Chapter 3

After I dragged my luggage out of the apartment, I had nowhere to go.

The broken mate bond still weighed on my chest. Every step tore at a fresh wound.

At two in the morning, the streets were deserted, with only the streetlights to keep me company.

In the end, I went to the healing center where I worked.

I sat on a bench in the waiting area, staring blankly at the incandescent lights on the ceiling.

My mother was gone, and so was my love. Maybe it was time to leave this city.

Bang!

A loud crash broke into my thoughts.

A tall male wolf burst in with a blood-soaked she-wolf in his arms.

His cedar scent reached me on a gust of chilly morning air.

My chest tightened. My wolf, still curled up from rejecting Kane, stirred at that scent.

He froze for a moment too when he saw me, shock flashing in his eyes.

But the next second, he hid his reaction, looked around, and barked, "Where's the healer?"

The nurse on duty hurried over. "The healer on call is in emergency surgery..."

He turned to leave.

"Wait." I hurried to block his way. "She won't last half an hour."

The she-wolf in his arms had a tear across her stomach so deep it went to the bone. Her condition was critical.

The male wolf clenched his jaw, his throat working.

"You can save her?"

The nurse next to me warned, "Ella, you're only an assistant healer. You're not certified to operate."

I pressed my lips together and looked at the male wolf. "I'm confident I can save her. Whether you want me to operate is your call."

The male wolf stared hard at me for three seconds. "Please."

Ignoring the nurse's objections, we took the she-wolf into the operating room.

I changed into scrubs and began the first surgery of my life.

Three hours later, I pushed open the operating room door, exhausted.

He hurried over and grabbed my hand. "How's Sophia?"

The instant his palm met mine, heat surged through me.

I shivered, and my wolf let out a low whimper inside me.

"The surgery was a success. She needs time to recover, and she can't shift until the wound heals."

The tension drained from him, and he pulled me into a hug.

His rich cedar scent enveloped me, and the pleasure it stirred deep in my soul nearly made me moan.

After a while, he let me go and handed me a business card.

"I have something urgent to take care of, so I need to step away for a bit. If anything comes up, call this number."

With that, he gave me a long look and hurried off.

Maybe I imagined it, but he seemed reluctant to go.

I looked down at the card in my hand. It was plain black, with only his name and number in gold.

Drake Morne.

I raised an eyebrow. What a coincidence. He had the same name as the Alpha.

Dawn broke, and the sunlight slowly pushed back the darkness around me.

In the morning light, I finally made up my mind to quit my job and leave this city.

When my supervisor, Morgan, walked into the healing center, I handed him my resignation letter.

Morgan stopped short.

"You're resigning? Did Kane approve this?"

I frowned. "I'm the one resigning. What does Kane have to do with it?"

Morgan gave me a strange look.

"He didn't tell you? This healing center belongs to the Frostwood Group. He's everyone's boss here."

My mind went blank.

My mother had died because I couldn't afford the fees at a healing center my ex-boyfriend owned.

Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Morgan pulled up my file and spoke as he read it.

"Since you're resigning, you can take the pay that's been set aside for you, too."

Morgan printed out the pay statement and handed it to me. "Check it over. If it's all correct, sign it."

I looked at the number on the statement and froze.

$30,000. More than enough to have saved my mother.

"What... does that mean..."

I clutched the pay statement, my voice so strained I barely recognized it. "Why... didn't you give it to me sooner..."

Morgan frowned at me.

"Looks like the boss didn't tell you anything. He said you spend money like water, so he had us hold back your monthly bonuses for you.

"Oh, and I put you up for promotion three times, but the boss wouldn't sign off. He didn't want it to look like he was playing favorites.

"He said he didn't want people gossiping and thinking you only got to be a healer because of him. It's a shame. You're so good at what you do."

I stumbled back half a step.

Kane hadn't just withheld the money that could have saved my mother. He'd kept me stuck as an assistant healer too.

I was about to go find Kane and have it out with him.

Before I could, he came strutting down the hallway with Selena.