Chapter 119: Murder! Murder In The Courtyard!

Astra paused, recalibrating.

The look that crossed her face belonged to a healer who had been one second from saying "walk it off" and had just been handed a reason not to.

"That’s a fair point, Princess," she conceded after a moment. "You’re correct. A standard oxygen read doesn’t catch early-stage bronchial response."

She pulled a second scanner from her belt. Smaller. Different frequency. When the scanner finished, Astra checked the reading twice.

"Good news. The secondary panel is also clear. Your bronchial passages show no signs of—"

"Stop. I heard you the first time. Normal. I am not a hypochondriac. I would appreciate you not dismissing my symptoms as nothing." Celeste pressed her hand to her chest and coughed. "I was in a building filled with smoke ninety minutes ago. Smoke inhalation symptoms can be delayed. You know that. I know that. The fact that my oxygen reads fine right now does not mean it will read fine in an hour, and if something happens to me because you prioritized a slave over preventative care, that liability falls on you. Not the Alpha. You."

Celeste coughed again, harder this time. Then she stood.

"Oh wonderful, now I’m dizzy," she snapped. "Everything is spinning. The ground. The courtyard. I think I’m going to faint. Landon, I need you."

Alpha Thunderfang didn’t move. Nova was genuinely wondering if he had difficulty with his hearing. She would have looked up at him to see where he was looking. Maybe pointed him in the direction of Celeste. But her shoulder was absolutely killing her and the thought of turning her body to look at him sounded like absolute torture.

Surely someone else would tell him if he couldn’t hear.

He did not get up.

"Every omega and servant in this courtyard is watching," Celeste continued. "The Alpha of Thunderfang holds a slave while his Luna stands alone. I am brand new to this pack. I have been called names by my mate’s brother. I have been humiliated at my own welcome dinner. And now I am standing in a courtyard, injured, and my own mate won’t acknowledge me. If this is what Thunderfang offers its Luna, then Thunderfang should stop pretending it wants one."

"Princess," Astra called gently, looking up at her. "I have a girl behind me with a dislocated shoulder and a crushed windpipe. I’m going to ask you something and I need an honest answer. If I bring the Alpha over to you right now, does the dizziness stop?"

Celeste was unimpressed. "That is insulting. You are asking me, in front of witnesses, if my symptoms are dependent on male attention. I am a Starborne princess. I don’t need a man to feel well. My ankle is swollen. My lungs hurt. My head is spinning. Those are symptoms. Not strategies. And if you were any other healer in any other pack, you would already be treating me instead of interrogating me."

She looked past Astra, directly at Alpha Thunderfang again. "I am dizzy, injured, struggling to breathe, and all alone while you have another woman in your lap. Landon, I need you to look at this situation. Do you hear how this sounds? Because I hear it and I want to scream."

It was at this point in time that Nova realized she’d been leaning against Alpha Thunderfang. She only noticed it because her shoulder was starting to hurt from the angle of it. When she sat up straight, so he could stand and go to Celeste, his grip tightened around her instead. She blinked down at his arm, now very confused.

"LANDON. I left everything for this pack. My home. My title. My family. My father. I left a pack where I was the most important woman in the building and I came here and I am less important than a prostitute. I am not asking for special treatment, Landon. I am asking for equal treatment. And I can’t even get that."

"I can’t reset her shoulder without a brace," Astra called over her shoulder. "Alpha, please stay put so we don’t jostle it more."

"He needs to move," Celeste snapped. "I am his Luna. She is a slave. Hierarchy isn’t a suggestion, Healer. It’s a structure. And the structure says the Alpha should be helping me because I am his mate and Luna. I don’t understand what the problem is."

"Princess. My scanners say you are healthy. I will wrap your ankle immediately and we will get you in an ambulance for your head."

"I AM TELLING YOU I CANNOT BREATHE. I AM SUFFOCATING. I am not lying. My chest hurts. My head hurts. My ankle hurts. And the only thing that hurts more than any of that is the fact that I have to BEG for basic medical attention in a pack that is supposed to be mine."

Sebastian scratched the back of his neck staring at the scene. He was not alone. The majority of the courtyard was watching.

"I hear you, Princess," Astra stated calmly. "Ankle, lungs, dizziness. That’s three systems and I can’t assess any of them while you’re standing in the cold arguing with me. Sit down. I’m going to run a full panel."

"Landon," Celeste called, looking directly at him. "I cannot BREATHE."

"Princess," Astra tried again. "You are describing a cluster of symptoms that could indicate delayed smoke response. I am not dismissing you. I am asking you to sit so I can monitor you properly instead of watching you sway on wet stone. That is not neglect. That is medicine."

Celeste took a step towards Alpha Thunderfang. Then her hand went to her forehead.

"I feel dizzy," she said softly, her voice sounding completely different than it had a moment ago.

She swayed.

WHAM.

She hit cobblestones.

No one moved.

Her eyes were open, staring blankly up at the sky.

"Is she... dead?" an omega asked from behind a tray. Nobody answered. The tray stayed up. The question stayed out.

A bird landed on the courtyard wall. Looked at Celeste. Flew away.

Astra stared at Celeste’s body. Her jaw dropped. "What on earth..."

A warrior ran forward and felt for a pulse. Tried the wrist. Then neck. Looked up grimly at Alpha Thunderfang.

"No pulse, Alpha."

The words rippled through the courtyard like a fire alarm that didn’t need speakers.

Alpha Thunderfang didn’t move behind Nova.

A medic grabbed his kit and ran. In the wrong direction. Corrected. Ran back. Tripped over a second medic who was also running. Both went down.

"She’s been dead too long for CPR," a woman explained to the omega next to her who was nodding along like this was a historical reenactment and not the murder of her future Luna.

"How long has she been gone for?" the omega asked.

"Fifteen seconds or so," the woman replied.

Astra stood slowly, staring at Celeste.

"Astra. Shoulder. Now," Alpha Thunderfang called from behind Nova.

"THE LUNA HAS BEEN MURDERED!" an omega called loudly.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE COURTYARD!"

"THE SLAVE KILLED HER."