45. Leave
Lucy
I woke up alone, tangled in Matt’s sheets. My stomach churned and churned. I felt sick. I went to the bathroom as I felt like I was going to throw up. Fear made my heart race as I reached the toilet and threw up. The bitterness in my mouth made my eyes burn with tears.
This couldn’t be happening.
Please, this couldn’t be happening. I didn’t want this. I never wanted kids. From the moment I saw how my adopted parents treated me, from the moment I knew that anyone could be so cruel to a child, I knew that I didn’t want to bring a child into this world.
“Lucy?” Matt asked, coming into the bathroom.
I turned and looked up at him. There was something bright and happy in his eyes. It made my blood go cold as I trembled.
“I’ll go get the doctor, okay?” He bounded away, and I shuddered, shaking my head. I didn’t want this. This couldn’t be happening.
I almost laughed. What could I expect? I’d been sold to an auction and bought. I’d been tossed into the world of alphas and lunas without a clue, and no one seemed to care that I had no idea what was going on, and I didn’t want any part of it.
I went to the door, closing and pressing my back to it. I didn’t want to be poked and prodded. I didn’t want confirmation. I didn’t want any of this.
Their doctor was on their side. Even if I… Even if I asked for help, would she help me? I shuddered and pressed my knees to my chest. I was going to be sick again. It was so cold. I was so scared.
A knock sounded above my head.
“Lucy?” She called. I shuddered and pressed my back harder against the wall. “Lucy, it’s me. Can I come in?”
I said nothing. I didn’t want to say anything. Someone tried the door, and I heard a scuffle.
“Stop,” she said firmly. “Leave.”
“I deserve to know—”
“You won’t know anything until you leave. She clearly doesn’t want to see you. Leave.”
My heart quickened at her words. Hope filled me.
“She’s our mate. I can’t just—”
“Leave,” she said. “You’re distressing her. You can wait until I’m done.”
A few more moments of silence went by, but I heard Matt growl and storm off.
“Wait until Tony gets back.”
“You can pass on the message,” she said.
The door closed, and the doctor spoke softly. “Lucy, can I come in? We don’t have to stay in here.”
I shuddered.
“We can go to my office? Or outside? Just somewhere that would make you more comfortable?”
I sniffled and scooted aside, letting the door swing open. I felt her step into the bathroom. Soon after, there was a blanket around my shoulders.
She kneeled beside me until our eyes met.
“You know… I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced,” she said. Her voice was gentle. “And I doubt either of them ever told you my name or how to find me.”
I shivered and drew the blanket closer.
“I’m Yvonne,” she said. “My sister calls me Eve. Is… Lucy your real name?”
I blinked at her. My eyes burned with tears before I managed to jerk my head up and down.
Her eyes softened. “It’s a nice name. Easy to spell. I wish mine was as simple.”
I sniffled and wiped my face. “I-I’m sick.”
“Maybe,” Yvonne said. “But I’m a doctor, you know? That’s kind of my realm of expertise.”
I tried to smile; I really did, but it was hard. Her smile was so warm and understanding.
“Now, would you like to stay on the floor of Matt’s stupid bathroom?” I giggled. “Or come downstairs with me? I’m pretty sure you’re tired of his stupid room too, hm?”
I sniffled and nodded. “Okay.”
She helped me onto my feet and paused at the toilet. She flushed it, washed her hands, and took me gently by the shoulders. She walked me out of the bathroom and to the entrance of the room. Matt was pacing across the hall, and he headed towards me. She turned me away from him, standing in between me and him.
“Back off,” she said.
He hissed at her. “You’re supposed to examine her, not tell me—”
“I can’t examine her with you frightening her,” she said calmly. “I’m taking her to my office. You’re welcome to wait outside if Lucy is comfortable with it.”
My eyes widened, and I looked up at her. Matt looked at me and then at Yvonne before gritting his teeth.
She looked down at me. “Lucy, I want you to understand that nothing is going to happen. He can be upset all he wants. Tony can be upset all he wants, but your comfort and health are my focus. Are you comfortable with him waiting outside while I examine you?”
My jaw trembled. My eyes fluttered closed. I felt something washing through me. It was an emotion I didn’t even have the words to name. I leaned in her arms, burying my face in her shoulder, and shook my head. I heard Matt’s distressed sound before Yvonne wrapped her arms around me.
“If Lucy wants me to tell you her state, I will come find you.”
“We pay you. We could replace you!”
“No doctor worth their salt would violate doctor-patient confidentiality. It was one thing when Lucy was unconscious, but she’s not. She’s fully capable of choosing what she does and doesn’t want you to know.”
I sniffled, pressing closer to her. Somehow, the calmness of her voice made it so easy to follow her. My mind spiraled with possibilities and memories, emotions that I hadn’t ever wanted to acknowledge. Tina’s words floated through my mind as we walked. I heard Matt’s footsteps following us, but he stopped when we reached the ground floor and turned down a hallway. I heard him growl, but then there was absolute silence. The scent of jasmine and lavender filled my nose, and I looked up.
Her office didn’t look like any doctor’s office I’d ever imagined. I kind of always imagined them as big white rooms, but this felt cozy. There was a medical table to one side, but it didn’t smell at all like the clinic I worked at for a little while before I was sold to the auction. She didn’t guide me to the table but to the small comfy-looking couch near the fireplace.
“I’ll make you some tea if you like. Hot chocolate? Just something to shake that chill and settle your stomach?”
“Please? I… I’ve never had any of it.”
She smiled. “Well, we’ll start with some tea and work you up to the big leagues, hm?”
She walked away. I heard her fussing with something and the sound of boiling water before she came back with a steaming cup. It smelled a little sweet and spicy. I sipped and smiled.
“It’s good.”
“Ginger and lemongrass,” she said softly and settled on the couch across from me. “It should help settle your stomach. Better than a nausea potion in any case.”
“Potion?” She nodded. “Like wizards?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Wizards don’t exist in the way that you’re thinking, but yes.”
I nodded. “They said… witches exist.”
“They do.”
I frowned and looked at her. “Are… you a witch?”
She smiled. “No.”
Her eyes twinkled like there was a secret in them. Was she lying?
I bit my lip. “Was that rude to ask?”
She chuckled. “No. You can ask me whatever you want.”
My gut clenched and tumbled. I pulled myself into a ball on the couch, sipping and fighting the words that I couldn’t bear to ask. I wasn’t ready to ask.
“You can stay in here,” she said with a kind smile. “For as long as you want. No one’s going to storm in here and try to drag you out, you know?”
My jaw trembled. “But… you work for them.”
“And?”
“W-Won’t they fire you?”
She shrugged. “Do you think I’m unhireable?”
I blinked. “I… I mean, I don’t want to cause you trouble.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You spent a lot of time worrying about that, didn’t you? Before you were found.”
I blinked at her and set my jaw. I didn’t want to think about my life before. I didn’t want to think about my life now either.
She sat back. “Would it be easier to talk about something else?”
I nodded.
“Ask away then. I’ve got a lot of medical knowledge. Werewolf knowledge… human knowledge. Life knowledge?”
I swallowed. “… how’d you start working for this pack?”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
