completely disappear for months at a time. Val thought you were dead.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I never meant to worry anyone. It’s just… you might want to sit down for this.”
Fallen gripped my arm. “Jo, are you sure about—”
“We can trust him,” I assured her, waiting for Jeremy to lower into his chair. “Okay, so you know how we have two different sides of the hospital?”
“One for humans and one for wolves. What about it?”
Jeremy asked, his face pale. His whole body tensed, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair. “Wait… no. This is a joke, right? You’re trying to get me back for those fake spiders I left in your desk drawer.”
Smiling, I pried his hand open and took it in mine. “I wish it were. I don’t know how it happened or how it’s stayed quiet for this long, but someone on my surgical team gave me the heart of a wolf.”
Jeremy burst out laughing. “Yeah, right. And I’m king Alpha.”
“That would be me, actually,” Zander said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Jeremy looked between us, his eyes as wide as they could go. “You’re serious.”
“Yes,” I said. “But we can go over the details later. This whole thing has put us in the middle of some pack politics. In order to clear it up, I need my medical records along with Dani…” I looked at Ash for guidance.
“Daniella Winthorp,” she said, her voice shaking at the end.
“We need her autopsy report,” I explained once Fallen pulled Ash aside. “The day I left, the one where I was sick… I turned into a wolf. If those two weren’t there, I probably would’ve died. And now, they’re in danger because surrounding packs think I was bitten and turned illegally. I
need to clear their name, Jeremy, and I need your help in order to do it.”
He looked as though he was about to say something but thought better of it. Instead, he offered me a small smile and said, “Because you no longer have access to those records.”
“And because I’d have to report my transition to the board, which would make this an even bigger mess than it already is.”
“Okay, I’ll help, but you need to stay here. I can’t risk any of the staff asking for information you aren’t willing to repeat.”
“I could always—”
“Lie?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me as he stood from his chair. “You’re a terrible liar.”
That much was true. “Okay, but make it quick.”
“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
The room fell into silence as soon as Jeremy left. A moment later, Ash broke down, falling into Fallen’s arms as she gently guided the Alpha to one of the nearby chairs. I never wanted them to come here for this very reason. It was too painful, their loss too fresh.
They came anyway in order to keep my wolf under control.
Ash hadn’t said as much, but if she didn’t come, I would’ve returned to the pack with most of their questions unanswered. Ash deserved to know what happened to Dani just like I had the right to know how something like this happened in the first place.
So we waited, and as we did, my nerves wound even tighter.
Zander, in all of his glory, simply stood and stared out at the reception area, his eyes flickering whenever a wolf walked by.
“So you really help them?” he asked, not looking at me.
“We do our best,” I said, following his line of sight. “But we never operate on them personally. That’s left up to the wolves working on the other side of the hospital. It isn’t because we wouldn’t like to or that we enjoy turning them away but because we wouldn’t be able to serve them as well as their own kind could.” Like I can now. I kept the last bit to myself, knowing now wasn’t the time or the place to discuss my possible return to the city.
Zander nodded gently, clasping his hands behind his back.
“When the time comes for your wolf to settle, will you work here?”