CHAPTER 3

SELINE

"Well, then you'll have to tell them to hurry up and find the beast," Emily remarked beside me, and she rolled her pretty eyes in annoyance. "The sooner the better."

The room suddenly grew heavy and my eyes widened.

While part of me agreed with her sentiment, I couldn't believe she'd been so bold as to say that to the Alpha King. Of course, I wasn't fully convinced that my friend knew that's who she'd been addressing. If she had, I doubt she'd have spoken so tersely.

"Emily!" Diana exclaimed. The Luna looked shocked and embarrassed at my assistant's outburst, and her cheeks flushed scarlet.

Austin's eyes narrowed, and the room fell silent.

"Your Majesty, please excuse her," Diana begged, and she offered the Alpha King an apologetic expression and a small bow. "We-"

Austin raised his hand, and the Luna immediately froze in place and shut her mouth.

"Wait, 'Your Majesty'?" Emily whispered. "Oh, holy shit."

Her expression was awestruck. Clearly, she'd realized who had been addressing us, and her cheeks darkened until they were the same color as Diana's.

"Shh," I whispered as quietly as possible. Luckily, neither Diana nor the Alpha King seemed to hear us.

Instead, Austin released a huffy sigh.

"Are these two qualified, Diana?" he asked, and his gray eyes bore into mine intensely. "My son deserves the utmost care, and I will not allow him to be treated by anyone who doesn't know what they're doing."

His… son?

Had I heard him correctly?

That explained the severity and amount of guards around us, not to mention Marcus and Diana's worried expressions. The boy was the son of the Alpha King, and heir to the Valcrest Empire. His survival was not only of the utmost importance, but it was in mine and Emily's hands.

No pressure or anything.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Diana answered him. "Seli is the best healer in our Pack. If anyone can take care of him, it's her."

The Alpha King's eyes continued to study me carefully.

"Seli?" he repeated back in a confused voice.

My heart thrummed in my chest as if it was ready to burst forth as I stared back at Austin. It'd been five years since I'd seen his handsome face, and my entire body felt like it would explode from the sheer emotion of it all. I never thought I'd see him again, yet here he was, standing before me with the same gray eyes I'd peered into with all my love so many years ago.

The whole world seemed to melt away as I stared back at him. While the years and likely stress of his position had aged him slightly, he was just as handsome as he was back then. His dark hair fell to his shoulders in soft waves and his skin was perfectly tan and clear. He was muscular yet lean, and with his arms folded in front of him, I could see the prominent veins that came with much physical training.

Even after all of these years, Austin Collins was still the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

But he was no longer mine, and I was no longer his.

"Your name is Seli?" he addressed me directly. He leaned in closer as if to examine me, and it took all of my effort to keep from shaking. For a moment, I thought he'd find a clue of my past identity, but I knew in my heart that I looked too different now to recognize.

The inferno had destroyed my face, distorted my voice, and taken my wolf away. No part of my past identity had remained.

Austin could stare all he wanted.

I was no longer the same woman I once was.

"Seline," I replied politely. "My name is Seline Carter, Your Majesty."

The Alpha King paused for a moment.

"You're the best?" he asked, and when I didn't answer, he clarified. "Healer, that is?"

For a moment, I considered being humble, but his stern expression told me I needed to be confident in my abilities.

"Yes," I said. "Yes, Your Majesty. I've been taking care of this Pack for many years. I'm well-versed in injuries, illnesses, and bites such as the one your son has sustained. My assistant, Emily, is also well-qualified. We're going to do everything we can to help."

"Okay, Seline," he said in a low voice that sent a chill down my spine. "Let's see what you can do."

His expression softened slightly, but not enough to appear friendly. Still, I took a long, deep breath, and then addressed him calmly.

"I'll do my best," I promised, and I fought back a shiver. "But it will be difficult to find the cure to the boy's bite without first identifying the viper. Different snakes have different venom, and the severity of his injury will depend on the breed and size of the creature."

For a moment, I expected more resistance, but Austin simply nodded.

"Guards," he called out in a stern and regal tone, and without further question, the guards who'd been stationed at the outside doors appeared before us. Once they were in position, Austin straightened his stance and held his head high.

"Please tell Alpha Marcus that more search squads will need to be sent to the forest," he said. "We need to locate the viper as soon as possible so the doctors can properly address my son's wounds. Please make haste. Time is of the essence."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guards replied in unison, and after each offered the Alpha King uniform bows, they rushed out of the chamber and shut the doors behind them.

Austin raised his chin toward us. "If you can't heal my son, I'll let the whole Pack die with him."

His warning was stated calmly, as if it were just another sentence, but the rest of us felt the weight of his words crash over us. A lump formed in my throat, and when I glanced over at Diana, her face grew pale. Emily's expression was no better, and as I looked around the room, the servants held similar looks of fear.

The Alpha King was no one to mess with. We needed to keep our wits about us.

So, without another word, I motioned toward Emily, and the pair of us turned our attention back to the boy.

"I'll leave you to it, Seli," Diana said quietly. "I'm going to check on Ethan and the boys downstairs."

"Thank you," I said, and I offered the Luna a small nod of respect. She smiled back at me, and then she left the chamber.

Emily and I got to work and started to fully examine the bite on the young prince's leg. It'd worsened even since Emily and I had arrived, and I knew Austin was right- time was of the essence. We needed to act fast if we were going to save his life.

"Can we do this?" Emily whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "Seline, this looks bad."

"We have no choice in the matter," I reminded her gently. "Besides, we've dealt with worse before. We can do this, Emily."

My assistant paused for a moment, and then she nodded. "You're right. Let's get to work.”