Chapter 3

Lucas came to the hospital early to see me.

Since I couldn't move my arms, he peeled an apple for me by my bedside.

"Susan, I've already contacted the best healer in the werewolf world. You'll be able to have surgery soon."

Lucas brought a piece of sliced apple to my mouth, his face full of excitement.

Thinking of what he said last night, I forced a smile and said nothing.

Last night I had already asked my best friend to book me a flight home for tomorrow.

His surgery—I wouldn't be waiting for it.

Just then, the hospital room door opened. When I saw who came in, my heart instantly plummeted.

Kira, wearing a white coat, came to my bedside with a fake smile. "Susan, I'm your attending healer. I came by to check on you."

She placed her cold hand gently on my cheek. "You poor thing, how did you hurt yourself so badly?"

Her words were mocking, her eyes full of schadenfreude.

Kira was Lucas's childhood sweetheart and first love.

To successfully be elected Alpha, Lucas had no choice but to break up with Kira and marry me according to his parents' wishes.

Because of this, Kira always harbored resentment toward me. Add to that the fact that we were both healers at the same hospital, making me her competitor, and her hatred for me grew even stronger.

The moment Lucas saw Kira, his attention was drawn to her. He immediately stuffed a piece of cut apple into her mouth.

"You're so busy, yet you still came to treat Susan. You're working so hard."

She flashed a sweet smile and handed me a pill.

"This is the medication the hospital prescribed for you. Remember to take it on time."

With my years of experience as a healer, I could tell something was wrong with that pill just from the smell. It had clearly been mixed with wolfsbane.

Seeing that I refused to take the medicine, Kira said to Lucas, "Lucas, I need to examine Susan now. Could you step out for a moment?"

Lucas never refused any of Kira's requests.

"With you taking care of Susan, I feel much better. After she's discharged, I'll definitely thank you."

The moment the door closed, the smile disappeared from Kira's face, immediately replaced by a sinister expression.

"Susan , your reputation in the pack hasn't been great lately. Even as Luna, leaking secrets could get you exiled."

I laughed coldly, staring straight at her.

My stare sent a chill down her spine, but she still put on an arrogant front.

"Don't get cocky. The one Lucas loves is me. If it weren't for family pressure, how could he possibly be with you, you thief, you bitch!"

She grew more agitated as she spoke, grabbing the pill from the table and shoving it forcefully into my mouth.

Realizing something was wrong, I coughed desperately, but the pill still slid down my esophagus into my stomach.

Though this wolfsbane wasn't lethal, it would make wounds rapidly fester.

My body burned with pain. My wounds hemorrhaged, staining the bandages red as I curled up on the bed in agony.

Seeing me like this, Kira laughed triumphantly.

"Don't tell me you still don't know that everything from your kidnapping to the rescue team coming to save you was all carefully orchestrated by Lucas for my sake."

"He made a deal with those rogues—let them back into the pack in exchange for kidnapping you and shattering your arms so you'd never be able to hold a scalpel again."

"You not only stole Lucas from me but also competed with me for the Chief Healer position. You deserve everything that's happened to you!"

Though I already knew the truth, hearing these brutal facts from her mouth still made my heart ache violently.

I took a deep breath and looked straight at her. My eyes didn't show the breakdown she wanted to see.

"If you want to be Luna, I'll give it to you. If you want Chief Healer, I'll give you that too. I'm leaving here forever tomorrow. After that, no one will compete with you anymore."

Kira looked at me contemptuously and snorted. "These were mine to begin with. I'm just taking back what belongs to me."

"But ever since you came along, Lucas has been distancing himself from me more and more. Even when I invite him to dinner, he keeps making excuses, saying he needs to keep his distance, saying you're his mate..."

"We used to be so close—it's all because of you!"

She grew more agitated as she spoke and bit into her own arm.

"I'll make Lucas completely despise you!"

With that, she let out a loud scream. The sound instantly caught Lucas's attention.

He burst through the door to see Kira collapsed on the floor.