Chapter 27 – From Substitute to Queen (Sable & Caelan) Novel Free Online by Hannah Moore

“Dr. Crawford.” His face brightened when I entered. “I was hoping you’d stop by.”

“How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

“Nervous.” His weathered hands picked at the hospital blanket. “Been a long time since anyone cared enough to try saving this old heart.”

I pulled up a chair beside his bed. “Dr. Peterson is an excellent surgeon. You’re in good hands.”

“It’s not Dr. Peterson I’m worried about.” Gabriel’s eyes met mine. “Will you really be there? In the operating room?”

“I’ll be assisting the entire time.”

His shoulders eased slightly. “Good. You’re the only one who ever treated me like I mattered. Like I was worth saving.”

My chest tightened. “Everyone deserves good medical care, Gabriel. Your pack was wrong to cast you out.”

“I’m just grateful I was assigned to you.”

I spent the next hour reviewing his chart and answering his questions. By the time I left his room, visiting hours were nearly over.

The walk back to the lobby took longer than usual. My mind was already shifting to tomorrow’s surgery prep when the elevator doors opened.

Darrell stood nearby, his arm wrapped protectively around Camila, who leaned heavily against him with thick white bandages wrapped around her head like a medical turban.

My legs faltered.

Camila spotted me first, her green eyes glittering with malice as she let out a frail whimper. “Darrell, I feel dizzy again…”

Darrell’s attention immediately focused on her. “Should I get a wheelchair? You need to sit down.”

They moved toward the seating area—the same seating area where Caelan waited.

I quickened my pace, but it was too late. Darrell’s gaze swept across the lobby and landed on the man reading a newspaper in the corner chair.

His face went white, then flushed red.

“Is that—” His voice carried clearly across the space. “That’s Lycan King Caelan Blackwood!”

Every head in the lobby turned.

Caelan lowered his newspaper slowly, his blue eyes finding mine across the crowded space. His expression remained perfectly neutral, but I caught the slight tension in his shoulders.

This is about to get very bad, very quickly.

Camila’s gaze ping-ponged between Caelan and me. “What’s the Lycan King doing here?”

“Excellent question.” Darrell’s voice carried an edge that made my skin crawl. “What business could royalty possibly have in Moonridge General?”

Caelan folded his newspaper with deliberate precision and stood. Even across the lobby, his presence commanded attention. Conversations died. People stepped aside instinctively.

He walked toward me, his eyes fixed on me, completely ignoring the couple standing nearby.

“Your Majesty!” Darrell’s voice rang out across the lobby as Caelan moved to pass them. “What an unexpected honor.”

Caelan paused, his gaze shifting to Darrell with obvious reluctance. His expression could have frozen hellfire. Caelan’s acknowledgment was arctic: “Alpha Darrell.”

He didn’t even glance at Camila. The lobby had gone completely silent.

I need to get him out of here before this situation explodes.

I moved forward, hoping to defuse things quickly. “Caelan, ready to go?”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to me.

Darrell’s mouth fell open. “Caelan?”

Camila’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, and then to something that might have been fear.

And Caelan? Caelan smiled.

“Yes, Sabi. I’m ready when you are.”

Darrell’s eyes blazed with fury as they fixed on me. “Are you trying to harass His Majesty? Sable, have you lost your fucking mind? Someone like you—how dare you even approach him?”

He spun toward Caelan, his posture immediately shifting to one of obsequious respect. “Your Majesty, please forgive this intrusion. This woman has serious mental issues. Her behavior’s been completely erratic lately.”

I felt my jaw clench. The sheer audacity of him standing there, playing the concerned pack member while assassinating my character to royalty.

“She’s been renting expensive cars to pretend she’s wealthy,” Darrell continued, his voice dripping with false concern. “Buying counterfeit designer shoes. She’s completely lost touch with reality.”

Camila pressed a trembling hand to her bandages, swaying slightly against Darrell’s side. Her voice came out weak and breathy. “Your Majesty, please don’t let her appearance deceive you.”

She touched the white gauze wrapped around her head. “Last night, she attacked me in a jealous rage because Darrell and I are together. She gave me a concussion!”

The bandages were pristine white, professionally wrapped to look as dramatic as possible. Camila angled her head so the artificial lights caught the medical gauze, making her look like a wounded angel.

“…Look at what she did to me,” she whispered, eyes glistening with manufactured tears.

Darrell’s face was red with righteous indignation. “Sable, how dare you try to approach His Majesty! Do you have any idea what kind of crime that could be?” He gestured wildly, his face flushed with anger and embarrassment. “Your Majesty, she’s just a common doctor with violent tendencies. Please don’t let her bother you any further!”

I watched this performance with growing disbelief, amazed at how effortlessly she spun her lies.

Caelan’s expression had turned dangerously cold, his voice coming out deadly quiet. “Actually—”

“We should go,” I interrupted, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.

I couldn’t let him reveal our relationship here. Not like this. Not when they could use it against us somehow. The rational part of my mind knew I was being paranoid, but something about Darrell’s calculating expression made my skin crawl. Whatever game he was playing, I didn’t want to give him any ammunition.

Darrell’s hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my wrist like a steel trap. “Where do you think you’re going? Apologize to His Majesty first!” He yanked me backward, his grip tight enough to bruise. “What makes a low-born woman like you think you can get close to royalty? What makes you think you’re worthy?”

I jerked my arm free, fury blazing through my veins. “Darrell, the only people here with mental problems are you two. Camila’s injury is completely her own fault!”

“You’re just jealous!” Darrell’s voice cracked with rage. “Jealous that I chose Camila over you! And you went insane over some worthless old necklace.”

He stepped closer, his breath hot against my face. “It was just a piece of junk anyway. Here, I’ll give you two hundred bucks to buy five more just like that piece of trash—”

CRACK!

The slap echoed through the lobby like a gunshot. Darrell’s head snapped sideways, a bright red handprint blooming across his cheek.

“You fucking bitch!” Darrell’s roar shook the windows. “How dare you hit me!”

His hand shot out toward my throat, rage twisting his features into something inhuman.

He never reached me.

Caelan moved faster than should have been possible. His leg swept up in a precise arc, his boot connecting with Darrell’s abdomen with devastating force.

The impact lifted Darrell off his feet.

He flew backward through the air, slamming into the information desk with a sickening crunch. Hospital pamphlets scattered like confetti as he crumpled to the floor, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The entire lobby went dead silent.

Caelan landed in perfect balance, his eyes blazing with lethal intent. Every line of his body screamed predator ready to kill.

Holy shit.

Fear shot through me—not of being hurt, but of what I was seeing. This wasn’t the gentle man who’d tutored me through calculus. This was the Lycan King in his full, terrifying glory.

The violence in his gaze made my blood run cold.

What if Darrell is seriously injured? As a doctor, I could be held responsible if I don’t help…

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