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Yelena

A deafening crash shatters the silence of the night, followed by frantic shouts and pounding on my cottage door. I jolt upright, my heart racing.

“Yelena! We need a healer!! Yelena! Hurry!”

The words send a chill down my spine. I scramble out of bed, my mind racing.

What could have happened that would require me so urgently?

I throw on my shoes and grab a sweater, pulling it over my head as I lean over the sink to splash water on my face.

Quickly, I pull my hair back in a low ponytail.

Anxious energy courses through my veins, and I resist the urge to fret with my hands.

Something terrible must have happened.

I’ve only been training as a healer for a few months. My knowledge is limited to basic salves and bandages. If the injury involves magic, I’m not sure I can help.

My palms sweat as I consider the possibilities. As wolf shifters, we possess the ability to heal ourselves unless the injury is particularly severe or involves magic.

“Your pack needs you. Whatever it is, you have to try,” I tell myself, squaring my shoulders.

I step out of my room and close the door gently. A cluster of three guards are waiting for me on my cozy front porch.

“What’s going on?” I ask Jason, one of Alpha Malaki’s advisors. His face is grim and ice-cold fear starts to seep into my heart. “Is it the Alpha?” I ask in a hushed tone.

He shakes his head. “No. It’s the Alpha’s heir. He isn’t doing well. He was injured.”

My jaw drops open and I freeze in place, processing his words. Austin.

Please, Moon Goddess, let him be okay. Let me be able to heal his injury.

Jason is already halfway across the courtyard and I hurry to catch up with him. I have so many questions.

“What happened?” I ask, trying to quell my racing heart. “How did he get injured?”

“Attacked. The bleeding won’t stop,” he answers, shortly. My heart pounds harder.

The shouts and howls around us are getting louder, spreading the word. A severe injury to the Alpha’s heir will bring much of the pack here to gather and await word.

“He’s in here,” Jason says, stopping in front of a larger bungalow. He pushes open the door to reveal a small waiting area and apothecary with doors leading to the private healing room situated toward the back.

The soft, light, and pungent scent of antiseptic and healing herbs washes over me.

It’s comforting in a familiar sort of way.

On days when it’s hard for me to understand my role in this pack, I come in here to sit or work.

Rolling bandages, compounding tinctures—there’s no job too small for me to be willing to help out with.

This small room full of herbs, tonics, and salves always makes sense to me.

“Through here,” Jason says gruffly, leading me toward a private room. The sight inside stops me cold.

There’s a limp body on the cot in the center of the small room, surrounded by people. It’s so crowded that I can hardly move to assess my patient.

“Make way. Some of you, out,” Jason orders, forcing the shifters to scatter.

I’m grateful for his help, but as the guards all file out, I scent the tell-tale coppery metallic smell that I’d know anywhere. Blood.

I swallow hard. It’s not just any blood—it’s his blood. I’d recognize that scent anywhere.

“Miss Yelena.” One of the remaining guards steps back, giving me a respectful nod. I nod back, trying to hide the fact that my hands are trembling.

“Who attacked you?” I ask softly.

“Highland Pack,” Jason answers. “We were ambushed.”

Several of the packmates crowd in the doorway growl and the blood drains from my face.

Highland Pack’s territory borders ours. They have been one of our largest rivals for years. While skirmishes between our soldiers have happened from time to time, nothing has ever been this severe.

Going after Austin like this is tantamount to a declaration of war. I shiver and then try to focus.

The war will be dealt with by our Alpha and his men.

I wasn’t called down here to deal with that.

I was called to attend to a severe injury.

I wish my mentors were here to guide me.

Our pack is fortunate to have several gifted healers, but they have been loaned to one of our allied packs to conduct a training exercise.

Even if they called them immediately after Austin was injured, they were still at least thirty minutes away.

It’s up to me to at least start the treatment.

I take a deep breath to remind myself that they believed in me. They were the ones who left me here, confident that I could handle whatever was thrown at me.

The eyes of all of Austin’s men track me as I dash out of the room and into the small apothecary. I hurry, flinging open drawers and pulling out thick white rolls of bandages and healing tinctures. Being the one to attend Austin is a lot of pressure, and I have to remind myself to stay calm.

By the time I’ve gathered an armful of supplies and returned to the small room, it feels like my heart is going to beat right out of my chest.

I set them down carefully and look down at the unconscious body on the table. He’s important to us. Not just as the son of our beloved Alpha Malaki and Luna Elizabeth, but to me personally.

My intended mate. I can’t lose him. I won’t.

“Oh my Goddess!” I whisper, looking him over with a lump in my throat.

There’s blood everywhere, but the gashes on his arm and his abdomen draw my attention first.

“I need some clean water in a basin and the tin of salve!” I call out, my eyes never leaving him. Someone behind me hurries to comply and a small basin is thrust onto the table next to me, sloshing over.

The gash in his arm is bleeding heavily, with a small pool of blood appearing on the floor. Someone has already tried to bandage it, but without the healing salve to assist in closing the wound, it has already bled through.

With shaking hands, I open the tin and start to spread salve on the clean bandages. If I can get the wound closed, he might heal faster.

Austin’s eyes start to flutter and I lean forward, eager to see those silvery orbs.

“Austin,” I whisper to him, “can you hear me?”

He doesn’t respond verbally, but the fingers on his hand start to twitch. I reach out to tug on the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his arm.

He doesn’t move as I carefully unravel it, revealing the huge gash underneath. My wolf keens in my chest, anxious and worried, as we look over our intended mate. Her instinct is the same as mine: we want to soothe our mate, to use my skills to nurture, comfort, and heal him.

Once his arm is unwrapped, I carefully dab at the wound with a clean cloth. He winces, but still doesn’t respond.

“Quickly please, Miss,” Jason says gruffly. “The Alpha and the Luna will be here to see him shortly.”

I nod and reach out to touch the angry red skin. The second my fingers touch his arm, his eyes fly open.

“No,” he growls, low and commanding. “Don’t touch me!”

I pull back and look at him. “It’s me, Austin,” I plead. “I just want to help you.”

His eyes are bright and angry and I lower my head and take a deep breath. He’s hurt. He probably doesn’t mean it.

“You need to have your arm bandaged properly,” I begin slowly. “It will make your healing much faster. Please, just let me help you. I insist.”

I reach for him again, but he pulls his arm away, groaning in pain.

“Austin?” I plead, my eyes welling with tears.

“Get out!” he roars, clutching his arm to his chest and struggling to sit up. Blood oozes from the wounds. “Get out, right now!”

I stumble to my feet and take several steps back. The men in the room look between Austin and me, and I feel the tell-tale tendrils of shame start to rise up my neck.

“Here, you can—just wrap these on his arm,” I mumble, shoving the prepared bandages toward Jason. “Make sure to pull them tight and apply the salve. It will speed the process.”

No one says anything when I turn and flee the room, but I can feel the heat of Austin’s hostility and the stares of the men burning into my back as I run out of the bungalow toward the safety of my cottage.

Several of the packmates are gathered in the courtyard and they all start to shout when they see me.

“Yelena, what’s happening?”

“Yelena, can you tell us who got hurt? Is it bad?”

“Yelena, are we at war?”

I slow to a walk and try to school my features. No matter how heartbroken and hurt I feel, people look up to me, and I can’t start a panic.

“I don’t have any information to share,” I say calmly. “But I’m sure Alpha Malaki will update everyone when he is ready.”

The gathered pack members murmur and talk among themselves, giving me the perfect chance to escape.

I hurry up the steps to my porch, holding back my tears until I can get safely inside my house.

Once back in the comfort of my home, I run toward the bathroom and lock myself in, leaning against the door.

“Why won’t you let me help you?” I whisper to myself.

The tears start to fall almost immediately. My heart hurts. More than anything else, I want to bring peace to Austin’s life. Our life.

It’s what I’ve always wanted. We were promised to each other as children, raised knowing that our destiny is intertwined. Fated by the Moon Goddess Herself.

Yet, he continues to push me away.

Every time I try to care for him, tend to him as a mate should, he refuses to allow me to do so.

Over the years, I’ve grown accustomed to his coldness. The distance. The rejection.

I’ve tried my hardest not to let it affect me. I’ve thrown myself into my work, becoming the best pack healer that I can be.

I want to be useful to him, to our pack. As the Alpha’s heir, Austin’s duties are numerous. He is in charge of security, reporting to his father. He is in training to one day ascend as the Alpha of our pack.

His responsibilities are overwhelming.

If I can find a way to prove myself as a mate, show him that I will be a worthy Luna one day, perhaps he will open up to me.