I wave with my fingers. "Hi. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude."
Her curly black hair is tied into two cute little low buns. I sense her connection with the kid. He must be her son.They have a similar scent; I'm getting better at reading them, plucking out subtle differences. Glancing around, I see that she's restocking and cleaning the room.
"You're not intruding, not at all. I just set a broken arm. Doc and Orion should be right back, I volunteered to watch over you. Plus, Joey was curious. I have to admit, I was too." Pink tinges bright beneath her dark cheeks, but she turns away, stacking boxes of gauze into a small drawer.
The building is set up like an outpatient clinic; it's fairly small, only a few rooms, with a faint smell of disinfectant and blood permeating the walls.
"Are you a doctor?"
She nods proudly but then tilts her head. "Actually, technically, no, but I've been training under Doc since I was a teenager. He's got centuries of knowledge under his belt. When Grayson's father was our Lune, Doc came to stay since they were old friends and he just never left. We're very lucky to have him here. But with how big the clan is now, it doesn't hurt to have more help. Maybe Joey here will take up the mantle someday." She reaches over and messes his hair.
He squints like kids do when their parents are annoying them, then looks at me. "What's it like being an omega?"
His mother opens her mouth, maybe to admonish him, but she smiles awkwardly instead.
"Umm… what do you think it's like?" I deflect.
The boy scrunches his face, and the woman returns to her task of cleaning and restocking.
"I think it's like… when I get to play with the other wolves in the creek, and it's really fun when we splash in the water, and after, I get to shake my fur out real good. And when Hilde makes moose burgers, and I eat so many, and just before I get really full and my tummy hurts, my wolf is happy he got to eat so much."
I nod slowly, pursing my lips to hold in a laugh.
"And, I think… umm…" He keeps tilting his head further and further to the side like that helps his concentration, tapping his finger on his little button chin. His mom takes a seat on the clean hospital bed beside him, gaining his attention.
"Joey, why don't you tell us how being around an omega makes you feel?"
He smiles, his chubby cheeks squishing wide. "Calm. And happy," he concludes.
Huh.
The woman turns to me, and I can see questions forming on the tip of her tongue, but I cut her off.
"What was your name again?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry. That was rude of me. I'm Heather. What's yours?"
"Mona. It's really nice to meet you." Considering this is the first normal interaction with a wolf I've had, it'sreallygood to meet her.
She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can, her eyes shoot to the door while the sound of footsteps draws closer. My heart skips when the scent of chocolate and hazelnut floods my senses, so rich I can taste it. Orion and Doc step into the room, and I stiffen when I see them. Orion must have heard our conversation because he addresses me by name.
"Mona. It's great to see you up. How are you feeling?"
His voice is just as comforting as I remember. Somehow familiar and safe. But this time, I'm standing and fully conscious, and it nearly buckles my knees. My omega shivers.
He might as well have propositioned me for sex, considering the way I clutch my shirt like I'm wearing delicate pearls. Beep paces excitedly, but I swallow hard and try my best to act normal, dropping my arm by my side.
Instead of answering him, I drink in his features before reluctantly turning to the older man beside him—Doc, Ipresume. Haphazard white hair, ancient wisdom behind his kind gray eyes. Heather mentioned his centuries of knowledge…Shifters don't live that long, right? Beep?
She doesn't answer me.
"What happened to you, anyway? How come you're all beat up?" Joey asks, dragging my attention back.
"I went somewhere I wasn't supposed to and ran into an angry wolf." I assume my light B-and-E in their office was what set off Andrea and Stance.
"But I thought we weren't supposed to hurt an omega?"
"Umm… Well, some wolves just don't like other wolves, I guess."
