Treasure

Dr. Chase Nygaard stepped out the back of the hospital, walking past the three people taking a smoke break and out to the parking lot. His mind was racing, and his wolf was pushing to get out. He hadn’t had this much trouble controlling his wolf since he first shifted. “Mate is inside and needs us,” his wolf pushed into his head.

“I know, but we need Alpha’s help,” he said.

He called the one person he trusted with the secret; she didn’t answer. Frustrated, he ended the call, only for Coral’s number to appear on his screen just before he put his phone away. “Chase?”

“Hi sis. Busy?”

“Healing, I was napping.” She had called him before he went to work, telling him of the failed operation and how she had been hurt fighting Rori. “How are you doing?”

“You can’t say anything to anyone about this,” he replied. “I found my mate.”

“EEEEK! THAT’S AMAZING! WHEN CAN I MEET HER!” Her excitement hurt his ears, and probably those of the guests in the adjoining motel rooms. “How did you meet? Have you mated? Does Mom know?”

“Take a breath, Coral. It’s not so simple.”

“What do you mean? She didn’t reject you, did she?”

“She doesn’t know what I am to her,” he said as he started pacing.

“How is that even possible? Her wolf has to know. Did she mate another?”

“My mate is Rori King, sis.” He heard clunking, like she dropped her phone. “Coral?”

“I’m here… I’m… you… Rori… shit Chase, you never make anything easy.” She took a couple deep breaths. “Tell me what happened.”

Chase recounted what happened, walking in to the room and seeing her, their eyes locking, the tingles when they touched and her confusion. “She’s on a hold, but I think I can talk my Attending into releasing it by morning. The real question is what do I do then? My wolf doesn’t want her out of his sight, he wants to bundle her onto the back of my motorcycle and bring her home. My head is telling me to call the Council and let them know where she is, but I know what Doctor Peterson said. They’ll take her from me, from her family, and send her to the Bitterroot Pack. Doc told me last year that if they couldn’t get her wolf to integrate, she’d never leave.” He stopped and leaned his forehead against a tree. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Go back in there and talk to her,” Coral said. “That will calm your wolf and feed the bond in her. If you can’t get her to feel the mate bond before she leaves, you’ll never get her to trust you enough to leave with you.” He nodded to himself, she was right, plus he had to document enough to justify letting her go. “Meanwhile, I’ll make a discreet inquiry or two.”

“Thanks, Coral. I owe you. Even more after this.”

“What?” She hung up a minute later, wondering how the hell she agreed to get up and do that when her stomach still felt like knives were sticking in it. She stood up and dressed quickly; it was a price she’d gladly pay for her brother’s happiness. “Luna, if you’re listening,” she whispered, “I just want a mate who loves me, I don’t need all this drama to appreciate him.”

Chase moved back into the hospital and found his Attending near the nurses’ station. “Sir, I’d like to spend some time talking with Miss King before she sleeps again,” he started. “It’s a fascinating case, and I’d like to see if I can help her remember anything from last night.”

Doctor Bach thought about it; nothing in her records showed anyone had success with that, but it wouldn’t hurt the student to spend time that way. “Keep the door open and her restrained, after what happened at the Mayo hospital you can’t be too careful.”

“I’d rather remove the restraints. She isn’t violent, and it would go a long way to show trust. I also noted she is an accomplished artist, I’m hoping I can use her drawing as a way to break through to the memories she is suppressing.”

He thought about it and grudgingly agreed. “Have a female nurse or security officer with you in the room at all times AND the door open. Can’t be too careful these days.”

“Yes sir.” He asked one of the newer nurses to help and to find him a tablet and pencils she could use to draw. He opened the door, and she was already awake and staring at him. “Can I come in?”

She stared in his eyes, not moving until finally she was able to break her gaze and nod to him. He could smell her arousal as he entered the room, this was not going to be easy for him or his wolf. The nurse brought a chair in and sat just inside the open door, carrying an emergency dose of sedative in case she got violent. “Doctor Nygaard,” she said.

His smile as he sat down made her melt, and she was feeling things her body had never felt before. It made her nervous. “You promise to behave if I take these off?”

“Yes sir,” she said, and her voice had an effect on him as well. He hoped his lab coat would hide his erection as he carefully walked around the bed to remove the straps. “Can I use the bathroom first?”

“Of course,” he said. While she was busy, he raised the head of the bed and arranged pillows; she meekly walked back into the room and got under the covers, flashing him a tempting glance of her toned thighs. He pushed his wolf back and got to work.

Over the next hour, he talked to her about her last blackout and what led up to it, but he could tell she wasn’t truthful. She had no way of knowing he’d been given the full story by his sister already. His wolf didn’t like it when she lied to him. Her story was that she had seen a man, someone who resembled one of her previous attackers, and that triggered the episode. “You draw, right?” She nodded. “I need to check on some other patients, but I’d like you to take some time and draw the man. Sometimes, pulling the memory out and recording it can make it less threatening, and less likely to trigger another episode.”

They left her with pencils and the pad, and he locked her in. “How did it go,” Doctor Bach asked as they returned.

“She’s calm and lucid, but she’s still blocking something,” he said. “She thinks she saw a man who looked like a man who had attacked her before, so I’m having her draw him.” He reviewed his notes from the session. “Give her an hour or two while you are with other patients, then try again. You’re doing well,” he said.

It was almost an hour later when he was paged to the security desk. “Thanks, sis,” he said as he gave her a quick hug. “I owe you.”

“You do,” she said. “You get off at seven tomorrow, right?” He nodded. “I’m going to go home. I think Mom and Dad need to know. The Council knows she is here, and likely will try to take her when she is released so she can’t disappear again. We need his help if you’re going to keep her here.”

“You’re right. Tell them hi for me. I’ll drive home tomorrow night. I can’t let them hurt her, make sure Dad understands. I’d go rogue before I let them hurt her.” He gave her a hug, gently because of her injuries, then walked back inside.

“You ordered food and didn’t ask if I wanted any,” the nurse said as he walked back in.

“My sister surprised me, sorry,” he said. “Come babysit me in Ms. King’s room and I’ll let you have my fries.”

“Deal.” They went back into her room, and Rori's eyes lit up when he walked in, more so when she saw what he was carrying. He took out fries and ketchup, handing them to the nurse, then set the bag down on the table.

“Oh my God, I think I love you,” she said as she unwrapped the Spicy Chicken sandwich. "Chick-fil-A's waffle fries are the bomb." Coral had gotten her two of the sandwiches along with fries and a vanilla shake, while he got two regular chicken sandwiches and a large coffee. His wolf preened in his mind, dirty thoughts of her saying that as she writhed in pleasure beneath him being pushed forward.

“I think we should eat before we start again, all right?” She nodded, and when he spoke again, it was barely in a whisper. There was no way the nurse or the cameras would pick it up, but her wolf senses would hear it clearly. “We need to talk without others hearing, Rori. You’re not mentally ill.”

She took a drink from her shake. “I’m a long damn way from normal, Doc. I black out, I hurt people, I wake up covered in blood.”

“Let’s talk about the things you don’t tell people.” Her eyes widened. “You can hear things you have no business hearing. Your eyesight is better than others, and for your size you are stronger and faster than people expect. You even heal faster from injuries than others.”

She took a big bite and chewed, giving herself time to think. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m just like you, Rori. The difference is that I grew up knowing what I was, surrounded by others like me. You don’t need drugs or therapy, you need to let her out. Accept who and what you are and stop pretending that voice in your head is the problem. She isn’t, she’s the solution.”

“How?”

“Let me get you out of here first. I gave your Mom my contact information. Talk to her, and when you are ready I will help you heal. Just listen to the voice, don’t fight it, she’s part of you and I love her just as much as I love you.”

She stopped drinking and coughed when he said that. She covered her mouth. “You love me? You just met me!”

“I loved you the first time our eyes met, Rori. We are meant for each other. I love you, I’ll never hurt you and I’d lay down my life to protect you. You’re my mate, Rori.” He packed away the wrappers, taking hers as all she had left was her shake. He went out of the room and tossed the trash before washing his hands and coming back in. He spoke normally this time. “Now, let’s talk about what you drew.”

They talked for another half hour before she started to tire out, and he closed his notebook. “I think we made some progress tonight, Rori. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

“Thank you for dinner,” she said as he lowered her bed and pulled her covers up. His hand brushed her cheek, sending tingles through her face and her heart to leap in her chest.

“You’re welcome. Sleep well.” They turned off the light, and she rolled onto her side, happy to no longer be restrained. Sleep wasn’t on her mind, what the Doctor revealed was. “Was he serious about loving me,” she asked herself.

“I love him the same way, it’s the way we are when we meet our mates.”

“Wait a minute, what are we? He said he was like me.”

“We are alike. I’m part of you, I’m your wolf. We are werewolves, Rori. When you black out, that’s me taking over to protect us both.” She shook her head, werewolves didn’t exist, that was just stories and Hollywood movies. “Trust me, Rori. Don’t fight the bond, and I’ll show you what happened to us last night.”

“I can’t trust you, you’re a monster,” she said to herself as she pushed the voice back. The headache came, but soon enough ended and she fell into an exhausted sleep.