Chapter 33

Claire POV

I stared at Sabrina, shocked to see her in the clinic. In a volunteer’s smock, with a nametag on her chest.

Smiling.

Of all the things I was trying to process in that moment, that detail was the most disturbing.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

I took a deep breath and took the first chart from my stack at the nurse’s station.

“Alright,” I said, after sharing one last look with Amelia. “Come with me.”

I resolved to try and make the best of this. I’d deal with Sabrina and do my job, while waiting to see what kind of game she was playing.

But as the day moved on, it became perfectly clear why Sabrina had volunteered at the clinic:

To make my life hell.

Sabrina POV

I could tell Claire didn’t want me around, and wasn’t that delightful?

And it was obvious not knowing why I was really here was driving her crazy, which only added to my pleasure.

And it became very obvious that the best way for me to disrupt Claire’s work, and make her day as miserable as possible, was to act as stupid, useless and clumsy as I could.

And it was just so. much. fun.

“Oops! How clumsy of me,” I said as I - once again - dropped an instrument Claire asked me to hand her while examining a patient.

“I’m new here,” I said to the patient. “I’m so sorry.”

“That’s alright,” the patient said, a young man with a scar down one side of his face. “I’m sure you’re trying your best, Princess,” he added shyly.

Word had gotten around that the Royal Princess was volunteering at the local clinic. And all day long people had been praising me for my humility, and thanking me for taking the time to help the pack.

And weren’t they so kind in accepting my clumsiness or how slow I was to understand instructions?

Weren’t they quick to correct their “Dr. Green” when she got frustrated with me?

“Now now, Dr. Green,” said an older woman when my third attempt at wrapping a bandage around her leg unraveled. She tsked at Claire’s sound of frustration.

“Young Sabrina here is doing her best. She’s new, and can’t be expected to pick it all up in one day.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, smiling at her sweetly.

Then grinning at Claire when I turned around for another bandage.

Who knew these stupid peasants could come in handy, helping me ruin Claire’s day?

But bumbling and fumbling weren’t the only weapons I had at my disposal.

I was also carefully seeding a smear campaign, laying the groundwork for what was to come once we started poisoning the patients.

“Oh, Dr. Green,” I said, looking over her shoulder as she wrote out a prescription. “Are you sure that’s the right prescription for a child that young? And at that dosage?”

I’d pitched my voice just loud enough for the patient’s mother, standing with her toddler over at the exam table, to overhear me.

Claire gave me a hard look. “Yes, Volunteer Sabrina, it is. This is a very common medication for children with upper respiratory infections like his. And the dosage is quite low.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” I said, making sure to keep some hesitation in my voice. “I know you’re a gifted healer and all, but that doesn’t replace the medical training and experience of a real doctor.”

The mother picked up her toddler, who was starting to get fussy with boredom.

“Dr. Green, is that true?” She held her son tight against her, despite his squirming. “I know you - they say you’re a gifted healer. But did you not go to medical school?”

Claire handed her the prescription. “I assure you, ma’am, that even without my healing abilities I have plenty of experience, and education. I even have my certification in making potions, tonics and salves.”

The woman looked back and forth between me and Claire. “But - ”

I held up my hand. “I must apologize, I was mistaken. It was just a silly little rumor I heard. I’m sure the head physician wouldn’t have hired Claire if she wasn’t qualified. She certainly didn’t do it just because they’re best friends.”

And hadn’t that been an interesting bit of information to learn from the nurse spy Devin?

A few moments later Devin and I stood together at the nurse’s station, watching Claire continue to reassure the toddler’s mother after she checked out, a bag with the child’s prescription in her hand.

The wrong prescription.

“I switched the medicine order on the computer before the pharmacy filled it,” Devin told me. “The medicine she prescribed would have cleared up his infection in a few days. Instead, he’ll get worse.”

“How much worse?” I asked, intrigued. Nurse Devin was turning out to be wonderfully devious.

She smiled. “He’ll be at the emergency room needing a breathing treatment within twenty four hours.”

I was impressed. “That’s good. That’s really good. You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “Alpha Soren told me to stir up as much trouble as possible. The more we discredit this ‘healer’ Silverfang has, the more we weaken Alpha Nathan’s position. And his authority.”

I had to admit, I hadn’t thought about that. And for a moment, I worried about the consequences of what I was about to do here.

Would taking down Claire really affect Nathan so much?

Then I brushed those thoughts away. Worries and doubts never accomplished anything. And if there were issues to deal with once I got Claire out of the way, I’d handle them.

Right now, getting rid of the Omega was the only thing I needed to focus on.

And I got my chance to truly put the plan into motion with our very next patient.

A young Gamma had been injured during her training, falling from a significant height while running through an obstacle course.

Her instructor rushed her in, and Claire directed them back to an exam room immediately.

“Give me room,” she said, nudging the man out of the way. “Let me see.”

The young woman lay on the exam table, a grimace of pain on her face. Claire held her hands just above the woman’s body and used them to scan her from head to toe.

“You have a few broken ribs,” she said, “and a slight concussion. I can fix them, and it won’t hurt. Just lay still.”

As I watched the glow begin to shine beneath Claire’s hands, healing the woman’s wounds and easing her pain, I remembered Nurse Devin’s words from earlier today.

Where exactly did Claire’s powers come from?

Was it - could it really be - witchcraft?

“Volunteer Sabrina,” Claire said, her voice breaking through my thoughts. “Please go get a healing potion from the pharmacy supply.”

Perfect.

I walked out of the room, and did a slow lap up and down the hall to make it seem like I’d walked to the pharmacy. Then I took the vial out of my pocket.

“Here you go, Dr. Green,” I said, walking back into the exam room.

Then, as Claire explained that the potion was to help her body recover from the accelerated healing process, I watched the patient uncap the vial and drink it.

Every last drop.

It was all I could do to keep from shouting with joy.

Claire POV

I sat down at my desk, exhausted. My head was pounding, and I felt as if I’d run a marathon.

Healing someone always took a bit out of me, but this was more than that.

Sabrina sat at the small folding table that had been brought into my office for her, smiling at me.

That was the source of my irritation and fatigue.

Spending a day with her constantly second-guessing me, messing things up on purpose and all the other little tricks I’d spotted had worn me down so much I could barely think straight.

And this was just day one.

She was going to be coming in three days a week, every single week.

I rested my head against my hand as I stared down at the pile of paperwork I still had to complete before I could leave for the day. I didn’t know how I was going to stand it.

No. I wasn’t going to stand it.

I was going to confront Sabrina, right now, and make her tell me what this was all about. One way or another.

But just as I was about to open my mouth, there was a frantic knocking on my door.

“Dr. Green, come quick!” Nurse Devin burst in. “Your last patient, she’s collapsed!”

My plan to confront Sabrina was instantly forgotten, and I rushed out the door.

Sabrina POV

Claire ran out the door, hurrying to the side of her poor sick patient.

Nurse Devin and I watched her go, then looked at each other.

And smiled.

Because this?

This was just the beginning.