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She stomped her foot, ignoring the raised brows her antics earned from said oafs. "You settled it. I don't appreciate being dictated to!" Staying with his pack was one thing, but bringing enforcers from the pack here to the human clinic she worked at was another thing altogether.
"Iris …" Derek's voice held an unmistakable note of warning. “Must we go over this again? I’m sure we both have more pressing matters to attend to.”
The guards didn't so much as blink, even as she gestured rudely in their direction. Their flat impassivity just made Iris even crazier. She was so going to tear into Derek later forinflicting these useless mountains of muscle on her without notice.
"Ugh! I can already tell this day will be miserable with those zombies looming over my shoulder every second," she fumed dramatically, stabbing the end call button.
The guards maintained their silent sentry as Iris flounced onward. She shot a deadly glare at the pair of enforcers, which only made them grin. With an irritated huff, she flipped her hair disdainfully and marched through the clinic, getting to work.
She had worked here at the clinic without their supervision just fine. Heck, she had worked here at the clinic longer than she had known Derek! Would the human clients even know what to make of the strange shifter guards watching her, or would they just be creeped out?
She muttered a few more choice insults under her breath, but the pair continued plodding behind like programmed robots. Iris snarled. she was even more motivated now to confront Derek tonight about his unilateral security decisions.
As Iris continued on her way, irritation slowly gave way to introspection. She was still adapting to the reality that someone now cared deeply for her personal safety and well-being. After a lifetime of fending solely for herself, trusting another to share that vulnerability felt jarringly unfamiliar.
Realistically, she understood the risk posed by Cyrus's vendetta wasn't something Iris could casually dismiss just because she’d handled previous threats alone. But her lone wolf instincts railed against seeming weak by accepting round-the-clock protection.
Iris knew Derek's protective stance came from a place of love rather than domination. She was his true mate now … leaving her unguarded would torment the man unbearably. With a rueful sigh, Iris acknowledged she would likely react the same were their positions reversed.
Her inner wolf had always scorned relying on another. But Iris was discovering firsthand the ferocity that bonding with one's fated mate unleashed. She would do anything to keep Derek from harm. Grudgingly, she admitted that she could understand his similar relentlessness regarding her safety.
All day long she was continually reminded she was being watched and tried to keep herself busy. She focused on taking patients, going through herbal remedies, and filing paperwork. She finished stitching the gash on Mr. Talbot's forearm and sent the grateful farmer off with strict wound care instructions.
As she cleaned up the examination table, movement caught her eye from the hallway. Iris stifled an irritated sigh as she spotted one of Derek's appointed guard wolves peering through the clinic's front window. His bulk was barely concealed by the decorative foliage framing the glass.
"Real subtle, boys," Iris muttered under her breath, shaking her head. She appreciated their dedication to watching the perimeter, but their looming presence still grated.
Over the next hour, as she met with more patients, the guards made their sentry cycles increasingly obvious. Iris caught glimpses of a shadowy figure striding past doorways or spotted them lurking behind vehicles when she ushered clients out. Honestly, it was bordering on comical how conspicuous the undercover protection squad was.
The morning passed swiftly as Iris lost herself in the demands of the bustling rural clinic. Here, she was in her element, expertly soothing a feverish child, cradling an elderly woman's swollen arthritic hand between her own to ease pain, and carefully cleaning and stitching a farmer's badly torn forearm.
Iris felt she could lose hours engaging with patients in this small but busy local practice she had cultivated, listening compassionately as they described symptoms while herpracticed healer's eye cataloged what remedies would help mend their varied ills. Her wolf spirit always relaxed blissfully during these sessions, energized by fulfilling their purpose.
As the last patient before lunch departed gratefully, Iris tidied up slowly, contemplating her unexpected change in circumstances. She took pride and satisfaction in this work, helping vulnerable human members of the rural community without expectation of reward.
Could she really leave this fulfilling role behind to immerse fully in pack duties someday? Her longing instinct was to serve both worlds, but realistically, that seemed unsustainable. She would need to have a serious discussion with Derek regarding this tension soon …
Iris was reorganizing the medicine cabinet, distracted by her swirling thoughts, when Tyra, the clinic’s veteran nurse, sidled up next to her.
“All right, hon, out with it.” Tyra nudged Iris’s shoulder. “You’ve been wandering around here all moony-eyed and jittery as a spooked deer. New man in your life, I take it?”
Iris snorted, nearly dropping a vial of antibiotics. Trust the nursing staff to call her out. “Is it that obvious?”
Tyra chuckled knowingly. “Let’s just say I haven’t seen you drift off with that dreamy look. He must be something special.”
Despite herself, Iris smiled, thinking of Derek. “He’s … a surprise,” she admitted. “One I’m still getting used to …”
"I can tell, honey." Tyra laughed. "You've been wandering around here all morning, nearly walking into walls." She nudged Iris's arm affectionately.
Iris laughed ruefully as her colleague bustled off, a little relieved that she wouldn’t have to explain further yet. She wasn’t sure what to say, especially knowing that she’d owe Tyra an explanation when … notif, butwhen… her healing career was superseded by pack duties.
She loved acting as a counselor and caregiver for vulnerable members across both species. The thought of abandoning either community, human or shifter, filled Iris with quiet sorrow. She resolved to discuss this tension soon with Derek, hoping compromise might allow her a paw in each world a bit longer.
Still, she didn’t want to say anything to anyone until she had gotten closer to the root of the issue. So she turned to her next patient, deciding to do what she did best. Focus on her work.
Iris gently cradled Mrs. Abner's swollen, arthritic hands, carefully working in the anti-inflammatory balm from herbs she had recently acquired. When she finished, the elderly woman patted her wrist fondly.
"There now, all sorted," Iris said. "The extra peppermint should help with pain too."
