Chapter 144: 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 nurseâs station.
âAlex, youâre early,â she said, raising an eyebrow at him. Alex shrugged.
âI thought Iâd come by while you were at work and take a look at where you were working. Maybe you c
ould even show me around,â he said. âI heard a rumor from a few suppliers that you were in charge of a
major renovations operation here.â
âI was only partially in charge,â Serena said filing the folders in her hands into their proper locations. âDr
. Adriana, she handled most of it.â
Adriana, hearing her name, joined Serena at the nurseâs station.
âYouâre talking about me,â Adriana said with a light laugh.
âAdriana, this is my old professor, Alex Henderson,â Serena said, motioning to her professor. Adriana ra
ised an
eyebrow at him. âOh, you are younger than I thought,â she admitted, reaching her hand out. Alex shook
it with a confident smirk.
âIâm a fast learner,â he said. âAnd youâre the head of medicine here?â âI am,â Adriana said. âSpeaking of,
I have a call
to take. Serena, why donât you show your old professor around? Iâm sure heâs no stranger to hospitals.â
âYeah, Iâll get right on that,â Serena said with a giggle. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Alex. âD
o you really want to see? I feel like all hospitals are kind of the same after a while.â
Alex chuckled and shook his head.
âPlease, Iâd like to see what you have going on here,â 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. âYouâve settled into pack life well, it seems,â Alex commented as she showed
him around the waiting room, the reception area, and the nurseâs station. âHonestly, I didnât know if I wo
uld,â Serena admitted. âBeing in the human world for so long, it was hard, but I made it work. I had a lot
of support.â âIâm glad you were able to make the adjustment. Me, pack life never suited me,â Alex admit
ted
Serena brought him into one of the basic exam rooms. âThis is where I spend most of my time,â she ex
plained. âEver since our rival pack, Moonshine, was
handled, fewer major injuries have been coming in and fewer surgeries have been performed.â
âThis is a state of the art facility,â Alex admitted, glancing around the room. âLet me show you the Or, it i
s a little more exciting than an exam roomâ 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. âSo, how is the lone wolf life working out for
you?â Serena asked conversationally as she wrapped up her tour of the hospital. Alex sighed and shru
gged. âYou know how it is being in the human world,â he said. âIt 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.â Serena giggled and sighed. She shook her he
ad as they walked back to the nurseâs station.
âThat was always temporary for me,â she pointed out. âYou were the one who wanted to live outside a p
ack because you didnât like the politics or dynamics.â âI know, I
know,â Alex said with a sigh. âI guess I didnât realize how much I missed having someone around who u
nderstood being a werewolf.â Serena fixed him with a look, filing her inventory sheet. âIs that why you c
ame to
visit, because you are lonely?â Serena asked. She didnât have any romantic feelings for Alex, but she w
as questioning his motives suddenly. âI 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,â he said. âAlright,â Serena said. âI appreciate you coming by. Youâre staying for a few
days, right?â âThat was the plan,â Alex said.
âGood, because Iâd like to show you around the territory. It is much different
than the city you live in,â Serena explained. âAre you going to try and convince me to become part of th
e
pack?â Alex asked. He reached out and put his hand on top of Serenaâs. Serena raised an eyebrow at
Alex and pulled her hand away.
âIâll let you come to your own conclusion,â Serena said. Alex smirked at her and chuckled.
âIâm looking forward to it,â he said. âIs there anything you need help with, or a second pair of eyes on?â
âActually, I do have a few cases that I could use your expertise on,â 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
ât
always make the connection. Adriana would often help her, but she was on a conference call. âSure,â S
erena said, taking a few folders off the desk and handing them to Alex. âThis woman came in complaini
ng of abdominal pain and a sore throat. The abdominal pain cleared up with an antiâ
acid, but the throat swelling has persisted.â âLet me look over her history.â 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 sheâd 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 Alexâs life and his own success. Serena hadnât been able to do it, t
hough. She knew she could have
been successful on her own, but she hadnât 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 couldnât 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. âI think you did everything you were supposed to,â Alex said, coming back with the file. âB
ut, she is likely suffering from a food allergy, which is why the antivirals havenât helped with her swollen
throat. That is probably the source of her stomach pain as well.â
Serena smiled, taking the file back.
âIâll have an allergy panel run on her,â she said. âSee, sometimes a second pair of eyes is necessary.â âA
notes in
the file. She sat at her computer and quickly submitted the order for the allergy test âIâm surprised you di
asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He chuckled.
âI 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
âYes, youâre right, I overlooked that,â she said.
âIâm glad I could help, and remind you a little of your medical past,â he said. Serena nodded.
âWhere are you staying?â she asked. Alex sighed, stroking his chin. âI hadnât considered it,â he said.
âHonestly, I was hoping you had a few recommendations.â Serena scoffed. âI wouldnât know,â she admitt
tree fell on my house and the Alpha put me and the kids up for a while.â âThe Alpha?â Alex asked. âYour
âWe didnât know we were mates at the time,â Serena said. âThings with Logan have always beenâ¦
complicated. I can ask him if he has any suggestions, though.â âIâd appreciate that,â Alex said with a nod
the day, then Iâll introduce you to him and we can figure out where youâll be staying,â she offered. Alex
nodded and Serena got back to work.
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