To Love a Wolf Ch. 07

Kathy Lee (Nurse from Harborview Medical Center)-

"Good morning dear how are you feeling this morning?" I ask walking into the hospital room.

The patient in the bed doesn't respond. She never has in the last 10 years of her being here in the hospital. Our resident Jane Doe has been in a coma since she arrived. The grime day sits on my mind as if it was just yesterday.

She had been found close to death right outside the hospital doors. My shift had just finished I normally didn't leave out of the west doors but something kept pulling me at me to take that exit and I couldn't put my finger as to why.

It wasn't until after I walked out the sliding glass doors and spotted the poor young woman's naked body lying. She couldn't have been no older than 25. I realized I was pulled to take that exit for a reason. I was pulled here to save her.

Running back through the doors I hit the alarm button to draw attention of doctor medical attendants I start screaming for the receptionist to use the intercom to call a code red at the west entrance before going back outside to where the woman was laying. Her entire body was covered in bruises and cuts.

Her face was swollen from whatever and one of her legs was bent at a weird angle letting me know immediately it was broken. Her breathing was shallow and I was afraid that help wouldn't get to her in time.

Luckily doctors and some of my on duty nurse colleagues come running out all of them shouting orders over each other. One of the doctors, Dr. Remington, pulled me to the side as I watched them pick the woman up on to the gurney and rush her inside.

"What happened Kathy?" he asked as the sounds of sirens came closer.

I took a deep shaky breath before speaking, "I was on my way out, when I had this feeling to come out the western doors instead of going the way I always go. When I got to her she was already here on the ground." I say franticly wishing my husband was there holding my hand.

"Okay well you're going to have to come up to the waiting room on the surgery floor and wait for the police so they can investigate. Since she has no next of kin that we know of right now you're designated to call the shots. You might want to call your husband, Kathy. From the looks of her it's going to be a long night..."

Coming out of my memories from the night I found the woman, I do what I have done for the last 10 years and I spoke to her. "You know, I really wish you would open your eyes. I'm pretty sure you have a family that's missing you. A husband, kids, your parents. Somebodies got to be lost without you. You've been sleeping long enough." I say while checking all her vital signs.

Still great as always. Dr. Remington said that it was normal for people who have been through severe trauma to want to shut down but this was ridiculous and concerning.

I felt for the family who thought that their loved one was dead when in reality she was in a coma in the hospital and couldn't be identified. As I watched the monitor to copy down her blood pressure and heart rate, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see what or who it was.

The woman on the bed was still lying there but for the first time in 10 years she moved. It only her hand that moved and it wasn't very much but it was something.

"Holy shit!" I said in shock as I watched her fingers twitch followed by her legs moving.

Yanking myself out of the paralyzed state I was in I quickly hit the emergency call button on the wall next to her bed as her eyes popped open.

As if on cue the attending doctor was running through the door seconds later followed by a few more nurses who were all in the same set of shock I was at the twitching woman lying on the bed.

"Somebody call Dr. Remington now!!" I yell before pressing a calming hand to the woman thriving on the bed.

"It's okay darlin' try to stay calm. As soon Dr. Remington gets here we can have the breathing tube removed. Just try and stay calm for me okay?" I say trying to soothe her back into a docile state.

My words seemed to do the trick because her body relaxed and she stilled her struggling movements enough for me to be able to check her vitals again.

The other nurse came back with Dr. Remington in tow and while the surprise was evident on his face he kept his composure which is more than I could say for myself at the moment.

"Good morning ma'am! I'm glad you're finally awake. I hear you would like your breathing tube removed is that correct?" he addressed our mystery patient who merely nodded yes.

"Well before I can do that I have a couple of things I would like to check first considering the amount of time you were in your coma." He said coming closer to the bed.

You could see the confusion swirling in her chocolate colored eyes at the mention of the word coma but we didn't have time to answer her questions at the moment.

Dr. Remington checked her ears, eyes and her reflex before declaring that she had the all clear for her tube to be removed and called for the respiratory specialist to come up. Dr. Chen, a pretty little Asian woman came in the door 10 minutes later.

"I hear we have a patient eager to have their tube removed" she said smiling at the woman as she washed her hands and pulled on gloves. "Now miss I want you to try and make the motions as if you're going to cough to help the tube dislodge from it's place okay? Are you ready?" she asked and the woman nodded.

"Okay on the count of 3. 1... 2... 3... cough" the tube slid free with a pop leaving the woman coughing and gasping for air. "Now don't try to talk for a few hours so that your throat has time to rest and heal properly. I'll be by to check on you later." Dr. Chen said as she striped her gloves off and washed her hands again before walking out.

Dr. Remington moved back to his place beside the woman's bed. "Okay ma'am I'm sure you have a lot of questions for us just like we have a lot of questions for you but for right now I want you to relax and rest. I know you just woke up but sleep will be best for you to avoid talking. Nurse Kathy will administer something for the soreness of your throat and I'll be by to check on you within the hour." the woman nodded before lying back in the bed.

Dr. Remington inclined his head toward the hallway indicating me to follow him. "I'll be right back" I say before following the doctor outside.

"Kathy I'm going to pass your patients along to some of the other nurses and I want you stay in the room with our resident Jane Doe just to monitor her. The extent of her injuries were server as well as the amount of time she was in a coma state could have left lasting effects and I want to monitor her just in case." He said writing down his notes on the woman's chart.

He handed me the vial of pain meds he wanted me to administer and walked off to give his orders. I walked back into the room and added the medication to the protein mixture that has been feeding the woman for the past 10 years.

"This should help ease the pain and allow you to rest. I'll be here in the room with you if you need anything okay?" I say to her as she nods, the medicine already beginning to take affect her eyes drifting closed.

I hope when she wakes up we all would be able to get the answers we had been waiting 10 years to receive.

Avani-

The smell of corn dogs and funnel cakes wafted around us along with the sounds of people screaming on the carnival rides as we walk hand in hand through the fair grounds.

After our sexual escapade along the beach we ended up at this family owned pizzeria not too far from the beach.

Turns out we had a lot more in common than we had originally realized. We both liked the same kind of pizza toppings as well as having the same taste in music to having similar tastes in hunting styles.

We were having a great time in each other's company but one question keeps nagging at the back of my mind, feeding at my insecurities. It wouldn't go away so I forced myself to ask him.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask shyly afraid of what he was going to say to me, before taking a bite of my food.

"Ask away darlin'" Trace said said in a cheesy southern accent causing me to giggle.

"Okay so you seriously loose points for that horrible accent Trace" I say after I stop laughing.

"My accent was not horrible you just don't appreciate fine comedy love" he teased before getting serious again.

I decided to ask before I lost my nerve "Why were you so opposed to mating with me?"

He stopped in mid bite his eyes going wide as the smile slipped from his face. He lowered his pizza slice to his plate and looked at me as he tried to figure out how to answer my question before he adverted his eyes.

"It was never really nothing against you. I wanted to be able to make my own choice as to who my mate would be but instead the choice was taken from me. I wanted to be Blaze so badly in that instant because even if the fates choose who our perfect partner is he still got the choice of going through every other woman to find her. You were picked for me. But the fates had a sense of humor because not only were you picked for me by our parents but also by the gods as well." he smiled running his finger across the top of my hand.

"I can respect that I guess" I say giving him a small side smile as we polished off the last slices of pizza.

We hadn't wanted our night to end just yet after dinner so that's how we ended up here at the carnival.

We had ridden every ride on the grounds and Trace had even managed to win me a little stuffed puppy by filling a balloon with water the fastest. It wasn't until 1 AM that we finally decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

We drove back in happy silence, holding hands over the middle console until we made it back to the city. Parking the car neither of us were eager to get out and join the rest of the pack.

"I had a lot of fun tonight Trace. Thanks for rescuing me tonight. Your different when it's just me and you." I say turning toward him.

He sighed before answering me, "I guess when its just me and you I feel like I'm not being forced to be someone I'm not. it goes back to what I said earlier about being forced to choose you. When it's just us I feel like I can just be me. We aren't put into the position where we always have to live up to the expectation of everyone else. We can just be Avani and Trace." He said gripping my hand in his tighter.

"In this moment right now I feel like a normal 21 year old man instead of a werewolf prince. I would..." he started to say before a loud knock interrupted his words.

"Fuck!" he muttered under his breath as we turned and saw Rachel, Aimee, Tyree and Blaze waiting on us outside the truck.

"If you two are done with your lovers get away we need to talk!" Rachel yelled.

"So goes our night" I say softly before opening the car door.

Trace-

Avani and I got out of the car, making sure we grabbed whatever was left behind from our night before facing the small group surrounding us.

"Rachel what is it that you feel we need to talk about?" I ask her folding my arms across my chest.

"How about the fact that you said you were going to make time for me on this trip. How about the fact that you ran off all night with this fat bitch who isn't your girlfriend!" she yelled getting in my face.

Tyree moved to say something the same time that I did but before we could even get words out of our mouths Avani pushed her small body between Rachel and I.

She was standing toe to toe with her which wasn't an easy feat considering the fact that Avani was a good 8 inches shorter than Rachel.

"First off bitch who are you calling fat? Just because I choose not to miss a meal unlike your anorexic ass doesn't mean I'm fat. Second last I checked he wasn't your man anymore. Reality check he never was. All you were was something to keep his dick wet until it was time to fulfill our duty to our packs." Avani said pushing Rachel back out of our space.

Watching her go into alpha bitch mode for the first time had to be one of the biggest turn ons I had ever seen.

Over Rachel's shoulder I saw Tyree and Blaze fighting to hold back their grins and Aimee's indifferent face and had to fight back my own smile.

"Oh please. The only reason he's even paying your short, fat big bootyed ass any kind of attention is because he has to. Its his job to keep you entertained so that you can combine the packs but I'm the one he really wants" Rachel said matter of factly.

"Oh really? Because that's not what he was saying earlier when he had me spread out in the back of the truck eating my pussy like it was his last meal. Isn't he good at that?" she said with a smug side smile.

By this time their argument had attracted more people and a chorus of oooh's and laughs came up from the crowd. Next thing we all knew a loud crack echoed around us as Rachel slapped Avani across the face.

Before any of us could intervene, Avani let out an in human growl and launched herself at Rachel sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Avani-

I had no idea what had come over me. It's like seeing Tyree brought her word from earlier rushing back to me and for the first time ever I decided I was done taking shit from everybody. For the first time I was going to fight back.

When Rachel slapped me it was like a blanket of red draped itself over my mind and my wolf took control, propelling me toward her. We hit the ground and I started swinging landing blow after blow on the woman I had pinned underneath me.

Rachel wasn't even trying to defend herself really she was just trying to protect her face until she realized that her legs were still free.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and planted them full force into my stomach, kicking out sending me back into the SUV that wasn't too far behind us my back hitting it with such force I'm surprised I didn't feel some ribs break.

Standing back up ignoring the pain I felt in both my stomach and my back, I was about to launch myself at Rachel again when somebody grabbed me around my waist. I fought against them trying to get free but their grip on my body was too strong.

"Vonni you need to calm down, it's over, you won look at her. I'm pretty sure you broke her nose." Trace whispered in my ear as his hold tightened some more pulling me to his chest.

That was when I noticed the blood pouring from Rachel's nose. Seeing that I drew blood was enough to get my wolf to settle done and under control.

I sagged against Trace as the last of my fight left me, my body becoming a rag doll finding it hard to stand on my own two feet.

"Tyree can you help me get her to her room please?" I hear him ask but my mind is shutting down becoming a huge blank. I honestly don't remember them walking me into the hotel nor do I remember the elevator ride or even getting into my room.

Tyree gently guided me down on the bed, my muscles screaming in protest as the bed dipped under her weight as well.

"Hey Ty can you stay with her for a little bit?" he asked standing in the door way.

"Yeah she'll be fine go one and do what you have to do. I'll stay with her and help her get to bed. Don't worry." Tyree said.

Trace just nodded, coming to lay a gentle kiss on my forehead before walking out of the room leaving Tyree and I alone.

Tyree-

Avani was the one that broke the silence first. "You know I really want to be mad at you Ty. You hurt my feelings badly. I can take a lot from a lot of people but hearing that stuff from somebody who is supposed to have my back hurt a lot." She said from her position stretched out on the bed.

"Avani I am so sorry. Sorry for how it came out not for what I said. I've known you since we were little kids and I've sat here and watched the others treat you like your less than you are. They treat you like you're not the alphas daughter they have no respect for you and I'm sick of watching you have to go through that and not standing up for yourself. You are an alpha, meant to lead. Don't be comfortable to just stay in your bubble and let everyone else lead you." I say.

She sighed "Ty I forgive you. I understand that you only said what you did to get me to pull my head out of my ass. I do need to start acting like the alpha I am. Its like when I attacked Rachel it snapped something inside of me, some primal desire to be in charge and dominate over her." she said sitting up.

"Girl you were kicking her ass until she decided to bring her feet into the mix. Trace just about had a fit when you hit the truck." I say giggling.

"That may have something to do with how we bonded tonight. I'm m pretty sure it's Trace." She said smiling before grimacing in pain.

"Come one girl. Let's get you soaking in a nice bubble bath to ease the pain. You can tell me all about how he ate your pussy like it was his last meal from there" I say laughing.

'I'm glad I got my best friend back' I thought as I helped her into the bathroom.

Trace-

I caught up to my brother and Rachel outside in the hall way and immediately pinned Rachel against the wall cutting off her air supply.

"Trace man let her..." Blaze started to say before I shot him the look of death over my shoulder.

'Keep quiet little brother. I have business to settle' I thought to him as my grip on Rachel's throat tightened.

Blaze put his hands up in surrender backing away from me as I turned back to the woman against the wall clawing at my hand to get free.

"I'm going to say this once and only once if you touch or even speak to my mate the wrong way again I will kill you before you have a chance to blink. Do you understand me?" I growl squeezing even tighter until she nods before I release her throat, leaving her gasping for air on the hotel floor to ponder my words.

Avani-

A knock on the door is what drew me out of the light sleep I was in. my muscles screamed in protest as I got up off the bed and shuffled slowly to the door, already having a good idea who was on the other side.

"Can I come in?" Trace asked softly when I opened the door.

I moved to the side allowing him access into the room letting him shut the door behind him before I started my painful walk back to the bed.

"Hey champ how are you feeling?" he asked jokingly taking a seat on the floor at my feet.

"I've never been better." I say trying to crack a smile but my facial muscles were aching in pain. "But in all seriousness who knew fighting could be so painful." I say to him as his hand came up to stroke my bruised cheek.

"Avani I am so sorry. I could kill her for doing this to you. Just say the word and I'll end her..." he started to growl his eyes glowing a golden yellow as his wolf threatened to take over.

"Hey! Look at me. I'm going to be fine. I didn't break any bones nor did she draw blood so in my book this is a win. I've already begun to heal. I'm just tired more than anything," I say.

"If you're tired I should go and let you get some rest." He said getting up.

"No wait please... Can you stay with me tonight? I really just want to fall asleep with you... that is if you don't mind." I say softly feeling stupid for needing him around me.

Trace didn't say anything, instead kicked his shoes off and pulled off his shirt before pulling the covers back on the bed allowing me to get in before sliding in after me.

He pulled my body close kissing the top of my head. The last words I heard before I drifted off to sleep were "good night pretty girl. Sweet dreams."

Kathy Lee-

Jane Doe woke back up a few hours later just as Dr. Remington walked back in the room. "How are you feeling now ma'am?" he asked checking her vital signs again before pulling a chair up to the other side of her bed.