Chapter 3

The next day, the door to my office flew open.

"Tessa!" Sarah was pale, her voice shaking. "The border patrol was ambushed by high-level rogues. Freya's left arm… it was completely torn off!"

Even after everything, the healer in me took over. I sprinted toward the ICU.

But I barely made it into the hallway. I hadn't even pulled on my gloves when a wave of furious Alpha energy slammed into me.

Callum was there. Covered in blood.

His eyes were crimson. A beast on the verge of snapping.

He didn't ask for my help. He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me against the cold wall.

"Are you satisfied now?!" he roared, the stench of blood washing over me.

Pain shot through my back. I winced. "Let go. I have to stop the bleeding…"

"Drop the fake concern, Tessa!"

Callum's power crushed down on me. His eyes were full of cold hatred and raw panic.

"If you hadn't thrown your little tantrum yesterday, if you hadn't threatened to break our bond and sent a shockwave through the pack's mind-link, Freya never would have been distracted! She never would have gotten hurt!"

I froze.

The sheer insanity of his accusation shattered the last bit of respect I had for him.

"You're blaming a tactical failure on me?" I was trembling with rage.

"Tactical failure? What do you know about war?" He leaned in, his voice dripping with scorn. "If we weren't out there bleeding for you, fighting off our enemies, those little formulas you brew in your perfect, sterile lab would be worthless! Did you have to do this? Did you have to prove your point in the cruelest way possible?"

The pressure of his soul-bond, combined with the aftershocks of my rejection, sent waves of pain through my heart.

Tears spilled from my eyes, hot and uncontrollable.

Seeing me cry, Callum thought he'd won. He thought I finally understood my "mistake."

The beast in him retreated slightly.

He let go of my shoulders and raised a hand, a disgusting, fake tenderness in his gesture, as he tried to wipe my tears away.

"Grow up. Stop throwing fits over the pack's security," he commanded, his voice full of the arrogance of a king, sure that I would bow my head like always.

"Don't touch me."

I jerked my head away, disgusted. I scrambled back, putting space between us.

Callum's hand hung in the air. His face turned to stone.

"Understood, Alpha." I met his eyes, my voice dead.

His pupils contracted. The word clearly stung him.

"From this moment on, I am no longer your personal healer." I ripped the stethoscope from my neck. "Since my serums are so worthless, you can figure it out yourselves."

"Callum…"

A weak voice came from the hospital room.

Freya was propped up in bed, her face pale. She tugged pathetically at Callum's bloodstained sleeve.

"Don't fight with Tessa… She just cares about you too much. I don't blame her for losing her temper and distracting me… cough, cough…"

What a perfect, noble little victim.

Looking at this pair of arrogant, self-righteous pricks, I let out a sharp, mocking laugh.

I walked over to the medical waste bin and threw my white coat—the symbol of the pack's chief healer—inside.

Then I turned and walked away.

…

For the next two weeks, Callum gave me the silent treatment.

He thought he could break me. Force me to come crawling back.

He even spent a fortune hiring a specialist from another territory to heal Freya, just to prove he didn't need me.

I didn't care. I just kept packing my things, getting ready to leave Red Maple for good.

Two weeks later, in the afternoon.

I had just left the main administration building when a healed Freya blocked my path.

She wore a new, expensive trench coat. Her left arm was perfectly fine. Her face held the gracious smile of a victor.

"Tessa, you've been sulking for two weeks. Isn't it time to let it go?"

She walked toward me, her gaze condescending.

"Go apologize to Callum. He'll forgive you. After all, even I've decided to forgive you for your little outburst."

"Forgive me?"

I stared into her eyes, almost laughing.

"Freya, you've never even read a basic tactics manual, have you?"

The smile on her face froze. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you rush into every ambush with nothing but brute force. The only reason you're so reckless is because you knew I was always there to patch you up."

I stepped toward her. My voice was quiet, but every word was a blade.

"You're a parasite. You've been feeding off my medical resources, using my advanced serums to build your 'greatest warrior' reputation. Without me, the vampires would have killed you a hundred times over."

"You—!" Freya's mask of grace shattered. Her face went white.

I ignored her.

Looking at this face that was once so familiar, all I felt was a cold, alien distance.