Page 17 of Alphas Never Hide

“Youbet.Atleast until someone else wants to do it.Comeinside and let’s see what’s going on.”Xandermotioned for me to exit the vehicle. “Comeon,Hayden, you’re coming too.”

“I’mfine,”Haydenmuttered.

“Weboth know that isn’t how this works,”Xandersaid.

Suddenlyit clicked.Thisguy was a sphinx shifter.I’dmet a few whenIlived with the herd.Thisguy wasn’t like any of them, at least not a first blush.Mostof them were so rigid and stiff they resembled that famousEgyptianstatue.

Haydenhuffed, but the doctor’s gentle insistence gotHaydenmoving.Aswe walked into the house,Xanderasked afterVan.Ashfilled him in on where the hellhound had gone.

“He’sstill out there?”Hisforehead creased, and he shook his head. “Hemight be a hellhound, but he isn’t invincible.Noone is, isn’t that right,Alpha?”

Haydenscowled. “Notthe alpha,Doc.”

“DillonandAdrianare withVan,”Isaacsaid.Hepulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. “They’resupposed to let us know if they find anything.Theychecked in a few minutes ago with nothing new to report.”

“Well, that’s something,Isuppose.”Xanderpursed his lips, but he didn’t sound happy.Heopened a door to a small exam room and motionedHaydeninside.Thestubborn wolf didn’t budge.

“LookatRyleyfirst,”Haydeninsisted.

Noone was happy at his request, andIwondered about the whole alpha thing.Washe really the alpha here?Ifhe was, the doctor should look at him first.Ihated to think what would happen if the woundI’dgiven him got infected.Iwas used to supes being jerks, butIdidn’t need an angry mob of them coming after me with pitchforks.

“Makesure the alpha doesn’t leave beforeIsee him,”Xanderordered the others before turning to me. “Let’scheck you over.”

Mymedical went smoothly.Thedoctor was super friendly, and his bedside manner was excellent.Hetook swabs of the bite wounds, pictures of my chest, and measurements of my other injuries.Hecompared the lengths of my horns and my hooves, noting the differences.Theworst of the damage came from when the bastards who’d stuck me in that damn cage had “taken samples” to see if they could sell bits of me on the magical black market.Itwas unsettling the shit people bought.Like, how could anyone truly believe a bear shifter’s claw would protect them, or a succubus’ tongue would make them more attractive?Thewolves hadn’t been impressed whenIlaughed at them for being deluded, becauseIwas the least magical supe around.Iwas barely even a faun, something my old herd had reminded me of daily.

Unfortunately, they refused to take my word for it.Theypinned me down and took hand-held cheese graters to my horns and hooves, whileI’dlet them know they were shit-snakes and swore to have theEternalMagiccurse them and their families.Ijust wishedIcould have carried through with the curse.

IfIever saw them again, their nuts were going to get up close and personal with my hooves.Theirballs would swell up as big asHayden’seye had, and it would be spectacular.Theyshould consider themselves luckyIdidn’t have plans to take the damn grater to their family jewels.Sure,I’dthought about it, butIdidn’t thinkIcould stomach touching those bastards there.Andthink of the mess.It’dbe disgusting.

Thedoctor didn’t mention findingHayden’sblood on my hoof, so hopefully there wasn’t any.Ididn’t need him gathering evidence like that.Ididn’t want to end up in a supernatural prison for assaulting an alpha.Hepressed here and there and everywhere as he assessed me for broken bones and such.Inthe end, he had me drink some kind of healing potion and asked me to shift a few times.Bythe timeIwas done, all the injuries were healed.

Itwas wonderful to be back in my human form again.Myfavorite burnt-orangeT-shirt with the sayingThisis not a red shirtthatI’dfound at aTrekkieconvention a few years ago had even survived the whole ordeal unscathed.Maybeit was a sign everything would be okay, like theEternalMagicherself had declaredIwasn’t expendable.Isighed and stretched.Everythingfelt pretty good.Well, everything except my eyeglasses.Theframe was bent and hadn’t sat right on my face since they were damaged during my abduction.Ipulled them off and tried to twist them into shape.Itdidn’t work.Damnit.Theyfelt all wrong.I’dhave to buy another pair becauseIcouldn’t go without.Myeyesight was amazing whenIwas shifted, but it sucked in my human form.

“Here, drink another of these,” the doctor said, passing me a vial of the same elixir he had me drink before shifting. “It’llhelp replenish the magic you used when you shifted.Andthat’s about allIcan do for you.You’llwant to eat lots of leafy greens over the next twenty-four hours, though, to bolster your magic a little more.”

Thistime, whenIdrank down the potion, my nerves tingled as the magic zinged through me.Inits wake, everything felt fan-frigging-tastic.Myglasses weren’t even bothering me as much as they had. “Doyou sell that stuff?You’dmake a killing.”

“Nope.It’sonly administered under a doctor’s supervision.”Xanderwinked at me.Hegave me funny little paper slippers to put over my socks sinceIdidn’t have shoes, and that was that.

Thenit wasHayden’sturn.

Haydenwas in there a long time.Whenhe and the doctor finally came out of the exam room, neither of them was smiling.Thespot whereI’dkicked him still looked messed up, although the swelling had gone down.

“I’llmake up a bed,”Xanderwas saying.

“He’sstaying?”Ashasked.Hesounded shocked, andIunderstood why.Ashifter likeHaydenshouldn’t need medical supervision to recover from a little scrape.

“No,I’mnot,”Haydenargued. “I’mfine.Itisn’t the first timeI’vebeen knocked in the head.”

Xandercrossed his arms. “Ihave handcuffs for unruly patients.Iwill use them ifIneed to.”

“Kinky,”Isaacmuttered, makingAshandJeremysnicker.

“I’llrest better at home.”

“Someoneneeds to be with you,”Xandersaid, the first sign he was bending toHayden’swill.

Iadjusted my glasses, thenIstuck my hand up in the air like an eager child who knew the right answer to the teacher’s question. “I’lldo it.”