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

25. Abby

25

Abby

A bby spent the next day practicing her shifting.

I wonder if shifters only get a certain number of times they can shift before they’re stuck in their human form. If that’s the case, I’ll run out of shifts before I have a chance to try out my new talents on the mountain.

She giggled at her own thought.

Taryn and Beth stopped by the house to check on her. Abby happily demonstrated her new talent.

“I can shift just a part of me or my whole body.” The excitement in Abby’s voice made the women smile.

Taryn touched Abby and then grinned. “Did you know you were pregnant?”

Abby staggered and then fell onto the couch, her mouth opened in disbelief.

Laughing, Beth said, “I would take that as a ‘no,’ you didn’t know.”

“I had no idea. I would never have taken the potion if I knew. Will it hurt the baby?”

Taryn shook her head. “The baby is healthy. It is my understanding that you won’t want to shift a lot after you are about two months pregnant. That gives you around a month and a half.”

“You can tell when the baby’s that tiny?” Abby asked in disbelief.

“Yep. I’m a witch. I know things.”

“I want to know things,” Abby said.

Beth giggled. “I don’t think there’s a potion for that.”

“Will it be a boy or girl?”

“Boy,” Taryn said confidently.

“Wow. Now I have two important things to tell Sawyer. Maybe you guys should be around in case he has a heart attack.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Beth said. “Congrats on the good news. We’d better get home before the pups run Conner ragged.”

Abby hugged them. “Thank you so much, for everything. If you ever need a qualified RN, let me know.”

Beth smiled. “How about just a friend.”

“You’ve got it.”

Abby was smiling when she got to work the next day. She arrived early, hoping she could talk to Sawyer before they started getting patients. She thought about talking to him after work so he wouldn’t be distracted during the day, but she knew that he was way too professional for that to happen.

Brent pulled into the parking lot right after she did.

“Good morning. I heard you were ill. I hope you are feeling better.”

“Good morning. I am. How are you doing?”

“Couldn’t be better. I’m going to drive up to Colorado this weekend to see my mother. I used part of my inheritance to get her a house.”

“I thought all your relatives were in New York?”

Brent nodded. “A lot of them are. Mom moved to Colorado when she married Dad. That’s how I ended up in New Mexico. I wanted to get away from home, but not too far.”

“That makes sense,” Abby said, unlocking the clinic door.

Brent held it open as she stepped inside.

He had just closed and locked the door behind him when two people, wearing suits, popped out of the hallway and rushed toward them.

“Brent Davis, you are under arrest. You are charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and theft of a controlled substance. You have the right to remain…”

Jason’s voice was cut off when Brent pulled a knife out of his pants pocket, opened it, and grabbed Abby. He pressed the knife to her throat.

Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. She started to panic.

Stop. Think. Panicking will only get you killed.

She forced herself to take deep, even breaths and assess the situation.

“Back off or I’ll kill her,” he snarled.

Abby could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck, and it sent an icy chill racing down her spine. She braced herself for whatever was coming next.

“Let her go,” Sawyer said, coming up behind them.

“No. I’m taking her with me. I know you’re a wolf shifter and if you so much as twitch wrong, I’ll slice her throat.”

Sawyer held up his hands. “Please don’t hurt her.”

Before anyone could do anything, Abby shifted. She landed on all fours, whirled around, and leaped before Brent could react. She bit his wrist so hard that he dropped the knife and it skittered across the floor.

The two feds raced over to Brent and picked him up. They snapped handcuffs on him, in spite of his howling that his wrist hurt.

“As I was saying, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?” Jason recited.

Brent snarled. “Go to hell.”

Millie, the other agent, yanked his arms a little further up his back. “Do you understand your rights as they were read to you?”

“Yes,” Brent hissed through gritted teeth.

Jason looked at Abby, who was still in her wolf form, since she had ripped her clothes.

“Nice move. You have a good day.”

Abby yipped. It was a sound that was a cross between a howl and a bark. She surprised herself when she did it.

Millie smiled at her and the feds marched Brent out the door.

Sawyer looked at Abby. “I think we need to talk.”

Abby followed him to his office and shifted after he closed the door. “We do need to talk, but do you by any chance have an extra set of scrubs I could borrow? I seem to have shredded mine.”

Sawyer hurried into the storage closet and brought back a set. “I keep a couple extra sets around for emergencies.”

She shifted and hurriedly got dressed.

“Now talk.”

Abby’s face flushed and she was worried that she had gone too far. She didn’t want Sawyer to be so angry with her that he decided to end their relationship.

Forcing herself to talk calmly, she said, “You see, the witches had an extra dose of the potion. I’ve always wanted to be a wolf shifter and wanted to be one even more after I met you. I talked them into letting me drink the potion.”

Sawyer’s face got red with anger. “You could have died,” he growled.

“I know, but they didn’t think I would. Of course, I didn’t know for sure. They tried to talk me out of it, but you know me. I’m stubborn.”

“Is that why you were sick?”

“Yeah, it had the same effect on me as it did the natural-born shifters, only my pain lasted for three days. When the pain subsided, I was terrified I would shift into something vile, like a tick. But I focused on being a beautiful black wolf, and here I am.”

“Woman, I don’t know whether to spank you or kiss you.”

She wiggled her eyebrows at him and grinned. “Maybe a little of both.”

He laughed for a second and then got serious. “I was terrified. I thought that I lost you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I was hoping that this would be a wonderful surprise for you.”

“It is.”

Abby locked his office door and then sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed a heated kiss against his lips and then whispered against his neck, “I love you.”

He held her tightly against him. “I love you.”

Flames burned to life inside of her and she wished that they could get naked and make love right there in his chair. However, she could hear the other people coming into the clinic. They would likely have questions since her purse and remnants of her scrubs littered the front.

“I wanted to do this differently, over a romantic dinner, with candlelight, flowers, and a ring. However, since you nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought I should do this now. Abby, you are my fated mate and I’ve fallen in love with you. Would you do me the honor of going through the mating ceremony with me?”

A million butterflies exploded in her belly and she smiled widely. Her heart thundered in her chest. At first, she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

“I will. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much.”

They held on to each other for a long moment.

“Sawyer, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What?” he asked, his voice wary.

“You’re going to be a father.”

He stared at her in disbelief with wide eyes.

“Sawyer, say something.”

“I’m going to be a father?”

“Yes. Taryn told me. She even told me what the gender is, if you want to know.”

He nodded dumbly.

“You’re going to have a son in about six months.”

“A son?”

“That’s right.”

“Woohoo,” he yelled and kissed her passionately.

They walked out of the office and Abby went to retrieve her purse and the shredded fabric. When she stepped into the lounge for some coffee, everyone looked at her expectantly.

Abby looked at Sawyer and then at them. “We’re going to be married. And, we’re going to have a baby.”

Everyone clapped and cheered. Martha even hugged her.

Abby smiled widely and held Sawyer’s hand. The day started out a little terrifying, but now life is perfect.