Wild at Heart

When I woke, I was lying on Octavia’s floor with my head cradled in someone’s lap. I didn’t have to look up to know it was Nick’s strong hands caressing my hair. I couldn’t remember how I got back from the land of the dead, and I had no idea how Nick found me, or where Octavia went. I reached down to my belly and it was flat again, but with the movement Nick realized I was awake and leaned down and kissed my head. I waited for him to scold me for going back to that word, to ask me what I was thinking, to tell me I better not do it again, but he said nothing. I turned my head and looked up at him, a smile creeping up on his saddened face.

“Good morning, little wolf.” He whispered. Was it in fact morning? I couldn’t tell by the blackened curtains that covered the only window. And if it was, where was Octavia and Ophelia? “I want to take you to get some food in your system, can you stand up?” He asked. I shrugged, unsure on how I would be feeling. I planted my hands on the ground and slowly tried to get myself off the floor, but with Nick’s strong hands doing most of the work I couldn’t tell whether I was standing on my own or leaning on him. “Come on.” He wrapped his arm around me and guided me back to our bedroom. He gently set me down on the bed and ran his fingers across the screen of his phone. I wasn’t sure who he was texting, but I was assuming it was asking someone to send food to our room like we usually did. I suddenly felt goosebumps over my skin as I began to shiver. Nick put his phone down and crawled into the bed with me. He wrapped a protective arm over me while he pulled the blankets off the bed with the other hand. He wrapped us both up in the blankets, cradling me from behind. I leaned my head back into his chest and closed my eyes. I wanted to tell him, but my lip quivered just thinking about it again. I shivered again and he pulled me closer. “It’s okay, little wolf.” He whispered.

“I—” I stuttered to find the right words. “I saw—” He locked me in his arms tightly.

“Shh, I know, Emma.” He rubbed my arms to warm me up. I tilted my head to look at him.

“You do?” I questioned.

“You were muttering about it all night in your sleep.” I relaxed into his body behind me. I didn’t remember falling asleep and I didn’t remember telling Nick about it, Hell I didn’t even know how he found me.

“Where’s Octavia?” I questioned.

“She came to find me last night; you never fully came back from that place, I guess. I don’t completely understand how that works, but I guess you passed out when your mind reached your body.” He brushed his fingers through my hair to try and soothe me. “I told her to take our room with her sister, Reginald would never enter our room in the middle of the night, so they were safe there.” Floods of memory came back to me and I shivered again. I never wanted to go back there. The pain it brought was too much for me. I didn’t want to see the East pack and their magical herbs ever again.

“Nick?”

“Hm?”

“I just want to go home.” I whispered. “Can we please just go home?” He stroked my hair again.

“Of course, little wolf.” He pressed his lips against my cheek. “Anything you want.”

I was grateful that Nick was so worried about me, but I knew that when I got home I would feel better. Away from the magic herbs, away from the past dead returning, away from the pain. I leaned my head against the window of the truck while Nick blasted the heat towards me. I knew he had to be sweating, but I was so cold. I didn’t even say goodbye to Octavia, I didn’t say goodbye to anyone but that sick, sorry excuse for an alpha the East pack has to deal with. Nick and I had to put on a good show and pretend we didn’t know anything about incest-pedophilia rape that went on.

All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed and sleep until I forgot the entire trip, but when I looked up from my window Nick was pulling into the parking lot of the clinic.

“Nick—”

“Don’t fight me on this, Emma.” He didn’t look at me as he unbuckled my seatbelt. “I need to know you’re okay. I need to know that taking those herbs didn’t do anything to you.”

“Okay.” I didn’t fight him, and he looked confused for a second before he nodded and got out of the truck. If seeing the doctor would help Nick’s peace of mind, then I wasn’t going to deny him. He helped me down from the truck. I shivered again as the air outside of the heated truck hit me. He ushered me into the building with a protective arm around my waist. He took me to the front desk and asked the receptionist for Dr. Morris.

“Right away, Alpha.” She nodded her head and picked up the phone beside her. Her fingers brushed over the buttons so fast I barely saw which ones she hit.

“Alpha?” We turned at Dr. Stephanie’s voice. “I didn’t realize you were back.” She said as she stepped closer to us. “Do you need to be seen?” She asked. He wrapped his arm around me tighter.

“No, were waiting for Dr. Morris.”

“I know the Luna’s background I can take care of her while you wait.” She was still coming toward us and Nick turned us slightly, so I was farther away from the doctor.

“We’re fine waiting.” I felt the unease in him, but he kept his voice even. It was obvious that I was the one who needed to be seen, and she was eyeballing me like she was trying to come up with a diagnosis off the top of her head.

“I don’t have another patient; I really don’t mind checking her in while Dr. Morris finishes her other duties.” Nick’s arm pushed me up against the reception counter and he stepped protectively in front of me. He growled at the doctor and she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Back off.” He growled.

“What’s going on here?” Dr. Morris narrowed her eyes at us, but Nick was locked on his target. She stepped between the Alpha and her fellow doctor and it broke Nick’s gaze. “Is everything alright?” She asked him.

“I need you to take a look at Emma.”

“Of course.” She said with a nod. “Right this way.” She eyeballed Dr. Stephanie as she showed us the way to an exam room. She shut the door behind us, and Nick helped me onto the bed and Dr. Morris took her glasses off and set them on her clipboard. She was watching Nick more than she ever has before. Finally, she pointed to a chair against the wall. “Nick, have a seat.” She said casually. He gripped my arm tighter.

“I’m fine here.” He said. I looked up to him, realizing what the doctor was doing. Nick was being possessive over me and she was unsure of examining me with him being so close.

“Okay.” She sat down in the doctor chair on wheels and put her glasses back on. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” She asked. I turned to Nick, waiting for him to explain why he brought me here, but he was silent. He was watching Dr. Morris’s every move like he was ready to pounce if she made a wrong move. I broke the silence and told her the entire story, except the part about Reginald. My visit to the dead and who my visitors were. She took notes while I spoke and Nick continued to watch her every move. She stood up and reached for me, but Nick instantly grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “I was just going to check her vitals, Nick.” She didn’t jump or try to pull away. She spoke softly as she usually would. I reached over and took Nick’s hand off the doctor and held it. I wasn’t sure where the overprotectiveness was coming from, but I also knew he wouldn’t hurt the doctor. She took my vitals and sat back down on her chair. “Physically, you’re fine.” She began. “I don’t see any side effects from anything you took lingering. And the herbs you took would be out of your system by now, so I see no point in doing bloodwork at this point.” She jotted down some more notes as she spoke. “Mentally, you’ve been through a lot. I would normally recommend rest, but I know you better than that, Emma.” She smiled at me as she removed her glasses again. “I want you to go home and get a shower. I want you to go to the training center and work out. I want you to go on a run, maybe work a shift at the bar. I want you to do something that is normal for you.”

“Why?” I wanted to go home and sleep this time. I wanted the rest.

“Because you need to be around your pack.” I nodded. I’ve spent the last few days being worried about everyone except my own pack. I stressed so much about the East pack that I forgot we were on the verge of going to war with the South.

“Okay.” I nodded. “I want to run.” I turned to Nick. “With you and Daniel and the Omegas.” He nodded.

“Whatever you want.” He said.

“Nick, would you mind pulling the car around for her?” Dr. Morris asked. He instantly shook his head.

“I can get her to the car.”

“Nick, please?” I asked with my best doe-eyed look. He growled softly and nodded before exiting the exam room to get the truck.

“Emma, I need to tell you something I found with your blood.” Dr. Morris said.

“Something you couldn’t say around Nick?” I questioned.

“I’d rather he didn’t know until I know what it means.” I raised a brow at her, unsure of what she had been doing this whole time with my blood anyway. “I put wolfsbane in your blood to see how it would react, and it didn’t.”

“I thought you were testing my blood to see if it had wolfsbane left in it from when I was poisoned, not adding more to it?”

“Emma, listen to me.” She took my hand, knowing we only had seconds before Nick came back. “You’re immune to wolfsbane and Dr. Stephanie and I are the only knows who know.” She let my hand go and sat back in her chair, instantly picking up her pen to pretend she was still writing notes. The door opened and Nick stepped inside.

“Are you ready?” He asked. I turned to him and nodded, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t ready to leave, I had a million more questions.