Chapter 146

Chapter 146 A little offended

BECKY

Alpha Rayden seemed to pick up on my disillusion immediately and set his own fork down. He leaned forward and gave me an apologetic look.

“I know you’re worried,” he acknowledged, and he exhaled deeply. “I don’t blame you. I didn’t properly warn you about the state of things. I should have said more to put it in perspective. The situation in the clinic is dire, to say the least.”

“It is,” I agreed without missing a beat. “Alpha Rayden, why haven’t you informed the Alpha King and requested more healers? Jasper told me the ones he sent here from Anemond left.”

“I’ve been contemplating the right way to go about it,” he replied in a genuine tone. “I was planning on informing the Alpha King of the state of things when I go to visit Anemond next week. The situation wasn’t as severe last week, but over the past few days, it’s rapidly worsened. The number of patients increased significantly this week, and I’m not sure of the cause.”

While I was still so shocked by everything, I could tell from the newly-appointed Alpha’s words that he was at a complete loss. This wasn’t his fault and I knew he was hurting on behalf of his people.

“It’s a complex disease,” I agreed with a small nod. “I can tell from my research. Can I ask you, Alpha Rayden, when did the disease initially appear here in Wild Crawler? And who was the first patient who contracted it?”

Jasper cleared his throat. “Alpha Rayden was in the midst of his military service ven it had first started and returned when it had already begun spreading. But I can offer my insight. We couldn’t identify the first patient bese many patients had arrived at the clinic within a few days of the outbreak. It had occurred around the start of spring as the weather was warming, but the exact date is unknown. No one in the area has experience dealing with an epidemic, Miss Becky. We’re very new to this.”

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“I understand,” I a*sured him. There was definitely a challenge in attempting to gather information from vague details provided by ailing patients. I could ask them more questions now, but if I wanted to learn more about the disease, I needed to do some hands-on research and examine the ailing patients. “Thank you for giving me some information. I appreciate it.”

“Of course,” Alpha Rayden replied.

Despite the looming threat of the situation in the clinic, the rest of the lunch.

was pl

I had expected dining with the Alpha of the Pack to be more formal, but the atmosphere was relaxed. It was surprising to me that Jasper, a guard, and I, a stranger, were allowed to be seated at the same table as the leader of the Pack, but Rayden explained without prompting that the kitchen always prepared extra food and Jasper needed to eat just as much as anyone else.

I appreciated the casual and free atmosphere. Anemond was too formal for anything like this. A commoner sharing a meal with the upper cla*s or the Alpha at the same table was unthinkable,

The people of the capital always considered themselves the elite of Wegalla, but Wild Crawler seemed like a much more hospitable and genuine place.

After we finished eating, Jasper accompanied me back to the clinic.

“I wish I could stay with you, Miss Becky, but unfortunately, I have some other tasks to attend to in the afternoon,” he said as we approached the front door.

“It’s alright,” I replied with a smile. “I understand. I don’t expect you to drop everything to help me. I can handle things from here, Jasper. I’m going to spend the afternoon getting better acquainted with the clinic and maybe start examining patients so I know what I’m going to be dealing with.”

“Well, you won’t be going through it alone,” Jasper a*sured me, “I’ll have a se rvant come and help you in the afternoon.”

“That would be great,” I said.

We stopped in front of the door, and Jasper reached into the pocket of his

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jacket and retrieved something wrapped in plastic.

“Here,” he said as he handed it to me. “This is for you. A mask. So you don’t have to breathe things in longer than necessary. As I said, we don’t know if the disease is airborne, but this should at least help minimize the smell. I know it can get pretty cloying in there. This should reduce headaches and lessen your exposure to the germs.”

“Thank you, Jasper,” I said, and I accepted the mask gratefully. “This is really helpful. I appreciate it.”

“Of course,” the guard replied. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

After I nodded, Jasper turned around and headed back to the Pack House. I lingered outside of the clinic for a moment and gathered my thoughts.

This was going to be a troubling visit, but I needed to stay strong.

So, I unwrapped the mask, placed it over my nose and mouth, and then headed

inside.

Dic kson was hard at work a*sessing patients in the corridor. He briefly glanced at me as I approached but didn’t utter a word.

I was a little offended at the way he was treating me, but at the same time, I could tell from the dark circles under his eyes and the silver hairs on the sides of his head that he was stressed. I understood Jasper’s comments better. The guard was right. It was clear that Dic kson was a dedicated healer, which was why he had remained, but the dire situation at hand was taking a toll on him.

Nonetheless, we would be working together in the coming days, so I needed to find a way to get along with him.

I lingered for a moment and then cleared my throat.

Becky.

“I’m sorry about the rushed introduction earlier,” I managed. “My name I’m from Anemond. I’m studying to be a royal healer and conducting research about the disease to take back to the capital. We’re trying to work toward a cure. I’m not

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here to step on your toes or get in your space. I just want to help.”

Dic kson simply nodded, and I was disappointed when he didn’t say anything more. It was clear that despite my best efforts to be kind, he was going to maintain his unfriendly demeanor from our initial encounter.

I fought back my irritation. I couldn’t hold it against him no matter how much I wanted to. We were here to do a job, not become best friends. If he wanted to keep things professional, I couldn’t fight it..

I was about to turn away when Dic kson finally rose from his stool and turned to face me. His eyes fell to my mask and he practically scoffed at the sight. Then, without another word, he walked away and stepped into the room closest to us.

When he returned a couple of minutes later, he had a large stack of documents in his hands. He walked up to me and held the stack out.

“These contain the records of all of the patients, along with the details of their symptoms,” he said.

I accepted the papers and waited for him to say more, but clearly, that was all he had to say. So, I just nodded.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll start looking through them right away.”