Chapter 39

Royal Alpha POV

After thanking Dr. Green again for her healing - and for helping me with the embarrassing incident in the waiting room - I watched her leave to go on with her day.

And sat in the silence of the exam room, thinking.

I had noted how much Dr. Green resembled my wife since the moment I met her. Not just her looks, but her kind and gentle manner as well.

Now, after having witnessed the remarkable - and rare - silver wolf she had, it would be even harder to deny just how much the two women had in common.

If I was interested in trying to deny it, that is. And I wasn’t.

I was growing more and more certain that Claire was somehow of royal descent.

And I was becoming more and more determined to solve this strange, unexpected mystery once and for all.

I studied the bag in my hand, the strands of hair inside of it. With any luck, these small hairs held the key to unlocking that mystery.

But what if…

What if my wife wasn’t the one she was related to?

I wasn’t stupid - I knew the young woman had only indulged me by giving me her hair to test. It was very clear she thought her royal characteristics were just some strange coincidence.

And what if some of them were?

Just because she had healing abilities and a silver wolf didn’t automatically mean she was related to my dear late wife.

After all, there were silver wolves in my family tree as well. Not as many, and not as frequently, but they were there.

So what if it was me the kind young woman was actually related to?

I was unexpectedly pleased by that idea. Ever since I met her, I’d felt a pull toward Dr. Green. A warmth and friendliness I associated with family.

And maybe there was a reason for that.

Maybe she was somehow more than just a distant relation on my wife’s side.

There had to be an explanation for this connection I felt to her.

After only a moment’s hesitation, I got up and pulled another small bag from the supply cupboard. Reaching up, I plucked a few of my own hairs, and tucked them inside.

I labelled the bags, then tucked them safely into my pocket.

Despite a lingering weariness and embarrassment over losing control of my wolf the way I did, I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope.

Sabrina POV

Hearing my father explode out of the exam room, his wolf snarling and snapping, gave me such a deep dark thrill.

I imagined him rushing out into the halls, biting and slashing anyone close at hand. Maybe he’d even kill someone - wouldn’t that be great?

A Royal who murdered his subjects in a fit of rage wouldn’t be staying on the throne for very long, would he?

When he turned toward the waiting room I all but clapped my hands with excitement. This was even better! He could do even more damage out there.

I hurried along behind the crowd of doctors and nurses that ran into the room, and watched the scene unfold.

But it didn’t go the way I thought it would. At all.

Yes, there was chaos and confusion. Yes, there was fear and screaming.

But then there was good old “Dr. Green,” shoving her nose in where she didn’t belong.

Why was she always interfering with my plans?!

But then…

Even now, having snuck into a quiet supply closet, I struggled to process what I had just seen.

Claire’s transformation had been wildly unexpected. Nathan had told me she didn’t have a wolf!

And then I gasped, along with everyone else in the room, as we all saw what her wolf actually looked like.

Silver.

Rare, powerful - and Royal.

Everyone knew my own mother had apparently had one, though I’d never met her or seen it before she died. But I had heard that it was sleek and strong, almost as powerful as my father’s.

So how could Claire have something like that??

She was just a worthless Omega, an orphan with no status - and certainly not a distinguished Royal lineage like mine.

My mind was racing, trying to make sense of everything I had just witnessed.

When I heard Claire and my father walking down the hall past the closet where I stood, I held my breath. Then, opening the door and slipping through it as quietly as possible, I followed them to the exam room Dad had burst out of only moments before.

Only moments had passed, but so much had happened since then. My head was spinning.

Moving silently, I crept up to the door of the exam room and pressed my ear to it.

Just in time to hear my father ask for a piece of Claire’s hair.

Her hair??

He…He thought that trash was somehow a part of our family?!

I gritted my teeth to keep from growling, or from bursting into the room. I needed to be calm. I needed to think.

Looking back on my father’s behavior since he arrived at the Silverfang pack, and especially since he started coming into the clinic, it was clear he’d been favoring Claire. Treating her with such a familiar and respectful attitude that it made me sick to my stomach.

I’d thought Claire had been sucking up to him, trying to win his favor. Maybe it was a play to raise her status in the pack, or just to get some money from a stupid, senile old man.

Now I realized maybe her game was even bigger than that.

Had she been secretly trying to make him think she was somehow a part of our family?

And now he believed it. Asking for her hair to run genetic tests, trying to prove a lowly Omega was somehow Royal.

Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Not if I had anything to say about it.

I would never allow Claire of all people to enter the Royal family. No matter what I had to do to stop it.

Stepping away from the door, I hurried to duck into an empty exam room just as Claire left the room with my father. Once I was sure she was gone, I left the room and went halfway down the hall, waiting for my father to come out.

“There you are, Dad!” I called, hurrying toward him. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I just heard what happened. Are you alright??”

“Oh, Sabrina. Yes, hello. I’m alright, dear.”

I put a concerned look on my face. “Are you sure? I heard you attacked someone!”

“No, but…I might have. It was a very close call. Luckily Dr. Green was there to help me.”

“Hmm,” I said, biting back what I wanted to say about Claire. “Well, I’m happy you’re alright. But you look so tired. Why don’t I take you home so you can get some rest?”

He agreed, and let me take him arm as we walked out of the clinic.

He really did look worn out from the incident, which was nice to see. At least my plan to trigger a frenzy episode hadn’t been completely for nothing.

With any luck the old bastard would die in his sleep, his heart too strained by this latest ordeal.

I could only hope.