Chapter 14

Lucian’s POV

Ending the call with Dr. A, I lowered my phone to my desk. Then, I took a minute to breathe deeply, satisfaction and relief filling me.

Dr. A had agreed to cooperate with me on my offered project of providing free medical care to the common people.

I had been worried when she refused to take the proposal from my hand. Leaving it on the reception desk felt like a dismissal. Perhaps, even with her dislike of me, after she read the document, she realized the good we could do together.

Either way, I was pleased.

At least, I was – until I looked down at the cold red tea sitting in a cup on my desk.

To avoid the constant disruptions by Sheila at home, I had taken to coming into the Alpha headquarters building to do my work. As long as Sheila remained in my house, my days of working at home were behind me.

This meant that I relied on the service of those working in the building for my needs. From what I could remember from before I started regularly working from home, the service around here had been far more considerate. In the past, my cup was never cold.

Outside my office door, I saw Ben, my Beta, walk by.

“Ben!” I called.

Dutifully, he stopped and entered my office. “Yes, Alpha?”

I motioned toward my cool tea.

Understanding immediately flashed over Ben’s face. “Oh, Alpha, I’m so sorry! I had totally forgot to as the maid to refill your tea.” He bowed a little. “I apologize, Sir. I’m not yet accustomed to fulfilling this duty.”

“Didn’t you used to do this? When I worked at the office more?” I asked, frowning.

“No, Sir,” Ben replied. “The Luna always handled and arranged these things.”

Aria.

I stilled, realizing this was just one more thing that Aria had taken care of for me without my knowing. She really did so much for me, all while I had no idea.

Once more, I missed Aria’s presence. My home – and in many ways, my life – wasn’t the same without her in it. For one thing, my tea wouldn’t have been cold.

While I had ordered Sheila to not interfere with the housework, Sheila insisted on doing it regardless.

Just this morning, while attempting to iron my suit, she had burned a hole straight through it.

In the past, I would have considered ironing and other housework as trivial tasks. Now I was coming to understand that it was a knowledge learned through training or experience. It wasn’t as simple as I had imagined.

With my permission, Ben stepped out of the room to track down a maid to freshen my tea. When he returned, he was carrying a folder stuffed with paperwork.

“The investigation materials you requested,” Ben said and handed me the folder.

Placing it atop my desk, I opened it. Tucked behind the flaps of the folder, on one side was information regarding Aria: her height and weight, and what could be found of her background. On the other side was Dr. A’s information, which was harder to come by, so the pile was smaller.

Immediately, I leaned forward and started comparing the two stacks.

Ben watched me with a curious expression. “Forgive me, Alpha, but what is the purpose of this?”

I hummed. “I feel Aria and Dr. A might be the same person.”

Ben reeled backwards in shock. Eyes wide, he said, “Don’t joke, Alpha! How could that be possible? Luna is just an ordinary wolf from an orphanage!”

Looking through the materials of Aria’s past, I noticed that apart from taking medical courses during her days as a student, she had no direct overlap with Dr. A.

As far as the records were concerned, Aria was totally ordinary in every way, while Dr. A was dazzling.

“Aria has taken medical courses…” I said aloud. That wasn’t nearly enough to connect her to Dr. A, but no coincidence, however small, could be ignored.

“Everyone dreams of becoming a Healer, with all that status and recognition,” Ben said,

“A kid from an orphanage would be no exception. Almost everyone in the pack has taken medical courses, but when all is said and done, hardly anyone actually has the talent to be a Healer.”

I frowned deeper than before. What Ben was saying was true, but something about this still felt off to me.

“It’s normal for someone to take medical courses,” Ben continued. “Luna can’t be Dr. A.”

While I mostly agreed with Ben, I couldn’t ignore my own feelings on the matter.

The incident at the bar had been too coincidental. Dr. A had emerged from that bar bathroom, while Aria had totally disappeared. Aria could have sneaked out a window to avoid me, or maybe… Could she have disguised herself as Dr. A to avoid confrontation with me?

“Her scent is different than Aria’s,” Max said in my mind. “Dr. A smelled… off. We know Aria’s scent well enough to know the two are incompatible.”

“There could be explanation for that…” I replied, but I wasn’t totally sure what that explanation could be. The scent blockers on the market only dimmed a person’s smell. They didn’t alter it into nothing, as Aria would have needed to do, if she were in fact Dr. A.

Scent aside, there were other factors that drew me to this conclusion.

Flipping through Dr. A’s side of the folder, I realized there was less information on her than I’d earlier presumed. We had no record of her past. It was if she just appeared on the scene one day, arriving out of nowhere.

That added to her mystery and her allure, which fascinated me but also frustrated me.

If Dr. A had a clearer past, I could discount Aria and know for sure that the two were different people.

As it was, I just didn’t have enough information, even with these investigative files, to make a conclusion one way or the other.

With a short, huffy exhale, I sat back in my chair.

Ben continued to watch me. His opinion on the matter was clear: in no universe, could Aria and Dr. A be the same person.

Even to me, it seemed far-fetched. Aria was unassuming and reserved, seemingly preferring to hide in my shadow than to walk at my side. Dr. A was confident and strong. The fame didn’t seem to bother her. In fact, she didn’t seem to notice it at all.

They were two very different people, with very different personalities.

I could understand Ben’s disbelief that I would even try to make this connection, but I just couldn’t shake this feeling.

Standing near Dr. A, looking down at her…

In those moments, I had been so sure she was Aria.

Could they possibly be the same person?