All Chapters of The Wolfless Doctor: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Mary's POV"The coalition council is divided. Fifteen packs support infiltration. Twelve oppose it."Theodore stood at the head of the conference table, addressing the assembled pack leaders. We'd been debating strategy for Montana for three hours and getting nowhere. The room was tense, with alphas arguing over the best approach."A divided coalition is a weak coalition," Alpha Griffin Mercer pointed out, his weathered face troubled. "We need consensus before we act.""We don't have time for consensus," I countered, standing to address the room. "Every day we wait is another day The Covenant consolidates their remaining resources. Another day they torture prisoners. Another day they plan retaliation against our safe houses and territories.""And rushing into a poorly planned assault gets people killed," Alpha Weston Hale argued, still opposed despite joining the coalition. "Montana is their headquarters. Their strongest position. We attack there and fail, the entire resistance moveme

"Strip her and put her in the containment cell."The Elder's command echoed through the chamber as guards grabbed me roughly. I struggled, calling on my wolf, but the moment they fastened the crystal collar around my neck, all my power vanished. The familiar agony of crystals digging into my throat made me gasp."No," I choked out, feeling the silver-laced metal suppress my abilities completely. "Not again.""Oh yes, again," the Elder said with cruel satisfaction in his ancient voice. "Did you really think we'd forgotten how to contain a Healer Alpha? We perfected these collars on your mother over twenty years. Every iteration was tested on her suffering. This one is our masterpiece."They dragged me through corridors carved from mountain stone, Trent being hauled in a different direction. His eyes met mine briefly, filled with guilt and terror, before guards pulled him around a corner.The containment cell was worse than any I'd been held in before. The walls were lined with silver a

Mary's POVPain.That was the first thing I felt when consciousness returned. Not the sharp, immediate agony of the collar or Dr. Hollander's experiments. This was different. Deeper. The pain of a body that had been pushed beyond its limits and was now trying desperately to repair itself.I tried to open my eyes but they felt glued shut. Tried to speak but my throat was too raw. Tried to move but my body wouldn't respond.Panic set in. Was I still in the Montana facility? Still strapped to that surgical table? Had the rescue been a dream, a hallucination brought on by torture?"Mary? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."Owen's voice. Real and close and filled with desperate hope. I focused everything I had on my right hand, trying to move fingers that felt like they belonged to someone else.A tiny squeeze. Barely noticeable. But enough."Thank god. Juni, she's responding. She's in there.""Her vitals are improving," Juniper's voice came from somewhere nearby, her pro

I looked away from her intense gaze. "Why do you care? You barely know me.""I bound your wolf when you were five years old. I have watched over you from the shadows for seventeen years. I knew your mother before The Covenant took her. I care because you represent hope for our kind. The last Healer Alpha. The one who might actually end this war. But you cannot end anything if you get yourself killed charging into battles you are not ready for.""So what are you saying? That I should stay behind?""I am saying you should be smart. Strategic. Use your abilities where they are most needed rather than trying to be everywhere at once." Serena put a hand on my shoulder gently. "You have already proven your courage, Mary. Now prove your wisdom."She walked away before I could respond, leaving me to think about her words.That night, I could not sleep. Again. The nightmares came every time I closed my eyes, so I stayed awake, sitting in the dark and listening to Owen breathe beside me.Around

The next three days passed in a blur of final preparations. Strike teams ran drills. Witches practiced coordinated spellwork. Medical teams set up field hospitals at three locations around Montana for treating wounded during the assault.Mary divided her time between healing coalition wolves and attending strategy meetings. She was trying so hard to be ready, to be the leader everyone needed her to be. But I saw the cracks forming. The nightmares that woke her every night. The way she jumped at sudden noises. The moments when her eyes went distant and I knew she was back in that cell.Two days before the assault, my father pulled me aside after a council meeting."I need to tell you something," Theodore said seriously. "Something I have kept secret for a long time.""What is it?""Twenty years ago, when Evelyn Hart was taken by The Covenant, I was supposed to protect her. We had an alliance. I knew she was the last Healer Alpha, knew she was being hunted. I had resources, connections,