Chapter Six
Elias
“Elias, can you take this patient?”
“Of course.” I finished washing my hands and dried them on a paper towel before moving into the waiting area of the omega clinic where I worked.
We’d had a busy afternoon and my shift was almost over, but from the sound of the tech at the front desk, I’d be here for a while.
I arrived just as she finished taking the basic information.
“Elias is the healer who will take care of you, Anathea.”
“How can I—” Oh. It was her. The female my pack mates had met.
Violet eyes were too rare for one thing.
Her scent had greeted me even before I saw her.
Even behind the scent blockers and heat suppressant she was taking.
I didn’t like those things. They could have some very unpleasant side effects. Was that what brought her here?
She thrust out her hand, the red, blistered burns showing me it was not her supplements that had her big violet eyes shiny with tears. “It hurts.”
“Of course.” I guided her toward the exam/treatment rooms at the back. “But we can fix that.” I always hated that our omega patients suffered pain, but this time it was much worse. Her pain rolled over me as if it were my own.
“I feel so foolish.” She sniffed. “It was totally my own fault.”
“I doubt that, but sit right here, and I’ll take a closer look.”
Pulling a stool up to the table, I reached for her hand and turned it palm up. “I know it’s painful, but if you can hang in just a few minutes, I can make the hurting much less. Okay?”
She nodded, a tear escaping despite her blinking hard to stop it. “I’m being a big baby, I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. Burns are one of the things that shifting can’t necessarily take care of.” Her hand was so soft, so small in mine, and felt like it had always belonged there.
“Oh.” She chewed her lower lip, gaze darting away from me and cheeks blooming dark rose.
“Did you…you didn’t shift?”
“I never even thought of it. I am sorry I wasted your time.” She tried to tug her hand away, but I held firm. “Really, I’ll go so you can help someone who really needs you.”
“What did I say about apologizing? You deserve the best care. Let me ask you a question.” I’d never had a hard time keeping my professionalism with any omega I treated before now. “Did your wolf try to get you to take your fur?”
She blinked. “No, she didn’t. And anytime in the past when I’ve hurt myself, she was right there, ready to go.”
“Exactly. If she didn’t nudge you, it was because she knew it wasn’t the best thing for you.” Cradling her injured hand in one of mine, I used the other to wipe away her tears. “Okay? You ready to accept the help you need?”
“I didn’t goof?”
“Not at all.” While I spoke, I reached into a drawer of the stand beside me and pulled out a tube of salve and what I needed to sanitize her burns. “If you’d tried to shift when your wolf didn’t think it was a good idea, you might have made the situation worse. You did the opposite of goofing.”
“You aren’t just saying that?”
“My job is to be honest with omegas about their health.” Tearing open an antiseptic pad, I warned, “I do promise you’ll feel much better, but this will sting. Can you be brave?”
“Bravery is my middle name,” she quipped, but her bravado was offset by the quiver mid-sentence. “Seriously, I’ve faced worse than a stinging boo-boo. Do what you need to. I’ll hold still.”
“Good girl—” I stopped. When had I said that to an adult omega? It was hardly professional.
But she showed no signs of taking offense, instead offering me a wavering smile. “I’m ready.”
Treating severe burns involved several steps, and distracting the patient could really help with their pain level. So I launched into a casual conversation that also gave me more insight into this female who had my wolf flipping and snapping with excitement.
“I work in a store with lots of candles,” she said, wincing as I finished cleaning her burns. “But I save the burning for heating up canned soup at home.”
By the time I had her bandaged and ready to leave, she was much calmer and more relaxed.
The salve shut out oxygen from the burns, a guaranteed improvement.
I told her to shift as soon as her wolf told her it was safe, but until then to keep her bandage dry and change it once a day.
And then she was gone. I’d never felt so alone.
My friends and I had a lot to talk about when I got home.
.