Beast Behaving Badly
Page 18

 Shelly Laurenston

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You think? Blayne leaned into the crevice again.
Blayne, please be careful. Remember last
Badger!
Ow! Blayne glared at the She-wolf nurse standing behind her, forcing the hypodermic into the skin beside her right shoulder blade. Painful! she snapped.
Then maybe, brilliance, you shouldnt get into fights with rats. You wouldnt need this precaution to prevent infections if you just did that.
It was a badger, Blayne ground out, her teeth clenched tight. Not a rat. And how was I to know that there was a possum and a badger in that hole?
How many times is that now anyway? The She-wolf snapped the needle off the hypodermic before disposal. That youve ended up on the wrong side of a badger fight?
Its not my fault. Its the badgers fault. Theyre out to get me. All of them. They hate me.
The nurse stood in front of her. She hated this woman, when Blayne hated so few.
Badgers . . . hate you? she asked with that condescending tone that made Blayne want to rip her throat out.
Yes.
Uh-huh. I see why youre always current on your rabies vaccines. Youre a walking disaster.
How is this good bedside manner? Im almost positive this is what Id call bad bedside manner.
Blayne didnt understand why every time she had to come into the emergency room of this hospital, she had to deal with Nurse Mengele. Blayne didnt know if the She-wolf hated dogs so much or just hybrids in general, but their conversations had gotten pretty hostile lately.
Why are you still in my ER, stray? Nurse Fun demanded. Dont you have to go beg for treats or something?
Her good nature gone, Blayne snapped back, Are those the real size of your thighs or do you stuff your pants to distract everyone from your face?
Fangs burst from gums and the two canines snarled and snapped at each other until a bear walked into the room.
What the hell is going on?
Nurse Death stepped back. Nothing, Doctor. But we have people who need the room and someone isnt leaving.
Im guessing that someone is you. The doctor motioned across the hall. They need you in room six.
Yes, Doctor.
The She-wolf glared and Blayne sneered back.
The doctor raised a brow at Blayne after Nurse McBitchy-son was gone. I cant leave you alone for two seconds.
She started it!
Doctor Iona MacRyrie, Locks older sister and amazing sow, shook her head and laughed. You say that every time. Placing her hands under Blaynes chin, she lifted her face. Honestly,Blayne. A rat did this?
It was a badger.
The badgers have made a return I see. For a while it was . . . what was it again?
Squirrels.
Ah, yes. Squirrels were out to get you.
Just one. But he was crafty . . . and mean.
Perhaps, Blayne, and this is just a suggestion, you should leave the small-prey animals alone unless you plan to eat them.
Iona turned Blaynes head one way and another. Ill give you something to put on these lacerations on your face.
Okay.
Blayne had first met the doctor at a small dinner party thrown by Ionas parents announcing the engagement of her brother to Gwen. But they didnt really speak, Iona spending most of her time trying to control her cubs. A week later, though, theyd met again when Blayne had ended up in the ER after a vicious run-in with an alley cat. Not a lioness Blayne was insulting by calling an alley cat . . . an actual alley cat. Iona wasnt the ER doctor when Blayne came in, but a neurosurgeon at the shifter-run McMillian Presbyterian Hospital that happened to be on her way home for the night when shed passed a bleeding Blayne trying to remove the psychotic animal still attached to the back of her head.
Twelve visits later, they had become quite chummy.
What did Nurse Fun give me a shot for? Blayne asked, the spot where the needle had entered beginning to hurt.
I have no idea. Tetanus, perhaps?
I got that a while ago and it went into my thigh. You know Im up on all my shots. That should be in my chart.
Im sure it was preventative. Iona stepped back. I dont know what it is about you two, but I doubt shes trying to poison you.
Blayne wasnt so sure. Can I go?
Yes. Iona pulled out a prescription pad from her doctors coat and scribbled something down. Put this on your face after washing. Keep the area clean. It takes longer for your lacerations to heal, so keep that in mind.
Okay. Blayne took the prescription. Thanks.
Youre welcome. You need a lift home? Im off in a few minutes.
Gwen can take me.
Iona folded her arms over her chest and stared down at Blayne, one brow raised.
She deserted me, didnt she?
She accuses me of being one of those butchers and refers to this hospital as a death trap. So what do you think, Blayne?
Id think that when she said Good luck surviving that death trap after throwing me out of the truck that she would have stayed around to ensure that I survived the death trap!