. “Why didn’t you run?” I stop and look at him like he’s crazy. “You were injured. If they weren’t your pack, they would have killed you.” That damn eyebrow goes up again. “And they would have killed you too.” “I didn’t rescue from a bear trap to leave you to die at the hands of the assholes who set it in the first place!” I say. “Sooo, you’re more stubborn than brave?” “Call it what you will. I wasn’t going to leave you to die,” I say. “Thank you.” I wait for more, and when there isn’t, I look up at him. “For what?” “For getting me out of that bear trap, for not leaving when I could have been killed, and for not letting Dr. Stevens take my leg.” “He really needs to retire,” I say. “Which is why you’re going to replace him,” he says arrogantly. “I am not going to replace him, Warren. I have school. I have…labs and exams and things like that. “We can talk to the school and figure out the labs. As I said, and you must know, you’ll get more opportunity to practice your skills here in my pack than you will in some human school’s laboratory. And exams can be taken online. People do it all the time. Any other arguments that I can negate for you?” he asks me. “So arrogant,” I mutter angrily. “Confident,” he says. “What?” I ask, frowning. “I’m not arrogant, I’m confident. There’s a difference.” “How do you keep hearing what I’m saying?” I ask him. “How long have you been living with humans? I think you’ve forgotten how sensitive a werewolf’s hearing is and I’m an Alpha, mine’s more sensitive than most.” UGH! I’ve been living with humans long enough that I’ve gotten used to muttering to myself without others being able to hear me. Now, I’m going to have to start being careful what I say so I don’t offend anyone. There’s a knock at the door. “Come in,” Warren calls out. “Does no one know that this is a surgery room?” I mutter, already forgetting that he can hear me. “Uh, excuse me doctor. I have one of the omegas here that sews our clothing, but she says she doesn’t know how to sew up a warrior,” Warren’s Beta, Charlie, says. I turn and see a wide-eyed young woman staring at Warren’s leg on the table. “Give me a moment, I’ll be right there,” I say, quickly taking a towel and covering his leg. I don’t want to have to smell vomit while I work. Charlie takes her from the room and I turn back to Warren’s leg. “Okay, I have all the small pieces underneath back in place. There are going to be some slivers that I won’t be able to put back in, but hopefully Arric can work around the small pieces of missing bone.” “I’m a strong Alpha wolf, mate. I’ll make it work,” he says, once again sounding like he’s strutting proudly for me. “Right. So, I’m going to put the big bone fragment against the existing bone and let you start healing it while I go check on these other warriors. When I come back, I’ll finish putting the smaller pieces over top and then we can get you sewn up and nearly back to normal, Alpha.” “Warren, Yara. Call me Warren," he says and I can hear the fatigue in his voice. I look up into his brownish-green eyes, his very expressive eyes. And right now, those eyes look exhausted. I move closer to him and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back into a lying down position. “Why don’t you rest while I’m gone?” I say gently. “You’ve had a long day and your body needs to heal.” I watch as his eyes start to drift closed. I know it’s a bad idea, I know I shouldn’t, but my fingers have been itching to touch him since I’ve seen him too. I gently run my fingers through his hair, feeling how soft it is in the places where it isn’t covered in blood. “Sleep, Warren. I’ll be here when you wake up.” I’m not sure what makes me do it, but I lean in and press my lips to his, hearing him sigh as his body falls into a deep sleep. “Sleep well, Warren,” I whisper in his ear, then I cover his leg and step out of the room, letting his Beta know that someone needs to watch the room and protect their Alpha while I go help the nurses and omegas in the hospital.	LEARN_MORE	https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12kl	Lereader-Excellent Novel	https://www.facebook.com/61550357834620/	676	1969-12-31 18:00	Learn more	www.kwmobi.com	VIDEO		https://www.kwmobi.com/share/middle/t1bkzp0f3f12klzsffqskveq?ad_id={{ad.id}}&sid=120218211196940082&campaign={{campaign.name}}&adgroup={{adset.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/482063017_1713772479491336_1993052194067266184_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=kkZyBZQbjewQ7kNvgF9Fuij&_nc_oc=Adjtjamyh6zXzHz0oAUKNoc4SRKMaGSg4fHVKQT78V1UXyI0OkflSlPMjTNkTk3V-54ftRCmaQ66wqWxCeO9XTJc&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.xx&_nc_gid=AIAf4asPewLEnUJxeoE9FcR&oh=00_AYB4Osdc1LQp3cWozEROO3qEP2x3ZW_bEWurclpi9J2UFQ&oe=67CBA1C0	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Lereader-Excellent Novel	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,403	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) null	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	FREE VIP WORKOUT	⭐️HEY MEN IN THE AURORA AREA👇 Have you heard about D1 Training Aurora?! We understand starting a fitness journey can be nerve-wracking, but we're here to support you every step of the way. That's why we're offering 15 Men a FREE VIP WORKOUT❗️ D1 Training provides men with customized programming to help achieve your fitness goals. Our 5-Star⭐️ Training Program is based on a Division 1 strength & conditioning program and includes a dynamic warm-up, performance, strength, core & conditioning, and a cool-down stretch. We get it – stepping into a new fitness environment can be intimidating. That's why every workout at D1 Training is led by a certified coach who offers guidance and motivation, creating a supportive atmosphere to help ease any nerves. Our state-of-the-art facility features the same multilayered synthetic turf and top-of-the-line equipment used by top universities and professional athletes🤩 At D1 Training, we're more than just a gym; we're a community. We're dedicated to providing a proven, professional, positive, and peer-supported environment. Click ‘Get Offer’ now and enter your information on the next page to secure your spot for a 𝙁𝙍𝙀𝙀 VIP Workout! P.s. We have 15 spots available, first come first serve. Don't let nerves hold you back – take the first step towards a healthier, happier you!	GET_OFFER	http://www.D1Training.com/	D1 Training Aurora	https://www.facebook.com/D1TrainingAurora/	226	1969-12-31 18:00	Get offer	d1training.com	IMAGE	15 Spots Available	http://www.D1Training.com/	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/476768758_1337134444405681_5280982524640824225_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=hV4_kMfqaK0Q7kNvgGH1nK3&_nc_oc=AdjGglCmYoMP-L44X1Z4erfFBI9jmUaP8vRcJTnX4zZ09ZLb69oZwlg0wI268kxqdi6tgd8nmAzfy53_F_jCeuc0&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=A6KscwmZWxf2pjfK2sEYbiL&oh=00_AYBCjZyY9EkOOY_mRzYpHyti1ctM6Dk7CK_rGMyia9NcWg&oe=67CB850E	PERSON_PROFILE	0	D1 Training Aurora	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,397	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747383}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Proceed to the Next Video!	Aidan Stein, the Eternal Lord Sovereign of the magnificent Eternity Palace, temporarily loses his memory and intelligence due to his 60-year cycle. He lives alone in Vertania until he encounters Jade Yule, who saves his life and becomes his wife. Years later, Jack Foley, an aristocrat of Vertania, develops an interest in Jade. He sends his men after Aidan, inadvertently triggering the resurgence of his memories and power.	WATCH_MORE	http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.s	DramaBox- movies&drama	https://www.facebook.com/DramaBoxMoviesDrama/	9,339,614	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	play.google.com	VIDEO		http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.storymatrix.drama	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481465911_2044947432693568_1262403868306880825_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=dMsyGpPqPDUQ7kNvgFTGU7n&_nc_oc=Adia_50ZuwLsrTTx073sv0o3h7ZRwt9KrWpRNzRyaHknHgOtn3NV5W_-gK0WS_ZtthbuU0E6chFgd6HEJQD1vuhp&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=AWdFuBZBgWbkxOcbt_M9kf9&oh=00_AYBfDRT-gRyB1D8TqqNWJhFXtSMlhwNN6LM9KqDbCyYA1g&oe=67CB8E61	PERSON_PROFILE	0	DramaBox- movies&drama	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete
2,747,310	/src/Template/Ads/index.ctp (line 281) '{"alias":2747307}'	No	2025-03-03 09:21	active	2759	Watch more episodes👉👉	With the help of his grandfather, Dave Quinn marries Tessa Gray, a girl he does not know much about. After marriage, Tessa works in Quinn Corp as a cleaner and makes Dave promise to keep their relationship a secret from their colleagues. However, some of her colleagues show disdain towards her, especially Dave’s childhood sweetheart, Lana Harris, who has a crush on him. Out of jealousy, Lana sets Tessa up in an attempt to get rid of her, hoping to ruin her marriage with Dave.	WATCH_MORE	https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DLLPF1057855.	Maggie sharing	https://www.facebook.com/61556715931577/	95,855	1969-12-31 18:00	Watch more	fb.dramabox.com	VIDEO		https://fb.dramabox.com/db_land_page/DLLPF1057855.html?language=en&timestamp=1739262620902&channelCode=DLLPF1057855&bid=41000111648&utm_campaign={{campaign.name}}&utm_content={{campaign.id}}&ad_group_name={{adset.name}}&ad_group_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}&ad_name={{ad.name}}	1969-12-31 18:00	https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/481277196_653024913757005_7318737663274622786_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s60x60_tt6&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=c53f8f&_nc_ohc=xe1SWLlgsBoQ7kNvgHeAUR4&_nc_oc=AdjxelXxINTjoMRCgi9dBT0ffRIuL3lZUiA4WhWhfa02uX-7ouMWmzh8Bour3GqJSh7dgzbICoyF_dK9Cj_BrELY&_nc_zt=14&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&_nc_gid=ALLCABeIklWXO8KhJjIk_2T&oh=00_AYAfYBFUktCHae4OjMUtTPx7WKtYlTQGHoYcUfZbIv9ACQ&oe=67CB8F98	PERSON_PROFILE	0	Maggie sharing	1969-12-31 18:00	View Edit Delete

Page 3 of 22, showing 20 record(s) out of 432 total

Download CSV New Ads

Search

Ads