The Need To Protect

Dr. Boyce

When Alpha Luke called me to the school, I was about to leave the pack hospital. I had a meeting scheduled with all branch managers for the different Luminous casinos.

Most of the staff was new. Two months ago, I was forced to reshuffle the higher-ups. Sneaky humans. They had started stealing from us and I was left with no choice but to fire most of them.

However, considering the gravity of the situation at the school, I had to go. After being told that the badly injured student was human and would need a transfusion, I contacted a human doctor friend of mine, to organize about four pints for me.

I collected the blood and headed for the school. How could warrior Levi have allowed the new human student to fight with the werewolves? Now she is badly injured and that is the worst that could happen

Honestly, I am quite frustrated. He of all people should have known better. That is the very reason we have minimized the intake of human students. Their plan to hike the school fees did the trick but there are still quite some filthy rich humans who can still afford it.

Even though I will not have to deal with angry parents, I still dread facing them. After all, I will be the attending doctor. This is going to be the worst day of my life.

Parking the car in my reserved space, I pick up the bag with the required blood and trot towards the school infirmary. The sight before me causes me to halt in my strides.

Frantic students are running around and some are even driving away. They seem quite flustered and my heart sinks. I can only imagine the damage Gamma Sawyer's daughter did to that human girl.

It is not a good sight, for them to be this scared. Even if they are just teenagers, it takes a lot to scare a werewolf. Bracing myself for the worst, I take off towards the infirmary. I push the door open with a heavy heart hoping that I will be able to save the human student.

I cannot believe my eyes. The student in question is a girl and what I see is not so bad. Then why are the students rushing off in that manner? Of course, she is injured but not to the extent of making the pups panic.

"Is there something else going on that I need to know about Alpha?"

I ask Alpha Luke through mindlink and he responds the same way.

"A lot doctor Boyce but in the meantime, see what you can do for her, then I will tell you."

I go near the bed and the girl opens her eyes. I know she sees the curiosity in my stare but she is not flustered. Either that or she is very good at concealing her emotions. Groaning, she looks up at me. The next thing she says automatically earns her, respect from me.

"Please do not inform my mom. I don't want her to worry about anything. It's her first day at work and I could never live with the guilt if she ends up fired. Promise me to notify her, only when you are done fixing me."

With that, she forces a smile but I can tell she is in pain. That is when I snap out of it and start treating her. After stitching her up, we give her the first pint. I am glad the blood transfusion has no adverse effects on her.

She has not regained consciousness for some odd reason. I am sure the anesthesia was correct and she should have awoken at least ten minutes ago. We had to put her to sleep because the shoulder injury had caused some internal bleeding.

Even though it was daunting, the operation was successful. The only issue now is she is still unconscious. I voice my concerns and Alpha Luke thinks I am worrying over nothing.

"Give her time, Boyce. She will be fine. She is a strong girl for a human."

I have no choice but to agree with her. Any normal human would have passed out long before the anesthesia, but she was holding up quite well. If I had not seen the extent of her injury, I would have been convinced she was not badly injured.

"That reminds me, you had something to tell me warrior Levi? However, before you tell me anything, I also have something to tell you. When I walked in here, I caught a faint scent that stood out. I was almost convinced it belongs to my mate. I then noticed it was coming from the girl's backpack. I am confused."

"Could it be your mate had contact with her during school Doc?"

Nurse Jane questions with notable joy in her tone. I honestly do not know but it is possible. So that means my mate is somewhere in this school? Even though I am happy, I try not to raise my hopes.

"This is a new student, maybe she had contact with my mate before she even came here. If my mate truly is here, I will meet her soon."

"You are right son. I guess it is time we call her mother now. Let me get her details from the office."

Alpha Luke walks off and I turn to Warrior Levi. He still has not answered my question. Something took place in the training fields that made those kids scurry away in fear and I also need to know.

"Boyce, I know this may sound crazy but I think this girl is no ordinary human. She is not a wolf either because I cannot sense any wolf. Neither is she a witch nor a vampire. However, she has frightening abilities. I think she is an elemental human. Which is rare but not entirely impossible."

Warrior Levi explains but I still don't feel as if my questions are answered. So, I probe further.

"When I came in, the students were all scurrying away in fear. Werewolves are hardly scared. Young or old, it takes a lot to cause that much fear and apprehension, warrior Levi. Therefore, I need to know what happened in the training fields?"

"Your human patient here, summoned a whirlwind so strong that it even knocked gamma Sawyer, some students, and teachers off. Sawyer was out cold for some time. Luckily, he was not hurt. She did that after she was already hurt. I do not think she even knows what she did. Not yet anyway."

When warrior Levi explains, I suddenly feel this sudden need to protect the human girl. I feel as if there is a vulnerability in her and I have to protect her at all costs. In fact, I have been feeling it since I saw her. Only now it is amplified and I confide in both alpha Luke and warrior Levi. Of course, Jane is here with us she gets to hear it as well.

"I don't know what is going on with me. I have been feeling a sense of responsibility for this girl since I walked in. Not the same as I would feel for a mate. More like she is my pup. Mine to protect. I know it sounds crazy but that's how I feel. "

Even I am frustrated. I cannot understand it but I have to share it with my alpha at least. Warrior Levi pats my shoulder and tries to diffuse my worry.

"Listen, Boyce, we will understand all this in due time. What I will tell you is, a werewolf's instinct is never wrong. If you need to protect her, the whole Luminous Pack rallies behind you. You have our support. Even we will protect her."

After hearing this from warrior Levi and seeing Alpha Luke and Jane nod in affirmation, my worry subsides. Alpha Luke hands the notebook with my patient's mother's details to Jane and asks her to call.

"Alpha, it is ringing. Whom do I ask for?"

"Oh, sorry Jane. Ask for Mrs. Henna De Andrade. She is Aria De Andrade's mother."

When Alpha Luke mentions the name, my heart skips a bit. That is the name of my new branch manager! How did I not piece the puzzle together? How do I explain it to a new employee?

"Alpha, that is the name of the new branch manager for our Luminous Casino. The one I told you she is coming from the South."

After dropping the bombshell on everyone, I slump down in the nearby chair. This is not good. Had it been any other local human, we would have been able to deal with them. Now this is different.

How will the family ever feel safe if there is a threat on the very first day? Of course, they will opt to go back to wherever they came from. I can hear the scream through the phone and I know alpha Luke and Warrior Levi heard it as well. I feel helpless.

It should take about fifteen minutes to get here from the city. Guess what, she makes it in ten minutes tops. When she barrels in, I am knocked back by her overwhelming scent.

It is a mouthwatering vanilla extract. It makes me giddy and lightheaded. I greedily inhale and suppress the possessive growl about to rip through my throat. Warrior Levi sees it first and grabs me.

"Get a hold of yourself, Boyce. She is human and you will scare her!"

Warrior Levi chides me through mindlink, putting emphasis on the word human and scare. I get it and I attempt to calm myself.

"Mine!"

My wolf responds to warrior Levi and he smiles saying out loud

"Yeah buddy, we all know now "

I know he wants to draw everyone's attention. Even the distraught lady turns around. She is gorgeous and she is all mine. She stares at me for a while and I see the confusion in her eyes. I know she feels the pull to me and that must be confusing her. She may be human but she will still feel the mate pull even though for her it is less intense.

"You must be the doctor I guess?"

She asks me but I suddenly feel tongue-tied. Her voice is angelic. A soothing melody to my ears. I cannot believe I waited this long for her. She is perfect.

"Excuse me Doc, care to fill me in on the extent of my daughter's injury?"

I snap out of it when she speaks the second time. I know she is not a supernatural being. Else she would have recognized me. I know it will be hard to try and win her over the human way, but I have all the time in the world.

"Ah, yes, yes Mrs. De Andrade. She um."

"Henna. Henna De Andrade. That is my maiden name. I am a single mother. Never been married."

Soon after she facepalms. I can almost see what is going on in her mind. She is probably wondering why she felt the need to clarify things. But it makes me happy. I know she feels something for me.

"Alright then, Henna. I am just the pa- I mean school doctor. I am sure warr- I mean Mr. Levi Reynolds can walk you through the events of the day that led to your daughter's injury."

I stutter through the whole explanation and I mentally facepalm. I almost leaked our identity. Luckily, warrior Levi takes over and explains to her.

Even though he explains that another student sneaked a deadly weapon into the training fields, I do not buy it. I know that Scarlet attacked Aria mid-shift. I wonder how much Aria saw.

"Now you see where the urge to protect was coming from Doc. She is your mate's daughter. Congratulations Pal."

Jane invades my mindlink but I am sure she is genuinely happy for me. Like me, she was also rejected and is now happy with her second chance mate. Even if my second chance mate is human, I am beside myself with joy. I would never want another.

"Your daughter ma'am, she surprised us all. Somehow, she created a devastating whirlwind. We have never seen anything of that sort madam."

Warrior Levi stuns me with how much he can almost seem human. My mate looks at him and Alpha Luke as if seeing them for the first time. Then she exclaims in disbelief.

"Goodness! So, there are two of you?"

"Yes ma'am. I am the physical training teacher Levi Reynolds. You probably met my twin brother Luke Reynolds in the morning. So tell us where your daughter learned such magical powers?"

Henna bursts out laughing and I know that laughter is permanently etched in my mind. I know I will never get enough of her. I just have to make my intentions to date her known to her soon. I have to win her over.

"That is not magic Mr. Reynolds. It is just martial arts. Back home she was so engrossed in martial arts, that I do not even know how she can juggle between school and that. She has an impeccable love for Tai chi and I think she mastered it and many other skills. I am surprised she even got hurt. She is a fighter."

When she speaks, I can feel the love and pride she has for her daughter. However, in her last statement, I detect pain and I know there is a story to tell. I decide to ask something else.

"That is quite a lot for a girl to accomplish at such a young age. I wonder what pushed her towards martial arts?"

" It has always been the two of us ever since Aria came into my life. As she grew, she always said she wanted to learn to fight for us if ever danger came lurking around us. That is why she took martial arts lessons. But gradually, she became attached to it too much. "

"Mama."

Henna gets cut off by her daughter's voice. As I see her embrace Aria, I know that I will protect them with my last breath. However, I do not think my job will be mine alone. Manny barges in and growls the one thing everyone has been praying for.

"Mate."

Warrior Levi pulls him out with eyes glazed and I know he is talking to him through mindlink. Probably telling him about his mate and her mom being humans. This is no doubt the best day of my life.