“Just so, Love. Thank you.” Doctor Swan still held the syringe, still held the smile warping her face, and still seemed perfectly prepared to sink a needle into my body.
Beta Love approached, lifting his arms to reach for Josie when he was near enough to seize her. Josie immediately recoiled, hissing and batting at him with one clawed paw.
“Let me do it,” I whimpered, tugging her to my chest and standing. Beta Love flicked a look at Doctor Swann, who nodded. I moved past Beta Love, feeling his gaze and the doctor’s eyes on my back. I spoke softly to Josie as I moved, saying it would only take a little while, she wouldn’t be in the cage for long, it was okay.All okay.Saying that was feeling more and more like a lie.
For me, Josie cooperated. She looked up at me with trusting eyes as I placed her in the crate and then picked up the lid.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” I sung in an offbeat melody as I lowered the lid. The second I couldn’t properly see her; I felt a lump in my throat. “Sorry,” I whispered before walking back to the wide chair and the waiting doctor. When I sat down, I risked a glance at the container. Josie had her face smushed against one of the vented mesh windows. I’m glad I couldn’t see her eyes. She’d definitely be judging me.
“Now, let’s get you cleaned up.” Doctor Swann was armed with a lint roller, as if she’d materialized it from thin air. She ran it down the front of my hospital robe with swift, efficient strokes. “I will have to talk with your brother, Love, about a future protocol for ensuring this isn’t a factor again.” Though her voice was pleasant, by the way Beta Love reacted, you’d think she slashed him across the face with a bright red branding iron.
“Yes, of course. He should know better,” Beta Love stammered.
I wasn’t sure why, but my instinct prompted me to defend the pink suited Beta who’d let Josie stay with me.
“Beta Love… I mean, the other Beta Love. Your brother, Beta Love.”God, that was really confusing.“He was super kind. He shouldn’t get in trouble for me bringing Josie.”
Doctor Swann patted my shoulder with one gloved hand. Her eyes crinkled at the corners sympathetically. “No, of course not. But we all must keep to a standard to ensure the very best results. We haven’t dealt with your…particular situationbefore,” she craned her neck and tilted her head to flick a glance at the animal crate. “Now that we have, we must create a new procedure.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I mumble stupidly.
Doctor Swann placed the lint roller in Beta Love’s waiting hands. “Trash that, Love. In the biohazard. Then please finish your earlier tasks. I want the fresh samples immediately tested.”
Beta Love just nodded a little, scurrying off. I watched him as he dumped the entire lint brush—what a waste; it still had so many sticky layers left—and then returned to the hooded workspace.
“Now, please hold very still, Miss Fortune.” Doctor Swann.Doctor Swann’s smile. Doctor Swann’s hands holding the ultrasound wand and the hateful, terrible, very sharp needle.
She pressed the ultrasound to the right side of my neck first. She adjusted her pressure, and the position, while keeping her eyes on the machine’s monitor. All I saw were wobbly lines and strange, misshapen circles. She, of course, knew what she was looking at.
“Ah, there we are. Beautifully sized for your age, and quite full. I’ve a feeling this will be easy.” Doctor Swann looked at my neck, then back at the ultrasound reading, then back towards her prize. “Here we go.”
As the needle approached, I closed my eyes. I couldn’t help it. I winced, sucking in a breath when the sharp tip pierced my skin. I counted in my head.One, one thousand. Two, one thousand. Three, one thousand.By the time I reached five, she’d finished.
“That wasn’t so bad,” I said before opening my eyes.
“Yes! One down, four to go!” Swann triumphed, holding up the large needle. Viscous, shimmering pink fluid danced inside the glass shaft. She held it up to the light. “Beautiful. Such a lovely color!” As I watched, she pushed the needles end into a lavender tipped, collection tube. Once she’d emptied the syringe into the vial, she set the tube in the holder and then frowned down at the collection of tools. “Love,” she snapped, “I need three more aspirate grade syringes. You have only given me one.”
Beta Love nearly fell hopping off the tall metal stool he was perched atop. He raced to a cabinet, flung it open, and grabbed what was needed. He was huffing and limping a little when he brought it over to his Alpha boss. “I’m so sorry, Doctor Swann.”
“It seems I will be talking to more than one Beta Love later,” she quipped, not even looking at her assistant as he set the three new toolsdown. The blood drained from Beta Love’s face. “Take this first sample of the left maxima. It should be sufficient for the rapids.”
Tail between his legs, Beta Love snagged the full tube with one shaking hand and then moved back to his workspace.
“Now for the right maxima and both minora glands.”
It seemed like it took forever, but soon the second lavender tube and both yellows were filled. Doctor Swann seemed very pleased as she mounted the ultrasound wand and pushed the machine out of her way.
“Are the rapid tests finished, Love?” She pulled off her gloves with a snap and tossed them down on the stainless cart.
“Yes,” he chirped, obviously still anxious over his earlier mistake. He moved to her swiftly holding a tray. Doctor Swann looked down at whatever he presented with curiosity, and then, incredulity.
“Did you titrate the sample correctly?” She questioned, picking up a small rectangle of plastic and peering down at it.
“Yes, I was very careful. I don’t like to waste sample, but I ran it all twice to be sure of the results.” Beta Love stumbled over the words. “It’s very potent, as you can see from the response color, and the individual scent elements experienced minimal degradation when separated.”
“Fantastic. This will give us marvelous data and, no doubt, make a quick match.” She placed the test back on the tray. “Take the routine blood samples and send her for the physical.”
With those instructions, the Alpha doctor whirled back towards me. I didn’t think it was possible, but her smile was the widest it had been since entering the room. Every single tooth seemed to be on display as she gawped down at me.
