Page 34

Ha-Joon

“Dr. Fitz is out,” my office manager told me as she sat down across from me in the cafeteria.

She nodded when I did a double take. “Word is he came in with his coven leader this morning and sat down with Dr. Carpenter. No one knows the details yet and you can only imagine the rumors, but a memo went out to the emergency department, trauma teams, and the surgical department.”

“Saying what? He’s fired?” I asked.

“No, sabbatical,” she answered, nodding when I growled.

“But it said at least six months. This isn’t some quickie out of sight punishment.

Word is he’s going to Asia to train trauma surgeons after the earthquake showed they weren’t prepared.

That he’s going to brush up on his teaching skills to give back and help the program here. ”

That sounded great in theory but only if Fitz took it seriously and didn’t just go through the process half-heartedly to get it done.

And if he actually left Ellie alone or not.

I needed to know and check in on her which was why I practically shoveled my food in. I could get more later or I had a freezer loaded with dumplings.

Ellie was more important, and this had to be huge on her.

I arrived at her office as the door opened and the coven leader, Justin Shields, stepped out first.

He did a double take when he saw me and snorted. “Rumors do fly around here as fast as I’ve heard.”

I wasn’t going to lie and try to play it off. “I’m glad to hear you are taking the situation seriously and personally handling it.”

He nodded, accepting the chastising even if he was grinding his jaw and I scented anger.

“I know you’re young, Dr. Clark, but you are used to a pack structure and Alpha always involved.

Vampires as well. It helped keep them in line when they didn’t blend well.

However , magics mostly lived on their own and blended easily.

“So the coven structure for us is new, only since the end of the wars, and nothing happens fast in the supe world. Most of my coven have lived much longer without a coven leader than with one, and it’s a balance to not parent most adults and then having to try and parent a few adults who don’t want me around.

I appreciate what you said, but I’m not Alpha of a pack. ”

Ellie was a bit too amused as she focused anywhere but on me and didn’t say anything.

“You’re right, it’s not something I’m familiar with, and I’m not able to understand that change not having lived it,” I accepted. “However, my family is good friends with the coven leader in London and that’s the balance I’m used to with magics.”

Meaning he didn’t stack up, so while he wasn’t wrong… Get your shit together and control your problems so others didn’t have to.

Ellie probably realized this could go south fast and interjected.

“Given several departments are interlaced and rely on the trauma teams, a memo was already sent out. So it’s not just gossip, and Dr. Clark is a certified surgeon as well and has jumped in.

But you’re also not wrong, and I can only guess where people are saying Dr. Fitz is going. ”

“I haven’t heard much,” I offered with a shrug.

“Yes, well, I’ll let you get back to your days,” the coven leader said focused on Ellie. “Thank you for seeing me and letting me update you. I hope it wasn’t uncomfortable for you.”

“Not at all. I appreciate you passing things along and mediating. Nothing can be—it’s not beneficial for us to meet. I hope that changes and we can go back to just colleagues.”

“Yes, me too. Have a good day.”

But neither seemed too hopeful nor convinced. That was interesting.

“What can I do for you, Dr. Clark?” Ellie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sorry, do you have a minute to talk about the expansion?” I asked, not sure what else to reach for. “Or renovation really.”

“Yes, I can give you two minutes.” She let me in and closed the door behind me. “I’m fine.”

“The fuck you are,” I whispered as I hugged her to me, her back comforting against my chest. “I couldn’t wait until tonight to check on you.”

“I can’t tonight,” she mumbled. She sighed when I flinched. “I’m not running. I just—please? This is—I need to just settle tonight.”

I didn’t want to leave her alone. “How about you come check out my tub and see about what to upgrade yours to? We don’t have to have sex. You can just take a soak and not be alone, okay? I promise that I won’t push you to talk.”

“Maybe,” she accepted after a moment. “Let this sink in. I’m in shock.”

“Okay, love, whatever you need,” I whispered, kissing her temple.

“I need more time with the contract too, and there’s something we have to change.” She spun around to face me when I let her go. “Please, have faith in me. It’s about feeding.”

“You don’t want to feed from me?” I asked, trying not to sound hurt and just understand.

“Oh, I want to feed from you,” she chuckled. “But you put in there that I would only get blood from you.” She sighed when I frowned. “You know I’m not normal. You won’t be enough. I’m going to have to have bags.”

I studied her and nodded. “That’s fine. I just don’t want your fangs in another person unless it’s an emergency.”

“Thank you for understanding. I need more blood than other vampires, and I could never hurt you. And I won’t hurt myself when—I’m being smart.”

Fair enough, but she was also hiding something. I let it go and simply focused on her. “Is there something I can do to enrich my blood for you or something?”

Shock filled her eyes but then something soft like she was touched that I cared. “I don’t know. I’ve never had that offer.” She shook her head. “No, nothing, and I don’t want you to try. You work out, and—an Alpha wolf that’s anemic is an abused one.”

Okay, I could let it go if she was focused on not hurting me.

Which was why I gave her a soft kiss.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked.

She sighed. “The same I asked of Joyce. Fight the rumors. Fitz came to this decision by himself. He wasn’t forced. He’s not being forced out.”

“He should be,” I grumbled, hugging her again.

“That might be the end result, but it’s best for us that this gets cleaned up a bit too,” she grumbled. “We’re not looking to fill his position.”

“You’re not?”

She snorted. “Yes, but we’re hiring more surgeons, not trauma ones. If they have that experience, great, or honestly Alan likes to train them.”

“I honestly want more training so I can jump in on disasters or crazy coming in. I had a surgical fellowship, so I’m qualified.”

“Talk to him. He’d love someone to help with the random early morning trauma call in and we’re both big advocates of cross-training.”

I promised her that I would and handle everything tonight so she could relax. But to let me know anything else so I didn’t worry when she was going through this.

She gave me a look that I might be overstepping and yeah, I could see that… If the situation wasn’t crazy like this. This was nuts.

I think she accepted that.

“Oh, Ha-joon!” a female voice called out and I bit back a groan.

I turned to find Mandy walking with several of the attendings and at least one department head.

She glanced over to where I’d been coming from and smiled. “Were you going over to give my referral and talk me up? You really are the sweetest.” She turned to the others. “He is. Ha-joon is all the green flags and exactly—”

“No, I wasn’t, Dr. Tate,” I cut in firmly.

“I didn’t even know you were applying here, and since I haven’t talked to you in ten years, we’re not close enough for me to give you a referral.

I was discussing the renovations for my practice.

” I nodded to the shocked doctors with her. “Have a nice day, everyone.”

She mumbled something to them and hurried after me. She called my name, but I kept going.

Unfortunately, she was willing to run, and I wasn’t going to run away from her.

Bitch.

She grabbed my arm when we were alone in one of the tunnels connecting buildings. “Hey, what was that about? You said you were going to give me—”

“No, no, I did not ,” I snapped as I turned to face her.

“You instructed me to like you have any right or control over me. I didn’t give you my new number.

I didn’t invite you here. You are an unwelcome crasher to my new job, and you’re trying to use me for something.

I’m not playing this time. You’re not manipulating or spinning things around. ”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Geez, you’re always so angry. You said fine when I asked you to and—”

“No, I didn’t,” I repeated. “And stop gaslighting me that you heard me say something. I didn’t because I won’t and never planned to.”

She frowned, searching my eyes. “I know I hurt you, but it’s time to move forward from our past as kids. I’m moving here and want us—”

“I don’t care what you want, Mandy. You don’t get to decide anything for us .

I’m involved with someone, and you’re running your mouth that we’re getting back together.

Who the fuck gave you that permission? You can just decide that for us?

I dumped you decades ago because you’re toxic.

And you just show up here and declare all of this? Yeah, still toxic.”

“You’re with someone?” she demanded, darkness filling her eyes. “Not according to everyone in the pack.”

I smirked at her. “Didn’t ask my family?

Oh right, they all hate you. So, yeah, the pack is hundreds of thousands of people.

Geez, how could they not know my personal business?

” I snorted at her. “Just leave with whatever dignity you can, Mandy. You’re pissing me off, and I’m not the kid you can walk all over anymore. ”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re Alpha and—whatever. You’re not the Alpha of the pack or next in line. You act like—”