Page 22 of Amaris Rejected (Stone Mountain Shifters #2)

Amaris-Present Day

While I have the analysis running on the blood and urine samples, I log on to the Stone Mountain Kingdom, Northern Territories Healers' Portal. It was developed about a year ago, and most packs use it. I don't think I have ever seen Dr. Gibson or any of his staff online, but I can still access it from the web.

After logging in, I go to the message boards.

After logging off, I turn to find a she-wolf wearing black tacticals and leather gloves standing in the doorway. "Hi, I’m Gemma, the enforcer Alpha called to guard you," she states.

"Great. I’m running some highly sensitive tests." I say, pointing to the whirling, ticking machines on the counter. "I just need you to watch my back while I finish up."

"Will do," she says.

I pull up the holographic screen and begin flipping through the records forwarded by Dr. Bridgit. After a few minutes, Gemma states, "It looks like you have a patient,” pointing behind her.

I look up and see Jeni standing in the doorway, not surprised to see her here. "Uh, okay. How can I help you?" I motion for her to step up to the examination table.

Sitting on the edge of the table, Jeni glances pointedly at Gemma. "Do I get some privacy, you know, HIPAA laws and all that."

"Sorry, HIPAA laws only apply to humans," I explain. "The Alpha ordered our clinic to be locked down today, and he is the ultimate authority here. So, if you need privacy, I suggest trying again tomorrow. We should be back to normal operations by then."

"No. I need to be seen today."

"Very well, then." I turn to the holographic screen. "What's your full name?"

"Jeni Quinn."

I begin typing her name, but get an error message.

"Have you been seen here before?"

"Uh, yes."

"Odd. There seems to be a glitch on your file, s0 I may need to pull your paper file." Jeni's face brightens as I turn to her. "But I can do that after you leave." Her expression falls. For someone so skilled in acting, she’s not doing such a good job of hiding her emotions right now. But then, I’m onto her shenanigans.

"What seems to be the problem?" As I continue trying to pull up her file, I spot the issue. Someone tried to delete part of her records, and the process jammed, leaving it in limbo. A few more keystrokes, and the missing records reappear.

"Well, uh... I’ve been feeling nauseous and vomiting in the mornings." she gloats, her hand rubbing her stomach. "My breasts are tender," she adds with a smirk. I know she’s trying to goad me, hoping to cause more tension between Devon and me.

I can see what she's trying to do. Little does she know, she doesn't have to convince me. It's Devon she needs to manipulate and she’s a pro at that.

"Are you pregnant?" I probe, playing along with her little game.

"Maybe," she beams, excited.

Reading over the previously deleted medical records, I hit print. As the pages appear, I turn to Gemma. "Can you bring the Alpha in here immediately?"

"Yes, Dr. Amaris," Gemma replies, leaving the room.

"What?!" Jeni shrieks. "Why are you bringing Devon in here? I have a right to my privacy!"

"As I said before, Devon is the authority here. He’ll decide what rights you have."

"You thief! Devon is mine, not yours!" Jeni, claws out, suddenly springs from the bed and leaps at me. I flinch back, but in the tiny room, escaping her is nearly impossible. Thankfully, Gemma returns in time to grab her from behind and force her to the floor, but not before she slices down my torso.

Four, bleeding cuts run from my neck to my stomach. Fortunately, they’re not deep and should heal without complications, but my clothes are in tatters. Beneath the shredded material of my shirt, nestled between my bloodied breasts, hangs the amulet that I was given at birth.

Devon arrives just in time to see Jeni’s attack, his face pales with shock. I did try to warn him that she can’t be trusted. Two more enforcers appear, detaining Jeni in leather-covered, silver handcuffs. "Put her in one of the holding cells," Devon instructs. Fortunately for Jeni, she won’t be paraded around the packhouse in shackles as the security offices are on the same floor as the clinic. These room are secure and safe, as they, too, are silver-lined but humane.

Jeni's father, Alpha Quinn, arrives with the extra guards. Devon must have mind-linked him about the situation because his skin is gray. He’s probably shocked, as well, by what we’ve all just witnessed.

"Jeni! What's the meaning of this? What have you done?" he cries.

As they cart Jeni off, his eyes narrow as he looks at me in disgust. His gaze shifts to the amulet resting on my bloodied chest, his expression turning from anger to confusion. "Where did you get that?" he roars.

Before I can answer, he tries to wrench it from my neck.

I grab it in my hand and shrink back. "It was left in my blanket when I was found as a babe."

He blinks at me, shaking his head. A deep sorrow reflects in his now golden eyes as he recognizes the amulet. His voice strains low, the wolf, now dominant, taking over. "My missing pup!" he growls.

“What?” I whisper, unable to make sense of his words.

“My missing pup wore that amulet when she disappeared at birth,” he continues, his voice barely audible. “It’s our family crest.”

His words, combined with the blood loss and the wolf's confession are too much and I spiral. The world spins as everything fades to black and I sink to the floor with a thump.

When I wake up, I’m on the bed. Devon's gaze travels from my neck to my stomach, where he holds the bulk of a roll of gauze, trying to staunch the blood flow. Even though I look worse for wear, the wounds are healing nicely.

At that moment, the last of the machines on the counter cut off. “That’ll be your test results,” I offer.

“Let’s get you cleaned up first,” he suggests.

"Where did Alpha Quinn go?" I question weakly.

"With Jeni, " he answers grimly, still working on the wounds around my ribcage. “We'll talk about that later.”

Sheila, the nurse, appears in the doorway, her gaze locking on my wounds. "Do you need me, Alpha?" she asks. Her training kicks in as she grabs a med cart. “I heard what happened, let me help.”

But I trust her just about as much as I do Jeni. Since I discovered that Sheila’s the one who tried to delete Jeni’s medical records to cover the fact that Jeni wasn’t pregnant, I know she helping her. What else has she done or will she do to aid Jeni in her schemes?

"Devon, get another enforcer down here, now," I wheeze. “And don’t let Sheila out of your sight. She’s dangerous.”

Sheila falters but nods, admitting her guilt, but continues working to stench the blood. Within minutes, another enforcer appears at the doorway. Once my wounds are covered, she murmurs, "You need a few stitches to heal properly."

"Thank you," I tell her. "Devon, while this enforcer escorts Sheila to another cell, preferably one where she and Jeni can't talk, I’ll need your help." I tremble weakly. "The charges will be accessory to mate bond tampering and medical record fraud. Possibly more.”

I pause for a moment, letting the silence stretch, forcing Sheila to meet my eyes.

“Do you have a mate, Sheila?"

"No," she answers, and to her credit she looks away with remorse.

"I hope, when you do, no one interferes to the point where you lose a child," I snap cruelly, past feeling mercy and struggling to control my vitriol.

Horrified, Sheila gasps, tears now flowing. She drops her head and offers her wrists for the enforcer to cuff her. He looks to Devon, who nods.

After they leave the room, I point to my bag on the counter. “I have some remedies that I need from my kit,” I explain. “There is a tincture in a green vial, stamped “Healonix Elixir” and an ointment in a small red jar labeled “Hemaceas Cream.” Please bring them here.”

Devon carefully sorts through the bag, taking out the required remedies and sits them on the tray beside me. I pick up the vial containing the Healonix and squeeze the dropper to pull the serum up in the dropper, however, I’m too weak to administer it and drop it all on the tray.

“Here, let me help you,” Devon insists and takes the vial and dropper in hand. “What do I need to do?”

“Place three drops under my tongue,” I reply. That will accelerate my healing.”

I open my mouth like a little bird and Devon administers the medication.

“Thank you.”

He nods and hums, “Uh-hm. What’s next?” He picks up the jar of “Hemaceas” and removes the lid. The cream is viscous and dark red, almost like a living thing as it pulses with energy. Once applied, it feels warm to the touch and begins to shimmer as the magic takes effect, stopping the bleeding and easing the pain.

Sniffing the container, he recoils, grimacing in disgust.

“It doesn’t have a very pleasant smell,” I agree with a weak laugh, “but it stops bleeding on contact.”

He assesses the bandages on my upper body, now soaked through with blood. After slipping on a pair of gloves, he cuts away the gauze and looks at me, questioning.

“Just use your fingers to apply it. It’s a balm that magically binds to the tissue, stopping blood loss immediately. You have gloves, so it won’t seep into your skin, but it will mine, forming a protective barrier until my wolf can finish the job. It gives a head start on healing.”

He begins tenderly rubbing the cream into the wounds. It’s a miracle to watch how the damage immediately begins to repair itself, right there in front of you.

“It’s warm and tickles,” he laughs.

“Yeah, it does, but it won’t get uncomfortable,” I reassure him. “That’s just the magic working with the herbals and medicinals.”

As his hands care for me, and the wounds start to bind, memories of our wedding night three years ago rush over me. He’d been such a tender lover, making me feel like I was the most important person in his world. As my mind drifts, I begin to writhe in pleasure at his soothing touch.

…And I look into his eyes to see desire, a hunger that makes my heart skip and hits me like a punch in the gut.

In a panic, I scramble to sit up.

No, I don’t want this. Do I? No!

The room spins, and I nearly collapse in my haste. Devon reaches to steady me, but I jolt away, instinctively covering myself with my hands.

“Help me wrap these,” I quickly blurt. “Get me a lab coat from my office.”

Now that my blood loss isn’t clouding my mind, clarity prevails, and I realize how dangerously close we were. I need distance. I need to get back to my job.

The next few minutes are a blur. Devon rushes to find more bandages, but by the time he gathers them, I no longer need them. I slip into the lab coat he brought me from my office and button it up securely to the neck.

Having regained my equilibrium, I retrieve the copy of Jeni’s medical records that had been deleted, from the print tray and hand them to Devon.

He reads:

"The patient claims to be pregnant, but there are no signs of pregnancy, no fetus, and no evidence of a prior pregnancy or miscarriage. Additionally, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormones, which indicate pregnancy, are not detected in the patient’s blood. These hormones take at least two weeks to filter out of the body."

"My goddess, these are the medical records from her visit the day we got back from the Meet-and-Greet. This is what Rue was trying to tell me when he said something was wrong. She was never pregnant to begin with. I didn't know her at all."

“I found these in Jeni’s medical records on the system, Sheila tried to delete these doctor's notes from Jeni’s file. Proof is all there; Sheila did it under her user name and there’s a date stamp as well. She helped Jeni destroy our mating."

"Our mating is not destroyed!" he shouts in frustration.

“I call it as I see it, Devon,” I state blithely. “You just need to come to the same realization.”

I turn to the machines sitting silently on the counter, ripping the printouts from each after reviewing them. I hand them to Devon one by one.

"Positive for wolfsbane." I sigh. "She was probably trying to sedate Rue, which she succeeded at, by the way. Be careful and don’t drink any more tea from her. She likely wants to be intimate."

Smirking to myself, I note that I don’t struggle with the words this time, probably because I’m not trying to insult Jeni, just stating facts.

"It doesn’t matter," he chokes out. "I’m never going to be with her."

"Oh, I think you’re deluding yourself," I glower. "You choose Jeni every single time she forces a choice. When she told you she was pregnant outside our hotel room three years ago, you chose her. When she burst through your office door the first night I arrived, you yanked your hand out of mine so fast it made my head spin. Then you walked out, coddling her, choosing her yet again.”

“But the worst thing was when you sided with her at the lake, when she had the audacity to touch my child after I’d been warned not to let her near Zoe because Jeni’s a danger to her. You knew that! In so many ways this past week, you’ve chosen her. You’ve never chosen me or even Zoe, for that matter. If it’s a choice between us or Jeni, you choose Jeni every time. And she knows it."

“So, yes, Devon, our mating is destroyed.”

At a loss for words, his mouth hangs open. Finally realizing the consequences of his actions, he feels the guillotine blade he loaded beginning its downward trajectory.

"No, I choose you! I choose Zoe." He quavers.

"Devon, I forgive you. And, for Zoe's sake, I can be kind." I grieve as a look of relief crosses his face. "But you chose me far too late."

"I, Amaris Richland Wright, reject you as my mate, Devon Wright, Alpha of the Still Waters Pack."

Devon falls to his knees, clutching his chest. "Amaris, please, I love you."

"Then, you love me too late, Devon. I don't love you anymore." I toss a bottle of Amra to him. "Here's the kindness you never showed me. Take one every morning until you find your second chance or chosen mate. It will ease your suffering." I reach into the small fridge on the counter and hand him a bottle of water. "I'm going to lay down and recover from your girlfriend's attack. Take one of those soon, or mark Jeni while Rue sleeps."

"And those two had better be taken to the Alpha Commander and the elders for punishment, or I’ll do it myself,"I warn.

I walk out of the room, leaving him sobbing on the floor."And sign the darn divorce papers," I toss over my shoulder.

I hate to be cruel, but I'm so much more than that conniving female ever was, and I am NOT going to play second fiddle to her!