All Chapters of The Alpha's Last Choice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Clara's POV Getting Kael to my clinic is like trying to move a mountain. Even injured and bleeding, he's solid muscle and dead weight. My small Honda groans under his bulk as I half-drag, half-carry him from the car to the back entrance of my practice."This is insane," I mutter, fumbling with my keys while supporting his weight against my shoulder. "I should have called an ambulance.""No hospitals," he repeats through gritted teeth, the same words from the alley. His voice is weaker now, but still carries that strange authority that makes me want to obey.The clinic is dark and quiet at this hour. I flip on the lights in my treatment room and help him onto the examination table, where he immediately tries to sit up."Lie down," I order, pushing him back with surprising ease. For someone who felt impossibly heavy to move, he yields to my touch like I have some kind of power over him.His silver eyes track my every movement as I gather supplies, gauze, antiseptic, sutures. My hands a

Clara's POV"Dr. Veyron, you really should consider getting a car with better headlights."I look up from locking the clinic's back door to find Mrs. Patterson, my seventy-year-old neighbor, peering at me over the fence. Her gray hair is in curlers, and she's clutching a cup of tea despite the late hour."My Honda's headlights work just fine, Mrs. Patterson." I manage a tired smile. "You should be getting to bed. It's past eleven.""So should you, dear. All this overtime isn't healthy for a young woman."If only overtime was my biggest problem. It's been three days since Kael disappeared from my clinic, and I haven't slept more than a few hours each night. Every time I close my eyes, I see silver eyes and feel the phantom heat of his skin under my palm.I'm losing my mind."Good night, Mrs. Patterson." I wave and head toward my car, parked under the broken streetlight at the end of the alley. The city keeps promising to fix it, but somehow it never happens.The darkness feels heavier

Clara's POV The Shadowclaw territory is nothing like what I expected. Instead of caves or rustic cabins in the woods, Kael leads me through a gated community that screams wealth and privacy. Massive houses sit on perfectly manicured lots, separated by tall hedges and iron fences. It looks like any upscale neighborhood, except for the subtle wrongness I can't quite name.Maybe it's the way everyone we pass stops what they're doing to stare. Or how their eyes seem to glow in the early morning light. Or the fact that even from inside Kael's SUV, I can feel their hostility like a physical weight."This is where your pack lives?" I ask, pressing closer to the window as we drive past a Tudor mansion with rose bushes that look too perfect to be real."Part of it." Kael's hands tighten on the steering wheel. "The main territory covers about fifty square miles, but the residential area is concentrated here. Easier to maintain our cover this way."Cover. Right. Because they're not just wealthy

Clara's POV "The moonwort will heal any infection, child. Mix it with elderflower and the fever will break within hours."I look up from my barely touched plate of venison to see Elder Samuel instructing a young mother whose toddler has been crying all evening. The pack dinner is in full swing around us, thirty or so people gathered in the main house's dining hall, sharing food and conversation like any extended family.Except this family has claws, and I'm the unwelcome guest who keeps saying the wrong thing."Actually," I say before I can stop myself, "moonwort can be toxic in large doses, especially for children. If the fever is from an infection, you'd want to…"The entire room goes silent.I realize my mistake immediately. The conversations stop mid-sentence. Forks pause halfway to mouths. Even the crying toddler seems to sense the shift in atmosphere and quiets in his mother's arms.Elder Samuel turns to face me, his weathered face dark with anger. At seventy-something, he's th

Clara's POVI'm lost.After four days of wandering the mansion's endless hallways, I thought I'd mapped out most of the layout. But apparently there are entire wings I haven't discovered yet, because I have no idea where I am right now.The guest wing is behind me somewhere, but these corridors look different. Older. The wallpaper here is faded burgundy with gold trim, and oil paintings of stern-faced people in period clothing watch me from their heavy frames. Everything feels more formal, more intimidating than the areas where I've been staying.I'm walking to the kitchen or any room with food, really. My pride kept me from eating dinner with the pack again tonight, but pride doesn't fill an empty stomach. The problem is that every door I try seems to be locked.Until this one.The handle turns easily under my touch, and I peek inside expecting to find another empty guest room or maybe a storage closet. Instead, I'm looking at what can only be Kael's private study.I should leave, t