Chapter 87

When I closed my eyes, all I could see was Alexander’s text: three simple words that changed everything.

This is it.

The medication I had been taking for years—believing it would help me recover my wolf—was the very thing that had been poisoning me, silencing her all along. People I trusted, those who had access to my family at our most vulnerable, had done this to me.

The realization hit hard: someone within the medical community had to be the traitor, aiding David not only in poisoning me but also in orchestrating my father's death.

Tears burned my eyes as I thought of my father’s slow decline, the illness that treatment never managed to cure. Instead, it must have hastened his end, leaving our pack leaderless and handing everything over to David.

In my grief, I was too broken to take over, and with David as my husband, he easily slipped into power. It had all been his plan from the start: to dismantle my family, usurp our authority, and use our pack’s strength to expand his dominion.

But I wasn't going to let his cruelty define our future in this timeline. David had to be stopped. No matter how clever he was or how convincingly he lied, there had to be a way to bring him down.

And with Alexander’s help, I knew it was possible.

Right now, though, I had to focus on stopping the ongoing damage. I needed to find the traitor within our ranks and ensure they couldn't continue their sabotage. More than anything, I needed to prevent my father's illness from ever manifesting.

But as the full weight of this truth settled over me, one thing became painfully clear: I couldn’t even trust my own pack.

I hardly slept all night, unable to quiet the storm of thoughts brought on by Alexander’s message. I waited as long as I could, but after breakfast, I finally slipped away to my room and called him. He answered immediately, his voice edged with worry.

“I was starting to think something had happened,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, my voice small. “I just needed time to process.”

“That’s understandable,” he said, though his tone remained taut. “This is an upsetting development.”

“Which is why I have to ask you for an unusual favor,” I said, my heart pounding. “And I don’t know if it’s even possible, but...” My voice trailed off as I struggled to find the right words.

“Anything you want,” he said softly. “I’ll do my best to make it happen.”

“If they’ve been slipping poison to me,” I began, my voice tightening, “then it stands to reason that David has someone in my pack’s medical community on his payroll. And that makes me very worried for my father’s health.”

There was a long, heavy silence on the other end. I bit my lip, anxiety gnawing at me as I waited for Alexander’s response.

“I see,” he said finally, his voice thoughtful yet tense. “It’s logical to think your father’s health may have been compromised. What is it you’d like me to do?”

“I want my father to get a physical,” I said, my hands trembling. “From a trusted doctor. Someone who isn’t answering to David.”

Alexander took a moment before responding, his words measured. “That’s tricky. I do know medical professionals we can trust to examine your father,” he said. “But arranging something like that without raising suspicion—especially since he’s the alpha—would be difficult.”

I sighed, disappointment welling in my chest. “I was afraid it might be impossible,” I murmured.

“I didn’t say it was impossible,” Alexander countered, his voice growing more determined. “Only difficult.”

"I'll owe you big time for this," I said, trying to keep my tone even, though my heart raced wildly in my chest. "I'm just so worried he might make a move against my father to get to me."

"It does seem like the kind of thing he would do," Alexander replied, a hint of anger darkening his voice. "It’ll take me a few hours, but I’ll arrange for one of my people to examine your father. All you need to do is have him schedule a normal doctor’s appointment."

Relief washed over me, and I exhaled shakily. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Don’t thank me yet," Alexander said, a teasing edge softening the seriousness in his voice. "Like you said, you’re going to owe me for this one."

"Whatever you want," I replied, my voice steadier. "It's worth it to keep my father safe."

"We’ll see if you still feel that way when I decide what I want," Alexander said, his tone playfully mischievous. "I’ll have to take my time to think about it."

"You tease too much," I said, feeling a little embarrassed as my mind wandered to what Alexander might ask from me as payment.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked, a playful lilt in his voice. "You don’t seem to mind too much when I tease you."

I sighed, trying to keep my composure. "I usually don’t," I admitted, "but there’s a time and place when it’s appropriate, don’t you think?"

"Maybe I’m just trying to lighten the mood of a serious conversation," he said, though his tone held a hint of something deeper. "Or maybe I mean it. I suppose only time will tell."

"And how much time are we talking?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Oh, I’m free on Thursday night," he replied smoothly.

"So, I'll see you then," I said, trying to mask my anticipation. "Hopefully, you'll have an answer by then. It feels like I owe you so much already, and I'd like to start repaying my debt."

"It can be unnerving to feel like you're in someone's debt," Alexander said, his voice thoughtful. "I suppose it would be cruel of me not to let you pay it back."

"Exactly," I countered, a teasing smile pulling at my lips. "And you wouldn’t want to be cruel, would you?"

"To you?" Alexander replied, sounding amused. "Never. We’ll talk soon. And make sure your father sets that doctor’s appointment."

"I will," I promised. "Thank you, Alexander. I’m really grateful for your help with this."

"Of course," he said, his voice warm but resolute. "We can't let your pack fall into the wrong hands."

We ended the call, and I flopped back onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was sure to be an awkward conversation with my father, but I had no doubt that he would agree in the end to make the doctor’s appointment. After all, he rarely denied me anything.

I tried not to think about what things had been like in the original timeline, watching his illness slowly progress while David comforted me in my grief. The thought now made my stomach churn, knowing that David had orchestrated it all.

It fueled my resolve even more—my revenge against David had to be fulfilled. I would make sure he was exposed for the manipulative bastard he was and that he never gained the power he craved.

But it was a much harder task than I had ever imagined. When my second chance began, I had foolishly thought exposing David’s infidelity would be enough. Nothing had gone so smoothly.

The only reason I still had hope of succeeding was because of Alexander. Somehow, he had the ability to make the impossible happen, and his resourcefulness was almost miraculous.

My curiosity about him was growing stronger. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I knew that prying into Alexander’s life would violate the delicate balance of our agreement. Things between us had already become far more real than I’d expected, and despite the teasing nature of our earlier conversation, I genuinely hoped he would soon let me begin paying him back.

Our contract was supposed to be equal, but so far, I had only been able to help him with minor problems, nothing compared to what he had done for me.

Alexander wasn’t the type to act purely out of the goodness of his heart, no matter how much we got along. He was a shrewd businessman, and our relationship had started as a business agreement. I could trust him to hold me to that.

Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what he intended to ask for in return. Money? Land? Whatever it was, I’d pay the price without hesitation. Protecting my family was worth any cost.