ured. I could feel the weight of his shock, the lingering trace of Chloe's sharp scent spi

tion had felt like a crushing blow to my pride before turning into my golden ticket to freedom. Seeing him standing in the Midnight Pack's hospital, wearing his tailored sui

my door just as I was organizing the final discha

, not looking up

o the small office. Cole stepped in first, his broad frame nearly filling the thresh

his jaw set in that familiar, arrogant line, but there was a flicker of something raw and exposed in hi

d to be, rough with an emotion he clearly wasn

click. "I'm working, Alpha Et

ing for the broken girl he'd left on the ballroom floor three years ago. "They told us the Midnight Pack

finished top of my class at Columbia. My clinic in New York handles specialized non-magical t

antly stiffening into a posture of territorial

nd lethal as polished ice. He didn't raise his tone, but the sheer

council. According to international werewolf law, Doctor Ava is an unaligned rogue femal

le twitched near his temple. "This

moving an inch. "And Doctor Ava is under my pac

y that he no longer had any right to claim, and Cole, an immovabl

ofessional. "Alpha Ethan is a visiting diplomat. I can

of hesitation. When he saw only cold indifference, he gav

leaving the door cracked just enough

ep closer, his eyes dropping to the surgical scars on my fingers, th

confusion. "When you left three years ago, everyone thought you went into exile. Y

hose Chloe," I said simply. "I didn't go into exile, Ethan. I went to live my life

deep breath,

ine and cedar from his territory a scent that used to mak

t Pack was weak back then. The North Clan held the entire northern supply line. Marrying Chloe was the only

ou saved your borders. You got your Luna

rough his composure. "I thought you were living a quiet, miserable human life somewhere, regr

erous he is? Do you have any

ity in the operating room," I replied, my voice dropping an octave into

e back with us. The alliance with the North Clan is settled. Chloe is... fine, but she isn't you. You don't have to live as a mercenar

ing out a soft, genuine laugh. It was a short, sha

promotion, but you're offering me a cage. I earned my doctorate. I built my own practice. I save lives without

. Cole stood on the threshold, his posture rigid, hi

e so low it rattled the glass vials on my desk. "The formal trade negotiati