Page 1 of Lightning Strikes

Chapter 1

Angela

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“Dr. Miller, room two is ready for you!” Melissa calls out from the hall outside of my office door. I stand and I pluck my white coat from the back of my chair, shrugging it on as I walk over to room two. I groan as I grab the red patient folder from beside the door and flip through it quickly before stepping in. The bright lights assault me for a moment… I keep my office too dark, apparently.

Cutie, male, age three. A rottweiler, poodle mix is in for refusing to eat and hasn’t pooped in almost a week. Why do humans wait so long to bring their pets to the vet? If it was them, or one of their kids, they go to the urgent care down the road at the first signs of anything remotely ‘off’. I suck in a few deep breaths to calm down, plastering a smile on my face as I set the folder on the counter beside the sink and glance over my shoulder to the owner. I begin washing my hands as I look over the older man and the pup on the table.

“Hello, my name is Dr. Miller. Can you explain what’s been going on with Cutie?” The older human male seems exasperated about having to even be here and just shrugs.

“He stopped eating and my wife told me this morning he hasn’t gone number two in several days. The front office lady said that I can’t just drop him off, but I have a game in an hour that I can’t miss.” I nod mutely, and I’m assuming from his attire, he’s playing a round or five of golf today. He’s wearing a deep purple polo, khaki pants, and nice tennis shoes. So golf is more important that this little guy’s life?

I dry off my hands and grab my stethoscope from around my neck and listen to Cutie’s bowel sounds… I hear none. He also has signs of bloating and his nose is bone dry, as are his pale gums and tongue. “Has Cutie been drinking any water or urinating?”

The human shrugs his shoulders and continues glancing at his gold Rolex watch. Tapping his shoes on the floor as he glares around the room, expecting me to speed up the visit.

“Well, I need to get him back for x-rays and will also run blood work. I can try a catheter for some urine tests. Looks like he will be here for a few days in our attached hospital. Would you be able to wait a few hours for the urine test and x-rays to be completed?”

He shakes his head and stands before sending me a wide smile. His dull, brown eyes are shuttered and he really does not want to be here. He runs his fingers through his thin, gelled white hair, frowning at me as the rest of my stutters speeds through his brain. “No ma’am. Call my wife when he’s ready for pick up.”

I close my eyes with a sigh and chew on my lip. “Please see Melissa in the front for a deposit and leave your information for us to call you.” He rushes out of the room and I roll my eyed before I glance back down to the odd little dog and kiss his nose.

“Now that he’s gone, I can heal you, little one. Let me check you out to make sure I don’t have to do any surgery.” I talk softly, low enough to calm him down. He lays down on the cold, steel table and closes his eyes. My hands glow a soft golden color and I start from the tip of his nose, down every limb to his fuzzy tail.

He has a large blockage in his intestines and is severely dehydrated on top of starving. Gosh, poor baby. I’ll have to give Mac a call for a house visit to his owners to ensure any other animals in their care are safe… Sounds like they need a good talkin’ to anyway.

I push my magic into Cutie’s stomach and close my eyes as I imagine the blockage breaking up and moving down. “You should be fine by tomorrow, pup.” I step away after I secure him to the table and I grab the items to place an IV so that I can work on hydrating the poor guy. I shave his arm and get him situated, drawing up three vials of his blood before hooking up the fluids. I rub his head as I use my magic to sedate him and after he falls asleep, I place a catheter to run some urine tests, then call for Melissa to transfer him to x-ray and into a room for a few days.

Humans aren’t in the know about paranormal ‘creatures’. Our ancestors tried that millennia ago, and all it got us was dead. The fae protected us, then abandoned us after running through their portals to Faerie… then closing them like the cowards they are.

According to the myths passed down from generations, the fae have either all faded or died after they left us here. No one has seen one in centuries… They used their magic to hide us from humans, protected us in hidden towns, and were revered as gods and goddesses among the paranormals… Now there’s barely any of us left. Shifters, vampires, and mages are what our elders tell us around the bonfires and spin their tales from their long lives.

Here in Prescott, Arizona, I’ve only met shifters. My pack is miniscule compared to the larger towns; there’s only about twenty of us left here. Instead of following the ‘traditions’, I went to college and became a veterinarian. I’d rather deal with animals than humans or just my pack members as a pack doctor, not that anyone knows about my powers – and there’s no way in Hell that I would travel to other packs to help them.

Only the alpha knows about my magic now that my parents are gone. And that’s how it’s staying. I’m technically the pack doctor here in Prescott, but with only twenty of us, I’m rarely called.

I clean up the room after Melissa moves Cutie to our attached hospital, sighing as I wash my hands again and head back to my office to write up the notes from his visit.

I’m the only vet in today so I have a packed schedule until closing at seven, then Blake will be coming in for the overnight shift. He better not be late again today. That little asshole has been grating on my nerves for months.

After a handful of new puppy visits, some shots, and yearly check-ups, I’m finally walking out of the front doors by eight. Blake was late, Melissa talked too much, and I had to check in on Cutie to make sure he was doing well. The block should be passed over night and we will slowly add in soft food and more water when he’s ready. Not much more I can do since magic can’t cure starvation or dehydration. I did add some more sedation so that Blake didn’t pump him full of drugs.

My clinic is in the main part of Prescott, a few blocks away from the bars and shopping centers. My pack lands are in a deep part of the national forest, far away from humans, thankfully. There’s no way I could live so close to any of them again. All of the sounds, smells…

Shit, I never called Mac. I pull my phone out of my pocket of my scrubs and scroll until I find his number as I walk to my truck that’s in the parking lot behind my clinic.

“Ang. How are you doing?” My best friend answers. Fuck, how I’ve missed his voice.

I unlock my truck and start it up. “Hard day today, I need you to check up on an elderly couple.” I explain the situation about Cutie and he groans loudly into the phone. “Shit. I’ll head over there first thing tomorrow. Glad the pup doing well, now. Are you heading to the pack meeting tonight?”

I grumble as I slap my turn signal to turn left to the bars instead of pack lands. “Nope. I need a drink. Tell thealphaI’m sorry.” He chuckles as he hangs up on me and I drive until I find a bar that isn’t too crowded.

You would think a small town would be filled with the elderly or lower-class. Not here. More and more young couples and families are moving north, away from the inflation and packed cities. I park behind Yodel’s and run my fingers through my hair before grabbing my purse and stepping through the doors rickety wooden doors. I’m still in my kitten printed scrubs, but it’s not like I’m looking for a mate. Or any man at all.

Been there, done that. The piece of shit cheated on me and knocked up his mistress. It wasn’t even him to tell me the truth – it was the enraged, pregnant mistress that walked intomyhome while I was naked in bed withmysoon-to-be-mate. The bitch just smiled, jumped into his arms and cried about how happy she is that she’s pregnant with their pup and they can finally mate.

I’m still fucking enraged about it.

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