Chapter 5- Doctor Sage

Sage’s Pov

The man straightened slowly after I broke the bear trap. Blood still soaked the ground beneath him, yet his first instinct was not to check his wound.

He turned his head, scanning the tree line for danger.

His eyes were sharp, alert, sweeping across the forest with the ease of someone who had spent most of his life surrounded by danger. Even injured, even barely standing, he carried authority in the way he moved.

Only after he was satisfied that there was no immediate threat did he look back at me.

“Thank you,” he said. His voice was deep and calm, without exaggeration. “You saved my life.”

“You were bleeding out,” I replied. “Anyone would have done the same.”

A corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “You’d be surprised.”

Before I could respond, Anna stirred violently inside my mind.

“That’s him.” Her voice was loud, excited, almost breathless. “That’s our mate. I can smell it. Sage, do you feel that? He smells incredible.”

I stiffened. “Anna, stop,” I warned.

“Stop?” she scoffed. “Why would I stop? Look at him. Tall. Strong. Plus he’s an Alpha!. That scent! Do you even smell him!? gods, Sage, he’ll give us strong cubs.”

Heat rushed to my face so fast it caught me off guard. “Anna!” I snapped. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I am being accurate, " she shot back. This is fate. Second chance fate.”

My heart was already beating too fast, and her words only made it worse. The warmth spreading through my chest felt foreign, unsettling. It had been so long since I had felt anything like this that my body didn’t quite know what to do with it.

I looked at the man again.

He was watching me closely now, his gaze steady, curious. There was something about the way he looked at me, like he wasn’t just seeing my face, but noticing the pauses in my breathing, the way my fingers curled slightly at my side.

It made my pulse jump.

“Quiet,” I told Anna firmly. “We don’t even know him. You can’t make assumptions.”

She huffed but didn’t argue further, though I could still feel her restless energy pacing inside me.

The man raised an eyebrow. “This is usually the part where you tell me your own name.”

“Oh,” I said quickly. “I…sorry. I forgot my manners.”

I cleared my throat and forced myself to focus. “My name is Sage.”

“Sage,” he repeated, as if testing the sound of it. “I’m Cassius. Alpha of Winter’s Claw Pack.”

An Alpha.

That explained the presence, the way the forest seemed to bend around him.

“I need to get you medical attention,” I said immediately, glancing at his leg. Blood was still flowing steadily, soaking through the torn fabric of his pants. “That wound is serious.”

He followed my gaze and shrugged slightly. “I’ve had worse.”

“I’m sure you have,” I replied. “That doesn’t mean this won’t kill you.”

“I’ll manage…”

“No, you won’t,” I interrupted, already reaching for my phone. “My Beta will transport you to the hospital.”

He frowned. “That’s not necessary.”

“It is,” I said flatly. “And I’m not asking.”

There was a pause. Then, surprisingly, Cassius laughed. It was a low sound, brief, but genuine. “All right,” he said. “I see I’m outmatched.”

The hospital ward buzzed with quiet activity when we arrived. My Beta and two nurses helped Cassius through the doors and onto one of the beds. He moved stiffly, jaw clenched, but he never made a sound. Only the slight tightening of his shoulders betrayed the pain he was in.

“You can let go now,” he said when one nurse hovered too close.

She flushed and stepped back immediately.

I moved to his side and examined the injury more closely. The bear trap had crushed bone and torn muscle, but the damage wasn’t as hopeless as it looked at first glance.

“We’ll clean the wound first,” I explained, slipping into a familiar rhythm. “Then reduce the fracture. After that, I’ll apply an herbal poultice to prevent infection and accelerate tissue repair.”

Cassius nodded. “Do what you need to do.”

“I recommend nerve blockage,” I added. “Before surgery.”

He shook his head without hesitation. “I don’t need anesthetics or sedatives.”

I looked up at him sharply. “You do realize this will hurt.”

“As an Alpha,” he said calmly, “pain is something to be conquered.”

I stared at him for a second. Then I rolled my eyes. Alphas are all the same. But despite myself, a small smile tugged at my lips.

Anna perked up immediately. “See? I knew you liked him.”

“Behave yourself Anna” I muttered internally.

Before I could continue one of the doctors present in the ward spoke up. “And who are you?” he demanded. “Just because you can say a few medical terms doesn’t make you an expert.”

My smile vanished.

“In this case it does, because I’m the one doing to handle this surgery.” I said evenly.

He scoffed. “That’s not standard medical procedure. You can’t just walk into any hospital and demand to lead treatment."

“I’ll allow it.” Cassius’s voice cut through the room like a blade.

Every head turned toward him. The nurses froze. Even the doctor looked stunned.

“You’ll… allow it?” the doctor repeated.

“Yes,” Cassius said. “She has my consent.”

The room fell silent. I met Cassius’s gaze. For a moment, everything else faded. The tension, the pain in my wrist, the weight of the past. He gave a slight nod. That seemed to say, I trust you.

Something cold slid down my spine.

I called for gloves, forcing my focus back to the present. My right hand throbbed painfully as I pulled them on. It was still weak, still healing, and the thought of performing surgery like this, on an Alpha, without sedatives, made my stomach twist.

Cassius watched me closely and it was as if he could see how nervous I was. That unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.

I had known only two Alphas in my life. Alerci and now Cassiius. And in all my years with Aleric he had never once looked at me the way Cassius did.

As the nurses prepared the area, the doctor leaned closer, studying the injury with narrowed eyes.

"Doesn't look good, the damage has exceeded the subcutaneous layer and probably even severed a few nerves. This leg will need to be amputated,” he declared.

Cassius nearly choked. “Excuse me?”

I turned sharply. “That’s a hasty conclusion.”

The doctor sneered. “The damage is extensive. Any self respecting medical practitioner can see that.”

“Extensive doesn’t mean irreversible,” I shot back. “You haven’t even ordered an X-ray. You’re ignoring key indicators.”

Murmurs rippled through the room. One nurse nodded slowly, pointing at a medical device "She's right. The circulation is still strong.”

The doctor’s face darkened.

“Don’t listen to the madman anymore, Sage,” Cassius said lightly. “I entrust my future to you.”

He lay back fully on the bed and closed his eyes. “I sure hope I won’t regret it.”

The doctor glared at me with blind fury, “You think you can just walk in here and take over? Well how about this? If you succeed,” he snarled, “I’ll abandon medicine and never practice again.”