Page 7 of A Wolf’s Wound

Hannah

When I wake up the next morning, the first thought in my mind is, Today’s my first day! The second thought is, Did last night really happen?

I close my eyes again and run through the events of last night. The attack… Ryder… Ryder insisting that he could somehow “feel” me… April… I still can’t make sense of it all. Especially not today, when I’m finally starting the job I’ve wanted for so long.

“Enough,” I say firmly to Shadow as I get out of bed. “Today is all about work. I’ll worry about the rest later.”

Shadow gives me a knowing chuckle. The little snot.

“I mean it!” I tell him firmly. “See, I’m getting ready right now.” With that I quickly make my bed—we did eventually get my mattress into my room—take a shower, and get dressed for work.

I arrive at the veterinary clinic fifteen minutes early. But the doors are already open, and a tall, well-dressed woman is behind the reception desk. “Hello,” I greet her brightly. “I’m Dr. Hannah Kelly. Today’s my first day.”

“Wonderful,” the woman says, standing up and reaching out her hand. As she gives me a surprisingly firm handshake, she adds, “I’m Lori. Welcome.”

Lori shows me around the clinic, a tour that concludes with us back at the front desk. “You’ll have a pretty busy first day, I’m afraid,” she says, showing me the appointment book.

“That’s great,” I assure her. “I’d like to jump right in and get started. That’s the best way for me to learn.”

The door opens, and a tall, dark-haired man comes in. He doesn’t have an animal with him, and I wonder if he’s here to pick up one of the animals that had to be kept overnight. He looks slightly familiar, but I’m not sure why.

The man walks straight over to me, his hand outstretched. “You must be Dr. Kelly,” he says, his voice deep and rough, as if he hadn’t slept.

“I am.”

“You’re the healer,” he states boldly.

“Yes.” I nod, convinced I must be talking to a wolf for him to use that title.

“I’m Gavin Stone.” Stone? I wonder. As if reading my mind, Gavin adds, “I’m the alpha of the Stone pack.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say, my polite tone masking my racing thoughts.

I knew I’d meet members of the Stone pack sooner or later, of course.

But for some reason, I didn’t expect it to be so soon.

I remember what my stepfather has told me about the pack, about all the negotiations that were involved in brokering the agreement between the Stone and Blackwood packs.

From the look in Gavin’s eyes, he remembers the negotiations well too. I wonder what’s behind his polite but gruff facade, and how he really feels about my stepfather.

Gavin just gives me a courteous nod. “Welcome to Stonehaven,” he says and leaves.

Huh. Weird.

I don’t have any time to dwell on our encounter, though. No sooner has the door closed behind Gavin than the first patient of the day, a cat scheduled for surgery, comes in with its owner.

After the surgery is successfully completed and the cat’s resting in the post-op wing, I catch myself thinking about Ryder. I remember the way he moved last night, how quickly he pulled that man off me and subdued him.

I’m grateful to him. He saved my life, after all, but that doesn’t mean I want to see him again. It’s not just because I still feel unsettled about the attack. It’s also for a much simpler reason. He went out with my friend and was rude to her. Why would I want to be around anyone like that?

“Dr. Kelly!” Melinda, the receptionist, calls. “We have an owl here that needs urgent care!”

After I devise a splint that will strap up the owl’s sprained wing, the rest of the day passes quickly. I move from room to room and patient to patient. Most of them have appointments, but a few other animals also need emergency care.

Some of the cases are difficult. Some of the animals are downright pissed to be here—not that I blame them.

I get grumpy when I’m sick too. But no matter how challenging the patient, I’m delighted that after all these years of school and training, I’m finally getting to practice in my field.

The sense of accomplishment buoys me all afternoon until the last patient is out the door and Lori moves to the front door to flip the “Open” sign around to “Closed.”

Before she can, the door is flung open. “Please help me!” a voice calls. I run over in time to see a wolf shifter limp inside.

His face is pale with pain as he stares at me beseechingly. Although I hadn’t expected to be called upon to be a healer on my first day, I immediately put my arm around him and help support the shifter, who looks ready to fall over.

“What happened?” I ask as he leans heavily against me. Lori comes around to his other side and we help him into the closest exam room, where he collapses into a chair.

“I think I tore something in my knee,” he groans. I crouch down in front of the shifter and carefully run my hands over his legs. Sure enough, his right knee feels warm and swollen. I roll up the leg of his pants and see the misshapen joint.

“Looks like you injured your patella,” I explain.

“Hurts like a son of a bitch,” he grouches, his breathing not as labored now that he’s sitting down. “Can you fix it?”

“Yes,” I answer. I concentrate, calling up my training. Then I carefully put my hands on his knee and begin to work.

When I’m done, the wolf shifter stands up. He tentatively puts some weight on his right leg and then breaks out in a grin. “Hot damn! You’re amazing.”

“Thanks.” I grin back, pretty proud of myself. “I’m glad you feel better.”

“Stone would’ve been pissed off if I’d been out of commission for too long,” the shifter says conversationally. “Thanks for getting me patched up so quickly.”

“Stone?” I echo.

“Yeah, Gavin Stone. You know him?”

“I met him this morning.” I follow the shifter back to the front and hand him over to Lori to check out.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that this shifter is part of the Stone pack.

Still, I wonder how long it’ll take before I no longer reflexively startle at the mention of that name.

It’s a natural side effect of growing up with my stepfather, I guess.

The door opens again, and I look up to see what crisis is coming in now. But it’s not an animal or even a wolf shifter. It’s Ryder.

“What are you doing here?” I ask before he can say anything.

Ryder grins at me. “I believe you’ve met my mother and older brother already. Given that, I figured I should properly introduce myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Lori comes out of a back hallway then, and Ryder nods in her direction. “That’s my mom, and Gavin is my brother.”

“You’re a Stone?” I ask.

“I’m the second-oldest Stone brother,” Ryder says. “Gavin is the oldest.”

That’s why Gavin looked familiar. I look at Ryder’s mother ,and all of a suddenly I can see the resemblance between her and her sons. I feel like an idiot for not putting it all together sooner.

I already thought my life in Stonehaven had gotten off to a complicated start. Being attacked on your first night in your new apartment tends to make a girl think that, after all. But I had no idea just how complicated life could really become.

Ryder Stone as in the Stone pack .

Oh, fuck.