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

21. Abby

21

Abby

A bby was exhausted and happily crashed into her bed when she finally made it home. She had splurged on her bed and it was like one a person would find at a luxury hotel. It enveloped her, and she felt like she was laying on one of the big fluffy clouds that floated overhead on warm sunny days.

Her heart fluttered when she thought about Sawyer and how tender he was with the younglings. They were clearly terrified and suffering from shock. However, they immediately bonded with Sawyer.

He never talked down to the kids or downplayed their experiences. Sawyer listened intently when the younglings talked to him and responded to them with respect, dignity, and tenderness.

The younglings that Rory and Savvy took in said how much they liked Sawyer. Of course, in their eyes, he rescued them, but they knew that he genuinely cared about them.

Sawyer is going to be an amazing father someday. His pups will never doubt that he loves them. She smiled at the thought.

She closed her eyes and pictured the two of them, living in their house, with two or three pups running around, playing and laughing.

That’s a bit premature, don’t you think? He just recently made their relationship official. Then, she told herself, Fantasizing and dreaming never hurt anything. I know I’m falling in love with him, and I sense that he’s feeling the same.

Wrapping her arms around a huge pillow, pretending it was Sawyer, she fell into a deep sleep.

Two hours of sleep wasn’t nearly enough. Her alarm had been going off for at least five minutes before the piercing sound finally penetrated through the fog. Growling, she slammed her hand down on the table, feeling for the phone.

She forced herself to roll out of bed, get dressed, brush her hair, and stumble into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

Abby was pretty sure that Sawyer would understand if she called in too tired to work, but she didn’t want to do that to him. He would be there, and he was probably more exhausted than she was. She had been able to sleep before the raid at the laboratory and probably went to bed a lot sooner.

“Suck it up, Buttercup,” she muttered to herself.

She downed two cups of coffee and ate a couple energy bars before brushing her teeth.

After peering at herself in the mirror, she groaned. “I’ve never been one for makeup, but I might need to stop off at the store and pick up some foundation to hide these dark bags under my eyes. I look like I’ve been on a three-day bender.”

Abby fished out some migraine medicine and took a couple of tablets, hoping to fend off the massive headache that was creeping up the back of her head.

Sawyer pulled into the parking lot at the same time that she did. She grabbed her purse and rushed over to hug him.

“You look like hell, Rambo,” she said. “Did you get any sleep at all last night?”

He shook his head and grinned at her. “Nope. But I’ve had two pots of coffee, a ton of sugar, and some energy bars.”

“How are you going to get through the day?”

“One patient at a time,” he replied, draping his arm over her shoulder as they walked inside together.

Georgia, Martha, Jennifer, Cindy, and Brent were already in the lounge when they walked in. Everyone started talking at once, asking questions. Word got around quickly in Angel’s Creek, and they knew that something had gone down at the lab the previous night.

Sawyer sat down in one of the chairs, and Martha handed him a cup of coffee and a cherry cheesecake Danish, which happened to be his favorite. Abby’s respect for the woman increased immensely at the simple gesture.

Abby sat next to Sawyer, and Martha gave her a cup of coffee as well and offered her a smile.

Abby smiled back. “Thanks.”

Sawyer told everyone as much as he knew. “A child, whom the head of the laboratory had kidnapped, managed to escape. He was able to give us a description of the facilities. The captors had allowed him and the other six children to go outside and exercise so he was able to see about how many guards were on duty. We raided the lab at three this morning and shut it down. Everyone who worked at the lab has been arrested.”

He looked pointedly at Brent, who gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously in his throat. Abby knew that Brent had been given the same offer that she had because he had bragged about it and said that he was thinking about accepting the position.

“Are the children okay?” Martha asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Physically, yes. I imagine it will take a while for them to deal with the emotional trauma. Authorities are in the process of locating their families now,” Sawyer reported.

The day went by excruciatingly slowly. They were busy with their usual patients and barely had time to sit down, but it seemed to Abby that every time she looked at the clock expecting an hour to have passed, only five minutes had gone by.

As expected, everyone had heard about the raid in the laboratory and that’s all patients wanted to talk about. Rumors were circulating that the scientists had created many different types of viruses, diseases, and nerve agents they planned to release on the people in Angel’s Creek. People were certain that the lab had samples of polio, smallpox, and other diseases they planned to use to experiment on people.

Abby wondered how much, if any, of it was true. She was certain that the doctors had been working on more than just the virus to affect shifters because they would have to justify their funding somehow. Hopefully, anything they had been developing would be destroyed.

At the end of the day, after the last patient left, Abby found Sawyer sitting on the couch in the lounge. She sank down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He snaked his arm around her and held her close.

Neither of them spoke, but Abby could feel the energy surrounding them, full of unspoken emotions. The intimacy of the moment was palpable, and stronger than when they made love. He created a sense of calm and contentment within her. She had never felt like this before and wished that she could feel like this forever.

Sebastian called and Sawyer put the phone on speaker and said, “Hey, Sebastian. I’m here with Abby.”

“How are you, Abby?”

“Tired. I imagine you are, too.”

“Boy, howdy. When this day is over, I’m going home to sleep for a week.”

“Me, too,” Sawyer said.

“I was just calling with an update. The Feds showed up about an hour after you left and took Rick, Dahlia, and the others away. One of the FBI agents, who is high up in the organization, said, unofficially, that they would likely end up in one of the black sites that the United States officially does not have.”

Abby exhaled with relief. “They won’t ever get out of those.”

“No. They will cease to exist. Their names will be erased. According to Zac, his contact said they found a lot of banned viruses and diseases in the laboratory, including smallpox, the Spanish flu, and the bubonic plague. Although they were supposed to be trying to find a cure for the viruses, Rick was actually trying to sell the samples to the highest bidder so they could be used in biological warfare,” Sebastian reported. “They were also going to hold towns for ransom by releasing the viruses or diseases and then offering a cure for a price.”

Abby was shocked. “How evil can one person be?”

Sawyer patted her shoulder. “There are those whose souls are completely black, like Adolf Hitler’s. Fortunately, even though they exist, there are a lot more good people in this world.”

“How did they manage to get ahold of those types of diseases? I thought they were closely guarded by the CDC and only a few laboratories were allowed to have them?”

“That is true. However, the CDC only regulates labs in the US. Other countries aren’t so strict and just about anything can be had for a price.”

Abby gasped. “Oh, heavens.”

Sebastian continued. “They were planning on disappearing after they collected on their plan. One of their friends was a plastic surgeon. Rick and Dahlia had new identities waiting for them. Once they unleashed hell on Earth, they were going to change their appearance and their names, and disappear into the woodwork. We busted them just in time. That little dragon shifter saved millions of lives.”

Sawyer rubbed his face and sighed. “So, now, we are looking for the rogue shifters who helped them.”

“Yeah. Zac, Matthias, and Lucious have put out the world to other shifter clans and packs across the country. They won’t get far, unless they literally disappear into the forests. Even then, shifters will be hunting them. All packs and clans may not get along and are territorial, but the common morality is that no one messes with younglings.” Sebastian’s voice was fierce, and Abby knew that he would die protecting younglings and mundane children.

“Thanks for the update,” Sawyer said.

“Welcs. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Sebastian,” Abby called.

“Take care.”

They leaned back on the couch, feeling relief that this laboratory was shut down.

How many more of them are there in the world?

Sawyer yawned widely. “As much as I love sitting here with you, I need to get home and get some sleep.”

“Do you need me to follow you home to make sure you get there safely?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Thanks for the offer.”

He stood up, pulled Abby to her feet, and embraced her tightly. After brushing a kiss on her lips, he headed to his office for his jacket.

Abby grabbed her purse and they left together. She called Beth and asked how the kids were doing.

“Fine. Their families came to get them earlier, so by now, they are safely back in their own homes. Right now, we’re trying to figure out how to create some kind of spell and potion to help those affected by the virus.”

“Can I come and observe?” Abby asked hesitantly, not wanting to get in the way.

“Absolutely. We’re still at Rory’s.”

The witches had finally managed to isolate the two synthetic materials that the lab created, designed to permanently alter the shifters’ DNA. Taryn, Beth, and Savvy crafted a potion that would counter act the effects.

“How does magic work? How can you heal people with your touch and words?” Abby asked.

“It’s all about energy,” Beth said. “Energy exists in all things, from the dirt to the trees, rocks, animals, and even the air. Magic manipulates the energy. Most witches manipulate it for good. For example, let me see your arm.”

Abby held out her arm, which had a small scratch on it. Beth touched it and the scratch healed.

“I used the energy in the air, the energy in my body, and your energy to heal that scratch. It was a minor wound, so it didn’t take much.”

Taryn spoke up. “When Daddy was attacked by the bull at the rodeo and it crushed his organs, it took a lot more of our energy. Every time I touched him and focused on healing his injuries, I could literally feel the energy draining out of my body. It’s like watching the battery drain on your phone.”

“Why can’t everyone do that, then?” Abby asked.

Savvy smiled. “Everyone can to an extent. When you lay your hands on a person and you have positive intentions, that energy helps heal physical and emotional wounds. I’m sure you’ve heard studies about how extremely sick people are seemingly suddenly cured because they are surrounded by their friends and family.”

“Emotions play a part in it, too,” Beth added. “Laughter really is the best medicine. Having a positive attitude is a matter of life and death.”

“Still, there are some people, like me, who are born with the ability to make things happen that others can’t. I can conjure things, heal people, and do all sorts of cool tricks. It’s just like some people can shift, and some people are able to walk into a room of gloomy Guses and light up the room.”

“That is amazing,” Abby said. “I’ve always wanted to be a shifter, ever since I found out about them.”

“You’re pretty terrific the way you are,” Savvy said, hugging her.

Abby watched Savvy carefully pour the contents of a cauldron into a dark blue bottle. “What do we do now?”

Beth sighed heavily. “Now, we experiment and hope this works.”