Wayward Wolf

Angel

Evelyn

"What the hell is that?" Sarah asks me as I step into work. She's sat at the receptionist desk, staring pointedly at the ginormous red and purple hickey on my neck.

I'm trying my hardest to stand straight even though my back and hips are killing me. If I knew giving Ray those Braille spice labels would result in the... passionate love-making that it did, I would've given it to him the second they arrived in the mail. Also, I had no idea I would like such rough sex, but the second I felt the sting of Ray's teeth digging into the skin of my neck, it was like a whole new world opened up to me. Suffice it to say we spent most of the weekend in bed.

"A hickey," I answer innocently, hiking my bag higher up on my shoulder.

Scoffing, Sarah pins me with a look. "A hickey my ass, it looks like someone tried to take a bite out of you. Is that courtesy of the new boyfriend?"

Said boyfriend couldn't even see it, but he looked pretty smug this morning when I told him I didn't have makeup thick enough to cover it. All he did was grunt, "Good," without even taking his fingers off his book. The thing is a mottled purple and red and it's going to last for days. It's incredibly unprofessional to go flashing my hickey at all my patients, but what can I do?

"Of course it is, Sarah, who do you think I am?" I shake my finger at her playfully as I walk past towards the breakroom. "I'm a loyal lady."

"Apologies. Can I ask, does he have a brother and is he hot?"

Calling over my shoulder, I answer, "Yeah, but one is married and the other's kind of a dick. Sorry."

"Damn."

After putting away my things, I get to work bringing patients back to exam rooms and prepping them to see the doctor. The women's clinic isn't so bad and I need it to get hours for my licensing, but I much prefer working with Mom because it's more focused on pregnancy and birth. We do more pap smears here in a day than we see pregnant women and it feels like having to eat a year's worth of vegetables before you get your dessert.

Finally, when lunch rolls around and I'm eating the leftover omelet that I taught Ray to make yesterday morning when Sarah pops her head in. A couple of other nurses on break look up but go back to eating when Sarah says my name.

"Eve, you got another delivery," she informs me, but she doesn't look as excited as normal which is odd. She told me before she's living vicariously through my love life.

Nodding, I put my fork in the container and get up to see what it is Ray sent me this time. Over the last few weeks, I've gotten a delivery at least every other day. Sarah's snatched a few of the chocolates that he's sent, but I figure he wouldn't mind if I shared. I can't possibly eat a whole box of chocolates once a week without getting fat. My ass is big enough as it is.

Sitting on the front desk is a cracked vase filled with dried, wilted roses, the blooms a deep purple and hanging precariously on the browned stems. Why would he send me a bouquet of dead flowers? Ray can be grumpy, but he isn't an asshole. We finally finalized the bond two days ago, why would he do something so mean?

"Is he trying to break up with you or something?" Sarah asks, standing beside me as we both stare of the vase of dead flowers.

"I don't know."

Sarah walks to the desk and picks up a folded piece of paper from beside it. "This came with it. Maybe it'll tell you why."

There hadn't been a note with any other delivery, but this better be Trev's idea of a stupid joke because then I can tell Sylvie and she can kick his ass. Unfolding the note, I notice something off before I even read the first word. This can't have come from Ray because it's handwritten.