Two Star Healers And A Forgotten Fated Mate Chapter 04

Two Star Healers And A Forgotten Fated Mate Chapter 04

I gently pulled my sleeve free from her grip. “Dr. Simmons, I’ve got patient work to finish. If you don’t have anything urgent to say, I need to get back to my station.”

Amelia’s face drained pale in an instant.

“Amelia, over here.”

Cameron stood a short distance away, his glance sliding over me like I was a total stranger.

It was fine this way.

I stepped past her and kept walking.

Less than an hour later, the three of us ended up stuck in the same operating room.

A coworker had called in sick, so I’d been pulled in to cover their shift.

Our patient was a border warrior whose chest had been torn open by rogue claws, a high-priority case the entire Norhaven Pack was monitoring closely.

Cameron held the primary scalpel, Amelia as his secondary assistant.

I took a deep breath, slipping into sterile scrubs and double-checking every surgical instrument ahead of time.

I stayed rigidly focused mid-operation, not letting my guard slip for a second.

Under the harsh operating lights, Cameron and Amelia’s faces were sharp and serious, locked in work mode.

“Hemostat.”

I handed the hemostat over to Amelia.

Her hand jolted suddenly.

Clatter— the metal tool clattered to the sterile floor.

Before I could bend down to retrieve it, Cameron’s cold voice cut through the room.

“Swap her out. Lena, take over scrub nurse.”

I shot a confused glance at Cameron, but I stepped out of the OR as ordered.

I hovered anxiously by the door until the surgery wrapped up without further complications.

Still, a heavy unease lingered in my chest that wouldn’t fade.

After our shift ended, Amelia left the hospital looking completely distraught.

Cameron tracked me down, exhaustion weighing heavy on his features, his voice thick with disappointment.

“How could you make a mistake like that passing instruments, Penelope? How do you even hold a pack nursing license?”

My head snapped up fast. “You saw exactly what happened. That wasn’t my error.”

Cameron’s eyes turned icy cold. “You’re trying to blame Amelia now? Since when did you start shifting fault onto other people?”

That’s when I understood where my earlier dread had come from.

My inner wolf had sensed it long before I did—the second that hemostat hit the floor, my fated mate had already resolved to dump every bit of blame on me to shield Amelia from consequences.

I pressed a palm to my chest. The mate bond felt like it was splitting open, a blinding agony tearing through my bones.

Cameron ignored my pain entirely, turning to whisper something to the head nurse.

The next morning, I was called out for a public reprimand in the main hallway. The head nurse spoke in a low voice, but every patient and family member within earshot could hear every word.

“Surgical instrument handling error, compromising sterile operating conditions.”

“Do you grasp how severe a mistake this is, Penelope?”

Rumors spread through the hospital by lunchtime.

“That pack nurse can’t even hold a hemostat steady. One day she’s gonna get a patient killed.”

“I heard she only got hired here because her dad’s the Alpha—total special treatment.”

To calm the public backlash, hospital administration suspended me for one week without pay.

The head nurse pulled me aside later, sighing softly. “Penelope, the hospital never cut you slack just because you’re the Alpha’s daughter. You made a critical error, so we can’t overlook it.”

“Upper management’s pushing for your resignation paperwork to move fast. Go pack your things today; you’re free to leave early.”

At three that afternoon, I changed back into my street clothes and tucked all my personal items into one small moving bin.

Cameron crossed paths with me in the lobby, his brows furrowed. “They’re firing you over something this minor?”

I shook my head. “Suspension.”

A visible wave of relief washed over his face. He reached up to ruffle my hair. “Consider it a week-long vacation. Rest up, and I’ll take you somewhere fun once you’re back.”

I gave a quiet hum and walked out of the hospital doors.

He had no idea I’d never step foot inside this building again.