The Wolf She Sever Knew

Chapter Three ~While She Sleeps

Dr. Connor Blake was 37 years old and thought that his chances of finding a mate were way over. He had come to accept that he was married to his work anyway. Who would want to compete with two carriers. He always justified that those were the reasons that the Moon Goddess denied him his heart. But now… what was he going to do...Now? He was frozen where he stood. Every muscle in his body was on high alert, but he still couldn't move. He stood there watching them pull her in on that gurney like some lab rat on wheels.

"f*****g i***t move!… Fix her! Fix her Now!" his wolf shouted inside his head. Connor shook his head to reengage with the world as he started walking toward the room. He had to take a deep breath to calm his heart and his wolf before he lashed out at anyone for touching what was his. She needed their help, and he couldn't lose it. Not in front of his staff.

He walked into the room to listen to the paramedic report: "Patient: Elara Grey, Acute neurological decline, suspected impending brain herniation, and secondary acute vascular compromise of the affected arm. Newly discovered fixed and dilated pupil during evaluation. Sudden, sharp drop in the GCS score; Dr. Patel diagnosed impending brain herniation or an expanding intracranial hematoma following a head CT scan. Suspected acute arterial thrombosis or severe vascular compromise. The team actively intervened to stabilize the patient's heart rate and blood pressure following an acute decompensation. High likelihood of incubation given the dropping GCS; the patient's neurological status remained unchanged during the trip. The pupils remained blown/sluggish, and there were no signs of decerebrate or decorticate posturing during transport."

"I am Dr. Connor Blake. Thank you for the quick transport. We will take it from here. Prepare the patient for an immediate repeat CT scan and vascular consult. Let's get her on our monitors immediately. Page neurology and vascular surgery stat."

The paramedics left the room, closing the door behind them, and Connor began, "Alright team, the human transport is gone. Let's get this band off her arm. Patel had it locked down tight to mask her pulse. Hand is cold, but her werewolf biology is already pushing blood back down to the fingers. Forget the CT scans Patel sent. She doesn't have an expanding hematoma; that 'blown pupil' is just her ocular nerves reacting to medication he gave her and should return to normal in a few hours. Get her on Lupofol, silver-free, heavy dosage. We need to suppress her shifting mechanism long enough to set whatever internal injuries she actually has before her bones fuse back together incorrectly. Move, move, move!"

The team jumped into action as Connor looked on; he continued his assessment. Her body temp was still too low; she was going to need a warming blanket, and boy did her gown reek of bleach. His eyes went to her face as he started to see the woman, not the patient… her hair was still full of blood; they didn't even bother to clean her up what the hell... Stop it, Connor, he admonished himself for starting to think like a mate and not a Dr. She needed him to be the Dr. right now.

Connor checked Elara's eyes with a penlight, watching for the characteristic werewolf iris flash or slow normalization now that she was in a safe environment; he wanted to see if Patel's sedation was lessening. Connor might remark to a nurse, "Patel is reckless, but using a botched Doppler and a tourniquet to fake an arterial thrombosis? Brilliant. It kept the human medics too distracted with her arm to notice her blood pressure and healing rate making absolutely no sense."

"She's fighting a massive healing crisis," Connor murmured, tracking the rapid, erratic thumping of her heart against her ribs. He shook his head, a mixture of awe and disbelief on his face. "Unbelievable. Patel actually pulled it off."

He shook his head and called over Nurse Poppy, "I need you to get her hair washed and into a clean gown. Oh, and put some socks on her feet; it will help with over-all body temp." He seemed nervous and felt he needed to justify the socks for some dumb reason; he realized. His wolf was pacing in his head, causing him to not think straight.

"Right away, Dr," she said as she headed out the door.

He looked around, and the team was working efficiently, and he knew he needed to leave... this is when he always left. But he was having the hardest time making his own body move. Somehow he broke the spell and said, "Keep her on the monitors and maintain a zero-stimulus environment for her neuro checks. I'll be at the central desk finalizing her chart and reviewing the incoming labs. Page me immediately if her vitals or pupil responses shift."

Connor left the room reluctantly and went as far as his wolf would let him. He sat at the central nurses' station going over her charts, both the human assessments and what he needed to write. While he was still within view of her room. He was trying so very hard not to let anyone know that she was his mate, for Elara had the right to know before anyone else. That was the only real gift he could give her right now… Privacy… And the right to choose. That last one was already tearing at his heart, and his wolf argued back. "No… Mine… Ours… We not let her go." Connor said to him silently, " You are such a f*****g caveman. She doesn't even know what she is, and you expect her to just fall in line. I don't think so, buddy. We're going to have to handle this slowly and very gently.

Connor watched Poppy go into the room with a supply cart full of cleaning supplies and warming equipment. He was glad to see the blanket that he had forgotten to ask for. She was a great nurse. He sighed; at least Elara's in good hands, he thought to himself. Elara, he said her name to himself. God, what a beautiful name.

The hours ticked by slowly, then the first wolf sign happened. About 6 hours after her arrival, the alarms sounded as Elara's airway was being fought; she was trying to breathe on her own. Connor and the team rushed into her room. Connor shouted out, "She's biting the tube! Get an oral bite block in right now and check for kinks or plugs! Push a dose of Lupofol IV, deepen her sedation, stat!" The nurse ran to get the medication, and the rest of the team went to grab the Tube Extubation tray. He began the Endotracheal Suctioning and Cuff Deflation, then removed the tube, handing it off to another nurse. She handed back a wipe to clean her face and the Oxygen mask. He placed it on her and said, "Keep monitoring her for further changes. I will be in my office shortly. I am going to take a quick break."

Connor left the room feeling as if his heart was in his chest; she was fighting her way back, and her wolf was doing its job. Now he needed to calm down. He needed a shower and a f*****g cup of coffee. He headed to the staff showers and felt the world dissolve around him as the warmth of the water hit his face. He was finally able to just feel what was happening.

“I have a mate… No. We have a mate. His wolf piped up right as he was starting to relax. Thanks for the reminder, buddy. Can't you just give me one moment to feel this, or do you always have to stick your big head into everything?” He teased his wolf. “Well…” he gave him a sideways look inside his mind and curled himself up into a ball and closed his eyes. Finally, Connor moaned as he finally had a moment's peace.

~~At Dwayne's Apartment~~

Dwayne did not sleep, and his mind would not rest either; the tequila helped, but not by much. He sat at his kitchen table after the night had slipped away and the morning sun seeped through the curtains like an unwanted plaque of light. He wanted it to be dark and quiet, but his curtains had other plans. He took another swig of the spicy liquid, and as it was burning his throat, his phone rang. He nearly tripped over the chair and almost knocked the whole table over as he tried to reach his phone.

"Hello. Marco? What's going on?"

"Dwayne, I'm sorry, man, but I left shortly after talking with you, so I only heard this morning about that girl you asked about. Well, she had some kind of complication and was transferred to a trauma hospital. I don't know which one. I'm sorry, man."

"Transferred. Complications. f**k. Well, it's not your fault, and if you asked around, it would look weird, but thank you for trying."

"Not a problem, man. Really. But I gotta go rounds, you know."

"Yeah. Go, and thanks again, man."

"No problem, buddy. No problem."

Dwayne hung up the phone; he was at a loss as to what he would do now. I don't even know if those stupid police will tell me anything for a long time. Maybe I could hire someone to find her? He thought about that for a while, but then the alcohol and fatigue finally caught up to him, and he passed out on his couch contemplating the next problem.

~~At The Crimson Fire~~

As the morning crew arrived to start cleanup, news traveled fast in this area, especially when a wolf biker bar heard about a girl being transferred to the Timberline Medical Center. Everyone was buzzing about who it might be, for gossip only had the bare minimum when it came to the facts. But, boy, were the stories getting wilder and wilder.

The head waitress on the morning shift came walking in, set her bag on the counter, and said, "What's going on? You all are standing around like a bunch of teenage girls?"

"Well, Cammy, we heard about a girl being transferred to TMC last night; a drunk driver hit her on the road. We think she must be some out of townie or something. Can you imagine what the fallout could be?" Jan, one of the other waitresses, said with a slight worry in her tone.

"Yeah, what if it is a rival pack? Cammy? What would we do?"

"I wouldn't put too much thought into it if you were you. You might blow out the one brain cell you have left." Cammy replied.

"But, Cammy, it could be one of our own too. You never know. Right?" Michel added.

But before Cammy could respond to the round of bullshit that was spewing from their mouths, Duncan spoke up.

"What the f**k are you going on about? Don't you think we are a well enough organized pack that you all would have known by now if it was one of our own? Don't concern yourselves with things that don't concern you. If the Alpha wanted you to know, you would. Now get to work!"

In unison, the morning crew quickly said, "Yes, Boss," and they all scrambled off to their duties, leaving Cammy and Duncan alone.

"Do you know anything?" she asked.

"No, I don't. So it must not be our business. At least not yet." He replied and walked away, leaving her there to ponder the possibilities.