Page 27 of Red King
I have to hold back a smile. She’s something. The last time a female…make that, anyone dared to talk to me that way—
My heart sinks. It was Anya, my mate. Steel will push the boundaries. Nothing like this.
I step into the clinic. “How bad is it? Do we need to organize transport to the Mainland?”
“Lauren is injured, thanks to you and your stupid demonstration. I warned you. I asked you not to go through with it.” Paisley keeps her gaze on what she is doing. Her whole stance is rigid. “I told you there would be terrified women in the group, but you didn’t listen.”
“That’s enough, Nurse Paisley,” the doctor says. “Think about who it is you’re…” He clears his throat. “That tone is unnecessary. The Tribute has—”
“Her name is Lauren,” Paisley says in a clipped tone, standing up to her superior, which I like.
The injured female whimpers.
Paisley snorts. “And actually, I think my tone is very necessary, Dr. du Pont. Lauren has a head wound and probably a mild concussion.”
“Lauren will need a couple of stitches but will be fine,” Dr. du Pont says. “Nothing too concerning,” he tells me.
“It could have been so much worse.” Paisley glances up at me with blazing eyes as she says the last.
“Perhaps we should have this conversation in the hallway,” I say.
“I’m busy.” She continues what she’s doing, ignoring me.
It pisses me off, but I love it all the same. No one stands up to me like this. Certainly not a staff member. It’s refreshing, infuriating, and so fucking sexy.
I swallow thickly, pulling in a deep breath.
“My apologies, I need Nurse Paisley, um…Arctic.” The doctor winces as he says my name. Like it physically hurts me not to address me without my title. Steel is right; I won’t be able to keep my identity a secret for very long. “Perhaps you could give us ten minutes?”
“Let me get out of your way.”
Paisley gives me a look that tells me she thinks it’s a good idea that I go.
“I can see you have everything under control. Please inform me if anything changes. If you’re concerned about anything,” I tell the human healer. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Lauren. We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “I’ll be fine.” Her voice sounds strained. “I’m so silly. I just…I…I panicked. It’s my fault.” Her voice is muffled because she’s facing the other way and isn’t speaking up.
“It’snotyour fault,” Paisley says, throwing me another dirty look. “You should never have been put in that position in the first place.”
“I hope you feel better soon,” I tell Lauren. “Please keep me updated,” I tell Paisley.
“Will do,” the doctor says. I find that I don’t want to hear from him. I want to hear from her. It’s because I know she’ll give it to me straight, and he…won’t.
“Nurse, fetch a suture kit,” the doctor tells Paisley.
The injured human whimpers again. It sounds like she’s crying.
“It’s okay, Lauren.” Paisley puts a hand on her upper arm and squeezes gently. “It won’t be nearly as bad as you think. The painkillers must be kicking in by now. You’ll get a little injection to numb the site. You won’t feel a thing, I swear.”
“I know. I’m overreacting…I’m sorry.” She sniffs. “I’m such a baby.”
“Stop apologizing. You have nothing to be sorry about. You are—”
I slip out of the room, gently closing the door. There are two guards waiting for me. Steel is standing a little way down the passage.
“Do you feel better now?” he asks me, eyebrows raised and an amused expression on his face.
“No,” I reply. “We have no idea what we are doing. You could have mentioned how timid some human females are.”
