#Chapter 4- Pretense vs Sincerity

Harper’s POV

The air smells like antiseptic.

Which, when I open my eyes, isn’t surprising since I’m in some sort of medical building. The white ceiling and walls are bright, but I force myself to look around. This isn’t my clinic. It’s too large and nice.

My clinic is small and while it’s not dirty, it’s not as clean as this place.

As I sit up, aches spike in various places in my body. My head pulses with a headache that hadn’t been there before, and my body feels weak enough that I would have trouble standing if I tried.

Did I faint because of the incomplete mate bond?

“How pathetic.”

Sierra pushes through the door with my stepmother, Ruby, right behind her. They both sneer at me, their eyes moving over my weakened body while they come closer.

“Aren’t you pretending to be a healer?” Sierra snips, her top lip curling back in disgust. “Pretending to faint and going to the doctor in front of Lucas is a bit much, isn’t it? Is this your messed up way of trying to seduce him?”

I stare at my stepsister.

Where did she get the idea that I wanted to seduce her mate? The only thing I want is to get better and for people like Sierra to leave me alone. Making myself a target for her anger isn’t anywhere in my plans.

Ruby steps forward, yanking the IV out of my arm. I yelp, quickly press my fingers to stop the blood and pain. My reaction only makes the two of them laugh.

Annoyance bubbles up within me, and I glare at Sierra, “If fainting counts as seduction, then you're guilty of murder for getting me marked without my permission.” Sierra scoffs, and I shoot back, “Are you even worthy to be Luna? You question my healer ability, but with your lack of compassion and a soul as black as yours, I wouldn’t think the Luna position would be good for you.”

Sierra rolls her eyes and then glares at me while crossing her arms over her chest.

“I won’t have you coming back here and messing up my plans,” Sierra hisses, completely ignoring my words- as usual. “You need to stay away from Lucas. He’s my mate, and I don’t want you here.”

“I came here for a job, and you may be the next Luna, but the Alpha has given me permission to stay,” I tell Sierra. Ruby scoffs, but I ignore her, “I’m not Lucas’s old flame, so why are you worried?”

She merely stares at me, so I continue, “You’re the only one who’s ever taken anything from me, Sierra, so you should be more focused on your own actions than mine. If Lucas ends up choosing someone else, it’ll be your own fault.”

I notice my stepmother moving from beside Sierra. Before her hand can reach me, I lift my arm to block the slap she sends my way. A nurse walks in not even two seconds later, her eyes moving from me to my stepmother and stepsister.

Ruby immediately drops her hand and steps back as the nurse walks closer. The angry frown on Ruby’s lips tell me she’s not happy with the interruption, but there’s also not much that she can do. I’m in the hospital and if she’s found abusing me here, there will probably be consequences.

“How are you feeling?” The nurse asks. She moves around to check my vitals, and from the machines, I know I’m a little on the lower end of being alright.

“I’m tired and in some pain,” I answer honestly.

I try to use my healing on myself, but all I get is a dull tingle and another wave of exhaustion. I guess I’ve overexerted myself.

The nurse nods and gently pats my arm, “Your body has become weakened. From what we can tell from your tests, you were marked and never completed a mate bond.”

Even after working in the medical field for almost a year, I didn’t realize they were advanced enough to be able to tell what’s truly wrong with me. Though, I have been working with humans, so it never came up with any of them.

“Yes, that’s right. About a year ago, I was marked.”

I don’t go into detail, but I don’t have to. The nurse just gives me a sad look and pats my arm again before saying, “You need to rest for several days or maybe even weeks. I’ve never encountered a circumstance where someone has been marked yet unmated for this long.”

“No, no, no,” Sierra mutters, stepping closer. “You have to leave. You’re not allowed to be here any longer.”

I look at my stepsister, noting her red face and imagining steam blowing out of her ears. She’s so angry, but again, this is all her fault.

“If you tell me who marked me, I will release the mark and leave immediately.”

That would be preferable to being here with the two of them. If I can find the man that marked me, I could go back to my clinic and continue my quiet life. A life away from toxic people like Sierra, Ruby, and my father.

“I know who the man who marked you is,” Ruby speaks then she smirks. “He was kicked out of the pack a few months ago and became a rogue, why don't you go to the forest and look for his body.”

With the way she’s smirking and from the malicious glint in her eyes, I truly believe she used my father’s beta power to drive the man away.

“You’ll need to leave so Harper can rest,” the nurse finally says, shooing Sierra and Ruby away.

When they’ve finally left, the nurse finishes her routine checks and leaves me alone to think. A blurry image forms in my mind as I think about the man. His broad back and muscles were toned… defined, so he might not be dead. He could have made it out in the rogue lands, but even if he did, would I be able to find him?

“Harper?”

A girl around my age stands in the doorway, watching me. It takes me a minute, but her familiar features quickly bring an image of my childhood friend to mind.

“Emily?” I inquire, and she smiles, walking into the room. I haven’t seen her in years, since we haven’t been in touch for a long time even before I left a year ago.

“Yeah, hi,” she says with a small wave. “I know something about your mate mark. The man who marked you isn’t in the pack.”

“How do you know?” I ask, confused and curious. I sit up and she sits on the edge of the bed.

“I saw some paperwork and documents about him after overhearing your stepmother and stepsister talking one day. He’s in a dangerous area outside of the pack,” she tells me. “I can help you find him, but you’ll have to come with me. I can’t take paperwork out of the office.”

The need to know who this man is drives me forward, and I let Emily help me out of bed and through the halls. As soon as I find out who this man is, I’ll come back and rest for a little while before going to find him.

“This way,” Emily says, leading me down a long hall. The hall doesn’t look familiar, and the further we walk, the more my stomach begins to flip with uneasiness.

Emily finally stops in front of an office door, saying, “Here we are.”

“The Alpha’s office?” I ask, but she shakes her head.

“No, this is the Gamma’s office. He’s in charge of rogue paperwork.”

Nora’s brother’s office? If that’s true, why wouldn’t Noral tell me?

Before I could ask Emily about it, she shoves me into the office. I stumble, nearly falling, as the door slams shut behind me. Whirling around, I grab the door handle and wiggle it. It doesn’t move.

Locked.

She set me up.

If I had to guess, it was probably Sierra who put Emily up to this. I should’ve known this was too easy and that Sierra left without a fuss too quickly earlier.

Glancing around the room, I spot several papers on the desk with my name written at the top. Was the owner of this office getting ready to kick me out of the pack even after Lucas gave me permission to stay?

Just as I lean over the desk to read the papers, a lock clicks and the door opens. I look up and lock eyes with none other than Alpha Lucas as he steps into the office.

The icy glare of fury and his sharp words have me freezing in place, “You dare to enter my office without permission?”