Chapter 90

Jasper’s POV

Jasper overslept that morning, so he didn’t hear about the latest report on Sheila until he read about it in the morning paper over his eggs and mimosa. It nearly turned his stomach, though not quite enough to stop eating his breakfast.

Sheila had to be playing some kind of game. That was his running theory, anyway.

How else could the news have found out about this story? Lucian wouldn’t have said a word and Jasper surely didn’t. No one would have believed the guy who was exiled. Who else knew the story and would be believed?

When the phone rang, Jasper’s butler answered it.

“One moment, Sir,” the butler said, and then brought the phone to Jasper who was sitting at the tray table pulled up alongside his bed. The butler set the phone down beside Jasper’s breakfast and then handed him the receiver.

Jasper was annoyed at first, as he hadn’t told him yet that he would accept the call.

Yet, seeing my face, he clarified, “It is the Alpha King, sir.”

Oh. Jasper wasn’t sure if they could even legally hang up on the leader of the pack.

Sighing, he took the receiver and brought it to his ear. “It’s very early, cousin.”

“It’s 11am,” Lucian said flatly.

“Still morning,” Jasper replied. He crunched on a bit of toast. Mouth full, he formally asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

“You shared what I told you with the news,” Lucian said.

“I suppose I can understand why you’d think I did that, but I didn’t,” Jasper replied. “I haven’t said a word about what happened to anyone.”

“The timing is too suspicious, Jasper. Just admit it was you.”

“It wasn’t.”

“I told you those things in confidence –”

“A confidence I have kept,” Jasper replied. “I’m telling you that I didn’t tell a soul what you said to me.”

Lucian was quiet a moment. “Then who could have told? Sheila wanted to keep it a secret. She never would have said a word about it.”

Jasper agreed that things did seem odd, and the timing undoubtedly cast him in the worst light. Without knowing who leaked the information, or being able to prove it, didn’t help his case.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Lucian said. “Though, this is on me. I should have known not to trust you.”

“Still taking guilt for things you aren’t responsible for?” Jasper said. “That sounds like you.”

Without another word, Lucian hung up, replying to Jasper with a dial-tone.

“Touchy,” Jasper said to the receiver as he lowered it back into the cradle. His butler, who had been standing nearby, lifted the phone and took it away, placing it back on the dresser on the other side of the room.

Jasper frowned down at his breakfast, as he tried to discern who could have leaked this news. And why.

If nothing else, his suspicions now doubled that the story itself isn’t true.

He’d keep those suspicions to himself for now, but in the safety of his own mind, he was free to explore them.

Something about all of this wasn’t adding up.

And he was going to figure out what that something was.

Aria’s POV

With the news of Dr. A’s successful treatment of Harold spreading through the pack, my office was once again bombarded with calls and walk-ins looking for appointments or advice.

I’d already instructed Piper to turn everyone away.

“I’m sorry, but Dr. A is not accepting new patients right now,” Piper said into the phone, over and over. She was probably sick of saying it now, or maybe it made the conversations easier, being so practiced with this particular rejection.

Even before accepting Harold as a patient, I had been looking to downsize. As I was on my way out of the pack, I didn’t want to take on more patients that I would then have to abandon.

Harold had been a special case, since I was so fond of him.

As soon as he was well, however, and once the divorce was finalized, I would be leaving the pack behind.

After hanging up the phone, Piper looked up at me standing near her desk. “They are becoming more demanding. I think there’s rumors running around that you are planning on leaving. They all want to be seen before that happens.”

“Let them think whatever they want,” I said. “The answer is still going to be no.”

No one could force me to treat them, and those that made demands, I was even less likely to help. Rude to my staff? You could find another healer.

When I noticed Piper was starting to look warn, I suggested, “Why not just let the messages go to voicemail for a while. I won’t say a word about it.”

Piper smiled as she shook her head. “I’m alright. This is part of the job that I signed up for.” That smile faded away. “I just wish you were staying. Are you sure you won’t consider it?”

Placing my hand on my stomach, I told her, “No. I’m sorry, Piper, but there’s nothing here for me anymore. I can do so much more good elsewhere.”

Piper nodded, even though she seemed upset. The phone rang and distracted her before we could talk more.

At the same time, a man came walking through the door into the main office. Spotting me, his eyes immediately brightened.

“Oh, Dr. A. Just the person I wanted to see!”

He was a man of around thirty, with chestnut hair and eyes to match. His cheeks were flushed slightly, but he didn’t seem to be overly ill. The wide smile he gave me told me he wasn’t in any particularly horrible pain.

He waltzed toward me with confidence, his chin held high. He was taller than me, but not as tall as Lucian.

The thought gave me pause. Why had I thought of Lucian at all just now?

This was exactly why I needed to move. To put thoughts of Lucian so far behind me that they’d never resurface again.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m not accepting any new patients.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” he said and continued walking. When he was within two feet of me he stopped. I itched to take a step backwards, finding this much too close for comfort, but behind me was Piper’s desk. I was trapped.

Before panic could set in however I reminded myself where I was. This was my office, and this man wasn’t anything so far but overly friendly.

Maybe I hadn’t slept enough last night, worried about Harold and Lucian and that damned photo that thankfully seemed to disappear off the face of the earth.

“I wanted to talk to you about something else,” he said.

I didn’t have a clue what that something else could be, so I said, “What is it? Do you need a referral?”

“No, uh, nothing like that.” A pink hue rose in the man’s cheeks. I realized now how nervous he seemed. “I was just hoping that… uh… I could convince you, that is, if you wanted… to join me to… uh…”

“What are you trying to say?” I asked him, hoping directness might help cut through his apparent nervousness.

“Uh,” he said, but then he rallied. Looking at me in the eye, he said, “Dr. A, would you go on a date with me?