Seven

ASPEN VESPER

The desperation and bleakness in Kailin’s eyes caused her not to shrug his grip away. For many seconds, his request rang in her ears, and she realised why Lance was concerned she would not be able to carry out their mission fully.

The moment she saw Kailin’s eyes and felt his touch, her soul became heated, and it felt like she would fall sick at that very moment. Her soul suddenly desired to be held by the man who used to be her mate. She wished for him to run his warm hands through her hair while calling her cheesy names. She wished to be in bed with him, talking about silly things. She wished, for the first time, that the last three years didn’t happen.

And when the wishful side of Aspen realised that none of those things would be possible, her eyes teared up in a way she could not control.

Thankfully, her emotions were shielded by her mask. So, when she snapped her soul back to reality, she gently walked out of Kailin’s grip.

“What do you think you are doing?” she asked. “You asked me to leave. Are you that desperate to make a fool out of me?”

“Just say yes. A week is all I need, Doctor Sabrina. I heard you are good at what you do,” he moved closer, “please take one more look at my Luna. She’s still bleeding. She-she has… lost t-the baby.”

“I uh…” Though he tried to hide it, devastation finally appeared in Kailin’s eyes, and it moved Aspen a little. Aspen also had a duty to treat the patient alongside the desire to see her sister pay for her betrayal. So, after a few seconds, she said, “I will do it.”

The man finally relaxed. His hands returned to his pockets, and he wore his prideful gait as if it had never left. “A week is all you need, Doctor Sabrina. I hope we have a successful deal.”

“Deal? I am not getting anything out of this, so how is it a deal?”

“What then do you want? Money?”

“Right now, take me to the patient. We are wasting too much time chit-chatting.”

“Right.” He nodded. “One of you should get her to the surgery wing within five minutes.”

“Lycan Kailin, we can’t be that fast,” one of the guards mentioned, his eyes filled with caution as though he would get his neck snapped for what he said.

“Oh.” Kailin faced her. “I will have to give you a ride then.” He squatted before her, and Aspen stared blankly at his broad back. “Get on my back, doctor. I will get us there in no time.”

“Are you serious right now?” Aspen hoped he was joking.

Well, he wasn’t.

And Aspen realised that when he got up, carried her and found a way to effortlessly place her on his back. Before she could react, his feet moved at a speed that blew wind into her face, and that was the case until minutes later when he gently dropped her.

He said, “Take good care of my Luna. She mustn’t die.”

“I will uh…” Her feet almost gave in to the ugly fold her knees suffered. “Try my best.”

“Good.”

Aspen shook her head to get rid of the feeling that came with that unexpected piggyback ride. Once her head was clear, she headed for a disinfecting bath, after which she joined the doctors in the theatre who were struggling to keep Luna stable.

~~

It took four hours before the surgery could end on a good note. And when it did end on a good note, Aspen felt extreme relief because, at some point, she was certain that Raven would not make it. Thankfully, after she noted that the Luna could be suffering from a supernatural cause, one of the surgeons revealed that he was a descendant of healer wolves. His healing skills saved the day.

“Doctor Sabrina,” the healer surgeon called after Aspen, who walked out once the patient was stable enough to be transferred.

“Oh. Hi. Thank you for listening to me back there.”

“I would have been stupid to ignore your instructions,” he replied, his brownish eyes dancing with excitement.

“Wouldn’t that put you in a tough spot with other surgeons?” Aspen asked. Though she didn’t get a chance to fully experience being a doctor in the Nyx Pack, she knew how insane feuds could get within the profession.

“Not really. I think they’ll just be pissed they didn’t consider the fact that we might be dealing with dark magic.”

“Thanks to your healing powers, you saved the Luna.”

“But,” the man shifted closer, “isn’t it wild that dark magic was the probable cause?”

“Well, as you say, it’s a probability, but how else would we explain how ruptured her organs were?” Aspen asked in return. “According to the previous reports and my earlier observations, she was fine. The current state of her organs did not show up in all the tests the doctors have conducted.”

“That’s wild, Doctor Sabrina. Does this mean that people who use dark magic are back in our country?”

Aspen sighed. “I am afraid so.”

The use of dark magic was something a lot of people in their country wished never to have to hear about. Because, some centuries ago, when its use was a big deal, all the packs fell into the type of hell they never thought they would recover from. “Anyway,” Aspen continued, “thanks to your healing skills, we saved the Luna.”

“I was afraid I would fail. It has been a while since I had to use them. You know we now live in a technology-driven world, it’s easy to forget the powers we get thanks to our wolves.”

Aspen nodded. She could not remember the last time she had a one-minute conversation with her wolf. “Thank you, Doctor. I should get going now.”

He pulled her back with an eager question. “Will we see you around? We are all curious about you.”

Of course, they would be. She was a masked person claiming to be a doctor. She suddenly joined them in the theatre and started to dish out advice.

“Maybe,” she responded. And before he could ask another question, Aspen walked away fast while saying, “Bye.”

When she reached a safe distance, her steps slowed and she approached the bathroom she had her bath earlier, washed up and changed into her clothes.

She was walking out when Lance startled her with a sharp greeting.

“Hi,” he said, his front teeth on full display, the sides of his eyes wrinkled in excitement.

“Oh my!”

“What was on your mind?” he asked as he peeled his back off the wall.

“They released you. Thank God.”

With a pout, Lance leaned closer and asked, “Were you worried about me?”

“Why would I be? You can take care of yourself.” Aspen started to walk.

“Sometimes I find it hard to take care of myself.” His voice turned mellow while his steps quietly followed her. “On such days, I wish to have a companion.”

Without much emotion in her voice, she replied, “I am sure your mate is out there somewhere, Lance.”

“You should learn to sound more genuine, Aspen. Don’t break my heart by giving half-ass responses.”

Aspen stopped walking. Her head whipped towards him. “Lance, I am sorry, but right now, all that is on my mind is one thing. And that is taking down those that need to be taken down.”

“Is that why you agreed to save the Luna Queen?” Lance stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I heard she was in the worst state. You could have let her die. She could have suffered on that spot and died. That way you have one less target to face.”

“Lance,” her eyes met his firm ones, “death is too easy an option. I saved her because I need her to be alive for what I plan to do.”

His lip tugged into a tight, knowing smile.“And what is it that you plan to do?”

“I…” Aspen lowered her gaze while the innards of her soul pulled out the memory of the day that scorched her. “I want them to pay…”

“How, Aspen?”

“I just-”

“You don’t have a freaking plan, Aspen. And worse, you are shutting me out when I could be the reason you find a plan faster than you think.”

“All you talk about is killing people,” Aspen lashed at him while she tried to keep her voice as hushed as possible. “Do you think killing people here and there will do any good?”

“If that’s a bad plan,” he reached for her arm as though he could sense that she was already thinking about rushing out of that heated discussion, “I will think of a better plan. I have a brain for that purpose.”

“Lance, this is my battle. I-”

“Let me help you. I don’t know if you have noticed but time is not on our side. Neither is luck. Who knows what other crime they’ll try to pin on us? So, we have to double our hustle and do whatever needs to be done before something shitty happens again.”

“We will be fine.”

“Do you think so? Do you think the next time we are framed, the true culprit will suddenly show up and beg for mercy?” His grip tightened a little. “Wake up, Aspen, this pack is not a nice ground. We are nothing but unwanted rats here. They will do anything to get rid of us. So, I repeat, while we still have the chance to be here, let me help you reach your goal for revenge.” He let go of her arm and said, “You won’t regret it.”

His words caused heaviness to befall her chest.

So, Aspen first got rid of that feeling with a deep exhale.

Then, while heat overpowered her from nowhere, she closed her eyes and said, “If that stepmother of his hadn’t shown up, I would have been punished for killing their unborn child.”

“Exactly. That’s how risky being in this uncontrolled place is. We have to make the most of the little time we have.”

“I made a deal with the Lycan King. In exchange for staying back for a week to treat the Luna, he will let me have something. I don’t know what I want that to be.” With a hand on her chest, she looked up at the ceiling.

“What if you want nothing?”

Aspen considered that option as well. “Do you think he’ll accept that as a good response? I don’t want him to get suspicious.”

“He will be mad not to accept it. He will be gaining his Luna’s good health and losing nothing. If he is wise, he wouldn’t debate whatever you say. Anyway, Aspen, this means we have one week to carry out all our plans.”

“Even the revenge?”

“Well, revenge is not a one-week thing. We can start slow on that one. Revenge is sweeter when it has a slow build-up. But, we will lay the groundwork before we leave. So, allow me to help you with everything, okay?”

She lowered her head and nodded.

His arm rested on her shoulder and he walked with her. “Once you are settled, ask to meet with the Lycan King. While you do that, I’ll go look for the document and pass it to our spy.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“Yes, a plan that will never fail.”