Page 188 of Retribution

“We’re going to start with the blood draw so I can rush them to the lab for the results,” he says. “This is Marie, and she’s your nurse today.”

“Do you have to be here?” Isolde asks bluntly. Marie’s eyes widen and my girl shakes her head. “Dr. Royal, do you have anything you need from me for this assessment?”

“I should ask you about why you’re here, and get an overview on the trauma. Except, you don’t trust me,” Dr. Royal sighs. “I have a survey I want you to fill out to give to Marie, and this way she knows what to check for. I’ll be back to read you the results and explain what they mean, Isolde.”

She nods as he leaves a clipboard beside her before he walks out, and Marie pulls over a cart to do the blood draw. Isolde takes off her coat and pushes up her sleeve so the nurse will have easier access to her arm.

“There are a good number of tests to run, which means you may feel a little shaky afterward,” the nurse explains.

“Would orange juice help?” I ask. “I can have one of my pack members hunt some down.”

“That would be helpful,” she nods with a smile.

I seem heavy handed because of my insistence that we ride out this appointment, but I’m not a complete asshole.

Grant, do you think you could grab some orange juice if the cafeteria is open?I ask through the bond.The nurse said that Isolde may feel dizzy after.

I’m on it,he promises.

Leaning back, I watch as Marie explains each step to her. The tourniquet is tight as Marie looks for a vein, her brow furrowed as she presses gently to find one.

“This will work,” she says with a nod. “You’re going to feel a little prick.”

Isolde doesn’t flinch as the needle slides in and Marie attaches the first vial to the tubing.

“The day flew right by us,” I sigh. “None of us have had much time to eat.”

“I don’t think I could have,” Isolde says, glancing meaningfully at me.

Snorting, I shrug. She has a point there. Blood and a sandwich don’t really mix.

Soon, Marie finishes up and Isolde has a bandaid and compression band around her arm.

“I’m going to run these down to the lab, and then I’ll be back,” she says, standing with the vials. “Isolde, I want you to decide if you want your alpha here for the examination I’ll need to do. It won’t take long, I just want to check for tears. If there are any, I’ll stitch you up if necessary, okay? If you can, fill out the survey, otherwise we’ll just go with the flow.”

Marie leaves while Isolde processes that, and my girl takes a shuddering breath. She doesn’t seem dizzy, but more so really uneasy.

“What do you want?” I ask carefully, checking with Grant to see if he could find any orange juice.

“Ugh. I’m really sore, and sitting isn’t really comfortable for me,” she whispers. “I’m kind of worried about it.”

“Then I can hold your hand, and you can focus on me,” I say. “Or I can sing really loudly off key in your mind through our bond.”

“What?” she asks, looking at me as if I’m insane.

“Last time, you were worried that people wouldn’t be able to see your bite,” I say, shoving up my shirt sleeve. “We can make that a non-issue, darlin’.”

I point to the underside of my wrist, and wait to see what she thinks. Even in a button down dress shirt, a portion will be able to be seen at meetings. Fuck, by the end of the day I’m rolling up my sleeves because I’m just over the monkey suit.

Isolde rubs her thumb over my bare skin with a small smile and nods.

“Okay,” she breathes, bringing my arm to her lips and sinking her teeth into my wrist.

My cock thickens as the pain pushes into my bloodstream, and I groan at how good it feels. I can’t believe I’m going to have a boner in this room with what comes next, but it’s a biological function. I can ignore it.

Isolde raises her head with a large smile, and I clean her lips of any droplets of blood.

“Your turn,” she says, offering her wrist to me.