Uncontrollable Heat

Part 1

 "Liv! Can you get more gauzes before your break?"

"I'm on it."

As Olivia walked away from the bed, she tugged at her elastic, her black hair cascading around her shoulders. The last drunk patient that came to the ER had been quite the fighter. Keeping him down long enough to sedate him had her looking like she'd gone through the wringer.

She ran her fingers through her dark hair before wrapping it up again in a tight ponytail. It was next to impossible to get a break when you covered the night ER shift. But honestly, she didn't know how much longer she could go on without stepping aside. This was not a good night.

She was in heat. Her skin was sticky, her nerves were on edge, and everything sent her spiraling down the wrong direction. She hated the weakness it brought forward, how needy it made her.

The smell of blood. The drunken men flirting a little too much...

It was getting to her. At least everyone was human.

She pressed her index finger between her eyes, rubbing the skin to soothe her headache away. Thinking straight was no longer feasible. Gauze, and then some fresh air. She could do this. She could get through the night. Then she'd go home and take care of the urges that had plagued her the entire night. By herself. Like she often did during these times. It was safer.

There was only one person she ever sought comfort from - the rest of the times, she pulled through it solo-mode. It wasn't natural for her to seek another werewolf; she wasn't like most of them. Olivia wasn't born like this. She became a werewolf.

Thankfully, her encounters with other members of her new species were far apart. Sometimes, in the street, she'd get a sniff, her body would tense, and she'd know what to do immediately; run like hell. She'd always followed that advice. Sure, tonight was a little more dangerous. But - she'd never seen a werewolf this far into the city and she knew no one at work was one.

It was safe. It was almost over.

Olivia refocused her attention on her task at hand, unlocking the blue metal cabinet with the key dangling from her ID badge. She grabbed as many packs of gauzes as her hands allowed her, pressing them to her chest. She locked it back with one hand and turned around, her back pressing into the door of the nearby patient observation room. Then it hit her.

An Alpha.

She'd never smelled one before and yet - her body knew.

The second the scent reached her nose, she stiffened up. She could see the staff, the patients, the visitors as they walked past her, but she felt in another dimension. She, however, stood there, clutching at gauzes, frozen in place. His scent was the sole thing she could smell. It fogged up her mind, her body heating as she dug her teeth into her bottom lip.

No. It wasn't possible. Her heart beat faster, straining against her chest. She would have known. The second he would have walked in... had he been there already? She'd been busy... tending patients in the ER, running off of the get some much-needed supplies.

Could she have missed it?

She made a point to always be careful. Human side first, instinct later. However, that musky scent in the air called out to her. This was why she never worked during her heat - it made her prone to stupid decisions. Like this one. There was one wolf who'd been around her while her heat plagued her. Only one. Her self-control had been poor... to say the least.

He warned her. He told her. Stay home.

Her best friend had asked for a favor and she had obliged. She did so much for her. How could she refuse this one favor? Plus, werewolves rarely came strolling into the emergency room. What could happen in the span of twelve hours?