Chapter 53

[Third-Person’s POV]

For what it was worth in the end, Fiona was glad to be back at Kingston Hall. Having been temporarily exiled from Alexander’s pack came with a lot more negative repercussions than she would have imagined.

Word had gotten out about her acts against Evelyn and many of the other packs she worked with treated her with caution and wariness. It was certainly enough to keep her strictly in line and keep her gossiping tongue down to a bare minimum.

Work was kept strictly as work.

Fiona made it a point to remind herself this right as she entered the Kingston grounds that morning. She took her usual route and headed to her specified tent, ready to start her day on the right foot.

She plastered on a happy smile and got started by lining up her equipment and taking a count of all the people she needed to be evaluating today.

As the seasons were changing and more people were more prone to falling ill with the flu, this was really Fiona’s time to shine within the packs. It didn’t take long for her to feel right back at home in her station.

It wasn’t so much about the actual work end of it that she enjoyed, but rather it was the endless praise that she always received.

Of course, Fiona was quick to discover that things were not as they’ve always been. She’d gone through a handful of patients and barely any of them had extended anything beyond a simplistic ‘thank you’.

Usually, some of them would offer to chat or bring her up on the latest news happening around the place, but no.

Each patient came in, stated whatever symptoms they may have been experiencing, and then they left. Part of her felt as though she was still being punished. Another thing that truly rubbed her the wrong way was Fiona instantly noticed that most of her patients were doing quite well, given the current changing of the seasons. Normally, she would prescribe endless bottles of probiotics to help prevent illness.

But it was as if someone had already beaten her to it.

Fiona was in the middle of working on her sixth patient that afternoon when she flat-out asked the question. She struggled to keep the iciness out of her voice.

“Timothy, can you tell me why everyone looks as though they’ve been taking some kind of super supplement? Because from what I’ve seen today, there is hardly anyone who is actually sick.”

The poor guy who ended up getting caught in the crosshairs of Fiona’s growing rage, merely shrugged his shoulders back.

“Maybe it’s from all the tea that has been distributed around the pack,” he offered.

Her brows pulled together in confusion. “Tea?! What tea? I never prescribed anyone any tea.”

“Luna Evelyn and Wendy came together and created a tea mixture that’s meant to help ward off seasonal illnesses as well as give a much-needed boost of energy,” he explained. “They started giving it out a few weeks ago and everyone seems to like it a lot.”

Fiona stared blankly at her patient. She couldn’t believe it. Evelyn—the goddamn nobody and utter joke of a Luna had somehow upstaged her in her own friggin’ profession??

Impossible.

But the proof was blatantly right in front of her.

“What the hell? Wait, is everyone taking it?” she asked.

“Pretty much. She’s recently added dried fruits to help dull out a bit of the earthy taste it once had,” Timothy said.

She bit the inside of her teeth and latched on to whatever self-restraint she had left. She hadn’t even been back a full day and already she was having a hard time adjusting. If Evelyn had gone ahead and taken the initiative to, basically, do her job then who was to say that Alexander wouldn’t let her go altogether?

It wasn’t as though the people within Alexander’s pack were incapable. The chances of any severe injury were highly uncommon. At the most, Fiona only ever dealt with head colds and common illnesses. But Evelyn seemed to have found a way around that.

If no one was catching the seasonal cold, then what use of her even being there? Alexander would surely get rid of her for good.

Fear and uncertainty coursed through her. It was bad enough that she’d been suspended from the pack and then to have been publicly humiliated at the Luna gathering...Now this?!

No. Something had to be done! I can’t just sit around waiting for something like that to happen.

“You said that Evelyn makes the tea mixture...Would you happen to know where that supply is kept?” she questioned calmly. “As the pack’s main doctor, it’s my job to ensure that everything is up to code and properly tended to.”

The patient slowly nodded their head and told Fiona that the tent in which Evelyn worked on her tea mixture was located next to the greenhouse.

Perfect.

Fiona began setting her plan into motion. Once she saw her last patient that day, she turned back toward her own personal stock of herbs and medications. She rummaged around until she came upon a small vial of dried, dark-colored Belladonna petals.

The leaves weren’t harmful; however, the petals of the actual flower were a completely different story. Under drastic circumstances, Fiona would only ever administer microdoses of such a plant when the patient was battling a difficult virus that their immune system could not manage to fight on its own.

She tucked the vial into her pocket and nonchalantly made her way over to the greenhouse. She made sure to be aware of her surroundings as she slipped inside the tent and headed straight for the large vat of collected dried herbs and flowers.

Fiona glanced around the organized space and knew she had to use the utmost caution. She had it make it appear as though she was never there. Suddenly, something caught her attention. She spotted a large-looking ledger across the space and was immediately drawn to it.

She flipped open the cover and was struck with a sight she never would have imagined. Evelyn had somehow managed to gain a following with her stupid herbal tea mixture. It appeared that there were multiple other packs who were looking to her to send them the tea mixture as well.

Oh my God...She’s actually popular?!

A dark sneer marked her face. Without a second thought, she went back over to the large tea vat and popped open the vial she’d taken out of her pocket. She dumped its contents into the mixture and gave it a loose stir.

Considering the initial contents of the tea mixture severely outweighed the amount of Belladonna that was added, the chances of death were highly unlikely. However, there was certainly a good chance that whoever did drink the tea now was in for a nasty experience.

If she wasn’t able to turn Alexander against Evelyn, then at the very least she could do some much-deserved damage to her growing reputation.

Fiona smiled to herself and left the tent, feeling a bit lighter as she walked.