Chapter 27 Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Chapter 27
Katsura.
The next morning, the sun rose hot and heavy, the kind of heat that clung to the skin and made the world feel slow. 
I dressed in silence, tied my hair back, and left the mansion early. I liked walking to the clinic alone. It gave me time to think, to remind myself of what I wanted from the clan and Alpha Alessio.
He was yet to give me an answer. I needed a pup as soon as possible.
But that morning, the silence broke the moment I turned the corner.
Two guards stood in front of my clinic, their faces stiff as always.
They were Alessio’s men. They stood, armed and alert. Their presence was loud, even without words. They stood on either side of the glass door, hands clasped before them like statues carved from stone.
I stopped walking. For a long moment, I just stared.
So this was it, he now had them watching my every movement which made my skin crawl, this wasn’t sexy in any way.
I exhaled slowly and approached. “Is there a reason my clinic now looks like a prison gate?” I asked.
One of them bowed slightly. “Orders from Alpha Alessio.”
Of course, it was from him. I hissed.
I pushed past them and unlocked the door, my hands steady even though something inside me twisted. 
The clinic was supposed to be a place of peace, a place where fear did not follow. Now, even the walls felt tense.
Patients still came and I maintained my usual calm aura.
At first, they hesitated when they saw the guards. Some whispered. Some turned back. But pain always won over fear. 
By midmorning, the waiting chairs were filled. I treated cuts, fevers, broken fingers, and infected wounds. Mothers thanked me softly and the children let me play with them.
By noon, the heat had grown unbearable. Sweat clung to my neck as I washed my hands at the sink, my mind drifting despite myself.
Alessio thought I was flirting, the thought almost made me laugh.
The glass door opened and I looked up, there he was… the traveler.
He walked in like he owned the place, a bright smile on his face, his steps easy, relaxed… too relaxed for a man who had been dragged away by guards the night before. 
His arm was wrapped in fresh cloth, but he looked far too alive for someone who was supposed to be a problem.
I did not smile back, not when Alessio’s men were watching.
Instead, I leaned against the counter and said dryly, “What did you do? Slay Alessio and his men on your way out?”
He laughed, revealing his perfect dentition.
A full, warm laugh, like the world was nothing but a joke meant for him alone. “I like you,” he said. “You have a sharp mouth.”
“I have a clinic,” I replied. “And you’re not supposed to be here.”
“And yet,” he said, spreading his hands, “here I am. Still bleeding. Still in need of a healer.”
I gestured to the chair. “Sit.”
He did, watching me as I crossed the room to get my supplies. I could feel his eyes on my back, slow and deliberate, like fingers tracing skin without touching.
“You’re popular and good at your craft,” he said lightly.
I didn’t turn. “What makes you say that?”
“The guards outside,” he replied. “Very dramatic. Makes a man feel small.”
I grabbed a clean cloth and herbs, then finally faced him. “They’re there because Alpha Alessio thinks I was flirting with you.”
That made him pause, but he wasn’t shocked.
Then he smiled again, but this time, it was slower.
He let his eyes roam over me openly. My face. My neck. My waist. My hips.
I stiffened. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shrugged. “Because you are very beautiful. His jealousy is justified.”
My jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t speak of him like that.”
“I would do the same,” he said calmly. “If you were mine.”
I pressed the cloth harder than necessary against his wound. He didn’t flinch.
“You should be careful,” I said. “These walls have ears.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Do they also know why you don’t have a pup for him?”
My hands froze, trying not to shake or show how uncomfortable I had become.
I looked up sharply. “That’s none of your business.”
He tilted his head. “Soon, then?”
I swallowed with a smile. “Soon.”
“If you change your mind,” he said softly, “I wouldn’t hesitate to give you one.”
Something inside me snapped. 
I couldn’t lie but this stranger has got some guts to say that to my face.
I looked around the clinic, my heart pounding. “Are you mad?” I hissed. “The guards can hear you.”
His lips curved. “That would be better.”
I stared at him. “Better?”
“They don’t know,” he said. “Do they?”
My breath caught. “Know what?”
“That you’re a lowly omega.”
“The one Alessio is making with his wolf scent and deceiving the whole clan.”
The world tilted. My heartbeat raced and I could swear that he could also hear it.
The room seemed to shrink, the air suddenly too thin to breathe. I stepped back, my pulse roaring in my ears.
“How do you know that?” I demanded. “Who are you?”
He stood slowly, towering over me now, his expression unreadable. “Stick around,” he said calmly. “You’ll find out.”
The door opened again, and the guards stepped in. They didn’t look at me, they just went straight for him.
He didn’t resist as they took his arms. He didn’t struggle. He only glanced back at me once, his eyes dark with something I couldn’t name.
Was it Fear?
A promise?
Or a warning?
They walked him out, and that was when I realized the truth.
They were never here because of me, they were here because of him.
I stood alone in my clinic, my hands shaking, my mind racing, one question echoing louder than the rest…
Who had just walked into my life… and what had he come to take?