KENNA

Chaney has been walking on eggshells around me. She's no longer blabbering freely. Part of me feels like she's going to spontaneously explode to relieve the pressure of all the thoughts and jokes she's suppressing.

I need to come clean about what I've been up to and reveal that I'm going to transfer packs. It will be hard, because although we bicker, she's a close friend of mine. I was never able to connect to the other nurses like I did with her. Chaney is such a stereotypically preppy chick that it's impossible to dislike her.

I decide to tell her during lunch.

After Kaden left last night, I sat in the tub and thought about our conversation. I don't get why he's so invested in our dysfunctional relationship, but alphas are naturally complex. He's confident that he can handle the wildfire our arrangement might spread because he's armed with money, influence, and, well, huge biceps.

We're not good beside each other. He needs to go back to dating meek women. The ones that look away from his jaded looks, melt under his touch without offering fire of their own, and take his words as commands and not challenges. I'm inferior to those women, because I'm a mutant that twists the ways of nature. Alphas are dominant, and everyone else is submissive. That's how the moon determines the balance to be, yet I challenge Kaden with every chance I get.

I'm further from being a luna than I am from the moon.

"Kenna!" Chaney breaks into my office, shoving the door aside.

I stand, going into business mode.

"What? Is there a trauma case?" I ask.

She looks sad as she closes the door behind her. "You know that young pregnant patient of yours?"

I nod. "Yeah. I referred her to the pack's OBGYN. Why? Is she okay?"

"Kenna, she committed suicide."

My whole body seems to prune. I feel lighter, thinner, smaller. My lungs ache from lack of oxygen.

Anja was eighteen years old. So in love with her so-called-mate. She had a long life ahead of her with her baby. How could this happen?

"How..."

I collapse on the chair, speechless. None of this makes sense.

"I'm so sorry, Kenna."

"Is there a note? Did she give a reason why?"

My hands pull at my hair, trying to uproot the injustice. Anja was all alone and needed help. I should have paid more attention; done more to help the helpless girl. Was I so busy playing games and fucking Kaden that I neglected my duties?

"She wrote a suicide note, but they only found the second page. It was short, mentioning something about a mate. That makes no sense, though, since she has no mate."

It was him. That son of a bitch that knocked up two women at once and tried to get Anja to abort, promising that he would be with her. All he wanted to do was cut off loose ties by telling her to terminate her pregnancy.

I need his name. I need to say something. I need to—

My fingers attack my keyboard. I search for the older pregnant woman I saw, and I find that she listed him as her emergency contact.

Milton is his name.

I hear a snap, and I realize I broke my mouse. My temperature is running hot, and my wolf is scratching at the surface. Getting emotional too quickly has always been one of my flaws.

Chaney excuses herself, and I struggle to calm my breathing. I want to scream, to hunt this man down and demand answers, but I legally can't. Although werewolf and human laws differ, patient confidentiality is established in both worlds. Disclosing Anja's truth would be a moral and legal infraction.

Goddamn it. I feel helpless. Something happened to Anja's letter. The first page of her suicide note couldn't have just vanished.

The best I can do is report this to Kaden and convince him to investigate, but I doubt much will be done unless the letter is found in Milton's possession, or there's proof that Anja was bullied into suicide.

I feel drugged throughout the day. My senses are dulled. It feels like I'm not fully present at the clinic. There is no time to rest, though. I still need to tell Kaden my decision to transfer and deal with the aftermath of his displeasure.

After work, I collect my things and walk home. The weather is appropriate: cloudy and windy.

"Doctor."

My skin crawls. I turn around and face Milton.

"What are you doing here?" I grit out; the earlier emotions of surging forward. I'm about to explode so powerfully that the weather will clear.

"Do you know what happened with Anja?"

Hearing her name makes me bristle.

"You know all about our relationship, right?" he continues.

So that's what he wants. He's trying to ensure the truth of their relationship and baby dies with Anja.

I exhale. "Today is not the day, Milton."

Knowing that the hospital is right behind us is tempting me to put him in it. I walk away before my crazy comes out.

"Kenna and Kaden... that has a nice ring to it," he says.

He's threatening me. He knows about my relationship with our alpha, and he's dangling it in my face. Is he hoping to blackmail me into silence?

Fool.

"Milton and murdered... that has a nice ring to it."

I keep walking, because I am genuinely considering choosing violence today.

When I get home, I jump into the shower. I try to eat some leftovers, but I have no appetite. Accepting that I won't be myself for some time, I leave my cabin.

Kaden's home is in my sights. Last time I was here, I had his cock in my mouth. Now, I'm using the same lips to tell him I'm leaving.

I knock and await a few minutes for him to answer, since for some reason, he doesn't keep a maid.

"Hello Alpha," I greet when his face appears. His hair is wet, as if he just stepped out of his shower, and his gret t-shirt dotted with water droplets.

"What's wrong?"

I blink once, twice. "What do you mean?"

He widens the door. "You're not yourself."

"I..."

How can he tell? My own mother struggles to see through me.

"How do I fix it?" he asks.

The words strike me in the gut, twisting my pain. There's no fixing this. Anja and her fetus are gone, and it's my fault for not keeping my focus on my job.

"Kenna." He takes my hand and tugs me inside.

The door closes, and I find myself wrapped in darkness because Kaden pulled me into his embrace. He smells like rain. I am literally and figurative in a storm.

I cling to him and breathe deeply, trying to absorb his strength. I'm tired. I can't keep going on like this.

His hand entwines in my hair, and his other rubs the small of my back.

"It's alright," my alpha, my protector, promises.

"I'll take care of it."

"I'm leaving, Kaden." I tell him. "I need to transfer packs."