"You can get out, Liv. We've checked the whole pack territory, and some of your Pack's warriors are with ten of our men to check further into the lands. Everything seems clear," Jackson says as he joins me.

"Are my brother and Alec fine? No one was hurt?" I ask him. He puts his hand on my back and tries to make me move, so we get out of the room.

As we enter the corridor to leave the basement, Jackson finally replies.

"No one in the pack suffered, nor were our warriors. You can relax, Princess," Jackson answers me.

I can notice he gulps as discreetly as possible, and his face stiffens as he perfectly knows what I meant. I already knew no one in my pack was hurt. I'm more concerned about our special guest.

We're about to climb the stairs to reach the hall when I stop.

"Where are Elijah and Alec, Jackson?" I ask him, grabbing the sleeves of his shirt.

He stays silent and bites his lips.

"I asked you something, Jackson. You're supposed to listen to me and answer when I ask you something. I'm your future Queen," I say, my voice staying calm.

I don't want to play the 'Future Queen' card. Nevertheless, I know I don't have any other solution if I want to get some answers.

"They are together with our guest. Alec and your brother do not want you to worry about him. He won't be able to hurt anyone in his private secured room." Jackson pushes me. I walk up the stairs.

When we reach the hall, I see that Eva, Taylor, and Adam are already there.

"I'll go back to them with Taylor and Adam. You'll stay with Eva. We won't be long. Until we are done, you don't leave Eva. Alec's orders, Princess," Jackson says, a grin on his mouth.

"Good morning, Princess Olivia," Eva says, smiling, as she comes closer.

"You can go. I'll take care of her, Jackson. I promise you," she adds, blinking her eye.

"I'll leave you two, then. And once again," he says as he turns to me and points at me with his finger.

"Don't make Alec angry, please." Jackson's grin gets wider, and he turns, leaving with Taylor and Adam by his sides.

"What do you want to do, Princess Olivia?" Eva asks me, a gentle smile on her lips.

"First, I would like you to stop calling me Princess. You've been protecting me for weeks. I think Liv or Olivia will be fine for you, Eva." I smile at her, and her cheeks quickly turn red.

"You're the Princess and future Queen, Princess Olivia. I can't call you by your name," she stutters.

"You can. No, actually, you must call me Olivia or Liv, as it is my first order to you. Can you refuse one of my orders, Eva?" I ask her genuinely. As Alec has not marked me yet, I don't know if I can already be considered their "superior."

You're the silver wolf. Of course, you can order her whatever you want. Just don't abuse your powers; you're supposed to be a simple late shifter Alpha's daughter, mated to the Prince and not marked yet.

Selene says to me. She is right. I need to be careful and not use my natural power to get into trouble.

"I suppose I can't, Prin...." She starts, but stops when she notices my falsely upset eyebrows.

"Sorry, Olivia," she blurts.

"Fine. We're going to the hospital. I need to see the doctor," I say, walking my way out of the packhouse.

Eva stays by my side. After a few minutes of walking in silence, she finally dares to question me.

"Why do you want to go to the hospital, Olivia? Do you feel bad? Do you need me to let Prince Alexander know?" Eva's eyes look nervous when I turn to face her. I observe around us as we are strolling on the grass.

The hospital is lost between the packhouse and the city in the middle of the fields. Wolves rarely need doctors because of their wolves' ability to heal. So except for the youngest, the oldest, the pregnant she-wolves, our doctors don't work that much. Well, it changed in the last few weeks because of the attacks. Wolves' bites can take some time to heal, and the deeper it is, the harder it is to heal.

"I'm fine, Eva. Can you keep a secret?" I ask her.

"I don't have any choice if you ask me to keep it, Olivia," she giggles.

"Cool. Then you'll see. Just come and wait. Don't tell Alec that we're going there. I'll tell him later," I speak as discreetly as possible. Even if I'm pretty sure we cannot be heard, I don't want to take any risk. Letting Eva know about everything is more than enough.

You're sure you want her to know, Olivia?

Selene asks me to look like she cares. But I feel inside that she is proud of my decision.

Just like you are, I'm sure. Look at her face: canine devotion. We can trust Eva, and she will be a great help in the future. We've got something to reveal, and we need someone by our side. She is the one, I feel it. Don't you?

It's crazy how we try to discuss things, even if I know that I perfectly feel Selene's emotions and opinions. If I do, I suppose she can too.

Good. You're trusting your instincts. You can trust her. She is faithful to the Royale family and so to you.

Selene is almost barking with joy in my head. She may be a strange wolf, and she might hide things from me, but I love her.

As I look at the massive building a mile away from us, one question comes to my mind.

Selene, are you the reason I rarely got sick? I've rarely been ill, which is weird for a human.

I've never really noticed before. I went to the hospital a few times because I broke one of my legs and a wrist. I got some bruises during my training. But I've never really been sick.

You were not human, Liv. So yes and no. In a way, that's because of me: you're a wolf, no matter if I didn't appear as early as you could have expected. On the other hand, you were less sick than the other kids, even as a child. So I suppose you are a healthy girl.

As Selene gives me her explanation, I can feel that she is hiding something from me. The more time we spend together, the more obvious it appears to me that she hides a lot more than she wants to admit.

Anyway, this is not my major concern right now. I'll go back to her little secrets later.

I look back at the building, then look at Eva, who is walking quietly beside me.

"Eva, how are hospitals in the Capitale? Do they look like ours?" I ask her.

She seems to think for a minute.

"Not really. We don't have large hospitals like this one," she answers as she points to the large modern white building.

"Kids are rarely severely sick. We have some doctors in small practices. Most of the time, a doctor, a nurse, a dentist, and a midwife work together in one practice. This way, most of the prominent healthcare professionals can be found in the same place. We have one big hospital in the Capitale that deals with severe cases. Mostly old people whose wolves have difficulties healing human bodies.

Some fights turn bloody sometimes, mainly for the wolves who live among lycans. Lycans' real arguments often lead to the death of one belligerent: there's rarely more than one survivor when two lycans fight..." my face turns pale as Eva says the last words.

Nausea is rising in me. I stop.

"Sorry, Olivia. That's occasional. Most of the time, intense disrespect could explain it. I'm surprised Prince Alexander didn't kill your friend on the ceremony night. And..." Eva stops and looks at me. I feel she wants to add something but hesitates, probably fearing my reaction.

"Go on, Eva. You can speak your mind. Selene and I are not wild, furious beasts," I say with a smile.

"How do you not kill Amber? I mean... You have all the reasons to do it if you want my opinion," she speaks. Her jaws tighten, and her eyes turn dark brown.

"I suppose I don't want to put you and my Pack in a potential war situation. Amber must be from a powerful bloodline. I can feel it. Plus, I'm not marked yet. So I think I don't have any right to kill a lycan," I answer as peacefully as possible.

"I think the Prince wouldn't mind you killing her. Something has changed in him since he met you. He seemed more... human. He smiles. He looks... happy," she says.

"I won't speak for all lycans, but know that the men who came with us consider you as the future Queen, marked or not. And from what I heard, the men who arrived with Amber do too. We can feel you're a powerful wolf, and an urge to protect you runs through our veins. Never doubt that." Eva keeps on walking, the hospital getting closer and closer to us.

"Thank you, Eva. I think I'll need you in the Capitale. Would you mind helping me get used to this new life when we're there? Plus, I will need someone to ensure we are safe when we have pups." I wait silently for her answer.

"I'll be honored to protect you. I will be there no matter how long you need me. She smiles at my demand, and I feel pride growing in her.

Before I realize it, we enter the hall of the hospital. The entrance is almost empty. Some nurses are talking with patients at the reception.

"Olivia, what a surprise! We didn't get any call to alert us about you coming. Are you alright?" One nurse says.

"I'm fine. I'd like to see Anna. Do you think that's possible, Clara?" I ask the red hair nurse in front of me. Now that I have a wolf, I acknowledge that Clara's aura differs from what I had discerned before. I almost feel like I have to protect her.

She's an Omega. Therefore, you feel you have to protect her. That's one of the things with the gray wolves: they feel the need to protect the weakest. This wolf is fragile and must feel impressed, maybe even endangered, by Eva's presence. Her fear creates this feeling in you. You'll get used to it, don't worry.

Well, at least it explains why I feel so connected to people. If I am more sensible than other werewolves, life will be so fun.

Don't worry, it will be better in a few months too. Your current state makes you feel even more aware of these feelings, but it won't last.

Selene's last words do not reassure me. Months mean a lot of time to me. How am I supposed to deal with all of this without turning nuts?

Clara's gentle voice brings me back to reality.

"You know the place, Olivia. I'll call her to let her know that you're coming. I'm sure she can see you." Clara smiles at me and takes the phone.

Before she can even start her call, I move to reach the elevators. I push the button to call one of them and wait patiently, Eva by my side. A pregnant she-wolf gets out of it when the door opens, with a young kid in her arms. She slightly bows her head when she passes in front of us.

We enter the elevator, then I push the second-floor button. When the door opens, I go directly to the floor left-wing. The bright white corridor is quiet, except for the discreet talks of the nurses and some people visiting the rare patients.

We finally reach the door at the end of the corridor.

'Anna C. Coleman M.D.'

I'm about to knock on the door when it opens. Anna's smiling face welcomes me.

"Olivia, nice to see you look good. Seems like you get used to your wolf so well. What can I do for you?" Anna asks me.

"You must know why I'm here, Anna." I thought I would be nervous being here, but in fact, excitement is growing inside me.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I will need more information to help you because I don't think I've got the entire situation to my knowledge." Despite her smile, I feel she gets tense. Eva must feel it, too, as she gets closer to me and her aura becomes more oppressive.

I turn to Eva and put my hand on her arm.

"That's okay, Eva," I say. Then I turn back to Anna.

"I'm here for the same reasons Prince Alexander asked you to check on everything concerning my health. Before you mention Selene, I'm not talking about her. I speak about the other details." My voice sounds more authoritative. No matter how much I appreciate Anna, I'm not in the mood to fight to get my answers.

I notice Anna swallows her saliva before she gets out of her office. Finally, she closes her office and looks at me, a nervous smile on her face.

"Come with me, Olivia." Anna walks to the other end of the floor. When we pass before the nurses' office, they look at us as discreetly as possible, their faces a little worried and curious at the same time.

We stop in front of a room. My forever doctor opens the room, moves to the side, and gestures for us to enter the room.

"No one will hear us here," she adds as she closes the door behind us.

Great, I'm not really fond of people spying on us right now.