bChapter /bb33/b: Unspoken Bonds

Chapter 33: Unspoken Bonds

(Elena’s POV)

Night fell, the territory lights twinkling outside the window. I sat cross–legged on the bed, organizing healing protocols for the next day in my notebook when my phone rang.

David ckthorne’s name shed on the screen. I answered, and before I could speak, his boisterous voice

came through.

“Sis! Have you forgotten? My birthday is the day after tomorrow! Are you and Alpha Marcusing?”

I paused, ncing at the date: June 10th. Time really flew by without notice.

I assured David that I hadn’t forgotten, but couldn’t guarantee if Marcus woulde. David was about to say something when I heard Patricia’s voice in the background, grabbing the phone.

“Elena, you and Marcus must attend his birthday party,” Patricia insisted with her usual demanding tone.

David snatched the phone back quickly. “Ignore Mom. Your presence is enough for me.”

I agreed softly, feeling warmth at my brother’s understanding. After ending the call, I stared at the screen, lost

in thought.

I hadn’t celebrated my own birthday since I was eight, but I didn’t want to disappoint David.

Because of the tense rtionship with Marcus, I didn’t use our mate bond tomunicate. I sent a message

to Marcus about David’s birthday, carefully editing it to avoid sounding too deliberate. The message

remained unanswered after several minutes.

I set aside my phone and continued working on my protocols.

The next morning, I walked into the Great Hall and saw Marcus sitting at the table reading a magazine.

Catherine Hayes was off duty today.

I approached him cautiously. “When did you return?”

Marcus didn’t look up from his reading. “Last night.”

“Did you see my message?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

“I saw it,” he replied, turning a page.

“Will youe to David’s birthday?” The question felt heavier than it should.

Marcus finally looked up, his golden eyes studying my face. “Do you want me to go?”

I pushed the question back to him./”Will youe?”

He turned another page with deliberate slowness. “It depends.”

I felt my heart sink. His non–answer was answer enough. He likely wouldn’t attend.

As I turned to leave, Marcus stopped me. “Elena.”

I looked back to see him gesturing toward the breakfast spread on the table. “I prepared this for you.”

Chapter 33 Unspoken Bo

He closed his magazine and walked toward the Shadow Archives, leaving me staring at the untouched bmeal/b.

I couldn’t understand his recent behavior. The gesture felt genuine, yet distant.

I left without touching the breakfast, my mind spinning with confusion.

(Marcus’s POV)

When i emerged from the Shadow Archives an hourter, I noticed the breakfast remained untouched and

cold.

My expression darkened as I stared at the wasted ifood/i. I threw it into the trash with more force than

necessary.

Elena didn’t know how to appreciate others‘ efforts. The thought irritated me more than it should.

(Elena’s POV)

I spent the entire morning in the Surgical Chamber performing aplex brain tumor removal. When I emerged at noon, the patient’s family rushed toward me with anxious faces.

“The healing was sessful,” I announced, watching relief flood their expressions.

The elderly woman’s son gripped my hands gratefully. “Thank you, Healer Elena. You saved my mother’s life.”

I gave them post–healing instructions and returned to my chamber, running into Isabe ckwood and Sophia Rivers near the Healer’s Station.

“Oh, who is this?” Isabe looked me up and down, her eyes full of contempt. “So it’s Elena, the desperate

one.”

Sophia was secretly delighted to hear Isabe belittle me in front of others. The more people who hated me, the happier she seemed.

“Why do you say Healer Elena is desperate?” one of the pack nurses whispered to her colleague.

“I don’t know…” the other nurse replied, but both quickly returned to their posts when they met my eyes.

Isabe hugged her arms and smiled smugly. “What, you also know you’re ashamed? If you knew this, why bother in the first ce?”

I withdrew my gaze and said indifferently, “Miss ckwood, are you here to stand up for your friend?”

“Healer Elena, you misunderstood,” Sophia interjected smoothly. “I didn’t know you and Be knew each other, and I didn’t expect you to have grievances.”

She positioned herself as the innocent victim, as always.

“Elena, what face do you have to use Sophia?” Isabe stepped protectively in front of Sophia and pushed me. “When my cousin was forced to break up with Sophia, you rushed up to tter him and pester him! Now that Sophia is back in the territory, if you know what’s good for you, leave my cousin quickly!”

Several nurses listening nearby gasped in shock. “Her cousin? Could she be Alpha Marcus’s cousin?”

“My God, Healer Elena was with Alpha Marcus…”

“No wonder I always felt something strange between Alpha Marcus and Healer Elena. It turns out they were together before?”

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Chapter 33 Unspoken Bo.

“Be, don’t say any more,” Sophia held Isabe back, looking embarrassed. “Healer Elena and I are

colleagues. I don’t want you to make things difficult for her for my sake. How can she stay in the institute in

the future?b” /b

Isabe clicked her tongue impatiently. “Sophia, you have such a good temper! Why do you care about her?

She’s just desperate.”

She mocked me confidently. “Besides, as long as my cousin still has the equipment project cooperation with the Central Healing Institute, with her thick skin, she won’t leave where my cousin is. Like a mangy wolf, she

can’t be driven away.”

Every word of Isabe’s was designed to wound. The nurses looked at me with sympathy in their eyes.

But I had grown numb to these attacks. After infinite repetition of such injuries, I had finally figured something out.

Sometimes, when you stubbornly pursue something you can’t get even when you’re a mess, you suddenly just don’t want it anymore. Letting go was really that simple.

I looked at Isabe and suddenly smiled, raising my eyebrows slightly. “Are you done?”

Isabe was speechless, her whole body frozen in surprise. In the past, every time she deliberately mentioned how good Sophia’s rtionship with Marcus was, my face would turn ugly and I couldn’t refute a word.

I would only run away in despair. But now I didn’t seem ufortable anymore.

“First of all, this is a healing institute,” I said calmly. “Even if you want to stand up for your friend, you have to wait until I get off work, instead of dying the work of patients and medical staff here.”

I looked down at my watch. “Secondly, I have a healing conference in half an hour. Time is precious, and I don’t want to waste it on you. Since there’s nothing else to say, I’ll leave.”

As I turned to leave, Isabe snapped back to reality and blocked my path. “You can’t just ignore me!”

“Miss ckwood, please mind your manners in the institute,” I said firmly.

Isabe’s face flushed with rage. She raised her hand to strike me.

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