Claimed by the Alpha’s Fortune

Chapter Thirteen: The Choice

Lena arrived at dawn.

Ella was already awake, organizing the supply shelves, when she heard footsteps in the tunnel. She looked up and saw the young Beta woman standing in the doorway, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.

"You came," Ella said.

"I said I would."

Lena stepped inside, her eyes scanning the clinic—the examination table, the shelves of medicine, the new refrigerator humming in the corner. Her gaze lingered on the patients: Lily, still sleeping in her cot; Caleb, pale but stable; the old man who had come in with a cough last night.

"It's not much," Lena said.

"It's a start."

Lena walked to the examination table and picked up a scalpel, testing its edge with her thumb. "You did all this yourself?"

"With help."

"From who?"

"From people who believed in me." Ella set down the box of bandages she'd been sorting. "I need someone who believes in the clinic. Not in me—in the clinic. In what we're trying to build."

Lena set down the scalpel. "I believe in medicine. I believe in saving lives. I don't believe in much else."

"That's enough."

They stood facing each other, two women who had been cast out by the world, trying to build something new.

"Room and board," Lena said. "Plus a share of earnings."

"Plus a share of earnings."

"And I get to treat patients. Real patients. Not just scrapes and bruises."

"You'll get the hard cases. The ones no one else wants."

Lena's mouth twitched—almost a smile. "When do I start?"

"Now."

---

The first hour was chaos.

Lena had been trained at the Silver Creek Academy, one of the best nursing programs in the wolf world. She knew how to start IVs, how to read vital signs, how to handle emergencies. But she'd never worked in a clinic with a dirt floor and expired medications.

"This is insane," she said, after her third patient. "You're running a medical practice with supplies from a dumpster."

"They're not from a dumpster. They're from a pharmacy."

"A pharmacy that was throwing them away."

"Same difference." Ella handed her a bottle of antiseptic. "We work with what we have. When we have more, we'll work with more."

Lena stared at the bottle. The label was faded, the expiration date three months past.

"This is dangerous," she said.

"Living in the Under-City is dangerous. Starving is dangerous. Dying from an infection you could have treated is dangerous." Ella's voice was calm, but firm. "I'm not offering safety. I'm offering a chance."

Lena was silent for a long moment. Then she nodded.

"Show me where you keep the sutures."

---

By noon, they had treated fifteen patients.

Lena handled the routine cases—sprains, cuts, fevers—while Ella focused on the more complex ones. A wolf with a deep wound that needed cleaning and stitching. A child with a respiratory infection that required careful monitoring. An elderly woman whose arthritis was so advanced she could barely walk.

The system pinged:

**Clinic Upgrade - Phase 2 progress: 98%**

**Remaining tasks: Finalize supply chain, hire additional staff**

**Staff added: Lena (Nurse, Level 2)**

**Effect: Patient throughput increased by 40%**

Ella glanced at the notification and smiled. Lena was already proving her worth.

"Where did you learn to suture like that?" Lena asked, watching her close a wound.

"School. And practice."

"You're better than some of the doctors I trained with."

"I had good teachers."

Lena's eyes narrowed. "You're not a wolf."

"No."

"You're not even a full human, are you? There's something different about you. Something I can't quite place."

Ella tied off the last suture and stepped back. "I'm an Omega. Wolfless. Scentless. The lowest of the low."

"And yet you're here. Running a clinic. Saving lives."

"And yet I'm here."

Lena shook her head. "You're a strange one, Healer."

"I've been told."

---

The afternoon brought a visitor.

Ella was washing her hands at the bucket when she heard footsteps—measured, confident, unhurried. She looked up and saw Thorne, the Alpha of Eastern Ridge, standing in the doorway.

He wasn't alone. Behind him stood a young woman—maybe twenty-five, with red hair and freckles—carrying a large wooden crate.

"Healer," Thorne said.

"Alpha Thorne." Ella dried her hands. "You're becoming a regular."

"Don't get used to it." He stepped aside, gesturing to the woman behind him. "This is Bryn. She's our pack's herbalist. She knows more about plants than anyone I've ever met."

Bryn set down the crate and opened it. Inside were bundles of dried herbs—dozens of them, labeled in careful handwriting.

"Yarrow for wounds," Bryn said. "Willow bark for pain. Chamomile for sleep. Echinacea for infections. And a few others you might find useful."

Ella knelt and examined the herbs. The system pinged:

**Herbal supplies received: 12 varieties**

**Estimated value: $300**

**Effect: Reduced dependency on pharmaceutical medications**

"This is generous," Ella said.

"It's practical." Thorne's voice was gruff. "We have more herbs than we can use. You have more patients than you can treat. It makes sense to share."

Ella stood up. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Thank Bryn. She's the one who insisted."

Bryn smiled—a shy, awkward expression. "I've heard about your clinic. What you're doing here. I wanted to help."

"You can help by teaching us how to use these." Ella gestured to the herbs. "I know the basics, but you're the expert."

Bryn's eyes lit up. "I'd like that."

---

That evening, Ella called a meeting.

Mira, Dent, Lena, and Bryn gathered around the fire in the center of the clinic. The patients had been fed and settled for the night. The tunnels were quiet.

"We have a problem," Ella said. "A good problem, but a problem. The clinic is growing faster than we can manage. We need more space. More supplies. More staff."

"We need money," Mira said bluntly.

"We need money," Ella agreed. "But we also need a plan. A real plan. Not just surviving day to day, but building something that lasts."

Lena leaned forward. "What kind of plan?"

Ella pulled out her notebook—the one she'd been using since the system appeared—and flipped to a page covered in notes and numbers.

"Phase One: Stabilize the clinic. We've done that. We have basic equipment, a supply chain, and a small staff."

"Phase Two: Expand. We need a bigger space. Better equipment. More reliable sources of medicine."

"Phase Three: Become self-sustaining. That means finding ways to generate revenue—not just donations and pocket change, but real income."

Mira frowned. "How? We're in the Under-City. No one here has money."

"Not here," Ella said. "But outside? There are packs who would pay for medical care. Humans who would pay for access to wolf medicine. We can charge sliding scale—those who can pay, do; those who can't, don't."

"It's risky," Dent said. His voice was rough, unused to speaking. "The packs won't like it. A neutral clinic in rogue territory? They'll see it as a threat."

"Then we prove them wrong." Ella's voice was steady. "We save lives. We don't take sides. We treat anyone who needs help. Eventually, they'll see us as what we are—not a threat, but a resource."

The room was silent. The fire crackled.

Then Lena said, "I'm in."

Mira nodded slowly. "I'm in."

Dent grunted. "I'm in."

Bryn smiled. "I'm in."

Ella looked around at the faces—scarred, wary, hopeful. These were her people now. The thrown-away. The forgotten. The ones who had nothing and still found a way to give.

"Then let's get to work."

---

The system pinged late that night, after everyone had gone to sleep.

**Clinic Upgrade - Phase 2 progress: 100%**

**Task complete: Clinic Upgrade - Phase 2**

**Reward: $800 credited to account**

**Skill Unlocked: Supply Chain Management (Level 1)**

**Reputation increased: Under-City (+20), Eastern Ridge (+10), Wolf Alliance (+5)**

**Current funds: $8,773.50 ($7,973.50 + $800)**

**Next milestone: Establish permanent medical practice ($5,000 needed)**

Ella stared at the numbers. She had almost nine thousand dollars now. More than enough for the next phase. More than enough for the clinic.

But the system wasn't finished.

**New task detected: Clinic Upgrade - Phase 3**

**Description: Expand the clinic to accommodate growing patient volume. Required: larger space, additional equipment, permanent staff housing.**

**Budget: $10,000**

**Reward: $2,000 + Skill Unlock: Medical Facility Management**

**Time limit: 30 days**

Ten thousand dollars. Ella had almost nine. She was close—closer than she'd ever been.

But close wasn't enough.

She closed her eyes and listened to the fire crackle. Somewhere in the tunnels, a wolf howled—a lonely sound, full of longing.

Tomorrow, she would figure out how to find the rest.

Tonight, she rested.