Chapter 5

What Luciano didn't know was that, before I even signed those divorce papers, I'd already discovered something.

I was pregnant.

No way was I telling him. At least, not right now.

Honestly, I still couldn't figure out if he wanted me to stay just because of some animal instinct, or if he actually loved me.

Velburg was supposed to be a border city of the Orc Alliance, but in reality, it was a wild no-man's-land where all sorts of folks mixed together.

The place was full of the lowest-ranking orcs and tons of humans—mostly refugees, exiles, or "ex-spouses" cast aside by orc nobles.

I rented a tiny shop here and hung up a sign: "Robinson Veterinary Clinic. We treat humans too."

I made the sign myself with a brush, and the handwriting was all wobbly and crooked.

On my very first day, my first patient walked in—a cranky old cat from next door, suffering from stomatitis and hadn't touched food for three days because of the pain.

I rolled up my sleeves, ready to get to work. After all, those four years in college weren't for nothing.

I checked its mouth, sized up the inflammation, and gave it some meds. The whole process went smoothly as butter.

The cat's owner, a middle-aged Feline Tribe lady, eyed me suspiciously at first, but then her surprise showed. "Girl, you really know your stuff, huh?"

I flashed her a modest smile. "Oh, it's nothing. Just earning my keep."

Then I glanced over and saw Luciano crouched in the corner of the shop, all nine tails hidden under his clothes, clutching the "Basic Herbal Medicine" book I'd given him, totally absorbed.

He felt my gaze, looked up, and flashed me a grin like he wanted a gold star. "Darling, I'm studying so I can help you out later."

I said, "Don't call me darling. We're divorced now."

"Oh." His face fell right away, and his ears drooped a bit under his hair. "Then... Miss Robinson?"

"That works," I said.

"Miss Robinson, what does 'clearing heat and detoxifying' even mean?" Luciano asked.

"It's... you know what, forget it. Just focus on memorizing all the names on the medicine shelf first," I replied.

"Okay." He ducked his head again, totally absorbed in the herbal book, quietly reciting, "Honeysuckle, forsythia, indigo root..."

Watching him crouched there, so focused and obedient, I felt all sorts of things swirling inside me.

Back when Luciano still had his memories, he was a Celestor Orc—the King of the Nine-Tailed Fox Tribe. Everything about him screamed power and confidence.

He pampered me, protected me, but never once gave me those "please praise me" puppy eyes—because to him, spoiling his wife was just what you did, no applause needed.

Now, Luciano was like a total blank. He had no clue who he was, no memory of our three years together.

But deep down, he just wanted to stick close to me, win me over, like some stray animal desperate not to get tossed aside again.

It was weird. Same face, same body, same tails—but somehow, he felt like a whole different person.

I shook my head, trying not to let myself overthink it.

On the third day after opening, the first real emergency hit.

A burly Tigran guy kicked open my clinic door, clutching a little tiger cub in his arms. The cub looked half-dead, battered and bleeding, its fur clumped with blood.

"Who's the vet? Please, save my boy," the Tigran man roared, his voice so loud the medicine cabinet shook.

I rushed over to check the cub. He had torn-up wounds everywhere, his left hind leg was broken, and he was burning up with fever from the infection. It was bad—really bad.

"He needs his wounds cleaned up, his broken leg set, and his fever brought down—fast," I said. "But he's way too weak right now, and the medicine I have here—"

"Just tell me what you need. I'll get it," the Tigran man roared.

"Honeysuckle, forsythia, scutellaria, bupleurum—" I rattled off the herbs.

"Hold on," the Tigran guy interrupted. "Aren't those human medicines? We're orcs; beastfolk injuries need beastfolk medicine."

"Your kid's got an infected wound. Inflammation doesn't care if you're human or beastfolk," I said, without even looking up as I started prepping my tools. "If you trust me, let me handle it. If not, go find someone else."

The Tigran guy paused for a second, looked at his half-dead kid, and then gritted his teeth. "Fine. If you can't fix him, I'll wreck your shop."

Right as I was about to get started, Luciano suddenly showed up behind me, his hand on my shoulder.

"Let me do it," he said, his voice calm as ever.

I glanced up at him. He was nothing like the sweet, docile Luciano from earlier. His golden-brown slit pupils narrowed, and he gave off this subtle, intimidating vibe.

Even though he was trying to keep it in check, the Tigran guy still instinctively stepped back.

"Who... who are you?" the Tigran guy asked, watching him with suspicion.

"I'm her assistant," Luciano said calmly and then laid his hand on the tiger cub.