From scratch ✔️

12. Meet the pack

Friday. Tomorrow's the day I get to meet Nathan and one more son. Shirley said his name was Ethan, the lawyer one, and he would arrive Saturday morning straight to Nathan's house, they had some legal stuff to do first, and then we all, including doc Evans, Lena and Hannah, were invited to the pack house for dinner. At first I was a bit scared, because pack house meant werewolves, but then I figured it was nothing new to me, since Hannah's diner was always full of where's. But then again - being in a pack house meant I was informed of their existence and thus was a threat of exposure. Shirley tried convincing me that I had nothing to fear, at the same time doc Evans was distracting me with vet stuff. So that leads us to my current location - me sitting in the clinic in front of an operating table with all the supplies neatly arranged on top of it and doc Evans preparing me for my final exams by asking all sorts of questions - what scalpels to use, which vaccines to prevent different types of diseases, methods of castration, everything I needed to know, up to the count of bones in a snake. After spending four hours of intense testing we took a lunch break, and that's when Lena arrived. The look on her face was far from her usual bubbly, but rather concerned, her brows furrowed.

"Hey guys, Nathan's got some work for you at the pack house. There has been another rogue attack and a couple of guys doing patrol are pretty roughed up, so pack your stuff and let's move."

Without a single word doc Evans picked up 2 medical cases, one for him and one for me, and we went straight to his truck. Lena chose to run in her wolf form and said she would meet us on the spot. My level of anxiety rose to its highest.

"Doc, you sure I can go with you?" I asked him cautiously.

"Sure thing, four hands better than two." He stated calmly.

"But I'm not yet acquainted with Nathan and not accepted to the pack, you sure it's the best course of action?"

I was very nervous. Not about the vet part, it was more about the trust. Sure thing, everyone in town new about the new vet, but that doesn't mean they trusted me with their health. Oh, and I've never treated a were in his human form, I'm a vet after all...

"Emily, just stick with me and you'll be fine, ok? And that will also be a good way to show the pack you can be trusted, better than some formal dinner nonsense."

I could see the reason there, maybe it was best after all to do it in this manner.

While being deep in my thoughts I haven't noticed how time flew by and found that we've arrived. The pack house wasn't as huge as I imagined it would be. It was more like Shirley's B&B, only bigger - it was a 3 floor wooden house with a big porch and brick driveway. Flowers were planted along the front walls. Massive front doors were ajar and two bulky looking guys were standing there talking in hushed tones. They looked rather concerned and payed us no attention. Slowly I stepped out of the car, grabbed my medical case and limped after doc Evans. As soon as my cane hit the porch steps the guys turned our way and stared at me with suspicious eyes.

"Doc. Didn't think you'd bring company." The guy on the left said with some undertones which were not so hard to read. He wasn't very happy with me being there. His hazel eyes looked me up and down evaluatingly, I clearly wasn't welcome. His brows were drown closely together, his black unruly hair fell in his face, his fists clenched, nostrils moving as if he was sniffing me. I was very uncomfortable to say the least, but kept my expression stoic, poker face practice time.

"Andrew, it's fine. I'm old, I need all the help I can get, and I trust this fine young lady, whose name is Emily, by the way." The way doc said it left no room to argue, and I figured he was a respected member of the community, because Andrew didn't say a single word to that, but sharply turned on his heels and swiftly marched in the house.