My wolf snarled beneath my skin at what she’d uncovered.Shame burned like acid.I’d tracked the illness for months, watching it spread downstream from the mine, paralyzed by memories of how powerless I’d been against Victoria.The creek’s silver glint mocked me through the window.One by one, shifter families fell sick after contacting the water.It was my fault for not acting sooner.Would I fail this town, too?
“You knew,” she whispered.It was an indictment, not a question.“How long have you been mapping this?”She traced the red thread connecting pins.“These aren’t random cases.This is systematic poisoning.”
I caught her wrist before she touched another pin.Her pulse raced under my fingers.“Drop it.”
She didn’t flinch.“Or what?You’ll fire me?”She laughed without humor.“This town needs answers more than it needs your pride.”
The truth tasted like bitter medicine.I released her and turned toward the window.“Roberts Mine has been dumping heavy metals for decades.Their corporate docs call it acceptable leakage.”My reflection showed hollow eyes and a tense jaw.“According to the EPA, they’re legally compliant.Whatever’s in the runoff affects shifters, not humans.”
The words hung heavy.Behind me, Sabrina’s breath caught in her throat.I didn’t need to see her to feel the weight of her gaze piercing my back.
“I bought the land to stop it,” I continued, voice rough.“But the damage is done.The creek’s poisoned.The soil’s tainted.And every day, my kind are sick because of it.”
The room felt suffocating.I leaned forward against the windowsill, glass cold beneath my palms.Outside, the valley looked deceptively peaceful, sunlight glinting off the creek like something pure.But poison lurked beneath, silent and deadly.
Sabrina stepped closer until she was right behind me.“How long have you known?”
“Too long.I thought I could fix it.Contain it.But it’s spreading.Marshall’s sick.If he doesn’t get better, he’ll lose his cattle, his land.Everything.”
Her inhale sharpened.“You’ve been testing the water.”
I nodded toward the cabinet.“Results are in there.It’s useless without a medical expert to connect it to the illness.”
She moved instantly, yanking drawers open with single-minded focus.Papers were scattered across the desk.“We’ll need fresh samples.Bloodwork from every affected shifter.A proper epidemiological—”
“Sabrina.”Her name rasped from my throat.She looked up, dark strands escaping her ponytail, determination etched into her features despite the exhaustion shadowing her eyes.The clinic’s light flickered, casting her in harsh relief.
“This isn’t your fight.”My voice carried years of isolation and battle scars.My chest ached, the old wound throbbing with my pulse.Pain was familiar.Her stubbornness was not.
She didn’t back down.Lifting her chin, she crossed her arms over her chest.“Isn’t it?Because last I checked, I’m the doctor here.If something’s hurting these people, it’s my job to fix it.”
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with.This isn’t some flu or broken bone.It’s bigger than you, bigger than the clinic.”
Her lips pressed thin into a thin line.“Then tell me.Because all I see is a man too stubborn to ask for help and a town suffering because of it.”
Tension crackled between us.I clenched my scarred fists.“You think I don’t know that?You think I haven’t tried to fix this?”
“Trying isn’t enough.”Her voice softened without losing its steel.“Let me help you, Logan.You don’t have to do this alone.”
I turned away.Through the window, every house reminded me of lives I’d sworn to protect.But the cost wasn’t hers to bear.“You don’t know what you’re asking,” I said finally, as the fight drained out of me.
“Then tell me.”Her hand brushed my arm.“Because I’m not going anywhere.Now are you going to help me save your town, or keep brooding in your mansion like some tragic romance hero?”
Something shifted between us, electric and unpredictable.My wolf, previously snarling at her intrusion, went quiet and on high alert.It recognized what my pride wouldn’t admit.She was right.
This realization unsettled me more than any pain.I’d built walls to keep out the world, yet this stubborn doctor walked through them like a ghost.Worse, part of me welcomed it.
A harsh laugh escaped me.My wolf settled, recognizing her matching stubbornness.“You’re a menace, Wu.”
“And you’re stuck with me.”She tossed her hair, determination shining in her eyes.“So let me see that wound.The real one, not just the map.”
The request hung between us like a gauntlet.Showing her my injury meant admitting weakness, crossing a line I’d drawn years ago.But as I met her steady gaze, I recognized the truth.She wasn’t just talking about the physical scar.
