Aleah remembered how excited she’d been when she received the phone call letting her know that Dr. Morgan needed her work in hematology. The doctor was well known in the supernatural community as one of the best doctors to go to when injured or sick, so every medical student that was paranormal wanted to work under him. When she had been called upon to meet the man of doctorate legend, she jumped at the chance. Of course, at the time, she had no way of knowing that the good doctor was putting together a team of specialists to work for the supernatural community.
The day after the phone call found Aleah in the waiting room of the fifth floor of New Hope Hospital anxiously waiting for Dr. Morgan to make an appearance and explain what it was he needed from her. She remembered taking a seat closest to the door she had entered, noticing there were four other people sitting in the room with her. Every one of them seemed to be feeling the same mix of emotions that she was: anxiety and nerves. Her palms were sweating as she watched two of the four people in the room fidget in their seats. A third person stood and began pacing the length of the small room, long strides eating up the carpet in his need to calm his nerves. The fourth person, a woman, was taking deep breaths as she slowly rocked with her eyes closed.
They stood in unison, with the exception of the man who was already standing, as a six foot one, silver haired older man walked into the waiting room.
The Director of Supernatural Bio-Medicine smiled at each of them in turn, “Hello fellow doctors. If you would just follow me, please.”
The doctor turned and led the way down a small hallway, stopping in front of one of the closed doors then ushering the five of them into one of the conference rooms and waited until they were all seated to begin what could only be called a presentation.
“I’m glad to see that almost all of you were able to be here,” Dr. Morgan smiled and continued, “There was to be one more of you, but it seems he’s not going to make it. Shall we get started?”
Everyone nodded their agreement and waited to hear what the doctor was going to say next.
“Without further ado, allow me to tell you why you’re here. I have hand-picked each of you for your specialties and your reputations in those specialties. As you may already know, this hospital has allowed for a new type of study to be conducted in honor of the paranormal being outed. That study is Supernatural Bio-Medicine and they have appointed me the Director.”
Dr. Morgan paused, taking a look around the table and assessed the reactions of the doctors he had hand-picked for his Supernatural Bio-Medical team, “Now the reason you five have been selected is so we can appease the humans, and to make sure that the supernaturals are receiving the proper care they deserve. In order to do that, I have need of a team. Before I get into all of the details concerning that, let me introduce each of you. It might make things a little clearer for all involved.”
The Director placed his hands on the conference table and leaned closer to the young doctors eager to be on his team, “Mr. Alfred Barstow here, will be our Rheumatologist. He will be making sure that, should the need arise, we are able to help all paranormal beings with any joint, muscular, and skeletal issues. He will also be helping aide in the study of these areas so that we can continue to learn everything we can about all paranormal beings and help the humans to understand that knowledge as well.”
Aleah remembered her attention had been drawn from the doctor to a tall, dark skinned man with a crew cut and easy smile to her left as he stood and waved, “Hello everyone.”
As Alfred returned to his seat, Dr. Morgan turned his attention to a petite, light skinned woman with wavy blonde, shoulder length hair and a slightly upturned nose. “Ms. Deanna Bates came highly recommended for our Immunologist to aide us in helping those supernaturals with severe allergies. Of course, we also need to study this area of medicine to discover how supernatural beings can have allergies, but that is a discussion for another time.”
The woman in question had her turn of standing and addressing everyone in the room, “Happy to be here.”
Dr. Morgan watched as Deanna returned to her seat before he continued to introduce the final members in the room. “This is Mr. Wyatt Masterson, and he will be our Endocrinologist helping us study the glands and hormones of all the supernatural community. We might be comparing these areas of the body with the humans to see what makes us so different from them.”
There was a collective gasp that had the Director holding his hand up, “There’s no need for you to be alarmed, as I assure you that there will be no white room with bright lights and no paranormals being tied down to a sterile table for these studies. No giant microscope watching your every move. This is merely a way to show the humans how safe we are, how they won’t ‘catch what we have’ and become supernatural themselves; that we are a unique case as stated six months ago.”
The room let out a sigh of relief as a whole. The man who had just been introduced before the bombshell of studying their own had been dropped, gave a slow blink. Aleah remembered how her attraction to him was almost instantaneous. The Hematologist watched as he stood in one lithe movement and took in his appearance. The man had milky white skin, shocking white shaggy hair, and stunning pale blue eyes. Her heart began to race as his eyes met hers and he licked his lips, getting ready to speak.
“Hi! Hey! Sorry I’m so late. Traffic was horrible!”
A man in his late thirties came rushing into the room, interrupting the Endocrinologist, and jerking Aleah’s attention to the door. His short sandy blonde hair was sticking up in all directions and his clothes were rumpled, giving her the impression that he had just rolled out of bed. His deep tan showed that he wasn’t afraid to be in the sun, but the way he moved through the room set Aleah’s teeth on edge. Aleah had never met someone that made her go on the defensive just by the way they looked, but that was exactly how she had felt the minute her gaze fell upon him.
Dr. Morgan turned her attention to the man who had breezed into the room, watching as he took a seat across from Aleah. “So nice of you to make an appearance, Mr. Wolfe. I was just introducing everyone and letting them know why they’ve been gathered here. May we continue?”
The new arrival gave the Director a carefree grin, “By all means, I do apologize for interrupting.”
Aleah rolled her eyes as she returned her attention back to the man the good doctor had just finished introducing.
The man still standing met her stare, licked his lips again and gave a slow smile, “Hi there everyone. I’m really excited to be on this team.”
His gaze never left hers as he returned to his seat. Aleah remembered how the blush crept over her face as the Endocrinologist’s attention finally moved back to the man who had gathered them all together.
Dr. Morgan’s gaze fell on a woman sitting by herself on the other end of the table as he cleared his throat, “This is Ms. Rosa Devlin, and she will be helping us study the brains of our patients as our Neurologist.”
Rosa was a soft-spoken Latin woman with straight black hair and serious chocolate brown eyes. “Thank you, Dr. Morgan. I look forward to working with you all.”
The Director gave a nod and turned his attention to the man who had interrupted him, “This is Mr. William Wolfe, and he is going to our Cardiologist. His methods are a bit unorthodox, but his skills are unprecedented. He is going to aide in the study of the hearts of all our paranormal patients…”
The man stood, cutting Dr. Morgan off, “Yes, yes, hello. I’m thrilled to be here and can’t wait to begin our studies. The chance to study our hearts and the stress of being different than humans, especially shifters, is a rare opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.”
As the Cardiologist returned to his seat, a smug grin on his lips, the Director gave a grim smile. Aleah remembered thinking that he must have been having second thoughts about including Mr. Wolfe on his team.
Dr. Morgan turned his attention away from the egotistical man preening in his seat to her, making her fight the urge to squi
rm under his scrutiny, “And finally, last but certainly not least, this is Ms. Aleah Macleod and her specialty is blood. Her skills in Hematology have yet to be matched, and I couldn’t be happier to see that she accepted the challenge to be on this team.”
Aleah felt the blush intensify as she stood to address the room, “Hey everyone. I can’t wait to get started.”
As she returned to her seat, her gaze met Wyatt’s again and she gave him a warm smile. Her body felt hot and her skin suddenly felt too tight. She remembered that Dr. Morgan had continued to discuss everything that was going to be asked of them, but while the Endocrinologist and Aleah’s gazes remained locked on each other, the good doctor’s voice became nothing more than an annoying buzz in her ears.
Chapter Two
Shaking her head, she pulled herself out of the memory and looked at her reflection again. Happy that she looked more normal, Aleah left the bathroom and made her way into the kitchen. Getting her lunch bag out of the fridge, she checked the apartment to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything before heading to the front door to begin her rounds at the hospital.
She grabbed her jacket and made sure the lamp in the living room and porch lights were on as she walked out of her apartment to start her day.
I’ll have to make time to check my iron levels while I’m working. Depending on the results I may have to suggest to Dr. Morgan that we skip a day or two of blood tests until we can level them out again, Aleah thought as she locked her front door.
She looked around the hallway, half expecting to see William Wolfe lurking around her front door as he did every morning. Aleah wasn’t sure what his agenda was where she was concerned, but ever since they had discovered they lived in the same building he had made it his morning’s mission to be at her door to walk with her to work. Not seeing him in his usual spot she sighed in relief and hastened down the hallway to the building’s glass door. She pushed her way through and started walking in the direction of New Hope Hospital.
“Hi, Aleah!” William exclaimed cheerfully.
She startled, placing her hand on her chest trying to calm her racing heart, “Damn it, William! You scared me.”
He gave her a predatory smile, showing his perfect white teeth, a complete contradiction to his next words, “I’m sorry, beauty. I was just up the street getting some coffee, like I always do. Why didn’t you wait for me?”
Aleah stifled the urge to groan and roll her eyes as William handed her a paper cup filled with the beverage he had gone to get. “It’s almost a daily routine so I can’t imagine why I frightened you.”
She accepted the offered cup and sniffed the contents before taking a tentative sip.
The man standing before her let out a frustrated grunt, “It’s exactly how you like it, French Vanilla creamer, blonde in color. The way you’ve had your coffee since the day we met. Why do you always do that?!?”
Aleah took another sip and let the warm liquid slide down her throat before answering, “It’s perfect, as usual. Thank you for thinking of me.”
She gave him a small smile, trying to ease his frustration. Aleah wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want William to be angry, with her or anyone. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something off about him. Instead of concentrating on what could be wrong with the Cardiologist, she gave a small gesture with her free hand, indicating that the two of them should start walking. Aleah needed to get to the hospital before her shift started so that she could locate Dr. Morgan and speak with him in private. The other team members, including the doctor walking beside her, weren’t aware of how closely she was working with Dr. Morgan, and the Director of Supernatural Bio-Medicine preferred it that way. Until they found more volunteers to undergo the experiments needed to keep the humans who ran the hospital satisfied, he wasn’t willing to sacrifice what findings he had in his possession for any reason.
The two began to walk in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Aleah knew that once the team found out about the studies, the dynamic was going to change; in what capacity she couldn’t be sure, but she was hoping for the better. She knew that every member on the team was paranormal, they had shifters, a vampire, a witch, and Deanna was still as much a mystery as Dr. Morgan was, but she hadn’t approached the Director to find out if he knew. Aleah had a feeling that Dr. Morgan needed to let the whole team in on their research together sooner rather than later. She could feel the tension building between herself and the other members of the team. She knew that tension wouldn’t be conducive to the kind of working environment needed to keep the humans at ease. Also, they needed another shifter to work on besides her because Aleah wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to last before getting too sick to continue.
She turned right, glancing at the Cardiologist walking beside her. Aleah knew that he was one of the few shifters on the team, but not what flavor. What she did know about William was that he wasn’t the right person to bring into the studies. He didn’t seem like someone who would willingly sit and be experimented on, regardless of what the research was for. As the hospital loomed closer, a brilliant idea occurred to Aleah. It was time for her to speak with Wyatt, after talking to Dr. Morgan of course. Even though the thought of finally being able to tell the Endocrinologist the truth about where she and the Director disappeared to in the middle of the day gave her mixed feelings; she knew it was the right thing to do. And to be able to do that, she needed to have a valid argument to present Dr. Morgan. She was hoping her iron levels would do that for her.
William rushed to the door, holding it open for Aleah as if he hadn’t been frustrated with her fifteen minutes before. He was trying for the picture of innocence, but she could feel the darkness brewing beneath the surface.
Aleah put on a plastic smile and moved through the door, passed the shifter that was holding it open, “You’re too kind. Why don’t you head on up? I have a few things to take care of before this morning’s debriefing, so I’ll just meet you there, okay?”
She wasn’t sure how William was going to take that news. He consistently tried his damnedest to stay glued to her side for the twelve hours they were at the hospital together, but she needed to find their boss without him tagging along. She hoped he would just continue on to the fifth floor without making a big deal about her announcement.
The shifter opened his mouth as if to ask what she had to do that was so important, seemed to decide against it and closed it again without making a sound and nodded. He gave her a curious look before turning around and heading to the elevator. Aleah watched his back and sighed, glad that he had chosen not to ask any questions.
Time to find Dr. Morgan, Aleah thought as she made her way to the stairs.
She didn’t want to chance being stuck in the elevator with William because she was sure he would ask those unspoken questions that were surely spinning in his mind.
She opened the door to the stairwell and walked through. Taking the steps two at a time in her haste to find the Director she kept her mind on the business at hand, but it kept wandering to the night before.
Wyatt had shown up at her apartment, intent on hashing things out. They had argued rather heatedly earlier in the day about her abrupt disappearances, and the two had parted on angry terms. So, when the Endocrinologist had appeared on her doorstep with a bouquet of flowers and an apology, she had accepted with a flair all her own.
Her footsteps echoed off the walls of the stairwell bringing her attention back to the serious situation she needed to take care of. Aleah had a pretty good idea as to the doctor’s whereabouts.
She pushed through the door, stopping for a second to catch her breath. Aleah looked around the basement letting her eyes adjust to the dim light of lower part of the hospital. Her gaze swept the dusky, dank corridor for a minute longer before she headed in the direction that she was sure she would find the good doctor.
Aleah smiled as she entered the lab, “I thought I would find you here, Dr. Morgan. How are the tests coming along?�
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The silver-haired man turned from his microscope with a warm smile on his lips, “Things are becoming much clearer the more blood draws we test. And how are you, my dear? You’re looking a little pale.”
She sighed, So much for the ‘a little foundation hides every blemish’ theory.
Shaking her head Aleah answered, “That’s why I’m here. Dr. Morgan we need to talk.”
The doctor took her hand, giving it a fatherly pat, “What’s on your mind, Aleah?”
She sighed again, getting everything in order in her mind, “I think we need to test my iron levels. I’m sure the reason I’m so pale is because my iron levels are extremely low. If the levels read the way I believe they will, we are going to need to find a new shifter to conduct some of these tests on sooner rather than later.”
Dr. Morgan gave her an understanding smile, “I completely agree with you. Unfortunately, no volunteers have stepped up. But to be honest, I don’t really expect them to. You know how things have been. The supernatural community is having a hard time being exposed to the human world. Not to mention, no one is really coming in for regular checkups, much less to volunteer to be poked and prodded for experiments being done to appease the humans who still don’t trust us. We have been lucky to get the few stragglers who have been too injured or sick to leave their survival to chance.”
Aleah nodded, acknowledging the doctor’s worries, “I understand all of this, Doctor, but I don’t think we have much choice. I need to level out my iron levels before I give any more blood and that could take a few days. That being said, I do have an idea of who might be able to aide us in our research.”
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 69