Chapter 30

Amber’s POV

Immediately, I hopped to my feet and then raced to Anna. She just as eagerly rushed to me. We met somewhere in the middle of my office, crashing together for a long overdue hug.

Anna had been one of the few people I had made contact with after my accident. Sworn to secrecy, she knew everything – about Alice, about my wolf, about my new life and becoming Healer Amanda. She also knew about Alice’s struggles. She’d even come to visit us a few times, though we were careful not to publically post any pictures. She couldn’t even really talk about her trip when she got back home.

The only thing she didn’t know, to my regret, was that I was returning to the pack in an effort to afford that necklace for Alice. In my defense, her own job had taken her out of the pack, so we hadn’t talked much the past few months. There hadn’t been a lot of opportunity to tell her my plans.

“I’m back,” I said, when we finished our hug and separated.

“I can see that,” she said. “Just like I saw you on the news the other night. Standing next to Alpha Julian while Head Healer Eric was being demoted…”

“You saw that?” I asked.

“Everyone saw it,” she replied.

“Right.” I supposed they did. All of my new appointments and the dozens of gift baskets around the room were proof of that.

“You…. Beside Julian,” she said pointedly.

There was a lot to catch up on.

Anna looked past me, to Noah.

“Oh! Let me introduce you,” I said quickly. “Anna, this is my assistant, Noah. Noah, this is my best friend in the world, Anna.”

“Nice to meet you,” Noah said, and they shook hands.

“Nice to meet you,” Anna said. She smiled at him, but then gave me a look, as if asking me silently if we were safe to talk around Noah.

I trusted Noah. Though he didn’t know much about my past, I didn’t mind if he did. In the short time we’d known each other, he’s come to be an ally and friend.

The only secret I really wanted to keep was the truth about Alice.

I told Anna all that in a return glance. She nodded. We’d been best friends for so long that we didn’t need to verbally say the words to communicate our thoughts. I was pleased to see that this form of silent communication still held up despite our years apart.

“Join us,” I said and pulled up another chair to my desk. “You don’t mind, do you, Noah?”

“Of course not,” he said.

Anna dropped into the free chair, as I moved back to mine.

“Tell me everything,” she said. “But start with this. Are you and Julian back together?”

“Absolutely not,” I said.

Noah’s eyes went wide. “You… and Alpha…?”

Anna wasn’t the only one who needed caught up.

“It’s a long story,” I told him. To Anna, I said, “He’s with Olivia. I’m helping them so they can have children.”

Anna’s nose scrunched. “Oh…”

From there, I gave Noah a brief overview, that Julian and I used to be in a relationship but it was long done. I glossed over some of the more specific details, particularly about the marriage and Alice.

Noah had been raised in the pack though, so he guessed a few things. Pointing at me, he said, “You are Amber! The Alpha’s secret first wife who died in that plane crash!”

“I didn’t die…” I said.

“You almost did,” Anna said.

From there, I delved into some of the basic nature of my return, that a need of money had me coming back. I didn’t explain the reason for needing the money. I could trust Noah with most of my secrets, but Alice was…

Well, I had to protect my daughter.

When Noah excused himself to go to the bathroom, Anna leaned forward. “You still have feelings for Julian.”

“I absolutely do not!” I insisted.

“You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me,” she said. “The way you are talking about him… The disgust in your voice when you speak about him and Olivia… It’s all there.”

“It’s probably leftover feelings from what happened,” I said. “I don’t care what either of them do now.”

“Sure,” Anna said, clearly disbelieving me.

It was infuriating.

When Noah returned, Anna noticed the invitation. “What’s this?”

“Alpha is throwing a party for the success of the cure,” Noah told her. “Healer Amanda is the guest of honor.”

“So are you, Noah,” I insisted. He shrugged, but from his shy smile, I could tell he was pleased.

“This is a black tie event,” Anna said. “You are going to need a gown…”

“Yeah…”

“Well, we have to go shopping, then,” Anna said.

“I don’t know. I’m sure I can just throw something together.”

Both Anna and Noah gave me a blank, disapproving look. Anna spoke first.

“You need a new dress, Amber. Something that will really wow Julian –er, everyone.” Anna cleared her throat.

“I don’t need to impress anyone,” I said. “I have nothing to prove.”

“Sure, of course,” Anna said. “But wouldn’t it be fun to do it anyway?”

Noah nodded eagerly, showing his approval. I looked between them both, not wanting to admit my true feelings.

Yeah. It would be kind of fun.

Olivia’s POV

As she waited on hold to speak to Head Healer Eric – well, just Healer Eric now, Olivia was so frustrated she wanted to break something.

How could her perfectly laid plans consistently end in disaster? Maybe her problem was she kept relying on undependable people. She should have known for sure that Healer Eric was unreliable after his first failure.

After this second one? He was just dead weight now.

Still, in her magnanimousness, Olivia was willing to give him one last chance. He would truly have to prove his loyalty this time though. There was no longer any room for half-hearted attempts.

And this… making her wait on hold…

Unbearable. Unforgiveable.

When he finally picked up, Olivia was fit to kill, she was so mad.

“It’s about time you picked up.”

“Luna,” Healer Eric said.

What was with the cold tones? Like he hadn’t been itching to help her before. “You have failed me, but I have one last plan.”

Healer Amanda begin Amber made things more complicated in a lot of ways, but at the same time, they also made things simpler. Instead of two targets for Olivia to take care of, they combined into one.

The only problem was Healer Amanda’s celebrity. Any action against her would catch the attention of the media and the guard. She’d have to be careful not to let herself be implicated.

But that was where Healer Eric came in. Her fall guy.

He just didn’t know it yet.

“I will allow you to serve your Luna once more,” Olivia said.

“No,” Healer Eric said simply.

Olivia nearly dropped the phone. “No?!”

“Healer Amanda reminded me of what it means to be a Healer,” Healer Eric said. “This was something I had forgotten. It is only through her forgiveness and gratitude that I was able to stay with the pack. I will not turn from her again.”

“Have you forgotten all that she has stolen for you?” Olivia pressed. She couldn’t believe he had turned on her. “Healer Amanda took the fame that should be rightfully yours!”

“Being a Healer isn’t about the fame. It’s about helping people. I won’t make this mistake again.”

Then, he hung up.

He didn’t even say goodbye.

“Hello? Healer Eric?”

The line was dead.

“Bastard!” Olivia shouted as she slammed the phone down. Who the hell did he think he was, talking to her like that?

One slam didn’t feel like enough, so she lifted the phone up and slammed it down several more times.

Once she was satisfied, she shoved the phone entirely off the desk.

Good help was so hard to find.

But she wouldn’t let this setback get in her way.

Olivia had worked for too long, she’d done too much to win Julian. She wasn’t going to lose him now just because some low-born harlot came back from the dead.

She was going to keep Julian, no matter what she had to do.

No matter who she had to get out of the way.