Chapter 17

In disbelief, Sabrina grabbed the arm of a nurse walking by.

“Who is that? Tell me,” she demanded, pointing down the hallway at Claire.

The nurse, at first annoyed, quickly realized Sabrina as a Royal. Her expression changed to one of fear. “Th-that’s one of our doctors,” she stammered.

Sabrina closed her hand harder around the woman’s arm and hissed, “Which doctor?”

“She…she’s the newest. As soon as she got here she started healing people in ways no one else is able to do! Her healing gift is beyond belief. B-but that’s all I know, I promise!”

To the nurse’s relief, Sabrina let go of her. She hurried away, rubbing her arm.

Sabrina, meanwhile, stared dumbfounded at Claire still chatting down the hall with the nurses.

How could she be the young, mysterious healer who had so recently gained fame in the pack - and favor with Sabrina’s father?

She was just an omega! She didn’t even have a degree!

And yet, somehow, Claire had somehow convinced everyone around her that she had these great magical abilities.

Sabrina clenched her jaw. She had to be faking it somehow. The little worthless wolfless was lying to everyone around her.

And Sabrina was going to prove it.

By the time another nurse brought her father’s medication refill, Sabrina’s expression had gone from grim to satisfied.

She knew just how to expose Claire.

Claire's POV

That afternoon Claire left work and went home, to the small one room efficiency apartment a kind older woman was renting out to her.

It was a tiny space, with barely enough room for a kitchen counter and a bed, but it was also the first place Claire had ever had to herself. Despite the circumstances, Claire had made it as cheerful a home as possible, with fresh flowers on the counter and bright curtains over the window.

She’d enjoyed decorating the space over the last few weeks. Now, looking around for a moment, she realized she was going to miss it when she left.

But leaving was exactly what she needed to do. That scene with Nathan in the exam room had proven it. If Claire wanted to build a life of her own, she needed to leave the pack in order to do it.

But how?

She knew she needed to leave, but the steps to take to actually do that felt overwhelming. Where was she even going to start?

A knock on the door drew her attention away from her problems, and Claire answered it gratefully.

Amelia stood on the other side, her arms full of grocery bags and a fresh bouquet of flowers.

“Hey Claire! I thought you could use some new flowers for the apartment. And I brought some things to cook for dinner. Feel like a little company?”

Claire laughed and took the flowers and some of the bags out of her friend’s hands. “Amelia, your timing is perfect. I’d love some company.” She paused to smell the flowers. “And these are lovely, thank you.”

“No problem.” Comfortable in her friend’s space, Amelia crossed to the kitchen area and began to unpack the groceries. “I figured after the whole thing with Nathan today, you might need a little moral support. It couldn’t have been easy.”

Claire set down the other bags, then began arranging the flowers in a vase. She sighed. “It wasn’t easy, no. Nathan…it’s like he can’t really see me. I’ve changed so much, but to him I’m still some helpless, worthless Omega.”

Amelia paused to reach over and give Claire’s hand a squeeze. “I’m so proud of you, Claire. You stood up to him, and that’s not something you could have done even a few weeks ago. And hey, at least you got to see Andy.”

Thinking of her son, Claire smiled. “I swear he’s grown an inch or two since I last saw him. And it felt so good to hold him for a while. But…”

She trailed off, watching Amelia chop vegetables. Then she took a breath. “I want to tell him the truth. Andy deserves to know that I’m his mother. And…I owe him a proper goodbye.”

Amelia looked at her, her eyes filled with compassion. “Oh honey, I know leaving him isn’t an easy decision.”

“No, it’s not. But he obviously prefers Sabrina over me. And Nathan would never let me leave with his son to go live in another pack. Right now, there’s nothing more I can do.”

“I understand,” Amelia said. Going up against an Alpha’s direct wishes about his child, even with her new wolf and incredible healing abilities, would be close to impossible.

“But at least we got your application for departure filed a few days ago. The approval shouldn’t take too long to process. Soon, you’ll be off starting your new life, in a new pack.”

Claire smiled, and found she really was looking forward to having a whole new life, in some place where no one knew about her Omega past.

She wouldn’t be Claire the wolfless, Claire the lowly and unworthy.

She would be Claire the healer.

And all she had to do to get to that new life was break her own heart by leaving her mate and their son behind.

Claire went to work the next day, eager as always to see the patients already filling the waiting room. With every patient she saw, every illness or injury she healed, both her wolf and her healing abilities grew stronger.

And so did her sense of confidence.

Claire finally knew who she was in the world. And it felt amazing.

Amelia greeted her in the parking lot, arriving at the same time. They walked into the clinic together, laughing and chatting and getting ready for the day.

That laughter died when a tall, formidable Gamma arrived at the clinic. He wasn’t alone. A group of guards walked in lock step behind him.

Their presence brought a hush over the waiting room. This could mean a whole world of trouble for someone here. People exchanged worried looks and quiet whispers.

What was going on?

Amelia stepped forward, a look of confusion on her face. “Hello, Gamma. Are - are you here with the approval for the departure request I filed?”

The Gamma raised an eyebrow at Amelia, then glanced behind him. Sabrina appeared from behind the guards, a smug smile on her face.

In front of the entire waiting room, and the staff now coming out to see what was going on, she announced, “We’re here for the Omega who has been practicing medicine under false pretenses.”

A wave of murmuring met this announcement as people wondered what Sabrina was talking about. And who she meant.

“This evil doctor is nothing but a lowly Omega disguising herself as a ‘healer,’ treating people far above her station.”

“Now hold on here,” Amelia said. “You’ve got no right to make these kinds of accusations - ”

“Oh no, I have every right,” Sabrina cut her off, her eyes glittering with malice. “And everyone here has the right to know!”

She spoke louder now, making sure everyone could hear.

“Your ‘Dr. Green’ is no miracle worker. She’s nothing but an Omega who doesn’t even have a wolf.”

The gasps that followed her statement were so deeply satisfying that it was all Sabrina could do to keep from laughing.

“Guards!” she called out, pointing at Claire. “Arrest her!”