Chapter 18

The waiting room erupted into an uproar, everyone talking at once. Some people, worried there might be trouble, hurried out of the clinic.

But others rose to their feet and came closer, not only to see what would happen next, but to speak out as well.

“Dr. Green isn’t evil!” said one.

“Right!” agreed several others.

The noise in the room grew louder. Claire stood at the center of it, trying to process the shock over what was happening.

She knew there were punishments for doctors practicing without licenses, but she truly had been healing people.

She locked eyes with Sabrina, saw the Princess was waiting for Claire to panic and run, or do something stupid.

She still thinks I’m weak, Claire realized. To her, I’m just some low level wolf.

But Claire had grown recently. And she refused to give in to the fear and confusion in her belly.

Instead, she calmly stepped forward, to face the Gamma warrior, Joseph.

Seeing her, the people nearby grew quieter, waiting to see what she had to say.

“Do you have an official arrest warrant? I’d like to know what the charges are, and why you’re trying to arrest me.”

Joseph looked at Claire with an expression of distaste. “We don’t need an official warrant to take care of the likes of you, Omega. Princess Sabrina has already paid my lieutenant for the time and effort of bringing you in.”

His response made it clear that the Princess hadn’t told anyone about the rest of Claire’s true identity. If they knew she was the Alpha’s mate, and the mother of his son, they wouldn’t be quite so eager to throw her in jail.

Claire held her head high. “If you don’t have a warrant, then you can’t arrest me. Please leave.”

Joseph sneered at her. “Why should we need a warrant to arrest you, wolfless? Omegas like you are always involved in crime. Locking you up is a public service. If I had my way, I’d lock up every single filthy low ranking wolf in the pack.”

Angry murmurs greeted this statement. This clinic was open to the entire pack, and many in the crowd were considered lower level wolves.

And they’d faced discrimination for it their entire lives.

Amelia, furious, charged into Joseph’s face and poked him in the chest. “This is discrimination! How dare you?? It’s behavior like this that makes life so difficult for so many members of our pack. Claire is the one who makes a difference, not you.”

A chorus of agreements sounded out around them.

“She’s right!” called a young woman. “Claire healed my dislocated shoulder just last week.”

“She got rid of my fever just by touching my head,” said an older man.

“My arthritis is gone!”

“My leg was broken and she healed it!”

Voice after voice called out what Claire had done to help them, and how kind and gentle her care had been. Many of them also belonged to staff members, who all loved Claire and appreciated her hard work and dedication.

Amelia looked up at Joseph. “Do you see? What makes a good doctor is medical skill and healing abilities, not rank. Now you take your goon squad and get out of my - ”

Sabrina cut her off harshly, her voice rising above the crowd as she pushed into the middle of the circle that formed. “Lies! You’re all idiots!”

The crowd stared at the Princess, shocked at the rage on her face. “How can an Omega have such skills? Gamma Joseph, these people are all lying. They’re covering for this criminal. Now, do what I tell you and arrest her!”

Chaos erupted as Joseph gave the command for his guards to arrest Claire. A number of people pushed back against the guards as they moved, and the guards pushed back. Several people ended up shoved back, into walls and to the ground.

Claire held up her hands, calling out for everyone to calm down. “Please, stop! Someone’s going to get hurt!”

Third-person's POV

In his office, Nathan sat trying to review the paperwork in front of him. But all he could think about was Claire. What could he do to repair their relationship?

How could he make her come home?

He called out “Come in!” when someone knocked on his door. Then he stared as Beta Evan rushed in, clearly out of breath.

“Alpha, I just heard - ” he gasped, trying to get his breath back.

Nathan stood up, a sense of dread growing in his stomach.

“Someone just reported Gamma Joseph and a group of guards are at the clinic. They’re trying to arrest Claire. We need to - ”

But Nathan was already out the door, running for his car.

When he got to the clinic, he rushed inside, afraid he’d find Claire being bullied by the notoriously rough Gamma. Maybe already in handcuffs.

The thought of her being taken away like that chilled him.

What he found was a waiting room crowded with people gathered around a group of guards, yelling out in defense of Claire and harassing the guards for wasting everyone’s time.

And amid all the chaos was Claire, calmly confronting Joseph.

“You have no right here, Gamma Joseph. And now people have gotten hurt. You need to take your men and leave. I’ve got patients I need to take care of.”

Then she turned away from him, helping up the people who had been knocked over by the guards, carefully examining them for wounds or injuries.

“What’s going on here?” Nathan said.

Seeing their Alpha, the crowd parted to let him through. Nathan walked up to Joseph and demanded, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Faced with his Alpha, Joseph stood up straighter. “Sir. We are here to arrest an Omega who’s been pretending to be a healer here at the clinic.”

Nathan turned around and looked at Claire in shock. “Healer? Claire? Have you been pretending to be a doctor?”

Claire met his gaze calmly, but before she could answer Sabrina pushed her way to Nathan’s side. “It’s true, Nathan. Don’t you see? She’s been hiding here, lying about who she is, this whole time. She’s a criminal!”

Nathan only spared her a glance. His eyes were on his mate. She hadn’t bothered to deny that she’d been pretending to be a doctor.

“Claire, I need you to come with me. We can sort this whole thing out at my office.”

He gazed at her, an unspoken “please” in his eyes. He needed to get her out of here, somewhere he could keep her safe.

“No, Nathan. I don’t need to go anywhere. Yes, I’ve been acting as a doctor. But I haven’t been lying about my abilities,” she added, looking at Sabrina.

Claire helped another person up off the floor, a young man whose face was pale with pain and sheened with sweat. He held his wrist close to his chest, the hand hanging limply. The wrist was clearly broken.

“Here,” she said. “Let me help you.”

And as Nathan and Sabrina, Joseph, the guards and everyone in the room watched, Claire gently took the young man’s hand and focused her energy.

A soft, warm glow slowly began to surround her, flowing from Claire and down through her hands into the man’s wrist.

With a small popping sound, the bone slipped back into place. The man’s entire expression changed, from pain to relief.

“It’s healed!” he cried, moving his hand around in circles to test it.

Everyone who had doubted her stood rooted in place by shock.

Was she really the healer everyone had been talking about?