Chapter 127: Give
a Reason
(ALICE)
This strange sensation within
doesn’t fade away, even as I run the whole way to the healing center. I keep rubbing the center of my chest with my left hand, trying to get rid of this feeling.
The man doesn’t follow , and I’m grateful for that.
I know most of the shifters around here. Whoever that man was, he wasn’t part of the Moonlight Pack.
He seed to be around the sa age as . There is no way a good-looking shifter like that would not have been included in the pack’s social events. The fact that he was sneaking around the border of our territory makes the whole situation even more suspicious.
I should just forget about the whole incident. About him. And whatever this feeling is, it’ll fade away soon.
The Moonlight Pack’s healing center is a large compound with different buildings. Each building is dedicated to different parts of the territory. This way, the healers are not overburdened. The building that covers my area is Number Five, but when I walk in, the receptionist looks up and then rolls her eyes.
"We’re busy today."
I’m not in the mood to argue with her. "Is Mary in?"
"Do I look like your secretary?" the receptionist, Sarah, snaps. "I told you, we’re busy. Co back another ti."
I let out a long breath, trying to stay calm. My entire face hurts. So does my neck, and every other part of
that was beaten. The blood has trickled down the side of my face, and I can taste it now. I am pretty sure I have a concussion because everything seems to be spinning around .
"You’re not busy." I scowl. "You only have one patient, and I can see him all the way from here."
Sarah gets to her feet, her voice haughty. "If I say we’re busy, we’re busy. We heal shifters, not useless lumps of at like you."
"Lump of at?" I roll the words around in my mouth. "You’re not even a healer, Sarah. You’re just a receptionist. Why don’t you do your job for once and go get Mary? And if she’s not available, I want another healer."
I don’t care that I’ve hit her below the belt. There are different kinds of shifters. So are born with the ability to heal, but sotis that ability is not enough for that shifter to beco a healer. Sarah is one of those unlucky ones. She has a desperate desire to heal, as all healers to, but her ability is simply not strong enough.
I refuse to feel bad, though. She and others like her have used their words to hurt
plenty of tis. I don’t believe in being the better person. I believe in getting even, if I can.
"How dare you?!" she spits out, her eyes welling up. "At least I have my wolf spirit! You are just a charity case living in our pack. You don’t deserve our resources! Get out of here!"
I refuse to budge. "Get
a healer, or I’ll file a report with the pack’s council for discrimination."
The pack’s council is a group of elders who oversee civil matters that don’t need to go to the alpha. While they are a step below Alpha Black, they are known for being fair and just, and they are the reason I wasn’t killed when I was discovered.
Sarah’s face pales, but she refuses to budge. "Report all you want! They don’t care. Even they would be glad if you dropped dead!"
I’m not surprised by her ruthless words. Sarah was one of the orphans I grew up with. I rember her being sweet and kind at one point. We shared a room till we were ten. She was the first to turn against . Things like spitting in my food and cutting my hair while I slept were childish pranks she indulged in that soon escalated into violent ones.
"If you’re not going to get
a healer," I say tightly, "I’ll just go inside and look for one myself."
She imdiately walks around her desk and steps in my path. "You walk past , and I’ll kill you. Just give
a reason."
I raise a brow even though it hurts my face. "You’ll kill ? For seeking the healer, I have every right to see? I wonder how that’s going to look on your record?"
"Well, I stopped you from going in, and you attacked . I had no choice." Sarah looks smug, as if she has devised an ingenious plan.
"Why don’t you try it?" I sneer. I may not be as powerful as a shifter, but I can fight dirty. It’s the only way I survived as a kid. Young wolf shifters don’t really know how to hold back when fighting; whenever I was ganged up on, I had to do whatever it took to survive. And here, now, I may end up with so vicious injuries, but the prospect of being able to get so blows in has
motivated.
"There will be none of that!" cos a loud, annoyed voice.
Both of us stiffen, and I look behind Sarah to see an older woman approaching us. She’s one of the senior healers in the pack, Edith Monroe. Her silver hair is tied in a severe knot, but she looks quite good for her early sixties.
"Sarah, get back to your seat. I’ll be having a word with you later. And you, Alice, what in the world happened to you? Can’t you go one day without coming to
all black and blue?"
Sarah bristles. "Bitch probably deserved it."
Edith’s eyes narrow into dangerously small slits as she turns to face the receptionist. "Say that again."
Sarah snaps her mouth shut.
Edith steps toward her. "I let you work here because you begged
to. You wanted to be part of the healing center even when you didn’t qualify to be a healer. I could have refused you. But I hired you because you seed sincere. What gives you the right to reject patients?"
Sarah’s face is bright red, but she’s always been stubborn to a fault. Instead of holding her tongue, she grimaces. "She’s not a patient. She’s not one of us. She’s just a waste of space. She doesn’t contribute anything to this pack —"
"And you do?" Edith crosses her arms over her chest, her tone harsh. Sarah’s eyes widen. "I-I have my wolf spirit! I’m a shifter! I—"
"You contribute nothing to the pack, Sarah," Edith cuts her off coldly. "Yet, you’re here. Next ti you turn a patient away, you’ll be out of a job. Leave your personal feelings at ho when you co to work. Am I clear?"
I have to hide my grin.
Edith has always had a no-nonsense attitude. Unlike the other healers who turn up their noses when it cos to healing , she does the job quickly and efficiently. After Mary, she is my preferred healer. However, she’s a senior healer who usually deals with serious cases. That hasn’t stopped her from taking over if she spots a healer mishandling , though.
"Co along, Alice," Edith orders. "I don’t have all day."
Sarah shoots
a look filled with hatred and tears as I walk past her. I sneer at her.
Edith’s back is to , but she snaps, "Stop smirking."
I imdiately put a somber expression on my face.
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