His voice cracked slightly as he looked up at Levi.
"When I woke up, I was locked inside the storage room. I tried to break down the door, but I was too weak—I could barely stand. I shouted for help, over and over, but no one ca. I don’t know how long I was in there."
He looked dejected now, ashad and frustrated, the weight of his helplessness written all over his face as his eyes t Levi’s.
But deep down, he knew this wasn’t his fault. At first, he’d assud he had simply passed out from exhaustion—the long hours, the stress, the nonstop work—but the symptoms didn’t add up. The dizziness had hit too suddenly, too sharply. His body hadn’t just given out—it had been forced to.
That’s when the realization struck him: he had been drugged.
And not with sothing mild. Whatever had been used was potent—strong enough to knock out a full-grown wolf, maybe even an elephant, until morning. The only reason he’d woken up earlier was thanks to his wolf’s natural resistance kicking in.
On top of that, his work as the old doctor’s assistant had exposed him to all kinds of dicines, sedatives, and herbs over the years. Unintentionally, he’d built up a tolerance to several common substances—especially knockout drops. If not for that, he might still be lying unconscious, completely unaware that sothing far more dangerous had been set in motion.
"So, you’re saying soone drugged you—and you suspect Claire’s attendant?" Levi cut straight to the point, his tone sharp and laced with thinly veiled disdain. There was no special treatnt in his voice when he spoke Claire’s na—only a cold indifference that bordered on contempt.
"T-That’s not what I’m trying to say..." the assistant stamred, his voice faltering as the weight of his words settled in the air. He was telling the truth—but at the sa ti, fear gripped him.
He hesitated, eyes darting nervously, as if afraid the shadows might be listening.
Claire’s na was already whispered too often within the pack—alongside the murmurs of her being the Alpha’s future Luna. Crossing her, even indirectly, could an trouble. And Levi knew it too.
If Claire took offense, if she thought he was stirring up trouble... he could be removed from the clinic. Reassigned. Banished to the borders—the most dangerous post a non-warrior like him could be sent to. Out there, survival was uncertain. And worse, everything he’d worked for—years under the old doctor’s ntorship, all his training, all his sacrifice—would be reduced to nothing.
So he tread carefully, his voice lower now, almost pleading. "I’m just saying... sothing wasn’t right. And I can’t ignore that she was the last person I saw before I blacked out."
Levi watched the assistant closely, reading every flicker of hesitation in his eyes, every nervous twitch of his fingers. He could see the internal struggle—the fear, the calculation, the weight of consequences pressing down on him.
But Levi didn’t rush him. He remained calm and still, silently giving the man space to choose. Whether the assistant chose to admit the truth openly or retreat behind denial, it didn’t matter. Levi already had his answer.
What he truly wanted to see was how far these people were willing to go—how much courage they had to speak the truth, even when it put them at odds with soone as dangerous as Claire.
Because Claire was not one of them. She was an outsider. And Levi needed them to rember that. To rember who they were as a pack. They were supposed to protect their own—not cower beneath the shadow of a stranger’s influence.
And if anyone needed reminding, Levi would make sure they didn’t forget again.
Right now, Levi felt like the last pillar holding the pack together in Addison’s absence. Everyone else seed to have unknowingly drifted into Claire’s orbit, carrying out her will, bending to her presence, as if under a silent command. It was as if reason itself had been swept away, leaving Levi as the only one still seeing things clearly.
He refused to let this pack, Addison’s hard work, be overtaken and reshaped into sothing unrecognizable. Not while he still drew breath. He wouldn’t allow everything Addison had built—her sacrifices, her quiet strength, her unwavering leadership—to be handed over to soone like Claire. Especially not soone who manipulates from the shadows.
And now, with what he was beginning to uncover, the stakes only felt higher. There was sothing rotten beneath Claire’s polished surface, and Levi knew—more than ever—that he had to stay vigilant. If no one else would stand guard, then he would. Alone, if he had to.
"I–I..." the assistant stamred, his eyes darting around nervously. But then, as if sothing inside him clicked into place, his gaze steadied, filled with quiet resolve. "I’m not trying to accuse anyone outright, but... at that ti, there was no one else around. Just and that oga."
He swallowed hard, voice low but firm. "As far as I know, she used to be the forr Luna’s personal attendant—the one who handled her dicine, including sleeping agents. She would know where the knockout drops were kept, and exactly how much it would take to put a fully grown werewolf under until morning."
"I can only speak the truth of what I saw, what I experienced," he continued, eyes searching Levi’s. "I’m not trying to fra anyone, Gamma Levi. I just hope you and the Alpha understand that. I still have my pride, and I won’t weave lies to protect soone, nor will I pretend ignorance just to stay in soone’s good graces."
Despite his words, his shoulders slumped slightly, as if already bracing for the fallout. In his mind, he could see his dream slipping away—the years of dedication, training under the old doctor, all coming to a bitter end. After all, the Alpha favored Claire... and if he was seen as accusing Claire’s attendant, it would be as good as accusing Claire herself. And those ogas wouldn’t dare act without orders.
He knew he was walking straight into a wall, and there were only two paths left for him now: lose the Alpha’s favor and be cast to the borders... or be allowed to stay, but only if soone like Levi believed in the truth.
Seeing the fear and uncertainty etched into the young assistant’s face, Levi gave a small nod of acknowledgnt. He reached out and patted the boy’s shoulder with a hand that was once strong and unblemished—now marred by the angry burn scars left by the silver chains. Scars that would never fade, just like the guilt he carried for failing to protect his Luna. Each mark was a painful reminder of that failure... and a silent vow that he wouldn’t fail again.
His gaze sharpened as it settled on the young man before him. "You did well," Levi said quietly, his voice low but steady. "For now, go back to doing what you always do. If anyone asks you about this—anyone other than the old doctor or the healer—say nothing. Keep your head down."
He paused, gripping the assistant’s shoulder just a bit firr—not to intimidate, but to ground him. "People like you... those who still have a spine and believe in doing what’s right for the pack—you’re rare these days. Don’t let fear strip you of that."
Because in a pack clouded by whispers and shifting loyalties, even one honest voice could an everything.
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