The Mating Rules
Book 3 – Chapter 15

Isaac’s POV

As the doctor inspects my foot, I can’t help but peek up at Raelyn who is standing awkwardly by the door, shifting from foot to foot as she looks anywhere in the room but at me.

‘So how does it look doc?’ I ask with mustered enthusiasm, ‘will I live?’

The doctor clicks her tongue angrily as she inspects the bruise turning my foot side to side gently, OK, tough crowd it seems.

‘You’ll live’ she finally mutters, straightening up, ‘but you need an xray so I can guarantee that the bones aren’t out of alignment. I’ll get one of the nurses to wheel you up to the x-ray room.’

‘Oh good, well i’ll just be going then’ Raelyn murmurs again going for the door.

‘Can’t Raelyn take me to x-ray?’ I ask, smiling innocently at the red head who is outright glaring at me now.

‘I’m sure Raelyn has things to do . .’ The doctor replies evasively as Raelyn nods in agreement.

‘I do’ she agrees, ‘many many jobs to complete.’

I tilt my head, feigning confusion, ‘more important than the work of the nurses here?’ I query. ‘Wow, well in that case, could you just let Alpha Grant know that I’m here and why when you return to work. I’d hate for him or Alpha Jasper to come looking for me and not be able to replace me. The last thing I want is friction between the packs because your Alpha has to ring mine to say he can’t replace me.’

My smile widens as Raelyn tries to kill me with a death stare, I don’t know why, but seeing her riled up is unbelievably cute.

‘Or is it really concern that you might not be strong enough to push me?’ I needle further, trying to keep my face straight. ‘I am very muscular, I can see how you might have issue with the wheelchair’

‘I’ll take him to x-ray’ she grits out dangerously, thank the Goddess that stares really don’t throw daggers.

‘What? Well if you are sure’ I protest, ‘I really wouldn’t want to interrupt your very important work. I’m only a Beta after all, not really that important, I mean, if you tell me where to go, I could probably crawl there . . ‘

The red head grimaces, i’m wondering if she was going for a smile, but if she was, it didn’t work. ‘It would be my pleasure Beta’ she snarls, ‘nothing is more important than your safety and comfort.’

I clap my hands and go to shimmy off the table as the doctor places a hand on my chest to stop me.

I swear Raelyn growls, but when I snap my gaze toward her, she’s looking determinedly away from us, taking a deep interest in a poster on the wall that is promoting good oral hygiene for a wolf’s canines.

‘Sit Beta’ the doctor orders firmly, ‘I will get a wheelchair for you, I will also link the Alpha to let him know about your accident so he doesn’t worry. I will notify him that Raelyn is accompanying you’ she adds with a furtive look toward the red head.

Her eyes cloud for a second before she heads toward the door, pulling it open just as a young male nurse approaches with a wheelchair in front of him.

She holds the door open for him and the nurse walks in, positioning the chair beside me and helping me into it whilst the doctor leaves.

Once im settled, the nurse hurries out, leaving Raelyn and I alone again. She immediately positions herself behind me, grabbing the handles and shoving me toward the door, slamming my good foot against the door frame as we go through.

‘Ooops, sorry’ she smirks from beside me, ‘must me my lack of strength, you are so . . Bulky.’

I glance back at her, not bothered at all by her insinuation that I might be overweight rather than muscular. I’m built like a powerful werewolf like all my kind and I know it.

‘No problem’ I reply with a smile, ‘it’s hard to push someone as well built as myself, it’s no reflection on you.’

I start to think the she wolf might explode with anger as her face goes a startling shade of red but she swallows down whatever words were on her lips and forces a smile as she pushes me down the corridor to the x-ray room.

Once we get outside, she stops the chair moving around me so she can reach the door that boasts a huge do not enter sign and knocks before stepping back behind me.

The door swings open and the technician smiles down at me before her gaze travels behind me and falls, the woman’s mouth falling open in shock. Why does everyone keep looking at Raelyn like that? It’s like no one expects to see her but she’s lived here her whole life, why would her presence around the pack house be so weird.

‘Raelyn’ the technician stammers out, her eyes widening, ‘uhhhh.’

‘Alpha asked me to change the towels in the gym’ Raelyn cuts across her pointedly. ‘Beta Isaac hurt himself whilst I was there, I brought him to the clinic and am taking care of him as he’s nervous about being here alone it seems.’

I shake my head in amusement at her jab as the other woman nods slowly, ‘and the Alpha . . . He knows about this?’ She asks uncertainly.

‘Yes’ Raelyn retorts firmly, ‘he is well aware and I have his permission.’

I scrunch up my face, trying to figure out what the hell these two are talking about, Alpha Grant absolutely did not know about my accident nor did he tell Raelyn to look after me. Well unless she mind linked him as we walked to the clinic but we didn’t stop walking at any point so how did she have time.

My musing is interrupted by Raelyn wheeling me into the room where a large table sits in the centre with a machine over the top.

I’m handed a heavy tabard to wear over my torso and helped onto bed. Getting as comfortable as I can, I let the technician move my foot around as she wishes, gritting through the pain, though it’s less than it was leading me to believe that Indigo has already started to heal me.

Both women disappear behind a screen and the machine whirs to life, snapping photos before the technician returns, shifting me to my side and retreating again.

When she’s done, I slide over the side of the bed and do a half hop, half spin into the wheelchair.

‘You are supposed to wait for us to help Beta’ the technician sighs, as she gives Raelyn a nod to say we are finished.

Holding open the door, she gives us a small wave as we exit and head back to the examination room.

Once back inside, I push out of the chair, wobbling slightly as I try to turn to sit on the bed again. Two warm arms encircle me again and I instinctively wrap my own arm around Raelyn’s shoulders as she tries to help me turn and sit.

I feel her stiffen under the contact, her gaze moving slowly up my body until she reaches my eyes, the two of us staring at each other. I can feel the electricity around us charge and I lick my lips nervously, watching as her gaze follows the flick of my tongue, her breathing hitching.

The door opens behind us, the doctor stepping back in, my notes in her hand, her head bowed as she reads them. Raelyn literally pushes me away, sending me stumbling back on the bed and almost over the back onto the floor as she rushes to get away from me.

I grab the edge of the bed, managing to catch myself as the doctor looks up, her brow creasing in confusion.

‘Sorry’ I gasp, righting myself, ‘you took me by surprise, I lost my balance.’

The doctor glances over at Raelyn who it seems is trying to press herself into the wall, her eyes firmly on the ground in front of her feet.

‘OK’ the doctor draws out slowly, ‘well i’ve looked at the x-ray and your bones are already knitting together, it looks like your wolf is in a hurry to get you back up and about. All the bones are aligned so I don’t need to do anything to help your recovery, unless you’d like some pain killers?’ She offers, raising an eyebrow at me.

I immediately shake my head, no, ‘i’m fine doc’ I reply, ‘it really doesn’t hurt that much anymore, Indigo has it handled, I will probably be able to weight bear in the next hour so it’s just a waste of meds.’

The doctor nods as though she expected my response, which she probably did, we higher ranks are well known for our desire to be seen as the toughest, we wont take medication unless forced.

‘Well Beta’ the doctor replies brusquely, ‘you are free to go but please allow Raelyn to help you to your room. I know your wolf is already well on the way to healing you, but keeping your weight off the injury for another hour is advisable.’

I hear Raelyn g***n quietly to herself but when I whip my attention to the she wolf, her expression is carefully blank.

‘I understand doc’ I murmur, ‘as long as i’m not keeping Raelyn from anything urgent, I would be grateful for the help back to my room.’

Pushing off the wall, Raelyn stomps toward me, standing awkwardly beside me as I push myself to my feet, gingerly placing my foot on the floor, pleased that it’s more of a niggle now than a shooting pain.

‘You’ll need to wrap your arm around my waist again’ I point out, my smile widening as the she wolf’s hands tighten into fists by her side before she reluctantly places an arm around me, allowing me to put my own around her shoulders.

The doctor opens the door and we shuffle out, this time heading for the main entrance, stepping out into the heat of the day.

‘What? No secret passageway back to my room this time?’ I tease, peeking down at the woman beside me as she pales.