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Samson Aleser wasn’t feeling lucky as he strolled through the double doors then ducked into the staff lounge. He wasn’t hospital staff, but his volunteer status granted him certain privileges at Pagosah General which he wasn’t above taking advantage of sometimes. Tonight was one of those nights since his crappy apartment had no water again.
“If you’re desperate enough to drink that sludge, your night must be worse than mine.” Alyx Adamson grinned and opened a cabinet over the fridge. “Want some stale cookies to go with that coffee?”
Joining her at the small table, Samson gulped down the caffeine then stuffed a sugar cookie into his mouth. It had been a rough night, a rough week...he stopped the train of thought there. “Yeah, bad day.”
She shuddered then collapsed into a chair. “Governor Norther visited today. You know Chief Administrator Gwyn, right? He’s the short, bald, paper-pushing weasel, and I mean that metaphorically, running us into the ground with overtime and budget cuts. He almost tripped trailing after the Governor to suck up. The Governor’s newest idea is separate but equal hospitals. He doesn’t want magic to taint us humans any further. Apparently, he missed the history lessons in school where magic helped save us.”
Samson choked on the cookie and grabbed his coffee without meeting Alyx’s gaze. Magic was known and mostly accepted and all attempts to force witches and shifters to register had failed decades ago. There was always someone who thought it was a good idea though whenever there was a new virus outbreak, a downturn in the economy, or even a human criminal in the news.
“I hope that legislation fails. If Norther or Gwyn spent any time in a hospital, they’d know we need all the help we can get. We can’t keep nurses much less volunteers and we’re constantly running out of supplies.” She shook her head then reached a hand out to cover Samson’s where he still clutched the cup. “I don’t know what we’d do without people like you. Those little babies need to be held now. If nothing else, studies show these early days are critical for creating healthy, functioning adults like us who pay the Governor’s new taxes.”
“And I should probably get to it,” Samson offered before pulling back slowly.
Alyx squeezed his hand once and smiled. “Sorry, I just needed to rant. Like you said, it’s been a bad day. The Governor required several demonstrations so we’ve been short-staffed all day. I’m cranky and my shift isn’t even halfway over. Thanks for listening.”
Nodding, Samson watched her stand and leave. Her scent lingered but humans didn’t emit the same strong pheromones as shifters. All he could catch was unscented soap and detergent usually favored by healthcare workers. Almost all babies, even human ones, reacted favorably to the scent of an Omega though so he couldn’t completely hide his scent at the hospital. Even wearing a freshly laundered volunteer uniform wouldn’t mask it from close inspection.
“Hop to it, sexy. You have babies to soothe.”
The door slammed after the brief appearance of Maura Garvan. She lacked all of Alyx’s gentleness, but no one could deny she was good at her job. Samson was almost positive she was a shifter but both of them abided by the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. He still stood and stretched to follow the order. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to spend time with the babies. They were much easier to understand and please than adults.
His identification tag allowed him access to the secured nursery. Currently, eight bassinets were lined up and filled with babies. Samson paused and sucked in a full, deep breath. Shifters didn’t form a personal scent until puberty, but emotions and family scents could be discerned easily enough on babies. One was stronger than the rest and he followed his nose to see the little girl. Her dark hair only made the yellow tint of her skin more noticeable. She wasn’t crying, but he scooped her up anyway. Cradling the baby so her nose could rest against his neck, Samson paced the small space. The child snuffled against him, whimpered, then cooed softly. He patted her back and continued walking for several minutes.
Lost in the haze, it took him several minutes to realize the lullaby music had been replaced with soft orchestra versions of classic rock. It was still soft and now the music soothed the babies and him. He rounded the line of bassinets and saw Maura grinning at him. She shimmied and danced down the hall and out of sight of the large window. Samson rolled his eyes and resumed his walk. The baby’s scent softened to the point of no longer omitting distress so he returned her to her bed.
He walked each of the tiny bundles one at a time. The air in the nursery grew heavy with the sweet scent of content Omega and Samson’s eyes grew heavy. After every baby had been held, he returned to the first little girl. He cradled her close and sat in the rocking chair. The baby stirred and gurgled happily when she felt his rumbling purr. Whether it was science or magic, Samson was grateful he had only purred around the babies. He closed his eyes as he relaxed into sleep.
Catnaps were aptly named.
Samson awoke when the door beeped to allow Alyx into the room. She smiled and offered him a bottle of water.
“I don’t know how you work full-time and then come here.”
“Construction sites are loud and smelly—” Samson spoke through a yawn.
“Nurseries are loud and smelly too,” Alyx teased with a smile. She made a show of sniffing loudly then shrugged. “Okay, right now, this nursery is quiet and smells baby sweet, but my point remains.”
The baby in Samson’s arms stretched then stuffed her fist in her mouth. He let his head drop back as the temptation to nap was still nagging him. His actual bed was several blocks away.
“I love coming in here after you’ve worked your magic.” Alyx rolled her head and shoulders with her eyes closed. “This is so much better than the lavender wipes we use.”
Samson didn’t bother to tell her it wasn’t technically magic and lavender was used in some witch’s spells. His Omega scent wasn’t something Alyx could identify, but it still seemed to impact her. Standing slowly, he partially lifted the sleeping child. “Do you want to hold her or should I put her down? It’s time for me to head home and get some sleep.”
Blinking, Alyx swayed on her feet then jerked back. “Sorry, I guess I’m more tired than I thought. You can put her down. I’ve gotta get back to work. Thanks, Samson. I’m on a different shift for the next three days so I don’t know when I’ll see ya next.”
After the nurse left, Samson placed the baby in her bassinette. He made a point to never look at the names. They were technically a job for him...even if they fulfilled some deep, primitive need he didn’t fully understand. Without the babies, there was no need to linger so he rushed to the staff lounge but froze when he pushed open the door. The sheer number of bodies inside the small space kept him on the other side of the doorway.
“—and it starts in three weeks.”
“There’s no way the Mayor is supporting this.”
“Apparently, the Governor’s friends have deep pockets. We’ll be the test they hope to use to get other hospitals to do the same.”
No one had noticed him so Samson backed out and started to turn away. A hand on his arm almost made him snarl.
“We’ve gotta talk.” Maura’s dark wavy hair swayed as she strode forward dragging Samson with her. Once they were in an empty patient room, she released his arm and placed her hands on her hips. “Very soon, all personnel, doctors, staff, and volunteers will have to sign a paper stating they are human or magical. As if witches and shifters aren’t human too.” She sniffed and turned away.
“Wait, that’s what they were talking about in there? The Governor’s plan?”
“The Governor’s plan is already in action. Money talks.” Maura rubbed her thumb against her fingertips then placed both hands on her hips again. “We can’t let this happen.”
He backed away with a frown. “Sounds like it already has.”
“You know that means any abandoned shifter babies or anyone identified as a Gull won’t be tended to, right? If we pick human to save ourselves, we’re leaving them alone. They need more contact than even human babies do...God, I hate that designation. We are all human.”
“We?” Samson stepped closer and took a deep breath. There was no familiar animal musk in her scent.
“Yes, we, dumbass.” Maura crossed to the bathroom and pulled something from her pocket. She ran the water then swiped at her neck several times.
Samson could smell her before she stepped back into the room. “You’re a shifter.”
“Yep, just like you.” Her tone and grin were smug. “Thought you’d already figured that out.”
Pulling his lips back, Samson let his body partially reveal his feline form. Teeth extended and fur sprouted while most of his human features remained. Maura twisted her head to the side then snapped it forward again. Her nose elongated into a black-tipped snout and her petite frame tightened into hard muscles. He nodded once and they both reverted.
“Haven’t seen too many Wolverines.” Samson watched her reapply a cream to her neck and the animal musk in the air immediately lightened.
“As if golden kitties like you are a dime a dozen in this city.” Maura faced him once more. “Now, can we talk about what we’re going to do about this stupid political ploy? You got any uber-rich friends or family?”
Samson leaned against the far wall and fought back the memories of his lost family. It took more seconds than he’d like to formulate a response. “If I did, you think I’d work construction eight to eight each day?” He held up his hands to show the cuts and callouses.
Maura’s gaze didn’t stop on her hands, it raked down then up his body with a grin. “That explains the body. Bet it makes you good with your hands too, right?” She licked her lips in an exaggerated motion.
“Can we focus on the problem?” Samson crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the woman.
The nurse wasn’t impacted by his expression and continued to grin. “I’ve seen you flirt with anything on two legs, pretty boy.”
It was easy enough to ignore the playful teasing since she wasn’t wrong. He wasn’t above using his looks to deflect people and flirting was fun. However, Samson had kept his face perpetually covered by scruff after hearing about his full lips since he was a teen. He’d even had girls complain that his lashes were longer theirs but there was no way to change that. Luckily, most people got bored quickly if he didn’t flirt back. If he did, things still end quickly.
“What? Am I not your type?” Maura twirled a strand of dark hair around one finger and pushed her lips out in an exaggerated pout.
He couldn’t resist giving her the same inspection she’d given him. Samson then grinned and winked. “You’re definitely missing a few things to be my type.” It wasn’t strictly true since his previous partners had been male and female, but it was the easiest out.
Laughter greeted his words. “Okay, can’t blame a girl for trying but you’re actually a little too pretty for me anyway. We can stick to business. I know some people working on a plan and they may need our help. For now, stick to your routine but call me if anyone approaches you or you hear any gossip.” She handed him a small card with a single number scribbled on it.
Samson tucked the card away and made his escape from the Wolverine and the hospital. There was no one waiting in his tiny cramped apartment, but his den still brought some comfort.