Chapter 16

Eamon

“Alpha King, sir, the Pack DarkWood Beta you asked me to investigate, Cara Wilson? It appears she was lost as a child. That’s when DarkWood found her and made her one of their own.”

“Thank you again for looking into this, Walter,” I say to my Beta. “One more thing… What year was Cara Wilson lost?”

The old man checks the notepad in his hand before responding, “She was three years of age, so that’s…. twenty-two years ago.” My Beta nods briefly before leaving.

Twenty-two years ago… that’s the same year my sister Lilia got lost…

Something definitely doesn’t feel right about this.

Years ago, Nanny showed us Lilia’s genetic test results that proved Lilia is my brother Richard is a doctor, surely he could ensure new test results would be perfectly reliable…

I dial Lilia’s phone number as quickly as my fingers would let me. She won’t like the idea of taking another test, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to let my mind rest about this…

I’ll have to convince her.

“Well, well, well, look who finally has time to talk to me!” Lilia’s voice is shrill and grating, “Good thing I don’t need you anymore!” She laughs.

I furrow my eyebrows. “What do you mean you don’t need me anymore?”

“Someone else came to help me deal with this annoying nuisance, Cara Wilson! A brother I can actually count on. Richard’s been helping me take care of her!”

“What?!” My jaw drops in surprise.

Cara's Perspective

Thankfully, Alaric finds his last bit of reason and prevents himself from shifting into wolf form right here in the hospital hallway.

Alaric’s control was a good thing, because the new red-headed stranger was starting to get that distinct shimmer of shifting around his eyes, too.

That could have been bad. Really bad.

The last thing the pack needs is two wolves fighting and ripping the hospital apart.

I breathe a sigh of relief and hear the stranger introduce himself to Alaric and me, “I’m Richard. Sorry we haven’t met yet, I’m a new doctor here at the hospital and was just trying to find my way around. I didn’t mean to interject into your private discussion…”

My nose tickles, and I realize it’s the scent coming off of the stranger, Richard. The scent… it’s strange… not bad, but intriguing… like I want to get closer to him.

“I was assigned to find a Miss Cara Wilson and bring her for examination… is that her?” Richard asks Alaric, pointing a finger at me.

Alaric nods, face still looking on edge. “No, that’s her. You can take her.” The Alpha King turns to me and says quietly and ominously, “We’ll talk later.”

I take a deep breath to compose myself and turn to follow Richard.

“Nice to meet you, Cara,” he says with a big, broad smile. His hand is extended, waiting for me to shake in introduction.

I shake his hand, “Nice to meet you, too.”

We turn to walk, and I suddenly feel a pain in my stomach. It’s not very strong, but it comes out of a and startles me. I try to continue my deep breaths, hoping the pain will go away soon.

“Something wrong?” Richard asks over his shoulder as he walks, noticing my change in breathing.

“Nothing, just a little discomfort.” I say quickly, hoping he doesn’t ask me more.

“So, what do you do around here?” He asks lightly

“I’m the Alpha King’s Beta…” I reply. Hopefully I won’t be Alaric’s Beta for much longer…

“Well, you certainly have to handle ‘a little discomfort’ to be a good Beta, don’t you?” Richard asks.

His tone isn’t rude, but it’s not exactly nice or polite either. I’m giving him a confused look when that curious, intriguing scent hits my nose again.

Why is that smell so interesting? I need to get closer to find out…

“Seems like the Alpha King is protective of you, isn’t he?” Richard asks, gesturing back towards the part of the hallway where the two men both nearly shifted into wolf form to fight.

“I suppose so,” I said quietly.

“Don’t you find that odd, considering he’s about to marry someone else?” Richard turns to me, his expression growing darker.

“Look, you seem nice, Cara. So, why would a nice she-wolf like you want to interfere in someone else’s marriage? Why would you want to be an unwelcome gold digging interloper, aren’t you better than that?”

I’m completely stunned by the question. Who is this guy and how does he know about Alaric and me? I’m not sure what to say, afraid I might give too much information away by how I respond.

If only he knew how hard I’ve been trying to get away from Alaric… to get away from Pack DarkWood…

Richard’s looking at me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

“Cara!” I hear the familiar voice of my best friend Ruby. “Cara, there you are! I’ve been looking for you!”

She turns to Richard and looks him up and down, “Thanks, but I’ll take her from here.” When he opens his mouth to speak, she flashes her hospital obstetrician badge, showing she’s the more senior hospital staff.

Ruby guides me into a nearby examination room and chats with me casually while she conducts a series of tests. She’s pricking my finger for a droplet of blood when she looks closely at my hands.

“Have you had this yellow powder on your hand for long?” She asks seriously.

I’m confused. “What yellow powder?” I look down and see what she’s talking about.

When did that get there? It’s all over my right hand.

Ruby swabs my hands, collecting a sample of the powder before placing it in a vial filled with some liquid that immediately turns bright red.

“That’s what I thought,” she says to herself, looking at the red vial.

“It’s an anti-fertility medicine.”

“Is the baby okay?!” I ask immediately, suddenly terrified. I clutch my belly as Ruby grabs a stethoscope.

I hold up my shirt as she listens to my abdomen. “The baby is fine! Vitals sound strong.” She turns off the machine and hands me a bottle.

“That’s the antidote. There’s a shower just behind this door. Go scrub yourself, especially your hands or anywhere you see that yellow powder. It couldn’t have been on you for long, but this antidote soap will help just in case.”

I do as she instructs, and the whole time I’m in the shower, my thoughts race with how I could have gotten powder on my hands.

I was at the office when Alaric exiled George… George would probably be happy to sabotage me in any way he can, but he didn’t touch me at all.

Hmm… I hadn’t seen Lilia all day, so it can’t be her.

I’m fairly certain Alaric wouldn’t do that, since he knows better than anyone that we haven’t had sex in a long time…

The only other person who I remember touching me is… Richard.

We shook hands after he introduced himself.

But why would some random new doctor want to put anti-fertility powder on me?

I hear Ruby’s knock on the door, “I have these medical certificates for you when you are finished in there.”

I get out of the shower and get dressed quickly. She told me she would make two copies of the certificates: one real and one fake. I’d been using the last fake certificate she made for me to get out of having sex with Alaric for the last few weeks.

“Thank you again so much, Honey.” I tell her as I hug her at the hospital entrance.

“It’s no trouble at all, Sweetheart. I hope this helps!” Ruby says with a smile as she extends her arm to hand me the certificates.

“I’ll take that!” Alaric appears, seemingly out of thin air to grab the medical certificate in Ruby’s outstretched arm. He grabs the one on top, leaving the other one in her hand.

When he sees our stunned faces, Alaric adds, “What? I stayed behind to make sure my Beta is okay.”

Please, please, I hope he took the fake one!

If he finds out about this pregnancy, I’m doomed.

Not just me, but my baby is doomed.

Please, no...!

Ruby looks at me with a heart stopping expression on her face.

“...Oh,shit!", She whispers so softly that only I can hear her, " He took the real one...!”