The Purification Clinic

The guard who had once knelt to me ground his fingers into my arm hard enough to leave new bruises. He shoved me off the road, and my worn boots sank ankle-deep in the mud outside the village. Damp soil and rot replaced the clean pine scent of Dark Moon territory, the land I had spent my life protecting. The warriors behind him had all passed through my infirmary at some point. I had stitched Marcus's shoulder after the southern raid and sat with another man through silver fever. Now they stood in a line as if I carried a disease. None of them met my eyes. “Alpha's orders, *Elara*.” Marcus lingered over my name after dropping the title he had used for years. “No one enters or leaves. You stay until Doctor Silas says you're clean.” He gave the last word the same disgust he might have given spoiled meat. Then he turned his men around before I could answer. Their boots churned the road until the sound thinned out, leaving me alone in the mud. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was the last thing that still connected me to the fortress, and for one foolish second I thought Kael had checked whether I arrived. Fiona had sent a picture. She lay against Kael's chest in the chambers I had shared with him. His hand rested at her waist. The Moonstone pendant gleamed at her throat: my mother's pendant, the Luna's sigil. Fiona had arranged the picture so there was no chance I would miss it. She smiled straight at the camera. *Heard your blood is tainted. Such a shame. Don't worry, I'll take good care of our Alpha while you're getting purified. He needs a strong, healthy Luna.* I read the message twice while nausea tightened my stomach. She already had my rooms, my mother's pendant, and Kael's arm around her. All she needed now was my title, and they were preparing the pack to accept that too. Another message arrived. Kael's name flashed across the screen, and my heart kicked once before I opened it. Some stubborn part of me still expected one private sentence from my mate. *The northern ward rotation you drafted is due for review. Ensure the supply caches are stocked remotely. Your duties must not be neglected during your treatment.* No question about the journey. No question about the bruises Marcus had left or the doctor waiting for me. Kael still wanted the ward schedule finished and the supply caches checked while I sat under quarantine. Even here, he expected the Luna's work from the woman whose title he had taken. I locked the screen. A warped door creaked open across the yard. An old man stood in the clinic entrance, wiping his hands on a stained apron. White hair and a weathered face gave him the harmless look of a country healer. Then his gaze traveled from my muddy boots to my throat and stopped at my collar. The small smile on his face changed. “The Luna.” He stepped aside. “I'm Doctor Silas. Come in. We should begin your purification.” He kept watching as I passed him. Before my eyes adjusted to the dim room, he shut the door and turned the lock.