I shook my head, my voice calm but firm. “I don’t have any connections. Even if I did, I only want to earn my position through my own abilities.
11
Lyra blinked, seemingly not expecting that answer.
She studied me for a few moments, then suddenly smiled. “Alright, connections or not, I trust your healing skills. If you really want to become chief healer on your own merit—” she winked slyly, “then you’ll have to prove you can surpass me.”
I smiled back. “Then I look forward to the day I have the honor of replacing you.”
In the end, I accepted the commission.
After all, Moonshadow Apothecary was new to the Los Angeles market and needed a chance to make a name for itself. Collaborating with a giant like Dark Moon Medical Center was undoubtedly the best option.
How could I turn down an opportunity that landed right in my lap?
I just hadn’t expected the first meeting to happen so soon.
Even though I was mentally prepared, when I stood before Eric again, I couldn’t help but look at him a little longer.
Five years had passed. He’d changed so much, yet somehow, not at all.
His typical Alpha dominance had matured, his demeanor even colder, his eyes deep and unsettling.
Almost the moment I stepped into the meeting room, Eric’s gaze locked onto me like a predator on its prey.
He didn’t speak, but his golden wolf eyes churned with incredibly complex emotions – guilt, longing, and an unspeakable pain.
I didn’t understand where these emotions came from, nor did I care about his inner thoughts anymore.
Seeing everyone was seated, I began to professionally explain the special healing potion formula I had prepared.
Time ticked by. When I finished my presentation, the accompanying herbalists were all praising the formula. Only Eric seemed completely out of it the entire time, just staring at me, his gaze so hot it felt like it could melt me.
I don’t think he’d ever seen me like this–confident, professional, intelligent, no longer the timid little Omega cowering in a corner, needing his protection.
