My claws threatened to break through my fingernails as I gripped my communication stone, pressing my lips together in silence.
"Selene, are you feeling okay? Your scent is off—something's wrong."
The pack carriage rolled to a stop before the healer-den entrance. I reached out and grasped Kael's sleeve.
"Can we go to a different healer-den? I don't want the examination done here."
Kael shot me a suspicious look, his amber eyes narrowing. "Selene, we've done all your pup expectation monitoring here since we registered with the Blood-Scribes. Why would you want to switch now?"
"You chose Healer Frostvein yourself. It's too late to change healers."
He took my hand, his palm warm against mine, the mate bond humming faintly between us.
"Have you been too anxious lately? That's my fault—I've been working so hard, trying to secure a larger territory allocation from the Pack Council, to give you and the pup a better life."
Before, I would have melted at his dedication.
But now, that pack-net mark-thread was a thorn buried deep in my heart.
"Selene, every other healer-den in the territory is fully claimed. Let's just do the examination today, okay?"