[Hyacinth]“Yes,” I look the alpha straight in the eye as I lie. “I did hurt Ashlynd. She was saying some very unkind things in front of my son. I had a moment of weakness.”The alpha is sitting across from me at my kitchen table drinking a warm cup of instant apple cider. I wish I had something better to offer him, but Bash likes apple juice and we haven’t really gone shopping for food yet. He doesn’t seem to mind as he takes another sip from my “World’s Greatest Mom” cup. “And do you have these moments of weakness often,” he looks down at his beverage. “You don’t seem to me to be the type of person who loses her temper frequently.”“I try not to be,” I admit. Hopefully, the alpha won’t pry too much into the reason behind it all. I don’t want to draw any attention to my son. He takes another big drink of his cider, wincing as the hot fluid makes its way down his throat. “I hate to ask this, but since you are admitting to having…hurt Ashlynd in a fit of anger, I need to ask about so
[Hyacinth] When Lisa showed me to my new office, I wanted to cry. There are papers piled everywhere. Boxes and boxes of them. It looks like in addition to an absent pack doctor, they also have a shortage of support staff. Before I could even make my first rounds, I found myself spending an hour clearing off enough paperwork to reclaim my desk and then another thirty minutes disinfecting it, scraping the grime of old coffee rings and melted candy bars. Part of me is tempted to just burn it all and start over, but I know that each one of those pieces of paper represents an important moment in somebody’s life. As I sift through the paperwork, I find a file with my name on it right next to one with my mother’s name on it. Interesting. Setting them in the newly cleaned-out top drawer of my desk, I promise myself that I will read those later. I have so many questions about myself and my mother. Maybe those files will give me some answers. Around 10 o'clock, I take a break from cleani
[Hyacinth] “The Alpha," Ashlynd repeats. "I need to talk to you right now about my fiance." I take a step back, giving her more space as she crowds herself into my office. There are so many boxes of paperwork piled around there is very little room for me to maneuver as I try to avoid standing in her space. The last thing I need is for her to trip over a box and accuse me of pushing her. I'm already on notice with the Alpha. If we had another incident so soon it would look really bad. I’m too tired and too hungry to engage with her right now. She looks ready for a fight and all I can think about is finding a nice shady corner outside and eating my apple and leftover fries. But instead I'm stuck here dealing with Ash's big feelings over some perceived slight. “I don’t know what I could tell you about him that would do any good,” I sigh, just wanting to be done with this conversation. “I don’t even know your Alpha. I've only met him twice.” “That's right, you don't know him," she
[EARLIER that same day--before Ash and Cindy's argument] [Slate] It’s been a long week. I am trying to pay attention to what Ash is saying, but my mind keeps wandering back to the Doctor. She is an enigma, a mystery that intrigues me and makes me want to learn everything about her. Despite being so strong and brave she also seems to be vulnerable sometimes. “You know what, Slate,” Ash huffs as she picks up the pack finances and puts them into her little pink purse. “I think lunch is over. You don’t seem to have your heart into it.” I can tell that she is irritated with me for not giving her the attention she needs and deserves. She’s right. We’ve been at the packhouse for the last 45 minutes and while she went over finances, I didn’t hear a single word she was saying. I sat there, watching the leaves blowing on the autumn breeze, thinking about a certain doctor whose eyes flashed a bright green, like the color of grass. I was also thinking of the strange changes I’ve been seeing
[Hyacinth] My body feels warm all over as I nod my acceptance while at the same time I feel a cold chill as if a cloud were sitting over my head. Regardless of what he says, Ashlynd will have a problem with this. It doesn’t matter that he says we are “just friends,” she will see this as a date. “Forget about that,” a voice in my head says, “follow your heart.” “Follow my heart,” I whisper. He looks up confused. “What? Were you saying something?” “No,” I lie, grinning. Part of me knows that if I wanted to be smart, I’d stay far far away from him, just like she warned me. Instead I let him guide me out of the office and out into the sunshine. I don’t know what I was expecting from lunch with the Alpha. Maybe someplace fancy with too many forks. It was refreshing when he took me to his favorite deli instead. The wolf behind the counter was a connoisseur of fine lunch meats and I soon found myself rejecting my sad peanut butter sandwich for a beautiful double-fisted sub sandwich
[Hyacinth] The card is hand drawn in crayon with a drawing of a wolf next to a child on the front that looks a bit more like a dog than a canine. Inside it reads "From your secret admire-were" signed in a childish hand "You know who." Bash and Drew must have stopped by to cheer me up. Smiling, I set the flowers towards the front of the desk and open up my top desk drawer pulling out the two files I had placed there earlier today. The one on top is my file, the other one is my mother’s. Both are considerably thick, which feels strange to me because I do not remember visiting the doctor often enough to warrant that many visits. Which one do I open? My mother’s or my own? I decide to learn more about my mother first. I know so little about her. Opening the file the first thing I notice is a smiling color photo of her, clipped to the inner flap of the folder. It is a portrait, most likely from her days working in the clinic, as she is wearing a lab coat with a stethoscope around h
[Slate] After having lunch, I had a lot to think about. Not just regarding the doctor, but also my role as an alpha and also as a brother. I’ve almost completely neglected my sister since she returned. She must be so lonely. I should be here every day just to make sure she is comfortable. I should make sure she is needed and wanted and special. She has no one else to do this for her with no mate and both of our parents dead. So I canceled my dinner plans with Ash to sit on the floor with my sister, pulling old photos out of a box I found in the packhouse attic. “Oh My Goddess!” Blake shrieks with glee. “Do you remember this Slate?” She is holding up an old family photo where the four of us, Mom, Dad, Blake, and Me. We are wearing matching sweaters of wolves wearing Santa hats howling at the moon. “I wonder what happened to those sweaters..” “Burned I hope,” chuckling. “I remember having to wear that thing to school the day of the photo. Kids are cruel.” I reach into the box a li
[Hyacinth] “I was really surprised when Drew told me you were coming over,” I yawn, “I wasn’t expecting you to come to my house to take care of me. Of all people, I should be telling you to rest.” “Nonsense,” Blake fusses over me like a mother hen watching over her baby chicks. “Once I called and learned you collapsed at work yesterday, I knew I needed to come and check on you. You are, after all, my favorite doctor.” “I’m your only doctor,” I chuckle. Blake walked the three blocks to my house with a crockpot full of chicken noodle soup. As her physician, I am still a little upset at her for taking that risk with her health. Crock pots can be heavy, especially when full of soup. I told her to never take that risk again, and she rolled her eyes at me telling me that friends do things like that for one another. Friends. She sees me as a friend. I told her I was not sick, just very exhausted, so exhausted that my body decided it needed to take a rest at just the worst moment. It