Doctor Wolf’s Human Nurse (Fated To The Wolf #9)

14. Sawyer

14

Sawyer

S awyer was sweating as he drove home. More than anything, he wanted to stay there with her and have sex with her again. He wanted to feel the intensity he felt the first time their bodies were one. He could feel the way she adapted to him, her heated walls wrapping around him, caressing him as he moved in and out of her.

Her moans and panting echoed in his ears and his cock stiffened even as he drove. It took all of his willpower to not turn his truck around and take her. Abby’s erotic scent filled the vehicle and clung to him.

She’s your fated mate.

Sean and his mind kept telling him she was his fated mate and their mating was inevitable. He was well aware that humans and shifters could be fated mates. Case in point, Sean and Xyla were fated mates. She was human. It was way too soon to be thinking about that, though.

I’ve already gone too far with her. We’ve crossed the boundary between boss and employee. She could take me to court and sue my socks off if she wanted to. The good thing is I don’t think that she’s that kind of person, and I’m pretty sure that she has strong feelings for me, too.

Shaking his head, Sawyer told himself that he and Abby could just take their relationship one step at a time. There was no rush. Meanwhile, there were other important issues that he needed to focus on, like the missing drugs and the virus that was crippling the shifters.

That didn’t stop him from needing a cold shower when he got home or thinking about her when he climbed into bed. He remembered what it felt like to hold her in his arms and how much he loved it. Closing his eyes, he wished she was there.

He woke up frustrated because he had gone to sleep thinking about Abby, and she was the first thing on his mind when he opened his eyes. After pouring himself a cup of coffee and downing a couple energy bars, he headed into the clinic.

His first patient was an older dragon shifter, Dan, in his mid-forties. “I went for a walk in my neighborhood yesterday and passed by a couple pushing a stroller. I smiled at them and greeted them. As I passed by them, they sprayed me with something. That afternoon, I felt like my insides were being torn apart. This morning, I couldn’t shift.”

Sawyer sighed and had Abby draw his blood, although he didn’t have to examine the blood to find out what the problem was.

Afterward, he explained that the man had a virus and they were working on a cure for it. He asked Dan to describe what the spray smelled like. He gave the same description as Elsbeth and her younglings did.

“Has your mate experienced any symptoms?”

Dan shook his head. “No. She didn’t smell anything on me when I got home. She can still shift.”

Sawyer patted him on the back. “We’re working very hard on figuring out how to fix this. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything. If your symptoms worsen, come in immediately.”

“I will. Thanks, Doc.”

Nodding, Sawyer said, “Tell Cindy there’s no charge for this visit.”

He went into his office and emailed Zac, Matthias, Lucious, Beth, and Savvy. I just had a dragon shifter come in. He had been sprayed with the virus. Two things of interest – he said his mate didn’t smell it when he got home, which means that it dissipates very quickly. I think that there is an alcohol base to the concoction since alcohol does evaporate quickly. The other thing is that his mate has not been affected. This means that in order to get the virus, the shifter has to be sprayed directly. I’m also sure that there is a treatment or prevention for this virus because the shifters using don’t seem to be affected.

Zac replied quickly. Thanks for the intel. I think I’m going to call a pack meeting to warn them about this potential danger. I don’t know how they can protect themselves, because it’s not like they can turn around and run every time they see someone around them, but they should be aware that there is a danger.

Matthias and Lucious agreed. All three alphas requested that he be present for the meetings.

That afternoon, a couple of bear shifters and their younglings came in with the same virus. Sawyer was extremely worried. The number of people affected was growing exponentially, and he still had no idea how to protect them or cure them.

He sat in his office, closed his door, and slammed his fist on his desk, growling loudly in the back of his throat.

I’m a fucking doctor. My job is to help these people and I can’t.

Sawyer wanted to rush into the lab and tear everyone apart until he could find the cure for this damned virus. He knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere. He would be shot down before he could get inside. Their best course was to let the dragon shifter get to the roof and find a way inside when it was dark out.

How many more shifters are going to be hurt before that happens?

Abby tapped on his office door.

“Yeah?”

She popped her head inside. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just frustrated.”

“I’m here if you need me,” she said and ducked back out, sensing he needed a few minutes alone.

That evening, after everyone left, he installed a camera in the stock room, aimed at the drug storage area. Satisfied that it was well hidden, he left, heading for the first meeting that evening.

Zac called for everyone to be silent. When they quieted down, he motioned for Sawyer to join him on the dais and address the pack.

“As many of you know, there is a virus going around affecting a shifter’s ability to change into their animal forms. Those affected report they passed by a couple who then sprayed something on them. The spray smells like a combination of herbs and likely contains alcohol. There has to be some other type of synthetic agent that alters your genes, preventing you from shifting. People who have experienced this state that they felt a lot of pain and nausea after they were sprayed.”

“What are you doing to find a cure?” someone called out.

“I’m working with several other people to try to figure out what the ingredients of the spray are so that we can isolate them and negate them. Luckily, this virus hasn’t evolved, like most do. Hopefully, we can figure out how to treat it before it does.”

There were a ton of other questions, but most of them were simply repeats. Sawyer told Zac he had to get to Matthias’ clan meeting and left, letting the alpha try to calm the panic among the pack.

Matthias’ and Lucious’ clan meetings went about the same. A couple of the dragon shifters said that if they were sprayed with anything, they would kill the people who sprayed them while they could still shift. They would take the canister from them.

Sawyer hated the idea of bloodshed being spilled, but he couldn’t say that this was a bad idea. It might be their best bet for getting his hands on the canister so he and the witches could analyze the content. Apparently, Lucious thought the same thing, because he didn’t tell the shifters not to attack.

He stopped by a fast-food joint and went home, completely exhausted. After a quick shower, he dropped into bed and fell asleep. Once again, images of Abby popped into his mind and he thought that it would be relaxing and comforting to have her lying next to him.

Thankfully, there were no new cases of the sifter virus the next day. It was simply routine cases of colds, flu, and the like.

He noticed that Brent had taken an extra-long lunch. Even though he had a clean record, Brent was his number one suspect. Now, he just had to get proof.

After everyone left that afternoon, he took another inventory of the medicine cabinet. He noticed that there was a box of anti-depressants missing, as well as a box of ADHD medication, three fentanyl pills, and two morphine pills.

Sawyer accessed the camera’s footage and noticed that Brent was one of the people messing with the drugs. However, the man had positioned himself perfectly so the camera couldn’t pick up exactly what he was doing, so there was still no proof that the office manager was guilty. Brent also wasn’t the only person who accessed the drugs.

Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone and called Jason to report the missing drugs.

“We’re looking into everyone on your staff. You do have one person on the payroll who seems to be spending beyond his means.”

“You’re talking about Brent.”

“Yes,” Jason affirmed.

“I’m thinking about putting everything in a lock box that only my nurse, my physician’s assistant, and I have access to.”

“I’d like you to wait on that and give the thief more rope to hang himself with. I know it means more drugs on the street, but the end result will be to get your thief behind bars. Hopefully, he’ll give up the people higher up on the food chain. We might be able to take out everyone involved in this racket.”

“Well, do me a favor and hurry up about it. I don’t like my drugs being taken and sold on the streets, and I don’t need this stress.”

“We’re going as fast as we can. These things take time because we want an airtight case.” Jason paused. “Keep us updated and we’ll be in touch.”

Sawyer growled in the back of his throat as he ended the call. He drove by Abby’s place on his way home, intending to drop in.

He walked up to her door, prepared to knock. He heard a man’s voice and his heart dropped into his stomach and a flash of jealousy coursed through him. He started to walk away, but she opened the door.

“Sawyer, I thought I saw someone on my porch. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to bother you, especially since you have company.”

“Company?”

“I heard a man’s voice.”

Abby started laughing. “I was listening to a podcast – Scary Mysteries. It’s one of my favorites. Come inside. I just made some tacos.”

Over dinner, Sawyer told Abby about the missing drugs and his conversation with the DEA.

“I’m sorry. I know this is frustrating. At least you know the ball is rolling in the right direction, however slowly it might be going.”

He sighed. “You’re right.”

After dinner, they sat on the couch and watched a movie, holding hands. He couldn’t believe how much tension had seemed to roll off of his shoulders by simply being with her.

“I guess I’ll be going,” he said reluctantly after the movie ended.

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, and he hoped that she was going to invite him to stay the night. However, the words never came.

Abby walked him to the door and he kissed her goodnight, before heading home, feeling a little lonely.