Chapter 0004

Celia's POV

That night, I fell asleep with confusion in my heart.

*

My dreams have been filled with a white wolf who howls at the moon.

I have taken on the wolf’s white body and make my way through the never ending forest. Once I reach the clearing, like I usually do, I howl at the moon.

It’s only seconds after my howl that a black wolf shows up.

He circles me, his eyes glowing under the moonlight, and he bites the air, taunting me.

I try to get away every time but it’s of no use. The black wolf always catches me...

*

When I wake up in the morning, my body aches and my nostrils are filled with Soren’s scent despite him not being in bed beside me. The dream haunts me throughout the night, sometimes leaving me sleepless.

I yawn as my Grandma and I enter the hospital. We walk hand in hand to where her unit is. I smile at the nurses who take her in with open arms.

“I’ll see you later, Grandma!” I wave at her.

Once she disappears, I bolt towards the stairwell and ascend the steps, making it to the third floor where I work. Dipping inside the break room, I make my way to my locker and grab out my Healer uniform, changing into it.

I step into the room where noble she-wolves sit. They watch me from their table, filing their nails and whispering amongst themselves. One of them leans forward, smirking at me.

“It’s a shame you haven’t been promoted yet, Celia,” her tone is mocking,

“then again, you aren’t a noble like we are. If you were, you would have been promoted already!”

The table erupts with snickers and laughs. They point at me and I have to take a deep breath to try and calm myself down.

“...You’re right. Me not being a noble means that I actually earned my spot as a Healer, unlike you, who had the position handed to you,” I shoot back with a glare.

The she-wolves fall silent. They look amongst each other and mumble excuses under their breaths.

“You’re capable! yes!... but your low-class status will never permit you to become a Special Healer,” one of them whispers just loud enough for me to hear.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose, unable to listen to their words any longer.

“Celia?”

Ethan, the hospital director’s son, calls my name from behind.

I turn to him, “Good morning, Ethan.”

Ethan looks hesitated, “Morning. I...I’d like to talk to you about the Special Healer position we discussed earlier.”

I nod and slowly step in his direction. The she-wolves stare at me, their jaws dropped. Just as I reach Ethan’s proximity, a nurse bursts inside the break room, out of breath.

“Bianca is coming to the hospital! She’s going to be our new Special Healer! She’s going to lead so many people!” They call out.

“...What? Bianca, that lycan noble, our king's fiancee...?!”

The she-wolves erupt into a thunderous applause.

I look at Ethan, who avoids my gaze and exits the break room.

After the nurse’s announcement, the hospital prepared to welcome her. Healers and doctors shuffled about the place, barely paying attention to where they went, as they cleaned for her arrival.

Bianca arrived not much later. She enters inside the hospital lobby with Soren at her side. Alphas rarely got hurt, so we’ve never seen Soren here.

My heart pounds inside my chest, surprised that he’s actually here at the hospital...?!

His appearance is obviously to help benefit Bianca’s status; he is here to reaffirm her status as someone on his level. As they spoke with Ethan and the director of the hospital, employees whispered to themselves about how well suited they are together.

They smiled and stole glances of each other, Bianca pushing her hair behind her ear and laughing loudly whenever Soren made a quiet joke into her ear.

People also whispered about Bianca’s origins.

She studied Healing and medicine out of concern for Soren. During their relationship, his headaches always bothered him, so she wanted to learn how to help him and others.

"The only pity is that she isn’t his fated mate…" someone murmurs.

I stayed towards the back of the group. I couldn’t help but notice, though, that other healers and nurses kept staring at me.

Sure, there are some resemblances between Bianca and me—that’s why Soren made me his substitute lover—but there is still a large difference between us, enough that it shouldn’t be too noticeable.

“Do they share the same lineage?”

“How could they? Celia’s wolf-less while Bianca is a noble! She’s clearly better than Celia.”

“Do you think she deliberately tried to imitate Bianca?!”

I have to turn my attention to other things to avoid their judgmental stares and comments. My stomach feels nauseous as they continue to poke into me.

I watch as Soren and Bianca turn to face the rest of the room.

They walk toward me.

I almost instinctively hold my breath.

“...So you’re the Celia they mentioned?” Bianca’s eyes fall on me.

She wears a condescending smile on her face, looking down at me through her eyelashes, “I know I’m quite famous in the Werewolf pack, but you shouldn’t imitate me. Everyone should go out and find their true self.”

The room claps when she’s done speaking.

I hold back my applause and stare at her, my throat feeling raw from holding back tears. I know that she knows about me being her substitute while she was away. Her comment is a jab, one of many that I am sure are to come, and hits me directly in my lungs, leaving me breathless.

“...Enough,” Soren interjects, “Don’t waste your time on irrelevant people.”

He wraps his arm around Bianca’s shoulder.

......Didn’t look back at me even once.

“Of course, my love! Shall we tell them the good news?” Bianca smiles“We are soon to be engaged!”

The room’s applause turns muffled inside my ears. A faint ringing overtakes the loud sounds.

Soren avoids my gaze and simply stares at Bianca, who basks in the rooms attention.

I turn to leave the room, not wanting to stare at the sight any longer, but am stopped by a hand on my wrist. I turn and see Ethan. He wears an apologetic look on his face.

Ethan sighs and lets go of my hand.

“Celia…I am so sorry. The position was supposed to go to you but Soren and my father came to an agreement that it be Bianca instead,” Ethan says.

A bitter taste spreads across my tongue. I can’t even bring myself to smile at him, to tell him that it’s okay, that I don’t need the validation of the role to know that I am a great Healer.

But now, with this new revelation, I have become Bianca’s subordinate. I am below her in all aspects of my life.

I move through the day at a sluggish pace, just going through the motions. A she-wolf hands me a stack of papers to deliver to Bianca. I sigh and stare at them before glancing to the clock.

I don’t wan to work under her, but my job at the hospital is too important to give up. I can endure this, to work beneath Bianca.

I stick close to the wall, papers hugged to my chest, as I walk to Bianca’s office. People don’t even look at me as I pass by. They’re to engrossed in their own conversations to notice me. I sigh and look at Bianca’s door.

It’s cracked open.

I stop before I push through it, though, and take a quick peek inside the room.

And My heart shatters inside my chest.

Soren is in Bianca's office.

Bianca rises on her toes and wraps her arms around his neck.

...they are kissing each other.