by Terra Wolf
“You were working with Alexis today?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, you know her?” Of course he did. Luke knows everyone.
“Oh yeah! Alexis and I have worked together on dayshift. She is an excellent nurse. Not bad to look at either.”
“You’re telling me. I can hardly keep my bear under control when I’m around her. She makes me feel things. But more than that, she’s incredibly passionate. Seems like the whole package…” My voice trailed off.
“Okay, man. That’s heavy. Alexis has a heart of gold. Just make sure you aren’t letting your bear sway you too much. I know you are reaching your mating age and the lines can get a little blurred. And let me know how things go with the little girl.”
“Penny,” I interjected.
“Let me know how things go with Penny. Well I gotta get going. Early morning tomorrow. ‘Night, bro.”
“Later.”
I sat my phone down on the table and continued eating my meal, but I found that it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as I wanted it to be. I was alone, as usual, but this time it was different. I didn’t want to be. My night shift days might be over.
After meeting Alexis, being alone just didn’t feel right anymore. My bear roared in agreement.
Thirteen
Alexis
I looked outside as I tied my hair up. The sunlight was just starting to peak over the horizon, and birdsong drifted through the cracked window. I stretched and reached for my jacket, with Apple already dancing around my feet, anxious for her morning run.
“Go get your leash,” I told her, as I pulled on my jacket. She turned in a circle three times and then happily skipped to the back of the apartment, returning just seconds later, dragging the leash in her mouth as I tied my shoelaces. I fastened it to her collar and tossed my keys into my pocket. “All right. Let’s go.”
The early morning air was brisk, but not unpleasant. Apple and I fell into a comfortable trot as we headed to the park. And. as usual these days, my thoughts drifted to Zion.
I had spent the whole night with his face floating through my dreams, particularly the last expression he’d given me before leaving the hospital the previous day. After our intoxicating yet highly inappropriate make-out session in the on-call room, where we’d almost been caught looking like a couple of hormone-driven teenagers, I’d felt the need to at least end our day on smoother terms. But after Dr. Morris almost walked in on us, I hadn’t been able to find Zion for the rest of the day. Shortly before our shift ended, I ran into Lorraine and told her to let him know that I was looking for him. When I briefly spotted him while talking to Nurse Watson and her intern, I thought Lorraine must have delivered my message. However, when I caught Zion’s eye, he looked at me with an expression not far from terror before running away.
My heart had plummeted right there on the spot. It had been a struggle for me to excuse myself, hoping to go after and catch up to him. But I’d had no such luck. Not before long though, I was grateful I hadn’t caught up to him; I never wanted to be the kind of woman to chase after a man, especially if that man could be so hot-and-cold without warning. I understood that being a shifter came with a different set of emotions to work through, but I really believed it was the human side of him that was struggling.
Still, I tried so hard not to be offended by Zion’s actions and give him the benefit of the doubt, but it felt impossible every time I thought about his dark eyes, silky hair, and the sexy five o’clock shadow he always sported. There was hardly ever a moment that went by when I didn’t quiver in delight at the memory of his strong hands and ridiculously sexy body. Even the scent of him was enough to make me want to swoon.
No matter how much I didn’t want to admit it, I was completely and irrevocably smitten.
It would have been a lot easier for me to keep my feelings in check if I honestly believed that Dr. Zion Bradford was truly the jerk I had thought him to be when we first met. But now, I’d gotten a glimpse behind the mask he attempted to hide behind, and consequently knew that deep down, he had a sensitive and troubled soul that I wanted nothing more than to help heal. But I already knew healing Zion would take a lot more skill and caution than any bullet wound I’d treated over the years. And considering how broken Tyler had left me, I couldn’t deny worrying about whether I could truly handle the task.
How could I help anyone heal when I still had some pretty deep wounds of my own that needed tending?
I knew that contemplating it all any further would do nothing but give me a headache, and I certainly didn’t need that when I had to work in a couple of hours. I tried to push it all from my mind so that I could simply enjoy my morning run with Apple. I glanced down at her and smiled. She ran beside me, panting with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She glanced up at me for a moment, her goofy expression seemingly saying, “It’s okay, Mommy. You’ve got me.”
I reached down to quickly scratch her ear and laughed. “How about we pick it up a notch?” I said to her. “I’ll race you! Last one to the park is a rotten egg!”
I picked up my pace, and Apple easily matched it, her tail steadily swishing behind her. The muscles in my legs working overtime was even enough to keep thoughts of Zion at bay. Feeling myself growing tired, I started concentrating on my breathing, taking measured breaths in and exhaling through my mouth.
We had just bypassed the halfway mark when I suddenly felt myself being tugged backwards. Confusion delaying my reaction, it took a moment for me to realize Apple was pulling me, hard. She had abruptly stopped running at my side, and took off in another direction. Still gripping her leash, I was involuntarily jerked backwards along with her. A pain shot through my arm; I had forgotten how strong Apple could be when she wanted to.
“Apple!” I shouted. “Stop it! Apple!”
But she was too distracted. I stumbled after her, holding on to her leash for dear life. I frantically scanned the premises, wondering what on earth had caused my well-mannered dog to suddenly go rogue.
A squirrel darted across the street and went up the nearest tree, attempting to get out of harm’s way. Apple occasionally chased squirrels, but never with this much aggression. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the leash tighter and gave it a hard tug, but to no avail.
“Dammit, Apple!” I shouted, disturbing the peaceful dawn air around us.
Finally, I saw the source of the problem—Apple had spotted a feral cat.
It all made sense now. Most dogs disliked cats, but for Apple, the hatred was personal. When she was just a puppy, she had been attacked by a cat once. Shortly after I officially adopted her, I took her for a visit to my aunt’s house. What I hadn’t known at the time was that my aunt’s pet cat had just had kittens. I hadn’t been worried though. Apple was just a baby, and she seemed more fascinated by the kittens than anything. My aunt had even encouraged them getting to know each other.
“That way, they’ll grow up to be friends,” she had reasoned. So I went along with it, thinking it sounded like a good idea. I watched as little Apple approached the kittens, excitedly wagging her tail and sniffing them. In return, the cats cuddled around her, their youth and innocence preventing them from holding any prejudices toward what they thought was a new friend.
All was well until Mama Cat showed up. Her name was Kimmy, and she did not take kindly to seeing a dog fraternizing with her kittens. Feeling threatened, Kimmy leapt on Apple before either me or my aunt could stop her. What ensued next was a loud and ugly tussle that resulted in Apple faring far worse than Kimmy. My poor pup suffered scratches all up and down her snout.
My aunt felt terrible about the whole ordeal and immediately accompanied me in taking Apple to the vet. Fortunately, none of the scratches were too deep, and none of them were infected. They healed quickly enough, but Apple’s pride surely hadn’t. From that point onward, she considered all cats her enemy, and whenever she saw one, all Hell broke loose.
“Apple, not now!” I scolded through clenched teeth. I tugged her leash ag
ain, and finally, she relented, having lost sight of the cat as it darted off into an alley.
Panting, I leaned over and rested my hands on my knees, my left-hand stinging from gripping and pulling the leash so hard. A cramp began to form in my side. Apple glanced back at me, having come back to her senses. Slowly, with her head lowered and her tail tucked between her legs, she tipped back toward me.
“Apple, honestly. This has to stop! How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot be so prejudiced! Just because you encountered one bad cat does not mean you have to take it out on the whole species!”
Apple whimpered and lied down at my feet, feeling guilty.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered. I stood up, stretched, and then took a look at our surroundings, seeing that Apple had steered us quite a bit off-course. Fortunately, our surroundings remained fairly empty; it was still early and the morning rush hadn’t made its way outdoors yet. With the exception of one woman walking briskly down the pavement, Apple and I were alone.
I’m not sure why, but I found myself unable to take my eyes off the woman. Perhaps it was my intuition at work. I noted that when I first spotted her, she walked in a hurry. As I continued to watch though, her pace gradually decreased until she stopped altogether.
She swayed on the spot before tipping over, her fall being quick and hard, and accompanied by her head smashing on a nearby fence on the way down. I felt like I was seeing the whole thing in slow motion as her blood began to pool on the ground.
I was running toward her before I was even consciously aware of doing so, and Apple followed hot on my tracks.
“Hello? Ma’am? Are you all right?”
From the ground, she looked up at me. The lights were quickly going out of her eyes. I kneeled down beside her, checking her pulse and then pulling her head into my lap. Apple walked a circle around the woman, whining.
I took a deep breath, willing myself to stay calm as I reached into my pocket for my phone and dialed 911.
“Help is on the way, ma’am,” I said, although I was fairly sure she couldn’t hear me anymore. Her breaths were coming in and out, sharp and shallow—and they were starting to become too few and far between.
A car slowed down beside us as it drove down the street. The window to the passenger’s side lowered. “Is everything okay? Need any help?” The driver, an older man, peered out at us.
“An ambulance is on the way,” I said. “Thank you though.”
“Anything I can do?”
I thought about it. “No, I’m afraid not. I’m a nurse though, so I’m going to stay with her until help gets here.”
The man nodded. “Okay. Good luck.”
“Thank you, sir.”
The man drove off, casting a concerned glance back at us through his rearview mirror before turning the corner. All the while, I was painstakingly aware of the ticking clock and the fact that the woman was now hardly breathing at all.
Apple was still whining, sensing the distress of the situation. “Easy, girl,” I said as she approached the woman and began sniffing her ear. But then, she merely began licking the woman’s face, trying to help in whatever way she could.
I glanced down the street, hoping and praying the ambulance would appear.
What’s taking them so long? I thought. The blood was pouring out and I was covered, but I had to remain calm.
I had been trained for this.
When two more minutes ticked by, I could no longer wait in good conscious. The woman needed assistance, and she needed it fast.
I checked her pulse one more time, and then proceeded to start CPR. In the midst of my second round of administering CPR, I finally heard sirens approaching. Shortly thereafter, the ambulance blared down the street, bringing along with it all the chaos that emergencies created.
Upon hearing the siren, bystanders began to make their appearances. People came out of their houses, cars slowed down, and joggers ran backwards in order to keep the scene in view.
“What happened?” one of the paramedics asked while pulling a stretcher toward the woman.
“She fell and hit her head.”
“Hey! Don’t touch her!” another called out.
“I’m a nurse! She needed CPR immediately.”
“You’re a nurse?” the first paramedic asked.
I nodded.
“All right, come with us then.”
“But my dog…” Apple leaned against my leg, frightened by the sirens.
The paramedic swore. “Bring the dog with you then. Just keep administering CPR!”
Fourteen
Zion
I thanked my lucky stars that I had managed to wake up early and feel partially functional after the restless night, not the mention the beer I’d chugged before going to bed. As I expected, the doctors’ meeting hadn’t been about much, and I would have gladly skipped it had it not been mandatory. But just to ensure the effects of the beer didn’t resurface, I had downed two bottles of water during the meeting. If only it were that easy to treat the symptoms that were arising from my bear.
Once the meeting was finally adjourned, I practically bolted from the table to get to the bathroom. After relieving myself, I headed to the break room, deciding it was time for my usual coffee.
“Goodness, Alexis…Are you all right?”
I came to a halt. There was a huddle of nurses standing in the middle of the floor. Forgetting my coffee, I instantly headed over to them, my heart pounding somewhere in my throat.
“I’m…I’m fine…I…” Alexis’s voice trailed off. I could hear that she was out of breath even though she was still blocked from my view.
“Hey—look, I know it was an emergency and all, but the dog has to go. It can’t be in here.”
I pushed through the crowd, and finally, Alexis came into view. She stood there, covered in blood with a white-and-gray pit bull at her side.
“She’s not going to bother anyone. Just give her some space. You guys are making her nervous. I had to bring her with me. I had no choice…”
“Okay—that’s fine, but I’m going to ask that you and the dog please leave, immediately.” A security guard I didn’t recognize was addressing her. My bear growled at the sight..
“Alexis?” I said.
The sea of nurses parted, making room for me. The agitated security guard was staring at the dog with a look of pure distaste.
My eyes roamed Alexis from head to toe. She was wearing blood-soaked workout gear, and she was visibly shaken. The sight of the blood sent my stomach twisting in knots. A lump formed in my throat. I hurried forward, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. “Alexis, what happened? Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No…No…It’s not my blood.”
“Ma’am, the dog—I’m not going to ask again—”
“SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!” I yelled at the security guard. The emergency department fell silent. Even Alexis stiffened, stunned by my outburst. I took the dog’s leash from Alexis’s hand. The dog looked up at me cautiously, not sure if I was friend or foe. “I got the dog,” I said. “Come on, Alexis.”
Silently, Alexis and the dog followed me into the on-call room, where a couple of nurses sat and chatted over magazines.
“Excuse me. Give us a minute,” I said. The nurses scurried away, but not before looking at Alexis and the dog with widened eyes. I closed and locked the door behind them.
Alexis wiped her forehead, leaving a smear of blood on it.
I felt my bear relaxing some as it became more obvious that it was not her own blood that she was covered in. “Alexis, what happened?”
I pulled out a chair for her and she immediately collapsed into it, taking a series of deep breaths. The dog came to her side, sitting directly before her and staring at me. Pets could sense shifters from a mile away it seemed, and the pup clearly felt the need to protect Alexis. I respected that.
“I was taking Apple for an early morning run,” she said, “and
she started chasing a cat out of the blue. We wound up about a block from where we were supposed to be. There was this woman walking and I instantly knew something was wrong. She fainted and hit her head on a nearby fence. So I ran over to her and called an ambulance. They were taking too long though, so I had to start working on her. I had to help her. She was just lying there, almost bleeding to death on the pavement and I had to do something, Zion. I had to do something. I couldn’t leave her and I had nowhere to take Apple and—”
“Shhh,” I said, interrupting her rambling. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Alexis shook her head and stood abruptly. “I have to know if she’s all right. A piece of the fence got her in the face, hard.”
“Alexis, baby…” I gently placed my hand on her back. The dog stood and walked a circle around us. “Get cleaned up, okay? Here—I have extra scrubs. You can use it.” I retrieved my extra clothes and then took Alexis by the hand, leading her to the shower area.
“Zion, that woman almost died in my arms…”
“The key word there is almost. You stopped it from happening,” I said, squeezing Alexis’s hand. “Now just relax. I’m going to find the woman and make sure she’s okay. I promise.”
“But Apple…”
“I’ve got Apple too,” I said.
“She doesn’t know you.”
“Well, I guess she’s going to get to know me.” I offered a reassuring smile and kneeled down to the dog, holding my palms out to her. Apple tentatively sniffed my hands, and then her tail began to wag. Taking it as a good sign, I reached out to pat her head. “See? Fast friends already.”
Alexis nodded. “Okay. I won’t take long,” she said, and then disappeared into the shower while Apple and I waited outside.
When Alexis was done, she came out, freshly showered and blood-free, swallowed by my scrubs. I handed her Apple’s leash and then found a bag to put her dirty clothes in. “I’m going to take you and Apple home,” I said. “After what just happened, you need the day off. Wait for me in the break area. I’m going to check on the woman, and then we’ll get out of here, all right?”
