1 Dante 1

The room stunk of chemicals as the disgusting doctor held off on the most crucial part of the exam. He was a cruel man of a doctor, with his wild black hair in a mess, pasty skin with red marks, beady brown eyes, hidden behind thick glasses, and his minuscule, human body build. Even the most scrawny of the wolves was more built than this man.

The Doctor smiled over his shoulder, a cold, evil look, as he pulled a needle out of his box of tools. Every wolf's least favorite part of the exams.

"Now, now, Dante, time for the finishing touch." He stared at me, his eyes full of malice.

"You are a sick man, you know that, right?" I asked, letting my power fill my deep voice.

I may not have been a pack alpha, but I certainly had the power of one. I just had no interest in the politics of it.

"I'm hurt, Dante, it's only a little silver. You know as well as I do that it helps with the blood drawing process." his smile turned into a sneering smirk.

It was clear that he hated the wolf-shifters, most humans did, but he was the type who went out of his way to inflict as much pain as possible on anyone he didn't like.

He gripped my left arm, resting on the exam table in the middle of the room, knowing that I couldn't fight back without causing problems for my pack. Of course, he wasn't gentle when pressing the deadly metal into my skin, roughly piercing both skin and blood vessels.

"Oh, darn, I slipped again" he laughed quietly as the wound bled with the removal of the needle.

I jerked my arm back, my right hand pressing against the bleeding opening. It would heal in a few minutes, much longer than if it were a wound inflicted by a different material.

The door of the clinic office opened and a strong, sweet scent filled the room, jerking my attention from the horrible man.

"Ah, Miss Hannalee, that's quite the timing you have there" I heard the doctor sneer as a young woman walked into the room.

She was absolutely stunning, long blond hair that didn't seem to go quite right with her light skin. Her inhumanly green eyes looked from me, sending a chill through me, to my arm, then hardened as she looked at the doctor.

She smiled icily "I see the rumors were true after all, Doctor Barta."

The Doctor blanched slightly, which I would think impossible with his already pale skin, then asked "and what rumors might those be?"

The woman, Miss Hannalee, stepped into the room, getting close to me, making my body go stiff. Her scent was filling all of my senses, creating a rather unwelcome reaction within my pants. And it took all my restraint not to move as she pulled on my bleeding arm.

She took one look at my arm, glared over her shoulder at the doctor, then pulled something from her jeans pocket. It looked like a container of lip balm, but when she opened it, it had a stick of something white with red spots. She dabbed a finger on the material, pulling it away with what looked more like a powder. Before I could stop her, she pressed the powder covered finger onto the wound.

Of course, I expected pain. After all, she was human, and humans hated wolves, but, instead, I felt instant relief. I stared, wide eyed, not sure which to look at, the powder that had somehow sealed the wound, or the woman who was now releasing her hold on me. I wanted her touch back instantly. I knew what these feelings meant. It meant the same for all wolves. She was my mate.

She turned back to the doctor, who stared at her in shocked horror.

"I'm here for a specific reason. That reason being you. You will no longer be seeing any patients. My superiors are already aware of your actions and I have been sent to inform you that your position as doctor is now removed."

"What the hell? What did I do wrong? Why am I losing my position?" he snapped, anger radiating off of him.

On instinct, I got slightly closer to miss Hannalee, my wolf screaming at me to let it surface and press its fur against her, to mark her with our scent.

"You have been abusing your role, and abusing your patients. I understand that humans hate wolves, but that gives no one any right to harm another intentionally." She stated calmly.

She glowed with a power that seemed impossible. She was human, her scent was clear about that, but this woman was strong, with an aura of inhuman influence. My wolf and I both knew that there was something more about her, something that the doctor clearly wasn't aware of.

"You bitch, I've done nothing wrong. These beasts can handle a little pain." Doctor Barta spat.

She stepped up to him and a soft warning growl escaped my throat without a thought. She grabbed the needle from his hand.

She inspected the needle, then said "Silver doesn't just hurt them, you know. One wrong move and it will kill them. Then it won't be just your job you lose. It will be your life. No government official will protect you for the act of killing a wolf who is clearly part of a pack. The alpha will have full rights to avenge any wolf killed by a human, just as they have the right to avenge a wolf unjustly killed by another pack."

I tensed, seeing her clearly warn the man with a confident smile, as she stated the laws that all wolves knew, but few humans knew. Whoever this woman was, she knew a lot more than could be truly seen as safe to a pack. I had to protect her, I knew it in an instant.

The doctor stared at her, wide eyed, fear in his gaze. Then he looked at me, stiffening further when he saw the death-glare I was giving him, mixed with a smile that would make even the strongest humans blood run cold. He knew I wouldn't hesitate to kill him, giving the permission to from my alpha.

"W-w-what? A-a-are you some kind...of beast lover…?" He asked, clearly shaking in fear.

I watched her, hesitantly, fearing what her answer might be. She obviously didn't smell of any other wolf, so she had no partner, but if she was saying all of this simply because of her job, maybe it meant that she didn't approve of wolves at all. If this was just a job to her, then making her understand what she was to me would be so much more difficult. Sure, I could bite her and when she shifted she would understand, but to bite her against her will could result in her going berserk, which would mean that she would have to be killed.

"All life is equal, Doctor." She answered smoothly "And whether I love a human or a wolf, is really none of your business. One life will always balance another, it is no ones right to decide what race may or may not live."

Of course, in my eyes, that didn't fully answer the question, but at least she seemed to understand the ways of nature. It was true that humans and wolves weren't on the best of terms, but in the end, each race benefited the other.

The doctor snarled and looked like he was about to snap at her, then looked at me, glaring, and simply left the room.

She let out a soft sigh, the sound going straight to my already painful erection, then turned and looked at me with a sweet smile.

"I'm really sorry that you and your pack have had to deal with him for so long. A new doctor will be appointed soon, and I'll be making certain that they are much better for the wolves."

I could almost swear that there was a glow behind her eyes, something that no one else would truly notice. I could see her figure through the tight, white long-sleeve shirt and her blue jeans. She wasn't as tall as me, but most humans didn't grow to the height of wolves. And, even if she wasn't truly human, it didn't matter. I needed her.

She rested her hand, clearly not deterred by my silence. Now I hated that I'd never been good with words. In pack events it just meant I was left alone, but I didn't want her to ever leave me alone.

"I should go make the formal report" her smile softened and she slid her hand away from me.

I grabbed her hand faster and possibly with more force than was really necessary, but she didn't flinch or pull away, like any other woman would.

She seemed surprised, looking at where my hand held hers, then up to my eyes.

"I..." I struggled to get the words out without my wolf showing in my voice "My names...Dante."

Her surprise turned back into a smile, this one shy, as she focused on me "Hello Dante, my name is Hannalee."

"Y-you mean, that isn't your family name?" I asked, probably sounding stupid.

She shook her head "I have no family name."

A flicker of sadness flashed in her eyes, instantly erased by the kind smile.

"It truly was nice to meet you, but I must be on my way to make the report."

Her hand slid from mine with uncomfortable ease, and she was in the hall before I could say anything more.

I ran to the hall, but she was already on her way, so far from my reach, and my wolf howled to bring her back.

"Can I see you again?" I called after her, knowing that everyone in the building could hear me with how loud I had spoken.

She froze, clearly tense and smelling of fear and guilt.

"I...don't think that would be a good idea..." she looked over her shoulder, speaking so quietly, with an uncertain look in her eye.

My wolf and my own mind screamed with a need to find out why she felt such fear. It obviously wasn't fear of me, it was something much more, something that I knew had some connection to her comment about having no family name.

Before I could say anything more, she was walking again, already turning down the next hall. I couldn't move, but I could still hear her, still smell her as if she was next to me, still feel the tingling on my skin from where her hand had touched. Naturally, I heard the door closed as she entered an unseen room, started dialing on a phone, the pause of her waiting, then the sound of her soft, sweet voice speaking a language that I'd never heard before. Which was odd, since I had learned many different languages and also enjoyed many films with languages that no one spoke anymore. I wanted more than anything to know what she was saying.