After Rejection Divorced Luna Becomes A Famous Doctor (Hailey and Dominic) novel Chapter 173

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Claim

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DOMINIC

The air in the main hall was thick enough to chew. Two men and a woman, all dressed in severe, expensive suits, stood with an unnerving stillness. They didn’t belong here, on my land, in my

home. Their scents were a sterile mix of dry cleaning chemicals and old paper, a direct opposite to

the rich, earthy smells of my pack.

Humans.

I recognized the woman immediately. Elder Beatrice. The head of the human faction of the Council. Her face was a network of severe lines, her grey hair pulled back so tightly it seemed to stretch the skin on her temples. Her eyes were a pale, washed out blue, and they were fixed on me with a predatory intensity. She smelled of old money and judgment.

She had always had a deep seated prejudice against werewolves. She saw us as ticking time bombs, animals that needed to be caged. I had clashed with her before at Council meetings, her condescending tone and subtle threats were a constant source of friction. She would relish this.

The man standing to her right was younger, perhaps in his early forties, with a politician’s smile that never reached his eyes. He was also a human, a lawyer by trade if I remembered correctly. He was here to dissect every word I said, to find the lie he so desperately wanted to believe. The third was a werewolf. An old one. He stood apart from the other two, a subtle but clear distance. His name was Fenris. His fur was likely as grey as the woman’s hair. He was the Council’s token wolf, their “expert” on our kind, though he’d spent more time in boardrooms than forests for the last century. He looked tired, resigned. He was here to do a job, a job that would likely end with my pack thrown to the humans.

And lastly, It was Johnathan. He stood apart from the Council, but the look on his face, a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred, made him feel like he was the most important person in the room. As much as I was ready to fight back, I felt bad for him. He had lost his only son. No one should ever have to go through that.

“Elder Beatrice,” I said, my voice a low, neutral rumble, I gave a slight, formal nod. “Fenris. I wasn’t expecting you until morning.”

Beatrice’s lips thinned into a bloodless line. “A boy is dead on your territory, Dominic. A human boy. Time is a luxury we no longer have.” Her gaze flickered to Johnathan, a calculated move of solidarity. “We have come to offer Mr. Sandler our support and to ensure that this… tragedy… is handled with the swift and decisive justice it deserves.”

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The unspoken accusation hung in the air, thick and suffocating.

Fenris stepped forward slightly, a placating gesture. “Dominic. We must conduct a thorough investigation. Standard procedure. We will require the full cooperation of your pack.”

Claire

“Of course,” I said, my tone laced with an authority that made my own pack members stand a little

taller. “We have nothing to hide. My enforcers have already secured the scene. Dr. Evans, our

medical examiner, is with the body now.”

Beatrice scoffed, a dry, rustling sound. “Your medical examiner? A werewolf examining a human victim? I think not. We have our own team on the way. Human experts. We will be taking the body to a neutral, human run facility for autopsy. We will be handling all evidence from this point

forward.”

It was a declaration of war, disguised as protocol. She was stripping us of our autonomy on our own land. A growl started to build in my chest, a vibration I could feel rattling my own bones.

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