Naomi woke up earlier than usual the next morning.
For a few seconds, she lay still, staring at the ceiling before remembering everything that had happened the previous day. Her encounter with Alpha Kaidan in the garden came back first, followed by Serena’s insults and the way Serena had immediately changed her behaviour when Alpha Kaidan appeared.
Naomi sighed and pushed the thoughts away.
She had decided that she was going to stop allowing everything that happened between Alpha Kaidan and Serena to control her mood. If she spent every morning thinking about them, she would only be giving them more space in her life.
She got out of bed and prepared for the day.
The silver pendant Alpha Kaidan had given her still sat in its box on the table. She looked at it briefly before putting the box inside one of the drawers.
She wasn’t ready to wear it. Maybe she would someday.
For now, she had more important things to think about. By the time Naomi arrived at the healer quarters, several people were already there. The moment she walked inside, one of the senior healers looked up and smiled.
"You’re early."
"I didn’t sleep much," Naomi admitted.
The woman laughed. "That makes two of us. Come and sit down. We have a busy morning."
Naomi sat beside her and looked at the stack of records on the table.
"What happened?"
"Nothing serious. We have more patients than usual."
Naomi nodded and began going through the records.
She had expected her first day as an independent healer to feel different, but once she started working, everything seemed familiar. The herbs, the medical records, the patients coming in with different complaints—it was exactly what she had spent years preparing for.
The first patient was an elderly woman who had been complaining about dizziness and weakness.
Naomi examined her carefully, asked about her meals and sleep, and checked her pulse before preparing a simple herbal mixture.
"You need to eat properly," Naomi told her. "The herbs will help, but they won’t do everything for you.
The woman smiled.
"My granddaughter tells me the same thing."
"Then you should listen to her."
The woman laughed as she accepted the medicine.
"Thank you, Healer Naomi."
Naomi paused.
It was the first time someone had addressed her that way outside her training.
Healer Naomi.
A small smile appeared on her face. "You’re welcome."
The next patient was a young wolf who had injured his arm during training. Naomi examined the injury and determined that it was a minor sprain. She treated it, wrapped the arm properly and instructed him to avoid training for a few days.
"You’re going to listen to me, right?" she asked when she saw his doubtful expression.
The young man sighed.
"My Alpha will have my head if I miss training."
"Then tell your Alpha that your healer ordered you to rest."
He looked at her for a moment before grinning.
"I think I’d rather deal with him than disobey you."
Naomi laughed.
For the first time in days, she realised she was genuinely enjoying herself.
She wasn’t thinking about Alpha Kaidan. She wasn’t thinking about Serena.
She was doing the work she loved. Around midday, the senior healer called Naomi aside.
"You handled those patients well."
"Thank you."
"You’ve changed."
Naomi frowned. "How?"
"When you first started training, you were always nervous about making the wrong decision. You would check everything three times before touching a patient."
Naomi smiled. "I was scared."
"You aren’t anymore."
Naomi looked around the healer quarters. "No. I’m not."
The senior healer smiled. "Good. You shouldn’t be. You’ve earned your place here." Those words stayed with Naomi.
She had spent so much time worrying about whether she had earned her place beside Alpha Kaidan that she had forgotten there were other places she belonged. This was one of them.
Later that afternoon, a messenger from the main pack house arrived.
"Is Healer Naomi here?"
Naomi looked up from the patient she was treating.
"Yes."
The messenger approached her.
"Alpha Kaidan asked for an update on the healer quarters."
Naomi raised an eyebrow.
"An update?"
"Yes. He wanted to know how things are going now that your trial is complete."
She exchanged a glance with the senior healer.
"Tell Alpha Kaidan everything is running normally."
The messenger nodded.
"Is there anything else?"
"No."
The messenger left.
The senior healer looked at Naomi with a knowing expression.
"Alpha Kaidan is checking on you." Naomi shook her head.
"He’s checking on the healer quarters." "Of course."
Naomi gave her a look.
"I’m serious."
"So am I."
Naomi ignored the teasing and returned to her patient.
But she couldn’t completely stop herself from wondering why Alpha Kaidan had asked about her.
Later that evening, Alpha Kaidan sat in his office listening to John give him an update about the pack.
"The healer quarters are running well," John said.
Alpha Kaidan nodded.
"How is Naomi?"
John glanced at him.
"She’s doing well."
Alpha Kaidan leaned back in his chair.
"That’s good."
"Apparently she’s already handled several patients on her own."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression changed slightly.
"Already?"
"She completed her trial, Alpha. She’s qualified now."
"I know that."
John gave him a brief look but said nothing.
"People are pleased with her," he continued. "I’ve heard several members compliment her work."
Alpha Kaidan looked down at the papers on his desk.
For years, Naomi had talked about becoming a healer.
He remembered how often she studied late into the night. He remembered finding her surrounded by books and herbs, sometimes falling asleep over her notes.
He had never paid much attention to it. At the time, he had considered it something she wanted.
Now he was beginning to realise that becoming a healer had never been small for Naomi.
It had been her life.
"She’ll be good at it," he said quietly.
John smiled faintly.
"She already is."
Alpha Kaidan didn’t respond.
Something felt strange about hearing other people praise Naomi.
He had become so accustomed to thinking of her as his contract mate that he had forgotten there was a whole person behind that title.
A person who had dreams, a career, and a life.
And lately, she seemed perfectly capable of living it without him.
That thought bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
At the main house, Serena was sitting with Christine when Alpha Kaidan returned.
She looked up immediately. "You’re back." Alpha Kaidan nodded.
"How was your day?"
"Busy."
Serena smiled.
"With pack matters?"
"Mostly."
She moved closer to him. "I hope everything is fine."
"It is."
Serena hesitated before asking, "Did you see Naomi today?"
Alpha Kaidan looked at her. "No."
"She went to the healer quarters?" "Yes."
Serena’s smile faded slightly. "I thought she would be resting."
"She doesn’t need to."
"Of course."
Serena picked up the cup in front of her. "I just worry about her."
Alpha Kaidan said nothing.
Serena glanced at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She smiled again.
But her fingers tightened around the cup.
She had expected Naomi to remain inside the house, sulking and miserable after everything that had happened.
Instead, Naomi had gone back to the healer quarters.
And people were already praising her. That was not what Serena wanted.
Because the more respected Naomi became, the harder it would be to make her look insignificant.
Serena lowered her eyes and took another sip of tea.
She would have to think of something else.