Guarded Hearts

Mary, her assistant and nurse, walked in. She was dark skinned with braided black hair and black eyes, with a figure that had the men of the town drooling. "Katie I'm about to go home." She said as she walked into the holding rooms.

The phone started to ring; Mary sighed and grabbed the phone. "Shield veterinary clinic Mary speaking."

"Ah good someone was there, I'm Dr Sheppard, I need Dr Shield to come to the hospital, we need her," a deep male voice, that had Mary swooning, asked.

Mary covered the mouthpiece, "oh my god... that new Dr. down at the hospital has an orgasmic voice."

Katie smiled indulgently at Mary. "And why is he calling."

Mary blinked for a moment then chuckled, "yeah sorry about that, he would like you to go to the hospital."

Katie sighed, "That moggie that lives in the loading bay must be in trouble." She gestured for the phone, which Mary reluctantly handed over. "Dr Shield speaking."

"Hi, Tomas Sheppard, we need your help at the hospital, a Were was just brought in and I don't know how to work on a wolf." The deep voice said with just a little bit of anxiety.

"Okay... how big is this wolf." Katie asked her mind ticking, a Were? Here?

"Big... I mean massive... easily five or six hundred pounds." He answered.

Katie went pale, the average grey wolf in this area weighed between 90 and 130 pounds, they could get bigger but no bigger than 175 pounds. "Okay... I'll need Mary to come. We'll be there as soon as we get what we need." She hung up, "sorry Mary..." she apologised for possibly messing with Mary's plans.

Mary waved her hand in a doesn't really matter manner, "don't worry I only had a TV dinner to look forward to... instead I have a reason to check out the new hot doctor." She rubbed her hands together with glee. "Not that I need a reason." She added. "So why am I needed?" She asked, as she hadn't been paying attention.

Katie took a deep breath, "it's a wolf, so we need everything we would use to work on a big dog and triple everything."

"We're working on a wolf? At a hospital?" She questioned as she went to do as she was asked.

"No... a Were." Katie said as she raced to her locked medicine cabinets and grabbed a medium sized cooler. She loaded it with all the sedatives, anti inflammatory and antibiotic drugs she had. She locked it up and raced it to her SUV. Mary followed quickly with two big toolboxes filled with everything they could need; she dumped them and raced back into the clinic to grab the rest. Katie ran around the clinic performing quick checks as she locked up. She grabbed the last box and took it to the SUV then turned and quickly locked up.

Mary jumped in her small sedan and followed Katie. They raced through the middle-sized town; the police saw them but didn't stop them even though they were breaking speed limits. They parked near the front doors but not restricting the emergency bay.

"I'll get a gurney to get this inside in one trip." Mary said as she raced forward to grab a gurney. Katie nodded and grabbed one of the large cases and raced inside as she didn't know if the Were was critical or not, although if he was she would have had a police escort.

She walked up to the front desk, "hello Emma how's Mr Wiggles." She asked the elderly woman on the front desk, her cat was always getting into trouble with small tight places.

"He's fine... that cat run you suggested has kept him out of trouble." She said as she stood. "You're looking for the Were, treatment room one." She said and pointed in the right direction.

"Mary is coming with more supplies." Katie warned.

Emma nodded and waved her away.

Katie smiled and walked into the emergency department. She walked into a separate room attached to the department and paused at the madness as people hovered over the massive black wolf, which was draped across two beds, which had been pushed together.

"He's not breathing." A nurse said clearly panicked.

Katie sighed and shook her head, as her eyes scanned the wolf. Thick coat, she hated thick coats, they hid injuries, if she could, she would shave all his fur off. She could see some things, his snout seemed broken, his left ear was torn and one hind leg was very broken.

She put her bag down on a table and wheeled it over. "Everyone step back." She ordered and was instantly obeyed. She opened her kit and pulled out the things she would need to clear his airways, in moments she had his tongue tied to his bottom jaw and a tube down his throat to help him breathe. Mary joined her and went pale at his size; she now knew why Katie had asked for everything that would be used on a big dog, however, horse would have been a better description.

Mary shook her head to clear it and grabbed an oxygen machine. "Do you want him on oxygen?"

Katie nodded, "normal levels we would use for a dog should be fine but keep an eye on his gums." Mary nodded and connected the machine to the tube and turned it on, adjusting the levels until she had the right mix. She then made sure the tube wouldn't be dislodged; she used a bandage to tie the tube in place, making sure it wouldn't be dislodged. Katie was listening to his heartbeat, it was strong and steady, a good sign.

She pulled away and hooked her stethoscope around the back of her neck. "Any chance of getting in touch with a Were doctor." Katie asked as she pressed a finger to his gums then pulled it away; it went pink again almost instantly, another good sign.

A nurse held up her hand, she was on a phone, "just got shunted to the Were relations department of the FBI." She informed them.

Katie nodded and went back to work, her hands running over the wolf looking him over. Mary was shaving his right fore leg so that she could put in a line.

"I want you to take some blood I need to know his haemoglobin." Katie told her wanting to make sure there was no internal bleeding.

Mary rolled her eyes, she knew the drill although she wasn't sure the drill would work on a Were. She inserted a needle and attached a saline drip. She then went to his neck and shaved another place to take a blood sample.

The nurse with the phone raced over and tucked it under Katie's ear, "you should have someone who has medical knowledge. I got passed around a lot." She explained.

The hold music suddenly clicked off, "Amy Luis speaking."

Katie went very still; she had not expected to be put on to Amy Luis herself.

"Hello... anyone there." Amy said slightly amused.

Katie shook her head to clear it, "yes... My name is Katie Shield, I'm in Colville Washington and I am looking at an injured Were."

"Are you sure, to the best of my knowledge no Were, not even rogues, live in that area." Amy asked.

"I've never seen a six hundred pound wolf before." Katie answered.

"Ah... I see. How badly hurt?" Amy asked.

"I'm surprised he's still alive." Katie said.

Amy thought for a moment, "he is probably immortal; he would have to be to be that big."

"Is there someone you can patch me through to so I can ask some medical questions?" Katie asked as she checked the colour of his gums again.

"Yep just hold a second..." she partially covered the mouthpiece, "NATHANAEL." She called out she waited several moments. "Here this is Nathanael he is a pack doctor who knows about immortals." She handed the phone over.

"Hello." A gentle male voice spoke.

"Hi, I'm Katie, I'm a vet and I'm standing before a six hundred pound male wolf." She said cutting to the chase.

"Any chance of getting him to shift?" Nathanael asked serious.

"Unlikely, he seems to be unconscious, he hasn't moved since I've been here. Just a second." She covered the mouthpiece, "has he moved since he was found." She turned looking at everyone but everyone shook their heads.

"No he hasn't moved or woken up at all." She answered.

"Okay I'm assuming you've cleared his airways and set a drip, load him full of sedatives, I mean to a point that would kill and set his bones." Nathanael told her.

"But..." Katie went to argue.

"You won't kill him, you can't kill him, trust me. You must set his bones before they fuse wrong. It takes incredible force to re-break those bones correctly." He told her. "Do you know how long ago he was attacked?"

"No." She moved to one of his leg bones, which was clearly broken and tried to move it. She swore, as the bone wouldn't move at all. "I'm guessing a while ago, the bones in his legs have fused wrong."

"Okay... just a second." he covered the mouthpiece. After a few minutes, he was back. "Okay... just keep him out for the count, I'll get there as soon as I can." he hung up on her leaving Katie wondering how long it would take before Nathanael got here from where ever he was.

Electra silently fumed after she got the call from her boss to go and see what had happened to this unknown Were, Nathanael was racing around the clinic, he would be going with her to help treat the immortal, her mother was talking to some elders before she willed them to Colville. She didn't want to go; going meant leaving her mate and just the thought of that made her queasy.

"Are you ready to go?" Nathanael asked as he put a case that he kept in the car down. She lifted the bag she carried which held a couple sets of clothes, she was dressed simply in jeans and a muscle shirt, her badge glinted off her belt, her gun holstered at her side, and the pouch where she kept her new metamorphic cuffs was in the small of her back.

"Why me... I'm meant to be on leave?" She whined she really just wanted to cuddle up to Mayhem.

Amy walked in, "quickly Electra the elders are here."

"Why?" She asked as she grabbed one of the heavy bags Nathanael had packed with medical supplies.

"They are going to perform a temporary affirmation so that you both won't get anxious while you're apart." Amy explained as she grabbed another case of Nathanael's as he grabbed his bag. "Now, Wolfgang is bringing a SUV around, while we get you and Mayhem sorted others will pack it up and when that's done I'll will you and the SUV to Colville."

Electra nodded as Bastion and Sage snatched the bags and raced off. Electra hugged Mayhem tight, "I don't want to go." She admitted.

"You must. You are needed." Mayhem told her as she pulled out of her mate's arms.

"This is just temporary, the moment you are back together what we will have done will dissolve." The elder warned. Electra nodded and lifted her top. The elderly woman tied a piece of string around Electra's waist, a moment later she had done the same to Mayhem. She touched both pieces of string silently binding them. "You can shift the string won't break." She told them both and they nodded.

Electra pulled Mayhem close and kissed her deeply.I love you and I'll be home as soon as I can.

Mayhem nodded and pulled away.I love you too.Electra turned and raced to the car knowing from personal experience that the sooner they got the bones re-broken and set the better.

Nathanael got behind the wheel as Electra jumped into the passenger side. Amy rested her hands on the bonnet of the car, no one questioned the fact that she hadn't done anything like this before. She had willed a car home, but she was in it, she had willed the cubs to their room without going with them but never had she willed a car and two people to a place she had only seen a picture of.

Electra blinked then glanced around, she would never get used to the fact that there was nothing to indicate movement. No lights or feeling of nothingness, one moment you were one place, less than a blink later you were just somewhere else. She could easily understand people's shock, she had done this so many times and it still unnerved her. They were before a hospital in a parking spot. "Do you ever wonder how she does that?" Electra asked as she got out.

"I've long resigned myself to not bothering when it comes to your mother." Nathanael answered dryly. Electra chuckled and grabbed one of the cases he had packed; he grabbed the other and locked the car.

They walked into the hospital, Electra flashed her badge at the woman in the office, "which room is the Were in." She asked.

"Room one." The elderly woman answered and watched as they went to find it.

Electra walked into the room clipping her badge back onto her belt. They came to a stop beside Katie. Nathanael sighed in a defeated sort of way, he knew what every immortal in north America looked like in all three forms except one so he was confident about naming the Were before him.

"What's wrong?" Electra asked.

"It's Ghost." He told her sadly.

Electra sighed, she could understand now. "He didn't need this."

Nathanael nodded as Katie turned to him, recognising his voice.

"Nathanael?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes... benefit of knowing Ancients, instant transport anywhere in world." He told her.

Electra cleared a table, put the case up on it, and opened it up. Nathanael copied.

"Okay Electra... lets get to work." He told her.

"Yay breaking bones." She said sarcastically.

"At least you're not on the receiving end of this." Nathanael shot back, he understood her anger, firstly she was separated from her mate who she wasn't bound to fully. Secondly she was meant to be on leave but every other member of the Were and Other department was currently too busy dealing with the abolished slave ring to come and deal with this.

She nodded she had to concede that although luck had been on her side, she hadn't felt her bones being re-broken.

Nathanael turned to Katie, "ignore her, she's just pissed she's not at home with her mate."

"I am meant to be on leave..." She growled.

"Take it up with your boss not me." He defended as he approached Ghost. He gently stroked Ghost's body his power instantly streaming into Ghost's body finding out what had happened to him and what was wrong. "Okay Electra... pass me a long syringe needle."

"Internal bleeding?" Electra asked as she handed him the longest needle she could find.

He nodded. "His spleen ruptured, it'll heal once the pressure is relieved." He took the needle and stabbed it into the chest cavity blood quickly started to flow out of him.

Katie grabbed a kidney dish and held it under the needle, "will he need a transfusion?" She asked.

"No." Nathanael answered simply. "Trust me... he will survive this and I've seen worse..." he glanced straight to Electra, "haven't I?"

Electra nodded, her torn and broken body after they pulled Mayhem off her was in worse condition than his. "Okay where do you want me?"

"Tail to snout." He told her. They worked methodically going over him with a fine toothcomb, re-breaking bones, which were fusing wrong, and setting them with splints. Katie helped by getting them anything they needed and holding splints in place as they tied them tight to keep the bones from moving.

They rolled him onto his side and removed the needle in his chest. "Katie can you hand me a set of forceps." She handed them to him.

"Do you think he's suicidal again?" Electra asked.

Nathanael shook his head and pulled out a bullet. "Not unless he's learnt to shoot himself in the back." He put the bullet in a kidney dish and flushed the wound but left it as it was already beginning to close. He ran his fingers through the coat and pulled out buckshot, "and with two different guns."

Electra broke and reset a shoulder blade, "does his neck need to be re-broken."

Nathanael pushed her hands away and felt his neck carefully. He nodded and stepped back. "A sharp tug to the left should do it."

She nodded and did as he said, everyone winced as loud wet snap echoed in the room, they set his neck and immobilised it. "Last but not least." She grabbed his snout, re-broke the fusing bones, and reset his snout. "How long do you think he'll take to heal?" Electra asked.

"One... two days max." Nathanael said absently as he sat on the floor and pulled out a pad so that he could make an official account of Ghost's wounds.

"Does he still need the oxygen? or can he breathe on his own?" Mary asked having staid out of their way and just focused on pumping him full of fluids and making sure his gums staid a healthy pink.

"He can come off the oxygen but leave the tube to keep his airways clear." Nathanael ordered not even glancing up from his note pad.

Eric walked in holding onto his wide brimmed hat. He and one of his deputies had come across Ghost, it had taken him and four others to move him and get him here, they knew he wasn't just a wolf, that he was Were and more than that they knew he had been attacked and beaten to within an inch of his life.

"Will he live?" Eric asked the room, he had a light tan; his black hair was long and kept back in a low ponytail. He had a kind open face with dark chocolate brown eyes. Jeans encased long powerful legs and a white shirt was pulled tight across his chest with a badge attached to it, his gun was holstered at his hip.

"Did you find him Chief?" Electra asked as she showed him her badge.

"Yes Agent..." He said fishing for a name.

"Luis." She answered having resigned herself to using her parent's name, "Electra Luis, this is Nathanael Luis." Electra said as she pointed him out.

"Any relation to Senator Luis?" Katie asked.

Electra nodded, "I'm her daughter. Nathanael however took the last name of his Alpha because when he was born they didn't have last names." She turned to Nathanael. "When was that by the way... which century?" She asked.

He sighed wondering when they would give up about trying to find out how old he was, it was vast becoming an annoying joke. "Funny Electra..."

"Well if you weren't so damn secretive about your age we wouldn't push so much?" She answered back.

He sighed, "I'm not that old... I'm not as old as Bastion."

"And that is..." She prompted.

He rolled his eyes and remained tight-lipped.

Electra turned to Eric and waited for him to introduce himself. He blinked for a moment then smiled, "I'm Eric Walker." He walked forward and offered his hand to her. Electra shook it and smiled.

"So when did you find him?" Electra asked.

He nodded and pulled out a pad, "I was looking for truanting kids when I found them. They sometimes go into the woods and get drunk and take drugs." He flicked through his pad then stopped on a page. "I found him on a dirt road at 10 this morning, I assumed he was Were, never seen such a big wolf. It took five people to move him and not hurt him. We then brought him here, I had one of my men section off where I found him and called the FBI."

Electra turned to Nathanael. "What happened to him?"

"Ghost was attacked by four or five men." He told her firmly, "he was shot at, ran over, hit with a baseball bat, iron bar... repeatedly until he stopped moving, also his head was stomped on. He had four fractures in his skull."

Electra sighed, grabbed her phone and called her boss first. "Boss... it's me Luis... we have a hate crime."

"How bad... will they live?" Her boss asked concerned, there hadn't been a confirmed hate crime in at least two years.

"Physically he'll be fine, mentally... I don't know." She answered him.

"Are you going to tell your mother?" He asked catching her concern.

"I have to... I think I'm going to need Maria's help to catch these men." She rubbed her face, "she won't like it but... ma will be able to talk her around. I'll keep you informed."

"Remember three cameras have to be on what she does at all time." He reminded her, recently precedents had been set for allowing certain Were abilities to be admissible as evidence in a court of law, Maria's ability was one such ability that was admissible but she was rarely used as she refused to leave her pack's land to help the FBI, even though what she could do, was exceedingly useful.

"I know. Bye." She hung up and quickly dialled her mother. "Hi ma."