Chapter 4

Ava pursed her lips. "Yesterday you said you'd have proof today. Now you're saying two more hours. Sounds like you're just stalling.

"Officer, please get this woman out of here. She's seriously disrupting my rest.

"If a pregnant woman doesn't get proper rest and something happens, who's responsible for that?"

She motioned for her two guards to throw me out.

My mind raced. "The clinic's original charter, the Council medical seal, physician authorization records, and patient intake logs. They're all in the records room. That can prove my identity too."

I started toward the records room, but the moment I took a step, Ronan had the guards block the door.

"There... there are private patient records in there now. You're not authorized. Going in there would be... illegal access to medical records."

Carmen followed right behind. "My daughter is having her baby here. We need to ensure proper medical conditions. And security.

"You're an outsider. You think you can just walk in wherever you please?"

Officer Marsh frowned. "Mr. Cortez, please cooperate with the verification."

"I'm not doing this for myself. This is about the clinic's reputation.

"If this goes all the way to the Werewolf Council, I won't be the only one facing consequences."

The threat in his voice was unmistakable. Officer Marsh lowered his head and pressed his lips together.

Ronan seized the moment and slid a sheet of paper across the table toward me.

"Voluntary Relinquishment of Clinic Management Rights."

I read it line by line, my alarm growing with every word.

"I, Evelyn Grey, hereby confirm that effective the date of this declaration, I shall no longer enter the Seventh Avenue Neutral Clinic in the North District in any capacity, and I relinquish all management rights, usage rights, and records access pertaining to the medical facility therein."

"Addendum: I further undertake not to pursue any claims against Mr. Ronan Cortez or Ms. Ava Castillo regarding access code management, unauthorized occupation, the Council-issued badge, or the medical seal."

The nerve of this man.

He didn't just want my clinic. He wanted me to promise not to hold him accountable.

I looked at this man I'd dated for four years and felt a wave of revulsion. I'd always thought we just split up because we were incompatible.

Now I understood why he'd rejected me, the mate the Moon Goddess had chosen for him. He wanted to use me, then take my place.

Marco glanced at the document. "Just sign it. My daughter's pregnant. She doesn't need this kind of stress."

Ava sat on the couch, watching it all in silent approval.

I let out a cold laugh, snatched the paper, and tore it to shreds on the spot.

"You? A traitor banished from his own pack, and you think you can threaten me?"

The reason he'd been hiding at my clinic in the first place was that he'd been caught secretly negotiating a merger with a larger pack. His own people had signed a collective petition to have him expelled.

And here he was, still conning people with the Alpha title.

The moment I brought up his past, Ronan exploded.

The next second, he rushed up to me, clamped one hand around my injured hand, and held out a fresh copy of the document with the other.

"Surprise. I made a backup. No signature needed. A fingerprint will do just fine."

The wound tore open again. Blood flowed fresh.

"Look at that. Saves me the trouble of ink."

In the struggle, my finger edged closer to the signature line until it was barely an inch away.

Every last shred of fight was draining out of me. I was on the verge of giving up.

Then the clinic door was shoved open from outside.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!"