#Chapter 15 Old Friends

Olivia’s POV
“Oh my goddess, what did you do to Alpha Herold?” some random she-wolf breathes, coming over to try and help him out of the hot pool but he smiles innocently, shaking his head. “Alpha Herold, I can help you,” she insists.
I roll my eyes, looking elsewhere. Every woman here is swooning after my ex-mate, his chest chiseled and damp in the hot water, making his look physically hot from the temperatures he is in now but it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t stand the sight of him if I tried.
The she-wolf who tried to assist him finally scurries off, freeing herself from the embarrassment, but Gabriel has the opposite intent. He comes to my side, smiling coyly as he sits on the edge of the rock with me. His arm hooks around my hips, as though to claim me in front of Alpha Herold.
I can’t stand their power balances back and forth; just two Alpha’s fighting for sovereignty over a mate neither of them can have.
“My dear, you look beautiful,” Gabriel hums into my ear.
I don’t have it in me to request divorce again today. Instead, I show him my frustration, shoving him forward as he lands in the water right beside Herold. The two of them seem shaken up, exchanging a look with one another and then to me.
Whatever they think they want from me, they’ll never have.
I loved in my first life and it got me killed. I won’t make that mistake again.
“Very funny,” Gabriel hums, laughing as the rest of the onlookers expect some kind of retaliation for what I’ve done.
Alpha Herold cracks a grin, the sight painful on his otherwise longing face. “Queen Luna, you are quite the prankster. I can’t believe you would pull such a harmless stunt.”
I roll my eyes, brushing myself off from the dust of the rock before I slip back on my dress and leave without another word. I can’t stand to be here anymore. I want to get back to work, I want to help Reese, and that means doing what I can to make Reese better as soon as possible. He needs the best doctor around, and unfortunately he is back at my old pack.
The next morning, I slip out of the palace, from my mate, and take the lengthy trip back to Herold’s pack. I sit alone in the back of the car, finally breathing fully while the stress of this week has finally caught up to me.
The only thing keeping me upbeat is the premise of seeing Eugene again.
He was so nice to me, and he always treated me better than his brother treated me, so I have to at least check in on him, maybe even offer him better employment elsewhere. It feels like forever before I make it to the pack hospital, back to the one where Alicia framed me on the roof.
“Right here is fine,” I sigh, wanting to walk to the doors alone, the warriors leaving me be at last. I stare up at the tall building, my head spinning, wishing I could walk in and tell Eugene I’m okay, that I know what he always did for me, but instead I show up and see him walking down the hall and into his office, simply following him until I say, “Hello.”
His eyes grow wide at me in his doorway. “Queen Luna? It’s an honor to have you here today but I didn’t know you were coming by. What do I owe the pleasure?”
I sit down, looking over his countless awards on the walls and his many qualifications that make him the best doctor I’ve ever known. He smiles gently, hands folded professionally in his lap while he waits for me to form a reply.
“The Luna who passed in this pack, her brother Reese was under your care for a long time. I heard so many positive things about your work, Eugene Opal. I wanted to see if you could transfer hospitals, work at the one where Reese is admitted to now. Just so I can be sure he has steady care that has known his case for years.”
His brows knit at my words. “You want me to transfer? I can say I’ve been thinking about changing positions, anyways. I have the paperwork right here, actually, if you want to go over the adjustments they were going to give me here as head of the department and offer me the same at the royal pack then I can easily agree to your offers.”
I grab for his packet, looking over it thoughtfully.
“I heard you’ve started taking an interest in charity, Queen Luna, specifically those that benefit the medical system.”
I nod, trying to hold a conversation and read his terms for job exchange.
“It’s very admirable what you’re doing. Everyone is very happy to hear you’ve shed light on some of the medical downfalls we have faced in the past. The payment issues has deterred many of my patience from getting checked out sooner, including those with deadly, incurable diseases. With your help, we could easily save hundreds of lives every year.”
I reach for a pen, mulling through the transfer signature section at the end of the packet, desperate to make this change so Reese will finally get the best care available. He will be cared for at the best hospital, and hopefully after today, with the best doctor there ever was.
Eugene helped me every time I needed it, seeing me even when his waiting room was full of patients needing care. He knew I was dying and could have turned me away, but maybe it was the dedication to his brother that kept me alive. Either way, I need him to transfer.
He talks over frivolous topics, speaking so fast that I hardly hear his words at all, focusing on too much at one time to make any sense of what I am reading right now. I go to sign, still lost in his tone as it travels through my head.
He smiles at last, my hand finishing up the signature when I see it.
Olivia Opal.
I go to scratch out my mistake, my wolf howling in my mind in a panic as I scribble over my error. It’s not good enough. He has already seen the error and I can’t cover it up any better with my anxiety boiling over already.
“I knew it!”
I jump slightly, shifting backwards into my chair. “Kn—Knew what?”
“I could sense it was you Olivia. I am very good at this kind of stuff. I knew it was you when I heard about the funeral and when I saw you transferred Reese from these lands. You would have done anything to protect your brother and you still are.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“Please, Olivia, don’t act like that. I saw the name, and I know your mannerisms. I’ve known you for so many years and I’ve always admired you. If you want me to transfer to your new pack, I will gladly. I would do anything you ask of me, Olivia Opal.” He grins from ear to ear, his smile simple and yet beautiful. “I’m so happy to see you again.”
I swallow hard, knowing there is no going back now. I see his blue eyes, his cold gaze and kind soul yet again. He has always been nice to me and I know that won’t stop now. He is the best doctor I know, and an even better wolf. I could keep denying what he knows to be true, or I can finally allow someone to know what has happened to me.
“It’s great to see you too, Eugene.”
He lights up with my words, his masculine charm on full display again.
“I always regretted what happened between you and my brother,” he says, nodding. “I blamed myself for allowing your death to take place. If I had done something, anything at all, I could have prevented it from occurring. I know I could have. Who knows, maybe this time around, things will turn out differently.”
I watch him carefully and he smiles, something so enchanting about his smile now. I sign his papers the right way now, ecstatic to have him in my pack and to have him look after Reese, but I can’t help but notice he seems just as enthusiastic about this.
His reasonings, I don’t know.
Something tells me I will eventually find out.