Chapter 3

By the time I rushed back to the patrol station, I could hear the team's excited chatter from down the hall.

"Yelena, you're incredible! I can't believe you whipped up a brand-new antidote so fast."

"With you backing us up, we're definitely in safer hands from now on."

Yelena stood right in the center of the crowd holding the vials with a modest smile on her lips. "Ms. Conner did a great job before, but I just wanted to take some weight off her shoulders."

Blair was shoved into a corner, tear tracks still visible on her cheeks. She'd clearly suffered a great deal.

Spotting me first, she jogged over and hurriedly handed me one of the vials. "Wendy, Captain Fulton already convinced everyone to switch to Yelena's new formula. They all think she's way more gifted than you."

It only took one glance for me to spot something terribly wrong.

The liquid was much darker than the standard antidote, and the sharp, familiar herbal scent made my brow furrow tightly. "This contains frostleaf."

Blair's face was drained of color.

I looked up and locked eyes with Yelena across the crowded room. "Frostleaf suppresses wolfsbane symptoms, but it destroys a werewolf's natural healing factor.

"If you use it before the toxin is completely flushed out, it won't cure them, and it will drive the poison straight into their internal organs and cause irreversible damage to their wolves. Yelena, this potion cannot be used."

The team looked back and forth between us in confusion, while Yelena's face turned instantly ghostly white.

Before anyone could ask another question, Yelena burst into tears. "Ms. Conner, I know you've always disliked me and thought I was taking everything away from you. If that's how it is, I'll just leave."

She turned around and bowed deeply to the guards. "I'm so sorry, everyone. Ms. Conner says I don't have what it takes to be a healer. I should just go back. Even if my ex-husband beats me to death, it doesn't matter. It's just my fate."

The guards immediately closed in around her, offering comfort. Soon, a few turned to glare at me in frustration.

"Wendy, aren't you targeting Yelena a little too hard? Her healing skills are obviously top-tier."

"Yeah, last time I got mangled that badly, Yelena was the one who pulled me back from the brink. I trust her!"

"Exactly. She's treated me before too, and she's never made a mistake."

One by one, the guards stepped forward, voicing their unwavering faith in Yelena.

Finally, the vice captain, Callan Graham, couldn't hold back anymore. "Wendy, honestly, I've wanted to say this for a long time. You rely on your experience and act like no one else can measure up. Yelena developed a new formula so quickly. Are you just terrified she's going to surpass you?"

I stared at them in utter disbelief. The teammates who had once fought alongside me actually saw me this way.

All the gratitude they showed toward Yelena was actually for the healing plans I had painstakingly created and the potions I had carefully prepared. Yelena had simply taken them all and claimed the credit for herself.

And Jacob knew every single detail of it.

I looked over at Jacob, waiting for him to set the record straight.

Even if not for me, he should have exposed Yelena's lies for the sake of his crew's lives.

Yet, Jacob remained silent.

He only gave me a helpless look, acting as if I had pushed him into an impossible corner. "Wendy, Yelena is just trying to prove herself. You shouldn't crush her like this."

My heart sank completely.

The same Jacob who used to value the patrol team above his life wouldn't even speak a single word of truth anymore.

I took a step back and said softly, "Since all of you trust Yelena so blindly, then swear an oath to the Moon Goddess. If anything goes wrong after taking this dose, it has nothing to do with me."

Everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Yelena's eyes welled up with fresh tears. "Ms. Conner, why must you force everyone to choose between us? You know an oath to the Moon Goddess isn't something to take lightly. You'd really go this far to drive me out?"

Jacob's expression darkened as he roared, "Wendy Conner, enough! Do you want to know why no one wants you as their healer anymore? Because you're too controlling! You never care about anyone else's feelings. Yelena is different. She's the ideal healer this team actually wants."

At that, the guards chimed in one after another.

"Stop arguing. Replacing the healer was a group decision, not just the captain's call. I'm willing to swear to the Moon Goddess."

"I trust Yelena."

"Count me in too."

"If something goes wrong, it's on me."

In the end, every single guard chose to trust Yelena, downing the potion that was about to ruin their wolves.

I nodded calmly. "Alright."

I wasn't angry, nor did I argue or feel disappointed. I simply turned and walked away with determination.

From this moment on, I no longer belonged to the patrol team, nor did I belong to the Silverfang pack.

Whatever happened to them was no longer my concern.

I only hoped they wouldn't regret today's choice.