RHEA’S POV I had no intention of looking for a coven of dark witches anytime soon, but I nodded anyway.
I just wanted to end the conversation and she had gone out of her way to help me so I didn’t want her to feel bad about that.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, giving her a polite nod before pulling my coat tighter around me.
“Thank you for the tea, ma’am.” “Don’t lose your head out there, Doctor,” the old woman called from her porch as we stepped back into the snow.
“And remember what I told you.
Magic doesn’t listen to a stubborn, logical mind.” I nodded, but my thoughts were already back on Elias.
Was it possible that the Elders knew about him?
Or was I just overthinking everything?
Gamma Aaron, the young healer, and the four warriors formed a tight group around me as we made our way back toward the center of the territory.
But as soon as we passed through the stone archway into the main village, I noticed something strange.
The pack members weren’t glaring at me anymore.
The women hanging their laundry, the warriors sharpening their swords, and the shopkeepers at their stalls all looked at me differently.
There were no insults.
No angry looks.
No mothers pulling their children away from me.
They simply watched me with curiosity.
Some even gave me small, respectful bows as I walked past.
I blinked, confused by the sudden change.
I leaned closer to Aaron and lowered my voice.
“Is it just me, or did everyone suddenly forget that they wanted to throw me off a cliff yesterday?” Aaron chuckled.
“It’s not your imagination, Dr.
Clara.
While you were at the cottage, the Alpha called an emergency pack meeting.” I stopped for a second.
“He did what?” “Alpha Kael addressed the entire pack from the balcony,” Aaron explained.
There was a hint of admiration in his voice.
“He told them about how you saved the little boy in the courtyard and kept him alive through the night.” He paused.
“He also put the council in their place and warned everyone that any hostility toward you would be treated as an act of treason against him.” The shock I felt quickly turned into anger.
I had specifically told that stubborn man to stay in bed.
His stitches weren’t even twenty-four hours old, and his body was still fighting the poison.
Yet he had decided to get out of bed, stand on a balcony, and give a speech to hundreds of wolves.
“He’s unbelievable,” I muttered, clenching my jaw as I walked faster toward the pack house.
“An absolute idiot.” I hurried through the large corridors and took the stone stairs two steps at a time.
When I reached the door of Kael’s master suite, I didn’t bother knocking.
I grabbed the handle and pushed the door open.
“Kael, what in the world—” My words stopped.
Kael was standing beside the large wooden wardrobe.
He was half-naked and struggling to wrap a long piece of white linen around his body.
My eyes moved over his broad back before I could stop myself.
His golden skin was covered with silver scars.
Some ran across his shoulders and down his back.
I had seen those scars many times over the past two days while treating his wounds.
But seeing him standing there awake and breathing heavily was different.
He was wearing nothing but dark trousers.
My heart started beating faster.
Heat rose up my neck and spread across my cheeks.
I quickly turned around and tried to close the door.
“Wait.” Kael’s deep voice stopped me.
I froze.
After taking a breath, I looked back through the opening.
He was actually struggling.
His right arm was still stiff from the poison, and the bandage had become tangled around his ribs.
Most of it was hanging loose.
He gritted his teeth as he tried to pull the cloth tight with one hand.
He’s struggling, you idiot.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
You’re a trauma surgeon.
Get over yourself.
“Give me that,” I snapped.
I walked back into the room and took the loose bandage from his hand.
Standing in front of him, I looked up at his bare chest.
“Why did your bandages come loose like this?” I asked.
“The pack healers wrapped you tightly enough to turn you into a mummy before I left.” Kael shrugged.
“It must have loosened when I got out of bed.” “When you got out of bed?” I stared at him.
He looked almost innocent.
I wrapped the linen around his ribs and placed one hand against his lower back to hold it in place Then I pulled the bandage tight.
Kael winced.
A quiet groan escaped him as his hands moved to my shoulders to keep his balance.
“Fuck, Clara…” “I heard you called an emergency pack meeting,” I said.
I tightened the bandage again.
Kael looked down at me.
His expression changed when he realized I already knew.
“Clara, listen to me.” His voice was softer now.
“The Elders were doing something dangerous while I was unconscious.
They were spreading lies, turning the pack against you, and trying to take my position.” He paused.
“I had to call that meeting.
I had to remind everyone who the Alpha of this pack is.” “Oh, really?” My voice was full of sarcasm.
I secured the end of the bandage and looked up at him.
“Then why don’t you be the Alpha in the grave, Kael?
Would that be a better title for you?” The room went completely silent.
Kael stared at me.
His mouth opened slightly, but he didn’t say anything.
No ordinary wolf in the Northern Territory would dare speak to the Alpha that way.
A warrior could be thrown into the dungeon or challenged to a fight for showing half that much attitude.
But Kael couldn’t seem to do anything.
He just stood there, staring at the tiny human woman in front of him as I scolded him like a child.
“Sit down on the bed,” I ordered, pointing at the mattress.
“Right now.”