Chapter 5: The Return

Irene. 

The car stopped at the edge of pack territory, and my hands trembled against my medical bag.

One year. One year since I had crossed this border as a broken, wolfless failure. Now I was returning as Dr. Irene Cross.

"You sure about this, Doc?" The human driver looked nervous. "This place gives me the creeps."

"I am sure." My voice was steadier than I felt. "Wait here. Someone is supposed to meet me."

I stepped out, and the bond mark on my neck immediately flared to life. I pressed my hand against it, hidden beneath my collar and a bandage. The pull was stronger here, almost painful. He was close.

The Alpha. My mate. The stranger who had marked me and ruined my life.

I had spent a year preparing for this moment. Learning medicine, honing my healing gift, and researching every possible way to break a fated bond. The answer was always the same. Proximity. I needed to be near him to understand the bond well enough to sever it.

When I saw the job posting for a doctor needed in Crescent Moon Pack, I knew it was a sign.

Two guards approached, their eyes scanning me with suspicion. Without my wolf scent, I was just another human to them.

"Dr. Cross?" The taller one asked.

"That is me."

"Follow us."

I shouldered my bag and followed them through the gates. Every step felt like walking through fire, the bond screaming at me to run, to find him.

Pack members glanced at me as I passed, curious but uninterested. Not one of them recognized me. Why would they? I had changed my appearance. My hair was shorter, darker and I wore glasses I did not need.

And without my wolf, my scent was completely human.

I was a ghost walking through my old life.

"Wait here." The guard gestured to a sitting room in the pack house. "The Alpha will see you shortly."

My heart hammered against my ribs. Despite a year of preparation, I was not ready to face him.

The door opened, and I turned, expecting to see the Alpha.

Instead, Lyra walked in.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Her face went pale, then red, then settled into cold fury. She recognized me.

"Hello, sister," I said quietly.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, closing the door quickly. "You were supposed to stay away."

"I was hired as a doctor. Or did you not know that when you sent the request?"

Realization dawned in her eyes. "You. You are Dr. Irene Cross." She laughed, but there was panic beneath it. "You have to leave. Now."

"I signed a contract. I am here to treat a patient."

"I do not care about the contract." Lyra moved closer. "You cannot be here, Irene. Ashford cannot see you."

Ashford. So that was his name.

"Why? Afraid he will recognize his true mate?"

"You are not his mate. You are nothing. A wolfless human playing doctor." She smiled cruelly. "Even if you told him the truth, he would not believe you."

"Because the bond does not lie."

"The bond is weak. I have spent a year making him doubt it. He feels something when I am near. It is only a matter of time before he accepts me as his chosen mate."

"I am here for one reason only," I said calmly. "To treat Tom and to find a way to break this bond. Once I do, you can have him."

Lyra studied me, suspicious. "You are lying."

"Believe what you want but I am not leaving until my job is done."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. The bond mark on my neck burned so hot I nearly gasped.

"That is him," Lyra whispered. "Irene, please. If you ever cared about our family, you would leave."

"You destroyed my life for this," I corrected. "Do not ask me for favors."

The footsteps stopped outside the door.

Lyra quickly composed herself, opening the door just as I turned away, pretending to examine my medical equipment.

"Ashford." Lyra's voice was warm honey. "Dr. Cross has arrived."

"Thank you, Lyra." His voice was deep, commanding, and it sent a shiver down my spine. "You may go."

"But I thought I could help introduce you."

"That will not be necessary."

I heard Lyra's sharp intake of breath but she could not argue with an Alpha command. Her footsteps retreated.

The door closed.

I kept my back turned, trying to steady my breathing. The bond was alive now, writhing between us, demanding acknowledgment.

"Dr. Cross." He said my false name. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course, Alpha Ashford." I turned slowly, keeping my head down. "I understand time is critical for your patient."

"It is. Tom does not have long." He paused. "Look at me, Doctor."

My hands clenched. I could not avoid it any longer.

I raised my eyes and met his gaze.

He was devastating. Tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and those same amber eyes that had gleamed in the moonlight. But now they were filled with exhaustion and something desperate.

His eyes widened. 

"You," he breathed.

He took a step toward me, his hand outstretched, his wolf clearly recognizing what his human mind did not quite understand.

"You smell like..." He stopped, confusion flickering across his face. "No. That is not possible. You are human."

"I am a doctor," I said firmly, stepping back. "Nothing more."

But his wolf was not convinced. He moved closer, fighting for control.

"Who are you?" His voice was rough, almost a growl. "Why does my wolf react to you like this?"

"I do not know what you mean, Alpha."

"Do not lie to me." He was right in front of me now, close enough that the bond screamed at me to close the distance.

His hand lifted to my neck, fingers brushing against the edge of my collar where the bandage hid his mark.

"What are you hiding?"

 If he pulled that collar down, if he saw his own mark on my skin, everything would be revealed.

The door burst open.

"Alpha!" A warrior stood in the doorway, his face ashen. "It is Tom. He has stopped breathing."

Ashford's hand dropped. He turned to the warrior, his Alpha instincts overriding everything else.

"Take me to him. Now." He glanced back at me. "Come, Doctor. Save my friend, and then you and I are going to have a very long conversation about why my wolf knows you."

He strode from the room, and I followed on shaking legs.

As I passed through the doorway, I caught my reflection in a mirror.

My collar had shifted during our confrontation.

The edge of his mark was visible, dark against my skin.

And from the way Ashford's steps faltered just slightly ahead of me, I knew he had seen it too.