Chapter 82

Claire POV

Getting Dad loaded onto a stretcher and up into the medical transport, the long speeding drive through the night back to the Royal clinic - it all passed in a blur.

I also dimly was aware of Nathan by my side, his commanding voice barking out orders to see to the other survivors, arranging transport and care for them as well.

And while I was so grateful all over again for his presence, but I couldn’t afford to break my concentration long enough to say so.

My father’s mind was fractured, splintering off like the spiderweb cracks in a broken pane of glass.

I didn’t know how to fix it. All I could do was dive deep, and try to gather the pieces.

By dawn, after getting Dad settled into a room and spending all night trying to heal him, I was exhausted.

Nothing I did was helping.

His body was healing, slowly.

But his mind…

That was an entirely different story.

I sat back in my chair, finally stopping and allowing my eyes to rest. Unable to stop myself, I immediately slipped into a light sleep.

“Princess!”

Dr. Baldwin’s quiet voice at my shoulder woke me.

“Princess, I just heard…” He took my hand. “I’m so sorry. I was visiting my mother, and only just learned what happened.”

On the other side of the bed, in the room’s other chair, I saw Nathan glare at Dr. Baldwin’s hand holding mind, saw the way he bristled.

“Dr. Baldwin, the princess was sleeping. She needs rest.”

Dr. Baldwin heard the note of warning in Nathan’s voice, and his own voice cooled in response. “I am aware of just how exhausted she must be, Alpha Nathan. As a healer myself, I imagine I understand what she’s going through better than anyone.”

Turning his back on Nathan, he looked down at me as I sat.

“Is there anything I can do to help here?”

I was surprised by Dr. Baldwin’s chilly tone toward Nathan - I’d never seen him even come close to being rude to anyone.

But I also couldn’t say I blamed him.

Dr. Baldwin had been nothing but helpful since the day I met him, and Nathan had no right to act so…territorial.

Ignoring Nathan’s continued glare, I thanked Dr. Baldwin weakly.

“I’ve tried everything I can think of, but I’ve never encountered anything that looks like this before. Maybe you could…?”

“Of course,” he agreed, stepping to my father’s bedside without hesitation.

After a tense moment, Nathan stepped back, giving him room.

I leaned forward in my seat, all tiredness forgotten for a moment in a surge of hope.

If anyone could piece together my father’s fractured mind, it was Dr. Baldwin, whose healing powers centered on emotional and psychological conditions.

So I watched, holding my breath, as Dr. Baldwin held his hands over my father’s head, and a soft golden glow of light pulsed through his spread fingers.

But after a long, silent moment the light disappeared and he lowered his hands. He stepped back, shaking his head sadly.

“I’m sorry, Princess. You’re right - what’s happening with your father…”

He gave a helpless shrug. “It’s utterly unique in my experience.”

I slouched back against my chair, feeling deflated and even more exhausted.

“Why don’t we run some tests?” he suggested. “Your father’s physical condition is stable enough now that we can move him, thanks to your quick thinking and hard work.

“Let’s see if we can’t find some answers for you.”

Grateful, I agreed.

Curling my legs up onto the chair, I rested my chin on my knees and watched as two nurses came to take my father for testing, wheeling his bed out of the room silently.

When he was gone, and unable to stop myself, I lowered my forehead to my nears and let the tears I’d been holding back come.

After a moment I felt two strong arms wrap themselves around me.

And Nathan held me while I wept.

Nathan POV

The tests on the Royal Alpha took hours, each one filling Claire with hope just to ruin it again when the results showed nothing helpful.

No matter what they tried, it seemed no one could figure out what was wrong with her father.

Was it a brain injury complicated by his frenzy condition?

Or was it something else?

What was happening to the man?

Struggling not to feel useless, I brought Claire something to eat, wanting to comfort her.

Knowing what I had to say was going to do the exact opposite.

But it had to be said. I’d waited long enough.

Now that the Royal Alpha was stable and in good hands, I needed to tell Claire what I had found in the Royal Alpha’s pocket.

“Claire…” I trailed off as she half-heartedly ate the sandwich I brought her from the cafeteria.

She was so pale, and looked so tired. I had a sense of just how much of herself she’d given to heal her father these last few hours, and to take his pain.

She needed rest. She deserved to be taken care of for a while.

Instead I was going to pile more stress onto her slim shoulders.

But what other choice did I have?

“Listen, I found something in your father’s pocket on the ride in from the site of the accident,” I said, deciding to rip the bandaid off all at once.

I pulled the paper out of my own pocket, unfolding it and handing it to her.

“It’s a lab report. Apparently your father had Sabrina’s DNA tested recently.”

Claire put down the sandwich and took the report, pausing when my words finally sank in.

“Sabrina’s DNA?? Why on earth would he do that?”

I gestured to the paper she now held in her hands. “I imagine it’s because he suspected the truth.”

Clearly confused, Claire looked down at the report, her eyes skimming the page.

And I knew the moment she realized what the report said, because her whole body jerked in surprise.

She looked up at me, stunned.

“But…If Sabrina isn’t actually Dad’s daughter…God, Nathan, who is she??

“And how did she come to be living as a princess, while I was…”

Just an Omega.

I hadn’t thought that far.

Learning Sabrina wasn’t actually the Royal Alpha’s daughter had been enough of a shock that I hadn’t connected the question of her identity back to Claire.

Now I did.

Had Sabrina somehow been a replacement for Claire?

What kind of plot would switch children like that, and to what end??

But as we stared at each other, neither of us could come up with any answers.

A brisk knock at the door drew our attention, and Amelia walked in.

“Just stopping in to check on the patient,” she said, nodding to where the old Alpha lay unresponsive on his bed, monitors beeping and recording his vital signs.

“And on you, of course, Claire,” she added, putting her hand on Claire’s shoulder.

“Your father’s going to receive the best care we can give him. Why don’t you go home for a while, try to get some rest?”

But Claire, the lab report now clutched in her hand and a determined look on her face, had other plans.