Page 26 of Shattered Soulmates

Marissa

Last night’s party was the best we've ever had, thanks to the entertainment portion of the evening, and I'm just getting warmed up. I’m sure it will be talked about for years to come. I was told that Knight had to actually carry her home last night because she was so dizzy she couldn’t walk. That means both those goody-two-shoes were drenched in fruit punch last night. I laugh at the thought.

I slip out of bed, leaving Miles still sleeping. After a quick shower, I dress in shorts and a tube top. I head out the door to the med clinic. Walking through the clinic corridor, I run into Rachel, the med tech. “Marissa.” She nods. “Do you need to see me?” She eyes me warily.

“Yes.” I smile.

“Go on into room #3 and I will follow with my hologram cart,” Rachel replies.

I sit on the exam table and glance around at the various charts on the walls. Several run-of-the-mill announcements about the different body parts of the wolf systems. Front and center, there is a Cheating Mate Syndrome symptoms chart. They’re really pushing that hard. It’s like an entire movement in the shifter world right now. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it based on what I saw at Stone Mountain. But it should be easy to pull the wool over Rachel’s eyes.

“So, how can I help you?” Rachel enters the room, pushing a cart with her holographic screen connected.

“Everything we talk about here is confidential, correct?” I ask.

“Yes, of course. However, we’re not as strict as humans. All medical records are accessible to medical professionals at every facility across the territory, since electronic files are stored in a centralized database. This consolidation of records enables us to diagnose and treat illnesses or conditions more quickly and efficiently. We cross-reference health trends to ensure correct diagnosis. And, our health records are also accessible to the Alphas and the Alpha Commander,” she explains.

I squirm uncomfortably. I need to approach this carefully. If I’m going to lie, I have to be good at it. Iusually am. “Please be as discreet as possible, but Miles is cheating on me with Paisley.”

“Honestly, that wouldn’t surprise me, if you hadn’t said ‘with Paisley’. In that, I think you’re mistaken.” Rachel states coolly. “Paisley isn’t the cheating type, and besides, she’s done with Miles.”

Why does everyone defend Paisley? This really bugs me! You’d think she was a darn saint! I seethe, as my claws try to come out.

“I know he is, I caught them!”

“How did you catch them?” She looks skeptical.

“I walked in on them in our apartment one morning,” I lie. “I went to town to run some errands and discovered I left my purse. So, I went back and there they were.”

“What day?”

“Huh?”

“What day did you find them in the bed together?” Rachel insists.

“Oh, it was last Monday.”

“What time?”

“What difference does the time make?” I fume.

“Answer the question, Marissa.”

“I don’t know. Ten o’clock?” I say. Lying has always come easily to me, but Rachel is the grand inquisitor. She doesn’t give it up.

“So, you’re telling me, she skipped work on Monday morning?”

“Huh?”

“You expect me to believe that they both skipped work Monday morning, and it’s not all over the rumor mill? And, how am I just now hearing this?I’m sure you threw a fit for all to hear.”

“I–I–maybe it was lunchtime. We’re quibbling over semantics,” I huff, waving my hand in the air.

“Fine,” Rachel acquiesces. “Is there anything else that supports your claim?”

“Oh, yeah!” Symptoms! Shoot! She means symptoms. “Vomiting, nausea, you know the normal symptoms associated with CMS.” I point at the poster on the wall.

She notes the chart, then looks back at me with narrowed eyes.

---