Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Julian’s POV
“No?” I parrot, startled by her rejection. “Amber, you don’t understand. Olivia was behind this attack, and she could be behind everything else too. Until we can capture her, I need to keep you somewhere safe p>
“I’ve made promises to other packs,” she said, stubborn as ever. “There are people who need my help, like the children here needed my help. If we hadn’t delayed our travels, maybe I could have saved more of them before…” Looking down, she sighed. The guilt was clear on her face. “I won’t hide away and let more people be hurt p>
“What about you?” I asked. “What about Alice p>
“Keep Alice at your side,” Amber said. “I know you will protect her better than any bodyguard in your
pack could p>
That was true, but… “What about you? You both need protection p>
“I refuse to hide away, ” she replied. “I promised that I would help cure people, and that is what I intend to
do p>
“But Amber p>
“I won’t be talked out of this, Julian. Trust me not to be foolish here. I have no intention of finding myself in any more danger. I’ll stay at the hospitals this time. I won’t go anywhere without you coming to retrieve me. You and Alice will be the only ones I implicitly trust. But I’m going, and that’s that p>
If she truly believed she had the blood of children on her hands, I didn’t know what I could say to talk her out of it. I could force her back to my pack, but that would not reestablish the trust that had been fractured between us for years. This newfound understanding was so fragile. A move like that could
break it forever.
For now, the only thing I could do to keep from losing Amber forever was to agree to her terms.
Reluctantly,
“Very well,” I told her.
She nodded and disappeared inside.
That night, I slept alone.
The next morning, we went back to the airport and took my private jet to the next location. The next pack we planned to visit was far larger, the second largest pack in the kingdom after my own pack. They’d recently changed Alphas, the previous one challenged after a class disparity nearly tore the pack apart.
Because of that class disparity, which was still not restored, many of the poorer class had trouble
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receiving good healthcare.
I’d met the new Alpha a few times in passing. While we weren’t much more than acquaintances, he seemed like a good–enough person. At least, he seemed to want to do the right things for his pack.
I hoped my initial assessment of him was correct, as I moved to the office of my jet and attempted to reach out to him. I needed allies in the fight to keep Amber and Alice safe.
I reach an assistant first, who patches me through to his Beta. Then, after they verify my identity, I finally
get this new Alpha, Rafael, on the phone.
“Alpha Julian,” he said, his tone friendly. “I’ve received word that it’s your private jet delivering Healer
Amber to us. I thank you for this service p>
“I am Healer Amber’s escort,” I said. “As well as her assistant, in this case. And also her bodyguard p>
“She shouldn’t need a bodyguard,” Rafael said. “Our pack is safe p>
“I’m afraid I’m going to need some assurances on that,” I said. “Healer Amber has a target on her back.” As loathe as I was to go to anyone else for help, especially another Alpha, one that I hardly knew no less, I
couldn’t take chances with Amber’s life. “I need your help to keep her safe p>
Rafael’s stunned silence lingered a moment, before he said, at last, “Interesting. It’s not like you, Alpha
Julian, to reach out for help p>
“Amber is determined to help people, even to her own detriment,” I said. “It’s for both of our sakes that I reach out to you for assistance here. I can just as easily reroute this plane back to my pack p>
“I see,” Rafael said, less friendly now. “Well, this isn’t a difficult choice for me. Healer Amber has quite a reputation, and we need a quality Healer to help ease some of the strain on our clinics. Yes, of course, I will agree to provide addition protection. I’ll even see to it personally p>
“Thank you,” I said.
“I will not see our honored guest come to harm while she is within my pack lands,” Rafael said. “We’ll have to work together in this, though. I fear there is more to this than you are saying p>
“There’s one woman in particular who is hunting her,” I admitted. As much as I didn’t want to admit my own shortcomings, Rafael was right that we would need to work together to keep Amber safe. With how I ordered my Beta to reach out to other packs, it was only a matter of time before the full truth would be revealed anyway. “Her name is Olivia p>
Amber’s POV
A civil war and class disparity led me to this large pack. Typically, I would focus only on the small packs that lacked resources. But with so much trouble in this pack, even with resources, there were still people who needed my help. I couldn’t turn my back on them, so as the plane landed, I exited, feeling freshly
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determined to focus on work and less on Julian and my past.
As before, when we left the plane, there was a welcoming party waiting for me. This time, I recognized
the new pack Alpha at the head of the crowd. His picture had been all over the news lately. An ambitious sort, the people were eager to see what he would accomplish.
I must have remembered his picture well, because as I stepped off the plane and he approached me, I
couldn’t help but feel like I knew him from somewhere.
But that couldn’t be.
Rumors said this man had ties to the previous line of Alphas, that were usurped when I was just a baby. I
would have no reason or cause to know anyone like that.
“You must be Healer Amber,” Rafael said and bowed a bit in greeting. Reaching out, he took my hand and clasped it in both of his. It was an overly familiar gesture, but I found I wasn’t put–off by it. Instead, I
found some comfort in it, like I was greeted by an old friend.
How strange.
“And you must be Alpha Rafael,” I said.
“I am,” he said. “But don’t let the title fool you. I am as approachable as they come. I hope we can be friends, Amber. May I call you Amber p>
“Yes, that’s fine p>
He smiled, and I did the same, like his was contagious.
“May I tell you something?” he asked, then went ahead before I could tell him that he could. If he’d waited, the permission would have been given anyway. “I feel as if we’ve met before. Not just that, but we were also friends. Is that impossible p>
“It should be,” I said. “But I feel the same… It’s so strange p>
“It is,” Rafael agreed.
We smiled at each other a moment.
Behind us, Julian started to growl.
Chapter 177