Chapter 4 - First case

~ Moxie ~

“No?” Chloe drops my hands, the loud thud vibrating across the kitchen table as she looks at me as if I have just slapped her across the face.

“Moxie… did I hear you correctly?”

“You did.” I hold my nerve, my shoulders straightening as I prepare myself not to be pushed on this.

“Moxie, it’s no problem. Of course she can stay.” Anton’s voice hits me through the mind-link, the sheer idea of me rejecting either of them something that he would never expect. Instead, he needs to make it seem as if he champions the idea…for my benefit.

I cut the link instantly, refusing to let his voice inside my head.

Why am I only noticing his manipulation now? In my past life, his quiet commands always felt like protection. Now, I see them for what they truly are: control.

I crack my neck, ignoring the ghost of a bite mark burning on my shoulder. I force down the memory of them standing arm-in-arm behind those steel shutters, leaving me to be devoured.

“I am considering this from a professional medical perspective. It would be far safer for you to be at the pack house where all the other unmarked mothers to be live. The omegas are second to none, you would be well looked after Chloe.”

“What about you, I thought you would be by my side.”

“I am the luna as well as being the head of the medical function at this pack, I’m hardly here. At least at the pack house you will have twenty-four-hour care, and the omega’s have all the equipment to perform a blood test…” I raise my chin, having no quarrel in letting my luna aura roll off me.

At the mention of a blood test, Chloe’s color drains entirely. “A… a blood test?”

“A prenatal bloodline screen can identify the paternal bloodline by matching the results against the Council registry,” I say smoothly. “A male shouldn't be allowed to abandon his responsibilities and leave you to fend for yourself. Once the panel identifies the paternal bloodline, the Council can compel him to provide for the child.”

“I…no that’s not necessary.” She waves her hand away, gesturing for me to drop it.

“It is necessary, Chloe. As Luna, it is my duty to protect abandoned mothers and their unborn pups.” I rest a gentle hand on her shoulder, swallowing the bitter taste of hypocrisy. “Don’t you agree, Anton?”

I turn to my husband. His jaw is tight, and for one brief second, his eyes cut toward Chloe before locking onto mine.

“A forced blood panel is an invasion of Chloe’s privacy,” Anton says, his tone rigid as he steps between us. “If she doesn't wish to pursue the father, we will not force her.”

“She needs support, Anton.”

“And we can provide it without dragging the Council into her private affairs,” he counters. He is trying to sound like a just Alpha, but I catch the tight, rigid line of his shoulders.

Before he can push further, Beta Randall pushes urgently into the leadership channel of our pack link.

“Alpha, Luna,” his voice breaks through, urgent and breathless. “We have an emergency at the medical wing. A patient is exhibiting violent, abnormal symptoms. The attending physician is requesting Luna’s expertise immediately.”

My heart leaps into my throat. It has started.

“I’m on my way,” I respond through the link, rising from the table without another word.

As I head down the corridor, I send a swift, silent command over the link to our house steward: “Prepare a prenatal suite at the main pack house for Chloe. I will authorize her bloodline panel personally tomorrow morning.”

Whether Anton quietly cancels it or Chloe formally refuses, either response gives me a decision I can document and use later with the Council.

I reach the front porch, then pause as I realize Anton’s heavy footsteps are no longer behind me. Protocol dictates that the Alpha accompanies the Luna on any security-related medical emergency.

I head back towards the kitchen to find Chloe sobbing into his neck as he holds her closely to him. An inaudible whisper is spluttered by her, and I have to stop myself from growling out when Anton notices me watching them both by the doorway.

“Are you coming!” I demand out, before spinning on my heel, leaving him questioning my thoughts.

I reach the hospital first, the beta already waiting for me as I step out of the elevator onto the upper floor.

“Luna, thank you for coming so quickly,” Randall says, striding alongside me as I pull my hair back into a tight bun.

“Tell me what we’re dealing with.”

“A warrior was brought in during the early hours with high fever and severe disorientation. The staff

sedated him, but his condition is deteriorating.” Randall holds open the double doors leading into the observation ward. “The sedatives aren't holding.”

“Has he bitten anyone?” I ask sharply.

Randall hesitates. “He broke the skin on a worker’s forearm during an examination an hour ago. We’ve already placed the male in a separate quarantine room for observation.”

“Good,” I say. At least my medical team is acting fast.

The elevator doors ping behind us, and Anton steps out. His suit jacket is buttoned, his shoulders squared as he catches up with long, commanding strides.

“What’s the situation?” Anton asks, falling into step beside me.

“Taking Luna to the isolation chamber now, Alpha,” Randall answers.

We reach the end of the hall. Through the reinforced glass window of the isolation chamber, I see a burly warrior strapped to a heavy steel bed frame. He is thrashing violently against the leather restraints, foam gathering at the corners of his mouth as he snarls at the attending nurse.

“Are the restraints necessary?” Anton clicks his tongue. I reach down for a mask, placing it around my mouth and nose. I don’t know anything about this pandemic, whether it is airborne or passed from host to host through contact…I need to be careful.

I step into the room, keeping a safe distance from his snapping jaws. Anton follows, his presence heavy and imposing.

I move closer into the ward, Anton pulling me back as the infected patient kicks out, his teeth snapping aggressively.

“Sedate him!” Anton orders out, his alpha aura thick and adding a level of heaviness into the room.

“We have Alpha, it isn’t working.” The nurse apologetically mutters out from the side, her head bowed down as she refuses to look at her leader in the eye.

I place my fingers around the patient’s wrist, counting his pulse rate…it is off the charts. How is he still alive.

I lean in, shining my small torch into his eyes to find large black pupils staring back at me. I almost jump out of my own skin when his pupils flicker to white, before turning black again.

I think back on the eventful day, on the wolves that were chasing us…they all had that same gaunt, haunted look in their eyes…they all had white pupils.

It was as if they were all dead behind the eyes.

“I need you to set a team up for me, this needs urgent deeper investigation.” I demand out.

“Investigation?”

“I need to test bloods, test saliva, quarantine this entire ward…if it is airborne the virus will have already spread.” I continue out, my luna aura commanding.

“Virus?” Anton mutters by my side.

“I need to produce a vaccine.” I mutter back.

“A vaccine? No, Moxie you are panicking over nothing. It is just a bad case of rabies. If the other alphas hear we have quarantined a ward, they will think we are weak and will attack us. Focus on the festival to show our strength.” Anton grips my elbow, pulling me into his flank.

“I can’t, not with this going on.” I yank my arm away, refusing to submit to his request.

“Alphas are coming from the allied packs; the festival takes precedence Moxie. How would it look if you didn’t arrange the festival.” His words are slow…quiet…stated through gritted teeth. A smile is sent to the nurse and beta who are watching our confrontation, reassurance sent their way. He needs to keep up with the pretence…but I don’t…not any longer.

“I don’t care how it would look, I’m sure they are handling an outbreak of these mutated wolves themselves.”

“You don’t care? You don’t care about the pack’s reputation.”

“That isn’t what I said. What I said is that the outbreak will spread unless…”

“No, you are to concentrate on the festival, that is your priority.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You must do your duty as Luna.,” Anton snaps. The weight of his Alpha command rolls through the room, forcing the nurse’s gaze downward. “You will manage the festival, and you will let the medical staff complete their tests before you throw the entire pack into panic.”

I turn directly to Beta Randall and the attending nurse.

“Seal the ward and initiate Level Two isolation protocols,” I command, letting my Luna authority resonate through the room. “As Medical Director, I am ordering this ward sealed.”

The nurse freezes. Randall’s gaze flicks between us. For the first time, he does not know which leader to obey.

“Stand down, Randall,” Anton rumbles, stepping between me and the staff.

“Do not stand down,” I counter, staring directly into my husband’s glowing amber eyes. “If this spreads beyond these walls, the blood of this pack will be on your hands.”

Anton’s eyes narrow, cold and unyielding.

“Level Two protocols are denied,” he tells Randall before turning his gaze back to me. His voice carries the full authority of an Alpha.

“You have exceeded your authority, Moxie. You are suspended as Medical Director.

Effective immediately.”