Chapter 4

The second Tina received the test report, all color drained from her face.

Half an hour later, frantic shouting broke out near the council hall.

Tina had severe abdominal cramps, blood running down her legs, supposedly suffering a miscarriage.

Several pack members supported Tina as she limped into view.

Her face was chalk-white, her hands pressed tightly over her abdomen.

"Emily, you can hate me all you want! But the pup was innocent!"

The looks the pack members directed at me turned instantly hostile and suspicious.

Elder Harris arrived on the scene, his brow furrowed.

"Emily, suspend all your duties immediately and cooperate with the investigation."

I stood firm. "Pull up the dispensary's entrance logs. Audit the inventory records."

Ryan cut me off fiercely.

"Tina miscarried because of the severe stress you put her under!"

I looked him straight in the eyes:

"How can someone who was never pregnant to begin with have a miscarriage?"

Tina began to sob hysterically.

Ryan slammed a thick stack of invoices onto the counter before me.

The papers scattered everywhere.

They were overdue payment notices for my mother's herbal treatments.

And a request form to downgrade her hospital bed.

He looked down at me with cold, ruthless eyes.

"Get on your knees and apologize to Tina right now. Do it, and I'll make sure your mother receives her medication tonight."

Every eye in the dispensary was pinned on me.

My reputation in the pack.

My mother's very life.

Eight years of my devotion.

He was trying to crush all of it beneath a single, humiliating apology.

I bent down to pick up the scattered papers.

At the very bottom lay a medical certificate issued by a clinic from our neighboring pack.

Tina had gotten it done just last week.

The diagnosis was clear as day:

*No evidence of pregnancy detected.*

I lifted my head and looked at Ryan.

For the first time, raw panic flashed across his face.

Tina shrieked frantically, "That's not mine!"

The next second, the door swung open.

Two personal guards belonging to Alpha Marcus stood tall in the doorway.

"Emily Carter, regarding the allegations of poisoning a pack member's unborn pup, you are ordered to attend an emergency tribunal before the elders immediately."

The guard instructed me to surrender the dispensary keys.

I gave a calm nod.

"Understood. But I formally request that you immediately seal the herbal inventory ledgers, the distribution logs, and the tracking records for all medicinal supplies."

Ryan frowned with disgust.

"Still deflecting responsibility even now?"

I ignored him completely.

I took out the backup copies I had prepared, snapped a clear photo of the neighboring pack's medical certificate, and tucked them safely inside my coat.

Tina lunged forward to snatch them away.

I sidestepped effortlessly.

She lost her footing and nearly crashed to the ground.

Ryan instantly caught her in his arms.

"Emily, that is enough!"

I unhooked the keys from my belt and set them firmly on the desk.

"I didn't kneel, and I didn't apologize."

"If you want an investigation, conduct it by pack law."

Elder Harris cast a sharp, calculating glance my way.

He had already sensed that something was deeply amiss.

"No one is permitted to access any related supplies until further notice."

The guards sealed the dispensary doors.

As I walked away, whispered chatter trailed behind me.

"She always seemed so calm and collected... who knew she was capable of this?"

"Letting relationship drama push her to poison an unborn pup? That's horrifying."

I halted in my tracks and turned my head.

"Once the official investigation concludes, not a single person who spread these slanderous lies will remain in this pack."

The crowd fell instantly silent.

Ryan ran after me.

He dropped his voice to an urgent whisper:

"Emily, as long as you just admit you were wrong, I can still protect your position."

I stared at him.

For the first time in eight years, I realized how profoundly foolish he truly was.

"I don't need your help."

I rushed to the recovery ward.

My mother had been unceremoniously moved to a bed in the drafty hallway.

It sat right next to an open corridor; whenever the wind blew, the edges of her thin blanket whipped violently.

A healer apprentice said with an apologetic wince,

"Beds are at full capacity, and Ryan didn't confirm the priority coordination for her."

I reached out to Ryan via mind link.

No answer.

A few minutes later, a message popped up on his communicator.

It was Tina.

*Emily, please don’t blame Ryan.*

*He needs to be by my side right now.*

*I'm in so much pain.*

My mother heard it all.

She didn't shout.

She didn't shed a tear.

After a long, suffocating silence, she murmured softly,

"Take me back to the human town."