Chapter 143 Lone wolf
Professor Alex Henderson arrived in Night Sky territory in the middle of the afternoon. Serena was still at the hospital, and Alex showed up in the middle of her shift. He came into the hospital while she was at the nurse‘s station.
“Alex, you‘re early,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him. Alex shrugged.
“I thought I‘d come by while you were at work and take a look at where you were working. Maybe you c ould even show me around,” he said. “I heard a rumor from a few suppliers that you were in charge of a major renovations operation here.”
“I was only partially in charge,” Serena said filing the folders in her hands into their proper locations. “Dr . Adriana, she handled most of it.”
Adriana, hearing her name, joined Serena at the nurse‘s station.
“You‘re talking about me,” Adriana said with a light laugh.
“Adriana, this is my old professor, Alex Henderson,” Serena said, motioning to her professor. Adriana ra ised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, you are younger than I thought,” she admitted, reaching her hand out. Alex shook it with a confident smirk.
“I‘m a fast learner,” he said. “And you‘re the head of medicine here?” “I am,” Adriana said. “Speaking of, I have a call to take. Serena, why don‘t you show your old professor around? I‘m sure he‘s no stranger to hospitals.” “Yeah, I‘ll get right on that,” Serena said with a giggle. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Alex. “D o you really want to see? I feel like all hospitals are kind of the same after a while.”
Alex chuckled and shook his head.
“Please, I‘d like to see what you have going on here,” he said. Serena nodded and grabbed a pen, stet hoscope, and clip board. If she was going to show Alex around, she thought it would be a good time to check inventor y in a few places as well. “You‘ve settled into pack life well, it seems,” Alex commented as she showed him around the waiting room, the reception area, and the nurse‘s station. “Honestly, I didn‘t know if I wo uld,” Serena admitted. “Being in the human world for so long, it was hard, but I made it work. I had a lot of support.” “I‘m glad you were able to make the adjustment. Me, pack life never suited me,” Alex admit ted
Serena brought him into one of the basic exam rooms. “This is where I spend most of my time,” she ex plained. “Ever since our rival pack, Moonshine, was handled, fewer major injuries have been coming in and fewer surgeries have been performed.”
“This is a state of the art facility,” Alex admitted, glancing around the room. “Let me show you the Or, it i s a little more exciting than an exam room” Serena offered. Alex grinned and nodded. She updated him quickly on the improvements she had made to the equipment and the medical practices. Alex seemed i mpressed, nodding and smiling as she pointed things out. “So, how is the lone wolf life working out for you?” Serena asked conversationally as she wrapped up her tour of the hospital. Alex sighed and shru gged. “You know how it is being in the human world,” he said. “It can be isolating, lonely, and feel like th e whole world is against you. At least, when you were in my classes, had someone who understood.” Serena giggled and sighed. She shook her he ad as they walked back to the nurse‘s station.
“That was always temporary for me,” she pointed out. “You were the one who wanted to live outside a p ack because you didn‘t like the politics or dynamics.” “I know, I know,” Alex said with a sigh. “I guess I didn‘t realize how much I missed having someone around who u nderstood being a werewolf.” Serena fixed him with a look, filing her inventory sheet. “Is that why you c
ame to visit, because you are lonely?” Serena asked. She didn‘t have any romantic feelings for Alex, but she w as questioning his motives suddenly. “I came to visit because you were my only werewolf student in a long time, and I wanted the chance to follow u p with you. It gave me the excuse to come see pack life, as well,” he said. “Alright,” Serena said. “I appreciate you coming by. You‘re staying for a few days, right?” “That was the plan,” Alex said.
“Good, because I‘d like to show you around the territory. It is much different than the city you live in,” Serena explained. “Are you going to try and convince me to become part of th e pack?” Alex asked. He reached out and put his hand on top of Serena‘s. Serena raised an eyebrow at Alex and pulled her hand away.
“I‘ll let you come to your own conclusion,” Serena said. Alex smirked at her and chuckled.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Is there anything you need help with, or a second pair of eyes on?”
“Actually, I do have a few cases that I could use your expertise on,” Serena admitted. All the time, pack members were coming in with problems and concerns about symptoms they were experiencing.
Sometimes, Serena could connect them quickly and come up with a diagnosis. Other times, she couldn ‘t always make the connection. Adriana would often help her, but she was on a conference call. “Sure,” S erena said, taking a few folders off the desk and handing them to Alex. “This woman came in complaini ng of abdominal pain and a sore throat. The abdominal pain cleared up with an anti– acid, but the throat swelling has persisted.” “Let me look over her history.” Alex muttered. He walked off with the file. Serena smiled to herself and shook her head.
It was a great blast from the past, and she was happy to be working alongside Alex again. He had alwa ys been so inspiring to her, a lone wolf living without a pack.
When she‘d first gotten pregnant and had the twins, she had considered it. Serena had considered becoming a doctor in the human world and raising her kids separate from the pack. She had been encouraged by Alex‘s life and his own success. Serena hadn‘t been able to do it, t hough. She knew she could have been successful on her own, but she hadn‘t wanted to deprive her kids of the chance to be part of a pa ck. Werewolves wanted to be in a pack, and whether she chose that or not, she couldn‘t choose for her own children.
It would be too confusing, too agitating to them to try and make sense of their heritage and their shifts if they were also forced to keep it a secret. Returning to the pack had been more for the kids than it had been for her. Now that she had such strong ties to Night Sky and Starseeker, she knew she would never give up pack life in exchange for living as a lone wolf in the human world. “I think you did everything you were supposed to,” Alex said, coming back with the file. “B ut, she is likely suffering from a food allergy, which is why the antivirals haven‘t helped with her swollen throat. That is probably the source of her stomach pain as well.”
Serena smiled, taking the file back.
“I‘ll have an allergy panel run on her,” she said. “See, sometimes a second pair of eyes is necessary.” “A notes in the file. She sat at her computer and quickly submitted the order for the allergy test “I‘m surprised you di asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He chuckled.
“I always taught you that it is rare for symptoms for two different problems to present themselves in a pa
Serena sighed, finishing her work on the computer. She stood up and turned to face Alex from across th
“Yes, you‘re right, I overlooked that,” she said.
“I‘m glad I could help, and remind you a little of your medical past,” he said. Serena nodded.
“Where are you staying?” she asked. Alex sighed, stroking his chin. “I hadn‘t considered it,” he said. “Honestly, I was hoping you had a few recommendations.” Serena scoffed. “I wouldn‘t know,” she admitt tree fell on my house and the Alpha put me and the kids up for a while.” “The Alpha?” Alex asked. “Your
“We didn‘t know we were mates at the time,” Serena said. “Things with Logan have always been… complicated. I can ask him if he has any suggestions, though.” “I‘d appreciate that,” Alex said with a nod the day, then I‘ll introduce you to him and we can figure out where you‘ll be staying,” she offered. Alex nodded and Serena got back to work.