They Called My Father a Traitor, So I Learned Every Secret They Buried novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: The Clinic Takes Its Name Back
Hadley shoved a steaming cup into Kestrel's hands before he could object, then pointed at the ribbon hanging across the clinic door.
'Drink that and stop standing like an Alpha. Wynn is cutting the ribbon, not waiting for your blessing.'
Kestrel looked down at the cup. Steam touched his glasses.
'Your instructions are unusually direct.'
'You're welcome.'
I drew my knife through the ribbon. The cut fell across the snow, and the kennel yard broke into cheers.
The sound reached the dogs first. Three of the younger ones began barking. Dav answered them from beside the woodpile, and Old Marta told him to save his voice for work.
Maura stood near the clinic steps with both hands wrapped around her shawl. She had not spoken since we left the council road. Her eyes stayed on the door, the sign above it, and the fresh paint over the old pack-office mark.
The sign read SABLEWOOD CLINIC.
My father's name had been scratched off the cottage records. It had survived the wood.
Kestrel drank from the cup. His face changed by a fraction.
'What did she give you?' I asked.
'Something medicinal.'
Hadley snorted. 'It's tea.'
'Then I have been treated with alarming competence.'
That earned a laugh from Jory. Errol tried to hide his own and failed. Even Senn's mouth moved before pain pulled it back into place.
I wanted to keep that sound.
The council clerk arrived with two mounted witnesses and a leather case sealed in blue wax. He read the ruling from the kennel yard table while the patrol wolves gathered behind him.
'By authority of the High Council, the seizure of the Sablewood cottage is void. The property returns to Maura Sablewood and Wynn Sablewood under the original protection registration.'
Maura pressed her fingers to her wedding band.
The clerk continued. 'The border asset classification is removed. The revocation of Maura Sablewood's travel scrip is rescinded. Her passage to the mountain healer is recognized under council protection.'
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of They Called My Father a Traitor, So I Learned Every Secret They Buried are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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