All Chapters of The Alpha's Last Choice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

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