Chapter 5 No Sedation

Grace

My hands are trembling as I follow Alpha Silverback through the door. This feeling is unsettling—like my body isn't entirely my own anymore. Something primitive and powerful is surging through my veins, demanding I stay close to this injured wolf I barely know. I want to run in the opposite direction, back to my comfortable apartment and textbooks, but Mercy is practically howling inside me, desperate to help our mate. Our mate. The thought makes my stomach flip. I've spent years avoiding Pack life, avoiding this exact situation, yet here I am, following an Alpha I met hours ago because something in my DNA won't let me abandon him.

I'm not sure if Alpha Silverback brought me here because he recognized me as his mate and couldn't reject me in the woods, or if he knew his pack doctor was well past retirement. Either way, I'll help this Alpha. That's why I chose medicine. He doesn't have to lose his leg.

"I'm assuming you want to do this now, Alpha?" I ask.

"Yes, the sooner the better."

"Okay." I give him the list of items needed. "Oh, and we'll need to sedate you."

"No," Alpha Silverback says firmly.

"No sedation?"

"No sedation."

"Okay then, a nerve block—"

"No," he says again.

"Alpha, please. I'm going to scrub your leg clean, cut it open, pin back skin and muscle to reset the bones. The pain will be excruciating."

"No," he repeats, holding my gaze. I look away, mumbling about stubborn Alphas. When I turn back, he's watching me with a raised eyebrow. Crap, I've been around humans who can't hear anything too long.

Dr. Richards comes in, throwing the requested items on the table. I jump at a warning growl from Alpha Silverback.

"Will there be anything else, doctor?" Dr. Richards asks, making my title sound like a dirty word.

"No, thank you. I'll take it from here."

I scrub my hands, nervous about operating on an awake Alpha. What kind of crazy wolf is he?

"You're thinking so hard there's steam coming out of your ears, Grace. What are you worried about?" he asks.

How does he know I'm worried? Is this the mate bond?

"This will be painful. Can I at least give you a local anesthetic?"

"No, I need to be alert to protect my pack," he says.

"You can't exactly protect your pack with only one leg, Alpha," I snap.

"Ethan. Call me Ethan, and you said you could save my leg."

"I can, IF you're sedated and not flinching while I'm operating."

"I have a very high tolerance to pain."

That doesn't surprise me. He wasn't even whimpering when we found him. His body bears multiple faint scars—evidence of many battles.

"How strong is your wolf right now?" I ask, prepping his leg.

"I am very strong, little one," a deep voice answers as Mercy begins purring in my head. Ethan's wolf is speaking directly.

Ethan smiles, seemingly aware of his wolf's effect on mine.

I shake my head and focus, trying to ignore Ethan's amber scent. "If I hold the bones in place, how long to set them?"

"Not long, little one," he purrs. "I am a very strong, powerful Alpha wolf." He sounds like a peacock displaying his feathers for a mate.

I begin washing his leg, careful not to disturb the protruding bones. Under his amber scent, he smells of war and death.

"Talk to me," he says through gritted teeth.

"About what?"

"You know what you are to me," he states. My stomach knots.

"Yes. After you've healed, you can reject me." I don't know why that thought hurts so much. I have no intention of becoming his mate until after medical school, if ever.

"Who says I'm rejecting you?" he asks, sounding offended.

"But I'm a lone wolf."

"What you are is my future Luna."

"You don't even know me," I counter.

"I know you're intelligent, compassionate, brave, and lonely."

The first three make sense, but the lonely part...

"Why do you say I'm lonely?" I ask, lifting the scalpel to show him I'm about to cut. He nods.

"Princeton Medical School is an hour north. You could run anywhere as a lone wolf, yet you chose an area full of wolves."

He's partially right. Mercy misses pack life and other wolves. I'd be fine alone, but my wolf needs the forest and pack scents.

Ethan hisses as I slice into his leg. He takes deep breaths.

"How do you manage this pain?" I ask.

"Mind over matter. If you break the body, you usually break the mind. My mind is stronger than my body, and my body is very strong."

The scars on his legs confirm his words.

"You've been fighting long?" I ask, exposing the broken bones.

"Since becoming Alpha, twelve years ago."

"Twelve years?" I exclaim. He's older than I thought.

"I took over at eighteen. I'm thirty now."

"Mercy's not that little," I say, returning to his leg.

"She is compared to Shadow."

"Well, Shadow is an Alpha wolf," I say, carefully extracting the first bone fragment and positioning it.

"Okay, Shadow, show me what you've got." I watch in amazement as the bone begins healing before my eyes.

"Cool!" I exclaim, forgetting myself. I've worked with humans so long I forgot how quickly wolves heal.

"Is it that exciting?" Ethan asks dryly.

"It is for me."

"Then it must be my lucky day," he smiles just as someone knocks.

"I told you I would protect you," he says. His smile nearly takes my breath away. "Come in, Jackson."

"Alpha... what the fuck are you doing in here?" Jackson asks angrily, rushing to the table.

"Saving his leg," I answer, not looking up from my work.

"By butchering him? Who are you anyway?" Jackson demands, his face twisted with suspicion. "Some random lone wolf? And you're letting her cut you open?"

"She's a doctor, Charlie," Ethan says calmly.

"A student doctor," Jackson corrects, glaring at me. "Alpha, Dr. Richards said this leg needs amputation. We should wait for him to—"

"Dr. Richards is wrong," I interrupt, finally looking up. "And I've completed more surgeries than most residents. I can save his leg."

"And if you're wrong?" Jackson challenges. "If you cripple our Alpha permanently?"

I meet his gaze steadily. "I won't be wrong."

"She's not just any doctor," Ethan interjects, his voice strained but commanding. "She's my mate."

The room goes deadly silent. Jackson's face hardens, jaw clenching as he looks down at me. "If you hurt him—"

"The only one delaying his healing right now is you," I snap, feeling Mercy rise protectively inside me. "Every minute we waste arguing is another minute he's in pain. So make your choice, Beta. Help me save your Alpha, or get the hell out of my operating room."

The air crackles with tension as Jackson and I lock eyes in silent combat. Behind him, the door swings open, revealing Dr. Richards with a bone saw in his hand.

"I see the amateur is still playing doctor," he sneers. "When you're finished mangling our Alpha, I'll be ready to perform a proper amputation."