Chapter 19

Mira

It’s funny how our perception of ourselves can change depending on our mood.

I barely recognized my face in the mirror as I washed up at the end of another shift at the hospital. It’d been three days since I was home, and sleeping on the hospital cots was taking its toll on me.

My skin looked dull, my hair was a mess, and my eyes looked perpetually swollen. That might have been from all the crying I did on that first night, but I convinced the staff it was seasonal allergies. I don’t think anyone believed me.

“In for another night, Doctor?” Jacqueline asked me.

“Oh, maybe,” I said without looking up. “I still have a lot of paperwork to get done today, so…”

“And Dominic won’t let you do it at home?” she asked, knowingly. “Or is there another reason you don’t want to go home to him?”

“I’ve been busy, Jacqueline.” I turned to look right into her. “Not all of us can clock out and forget about the work we’re doing here. And with all these new procedures I’m implementing, it is my responsibility to see things run smoothly.”

I was on the offense as a way of defending myself and deflecting from the truth. Not my finest moment.

“Jeez, sorry,” Jacqueline backed off. “I was joking, Mira. Lighten up. Or maybe get some more sleep— you look like hell.”

“Thanks,” I said.

I guess I deserved that last dig, and I knew she wasn’t wrong.

It would be nice to sleep in a real bed, put on fresh clothes instead of scrubs, eat a home-cooked meal instead of hospital food.

But going home would mean I would need to see Dominic, and he would except me to apologize. And I won’t apologize when I did nothing wrong. He should really be begging me to forgive him, for how he overreacted and patronized me.

I knew I was too wound up to go to sleep, so I decided to make the rounds and check in on patients. The nurses seemed pleased with some of my new ideas and we could already see the benefits or being more organized.

And better yet, I hadn’t seen Lila in days. I assumed she was taking time off after the debacle the other day, and hoped that maybe she would never come back.

Dominic may not appreciate the work I was doing, but at least here I could see for myself that I was making a difference.

After a while, I paused at a vending machine for a cup of bad tea, wanting to keep myself alert for a few more hours.

It was there that Wyatt found me.

“Mira, what are you doing?” the Beta guard asked me.

“I’m having tea, Wyatt,” I said with a deadpan expression. “What does it look like?”

“No, you know what I mean,” he said. “Why won’t you come home? Dominic is worried about you.”

“Really?” I wouldn’t hide my frustration. “If he’s so worried about me, why did he send his Beta lackey, and not come to talk to me himself?”

Wyatt was clearly offended at my little dig.

“Mira, please, you know he’s stubborn,” he said with a sigh.

“Well, so am I,” I said, feeling haughty.

“So, what? You’re just going to remain in this stand-off forever? You’re both acting like children!”

“He is the child here!” I yelled, like a bratty teenager. “And he’s a coward. And you can tell him I said that.”

I turned and started to walk away. If I stayed longer I feared I might yell again or start crying from exhaustion.

“Mira—“ I heard him say behind me.

I didn’t get far before a nurse ran up to me, stopping me in my tracks.

“Oh good, Doctor, you’re still here,” he said, catching his breath. “We have a situation.”

I followed him at a quick pace, asking him questions to get as much information on the patient before arriving in the room.

A twenty-something male had come in with stomach pain, and it was discovered he had an ulcer. The procedure to repair it had gone well, but after two days his conditioned worsened. He had a fever and seemed delirious, and couldn’t keep any food down.

When I got to the room, my heart sank.

I recognized the patient, but only then did I really know his identity.

He was Lila’s brother, Gareth.

His identity confirmed by the fact that his sister was sitting next to the bed, crying.

“You!” Lila stood up and screamed at me. “What did you do to him?”

“Me? I didn’t—“

“He was fine, he was recovering,” she went on, “and now look at him! It can’t be a coincidence that the only doctor here throughout his recovery is you.”

“Lila, please, calm down,” I said, hoping that the entire hospital couldn’t here us.

“I won’t calm down!” She pushed me away from her. “It wasn’t enough for you to humiliate me, now you’re taking this out on my innocent brother? What did you give him? What ‘medications’ have you given him that he’s ended up like this?”

The nurses in the room were looking back and forth between us, becoming suspicious. I saw one go for his charts and look over the treatment plan.

“I didn’t give him anything! Just painkillers and antibiotics, it’s all there on his chart,” I retorted.

“As if you couldn’t falsify those charts, Mira,” Lila voice was venomous. “I know it’s not beneath you to try to sabotage. Luckily, I’ve already informed the staff about this.”

“You what?” my voice was ragged with disbelief. “What did you do?”

It was then that I noticed two security guards had arrived and stood in the doorway.

“Get her out of here,” Lila said pointing at me. “She’s guilty of malpractice and attempted murder.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I was being back into a corner, literally and figuratively. “You’ve all seen the work I’ve done here. This is a ridiculous accusation.”

One guard took me by the arm in a firm grip, preventing me from getting away.

“We’re just following orders, miss” the other said to me. “Until an investigation is completed, you’ll need to leave the premises.”

I was so mortified that I didn’t even protest.

Not one person in the room would look at me as I was dragged out, and the distrust of the staff was devastating.

On the way to the door, Wyatt caught up with us. He must’ve never left.

“Mira, this is bad,” he said quickly.

“Good observation, Wyatt,” I said a little too harshly.

“No, you don’t understand,” he continued. “Lila got right to work slandering your name. She spread this news through the Pack, saying this was all part of your plan in becoming Luna.”

“That makes no sense!”

“It doesn’t matter, they seem to believe her,” Wyatt told me. “They’re calling for banishment.”

Banishment.

The witch-hunt had begun.

“There’s already a mob gathering outside, Mira,” Wyatt said. “I’ll do my best to shield you, and my car is not far away.”

He looked to the guards as if asking for their assistance. They let go of me and stepped back, like I was an offering to an angry god.

“Stay behind me, and keep your head down,” Wyatt urged me.

I took a final deep breath, and walked out of the building.

The crowd was not large, yet, but the disgust in their eyes was enough to make my blood run cold.

These people who had so recently accepted me into their Pack, now all wondering what other betrayals I had planned.

“Monster!” someone yelled.

“We trusted you!” another added.

“Imposter!” a third voice accused.

The shouting increased, and soon I couldn’t make out what was even being said. It became a blur around me, and it took all my strength not to let them see how it affected me. I’d never felt so misunderstood and so ashamed at the same time.

“The Alpha!” a voice cut through the crowd, and others took up the call, making way for the arrival of their leader.

At first I expected to see his father, but then saw it was Dominic himself coming through the crowd. His face was hard as stone, his hands balled into fists. He eyes were trained on me.

Like a tidal wave, his Alpha aura swept over the crowd, silencing them in an instant. I had forgotten how powerful he was, and suddenly my fear changed.

He was here to answer the call.

He was here to cast me out.

“Mira,” he growled when he reached me.

I managed to make eye-contact, and straightened up. If I was going to be banished, I would face my punishment head-on.

Dominic grabbed me by the arm. The crowd was waiting with bated breath.

“You’re coming with me.”