Chained To The Alpha

Chapter 4

Nyx walked through the double doors to the clinic building. It was surprisingly modern, even though the outside looked like a crumbling old community centre. The receptionist — a wolf of about 25, wearing sky blue scrubs with her blonde hair pulled into a perfect bun- Nyx could only dream of having the time to do her hair like that before work in the morning, spoke robotically, clearly this was something she said a lot, and she had it memorised, without looking up at Nyx. “Fill in the form on the clipboard and bring it back to me. There’s a wait of about fifteen minutes before you can be seen”

Nyx took the paperwork and a pen. She filled in the form with her information, but the question about her symptoms that brought her to the clinic had her stumped. What should she write? That she was beaten by the young Alpha’s wanna-be girlfriend and friends, and now that he felt a mating bond with her, he sent her away? But what was the alternative, to lie?

She settled for a version of the truth. ‘Bruised ribs – Alpha Thorne sent me’, she wrote. After handing the form back to the receptionist, she took a seat.

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The nurse led Nyx through the clinic. “The doctor noticed you are overdue for some checks, so we are going to get you changed into a gown, get some blood and urine from you and do an X-ray of those ribs. Then we’ll get you a full exam and go from there. Is that good with you, honey?”

Nyx nodded nervously, not entirely sure whether all of that would actually be allowed by Luna Margot. “If that’s what the doctor thinks best”, she said quietly.

They stopped in a small room with just a set of scales and a height chart. The nurse measured Nyx’s height and weight, recording them in the chart she carried.

Further down the corridor, the nurse handed Nyx a hospital-style gown, the ones that tie in the back and flash your underwear to anyone behind you. She took a sample bottle out of her scrubs pocket, pre-labelled with Nyx’s name and date of birth, and handed it over too. “You can change in there, and can you get that sample for me now?” the nurse asked, gesturing toward a bathroom that seemed larger than the storage space that served as a bedroom. Nyx nodded silently in response.

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*knock knock knock*

“Miss Morgan?” The doctor pushed open the door as he spoke. He had a warm smile on his face as he looked at Nyx. It took her by surprise to see someone who looked genuinely happy to see her. The nurse slipped in behind him and stood unobtrusively in the corner of the room.

“Nyx is fine, Doctor”, Nyx replied quietly, crossing her legs at the ankles.

The doctor pulled the chair from under the computer desk and sat facing Nyx. “Well, Nyx, it’s nice to see you here again, though it has been a while. How are you doing, besides the ribs? Anything you want to discuss?”

Nyx shook her head. There was probably a lot she should tell him, but right then, she couldn’t think of any of it.

The doctor pulled a face that said he knew exactly what she wasn’t saying, but he didn’t push. “First thing, any sign of your shift? Has your wolf awakened?”

Nyx looked away, staring out of the window for a few moments before she spoke, “She has woken, but I can’t shift”, Nyx said softly. Every time she said that she couldn’t shift, it made her feel like a huge failure, even more of one than everyone thought she was.

The nurse smiled softly and reassuringly, and the doctor made a thoughtful, sympathetic sound. “Your body has been starved of too many nutrients for too long to be able to withstand the shift. I assume your wolf has sensed this?” he continued, regardless of Nyx’s response. “You are seriously malnourished and dehydrated, anaemic and deficient in a number of vitamins. I would be surprised if you weren’t feeling the effects: fatigue, shaky hands, brain fog, aches and pains and so on. If you were human, you would likely be dead already or severely incapacitated. Your X-rays show a host of old, poorly treated fractures; one or two may need surgery eventually, but if they cause you no trouble, I see no need to cut you open yet.”

Nyx’s eyes were wide and full of unshed tears. She had to admit that she expected the fractures, and what the doctor said was true; she had assumed that the symptoms he spoke of were just side effects of being hungry, permanently exhausted and generally living in the conditions she had been living in. She had no idea that wolves could even be anaemic.

The doctor put a kind hand on her shoulder “Nothing to fret too much over, we can sort you out, it will take a few weeks of daily I.V medications, and you must do better to look after yourself in the future.”

Nyx scoffed, like she had much choice about that. Luna Margot would be disappointed that she wasn’t dead already.

“And how is your menstrual cycle? regular?”

Nyx shook her head.

“Another victim of the malnutrition, not to worry unduly yet, we will get you an ultrasound to make sure all is well and monitor, things should sort themselves out as we get your body what it needs”

There was another knock on the door, the nurse opened it and stuck her head through the gap to listen to whoever was on the other side. Both the doctor and Nyx looked over. She nodded softly and closed the door carefully again.

“Doctor, Alpha’s Henry and Thorne are here”