Chapter 18: The Healer's Touch

I dressed quickly as I pulled on a simple grey tunic and leggings for the first time since arriving in this pack, I was going to walk freely.

The thought made my chest tight with something I hadn't felt in years…..hope.

I slipped out of my room, my bare feet silent against the cold stone floor. The hallway was empty. The pack house was quiet maybe everyone was already busy with their morning routines.

Perfect.

I made my way toward the pack hospital a small building on the eastern side of the territory. I'd seen it during my first days here, watched the healers move in and out tending to the wounded.

My mother had been a healer before she died. Before everything fell apart. She'd taught me everything she knew herbs, poultices, how to stitch wounds, how to read a wolf's body for signs of illness.

"Your hands are gifted," she used to say. "One day, you'll heal more than just bodies."

I pushed the memory away and entered the hospital.

~~~~~~~

The smell hit me first. Herbs, antiseptic and the strong smell of blood.

Wolves lay on cots, some groaning while the others silent. Healers moved between them exhausted, overwhelmed. There were too many wounded and not enough hands.

No one noticed me at first as I walked to the nearest cot a young wolf with a gash across his chest, infection setting in. The healer attending him looked ready to collapse.

"Let me help," I said.

She blinked at me. “ My Luna ? You shouldn’t be here!"

I knelt beside the cot complete ignoring her as I examined the wound. "Do you have yarrow? And honey?"

She nodded, too tired to argue.

I worked as several hours passed. I moved from cot to cot, cleaning wounds, applying poultices, stitching torn flesh as the healers watched me.

By midday, I'd treated twelve wolves.

My hands were steady. My mind clear for the first time in weeks, I felt useful.

~~~~~

"Winora?" I looked up.

Nyko stood in the doorway, a female omega beside him. She was small with kind eyes and a nervous smile.

"Thought you might be hungry," Nyko said holding up a small basket. "Lila here made cookies."

Lila bowed quickly. "It's an honor to meet you, my lady."

I frowned. "Please don't bow. I'm just helping."

Lila straightened, her eyes wide. "But you're "

I smiled, taking a cookie from the basket. "And these smell amazing."

Lila's face lit up. "My mother's recipe. She was a healer too."

"Was?"

"She passed two winters ago."

I nodded, understanding. "My mother was a healer. She taught me everything I know."

Nyko leaned against the wall, watching us. "You've been here all morning?"

"Since dawn."

He shook his head. "Fenrir's going to kill me."

"Why?"

"Because I was supposed to keep an eye on you. Not let you wander off and work yourself to death."

I laughed. "I'm not dying. I'm healing."

Lila giggled as she quickly covered her mouth. "Sorry. It's just Nyko never laughs but with you, he's..." She trailed off, blushing.

Nyko shot her a look. "Lila."

"What? It's true." She turned to me conspiratorial. "He gets the willies when he comes here says the smell reminds him of death."

"The willies?" I raised an eyebrow at Nyko. "Really?"

"I don't get the willies," he muttered.

"You absolutely do," Lila insisted. "Last time, you stood outside for an hour because you didn't want to come in."

I snorted. "The big bad beta who’s scared of a little hospital?"

Nyko's eyes narrowed but there was a smile tugging at his lips. "Keep talking and I'll eat your cookie."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Lila laughed, the sound bright and genuine. "I like her, Nyko. She's funny."

"She's trouble," he corrected but his voice was warm.

I took another."

bite of the cookie, savoring the sweetness. "So, Lila, how long have you been working here?"

"Two years. I started as an assistant but I've been learning." She glanced at me shyly. "You're really good. The way you stitched that wound earlier I've never seen anyone work that fast."

"My mother was trained me well."

"She must have been amazing." I smiled

but it didn't reach my eyes. "She died when I was twelve."

Lila's expression softened. "I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago."

Nyko was quiet watching me with something unreadable in his gaze. Then he pushed off the wall and walked over, crouching beside me.

He shook his head slowly. "You're just... not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know." He smiled soft and genuine. "Someone who needed saving not someone who saves others."

My heart stuttered as I reached for another cookie, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through my chest. Lila handed me one, her fingers brushing mine.

"You know," she said, "you should come here more often. The healers could use the help and I could use the company."

"I'd like that." Nyko opened his mouth to say something

The sliding door to the hospital opened as

Fenrir stepped inside.

Lila dropped to her knees immediately, head bowed. The other healers followed, the room falling silent except for the soft groans of the wounded.

I didn't bow. I couldn't.

Fenrir's eyes found me instantly. He took in the scene me, sitting on the floor cookie in hand, Nyko beside me as Lila trembling at my feet.

His jaw tightened.

"Nyko," he said, his voice flat. "I need you at the northern border. Now."

Nyko rose slowly, his expression unreadable. "Of course, my king."

He glanced at me for a second then he walked out.

Fenrir stepped further into the room, his presence suffocating. Lila was still on her knees, her face pale.

Fenrir stood over me, his shadow swallowing me whole.

"You've been busy," he said.

"I was helping." I folded my hands over my chest showing I wasn’t in any way afraid of him.

His eyes dropped to my hands still stained with herbs, a small cut on my finger from a wayward stitch. Fenrir stood there with an unreadable expression.

"We need to talk," he said as he took my hand again.