Divorcing My Alpha Husband For His Uncle

The Northern Border

The healer was quick and quiet, which I appreciated. There was no unnecessary conversation or pitying looks, just hands that knew what they were doing moving efficiently over my body while I sat on the edge of the bed with my legs swinging underneath the bed, and stared at the wall opposite me.

She checked the stitched gash along my ribs first, and I sucked in a breath, thinking it would hurt, but it didn't. Just a little sting, so I relaxed.

Then she moved to my arms, pressing along the bruising there, and this time it hurts like hell.

I flinched hard, my teeth caught my lower lip as I hissed in pain. It was an old bruising, I knew that, but old didn't mean gone, and my body had a very honest way of reminding me of things I'd rather forget.

"Sorry," she murmured, barely audible, and kept going.

I was fine, I let out a shaky breath. I was doing fine.

And then her hands slowed down. As if they paused mid-air, and I felt her freeze. I glanced down and saw where her fingers had stilled, higher up on my arm, and my stomach dropped.

The marks there weren't from the escape, and it was something I hated people seeing.

I quickly reached up and pulled my sleeve back down into place before she could say anything.

She looked up at me in surprise and something else, and I turned my eyes away from her, my jaw locked, and my expression said everything my mouth wasn't going to.

Drop it.

She held my gaze for a second, something moving behind her eyes, then she made a quiet note on her chart and moved on without a word.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding because I was half expecting her to ask or say something.

"You're healing well," she said after a moment, settling back to review her notes. "Better than I'd expect given there's no wolf to help speed things along." Then she paused, choosing her next words carefully.

"But you're underweight. Your body's been running on stress for a while now. Longer than just the last few days when you arrived..."

She didn't complete the word; she didn't need to. The way she said it, careful and soft, made it obvious enough what she was hinting at, and just like that, the quietness in my chest got heavier.

I swallowed thickly, looking down at my hands as that familiar dull ache appeared in my chest again.

It didn't feel good to hear. It felt like being poked in a bruise I was pretending wasn't there.

"You need to rest," she continued. "Proper rest, not just sleep. Your body needs—"

"I have a council meeting today," I cut her off, and she looked at me over her chart.

"Luna—"

"And pack matters to catch up on." I kept my voice pleasant because she was just doing her job, and none of this was her fault. "I appreciate it, genuinely. But I can't just stop."

She gave me the look. The one that said she knew she wasn't winning this and was deciding if it was worth trying.

"I'll eat more," I added, as a peace offering. "And I'll actually sleep. I promise."

She sighed, scribbled something, and moved back, letting me go.

I hopped off the bed, straightened my dress, and stepped outside.

The fresh air hit me, and I took a second to just breathe it in, rolling my shoulders back and trying to shake off the weight the last twenty minutes had dropped on me.

That was when I noticed him.

Alaric was standing just outside the clinic, and the second I walked out, he straightened up fast.

Too fast, actually, like he'd been caught doing something and was trying to look like he hadn't been.

I arched a brow. What's his deal?

His expression reset almost immediately into that composed, unreadable look he always wore, but there was that half-second before it did where something else was sitting on his face entirely.

I tilted my head at him, and he peered back at me as if nothing had happened.

Okay then.

I walked over, still watching him with mild suspicion. "You didn't have to come personally," I said, "You could have just sent someone."

"I was nearby," he shrugged, and I looked around at our very specific location outside the pack clinic and said nothing.

Nearby huh?

He cleared his throat slightly, and I almost smiled at his attempt to change the topic.

"Sera's waiting for you," he stated, turning to walk back. "It's about the council prep."

I fell into step beside him, and for a while neither of us said anything, which was fine. The grounds were busy around us, the morning fully underway now, and I was still carrying the heaviness from inside the clinic that I was actively trying to set down somewhere.

Then his phone buzzed, drawing me out of my thoughts, thankfully. He pulled it out, glanced at it. I watched as his jaw clenched tight in rapid control, and I was starting to recognise.

"What is it?" I asked, moving to stand in front of him. He had stopped walking and just stood there glaring at the device.

He didn't answer immediately, still reading whatever was on the screen.

"Alaric," I called impatiently, not liking being out of the loop for long. He looked up, and whatever was on his face made my mouth dry before he even opened his mouth.

"Darkmoon scouts were spotted at the northern border." his eyes grew cold, and his voice even deeper. "About an hour ago."

My stomach dropped straight through my dress and to the floor. I stood there, the noise of the courtyard suddenly feeling very far away, my mouth dry and my heart beating loud and unsteady in my chest.

“W-what are they doing?” I asked, unable to stop the stuttering as fear coiled up my spine.

He's here. I knew it. Nolan's here to get me. I swallowed hard as I braced myself for the next words he'd say.

"They were watching," he added, "They didn't cross."

I frowned at him. What does he mean by "not crossing?" What were they waiting for?

The word sat between us in the cold morning air, heavy and unfinished.

They weren't crossing into the border. Not yet.