KENNA'S POV

I think my fingers have become the strongest part of my body, and it has nothing to do with what happens under my sheets at night. For months now, I've been scrolling through a dating app, searching for a match. Work at the clinic has been suffocating me. I'm lonely, bored, and borderline depressed. I need to feel something other than latex gloves– like a man's skin, or I'll lose my mind.

Why is it so hard to just decide on a man and message him? I've never done this before. Maybe I just don't have it in me.

I lock my phone, finish my coffee, and roll my shoulders. Today is Friday, so the clinic shouldn't be too busy. With one last look at my single-chaired dining table, I leave my cabin and head for the clinic.

– • –

"Code red! The big bad wolf is coming our way."

I'm not concerned when Chaney, a nurse, barges into my office. It's a regular occurrence for her to bring chaos here.

"The Alpha is coming."

That perks my attention.

Alpha Kaden is a busy man. A titan in social circles who barely has time to entertain. He has a chunk of land to patrol and hundreds of wolves to lead. There isn't much for him to do in this dingy little clinic of mine where the only interesting that happens is Chaney's gossip.

"For what?" I ask.

Is he coming to scold me for misusing pack supplies? Did he find out about the rolls of toilet paper and packs of napkins I take home every now and then?

"He's injured."

Impossible. Alpha Kaden doesn't get injured. He's a solid two-hundred pounds of genetic masterpiece. I've been working in this pack for five years, and I've yet to breathe in that man's direction. He has never needed my medical services.

"Uh... alright. Do you know where? What happened? Is it just him that's coming?"

I throw together materials that I might need. Chaney helps me carry everything into the appropriate room.

"A head injury. And yes, it's just him."

"Okay." I retrieve my gloves, letting the familiar feeling of latex stretch over my digits.

I smell Kaden as soon as he enters the clinic. He smells of the very pine and soil that he owns and of the metallic scent of blood.

The man steps into the room, his bare feet landing heavily on the tiles as if demanding attention. He's shirtless, but I avoid looking because once I admire those muscles, I won't be able to look away. I have no interest in getting fired for sexual harassment.

His short black hair is dusty and in disarray. Blood coats his forehead as it seeps from an angry gash. What I find disturbing isn't the gore but the indifference in his brown eyes. He's in no rush to get treated. Ever so arrogant, even against his body. This Alpha is a force to be reckoned with.

"I need stitches," he self-diagnoses.

Yes, he does. This kind of wound will take longer than normal to heal naturally.

"Yes, Alpha. I'll administer the—"

"There is no need for drugs. Just disinfect and stitch it."

Goddess, that would be insane. He would feel the burn of the chemicals and every hole that the needle pricks into his skin. I need to numb the area.

"I insist. Please, let me do my job."

His eyebrows raise. It looks like he doesn't have much experience receiving stubbornness.

"No drugs," he resists.

I have no interest in arguing with a man that is bleeding out, so I cave. Over the next thirty minutes, I clean the wound and stitch it close. We're inches apart. Close enough that I can admire his long lashes and soft lips, which are probably the only soft features the calloused man possesses.

His heat radiates, and I caress his strength with every stroke of my fingers. I'm grateful for the gloves that shield me from this overwhelming man, saving me from melting, but there is no escaping his penetrating gaze.

I suspect I'll soon faint and crack my own damn head open.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't flinch a single time. The male is made of rock. I'm stitching a boulder back together.

"All done." I step back. His forehead is now bandaged and clear.

I'm stiff as I clean up, fully aware of Kaden's gaze. Is he judging me? Sizing me up? Well, I'll do the math for him. My biceps are nowhere near as thick as his.

I snap my gloves off and trash them along with the used bandages. There's nothing left to do but escape my Alpha.

It's not that I dislike him; I have no reason to. He works hard for his pack and goes home to his private, lonely mansion. I like quiet people. There are too many loud ones in the world, trying to drown their insecurities in social media numbers and statistics, trying to put a cast on their pain made of leather, fur, gold, and whatever materialistic things they can buy. Kaden is as straightforward as they come.

He just... unnerves me. I'm a blink away from a heart attack. Those brown eyes are colored as the dirt I'll be buried under.

"Did you need anything else, Alpha?" I push a stubborn curl behind my ear, only for it to bounce back.

He reaches out, fingers skimming my cheekbone, and claims that curl. "You're aroused." He asserts. "Why?"

I swallow hard, trying to eat my tongue. I was a fool for hoping that he wouldn't notice. He's the master of this territory; The Ocean Pack. The land, water, and the air permeated by my arousal are his.

Stay professional, Kenna.

"Excuse me, sir. I meant no offense."

"None taken. I'd like to take you up on your offer." He stands, unrolling his magnificence. It feels like the room just shrank.

"I don't follow," I reply with a dumb folded expression.

"I find you attractive, Doctor."

I've had a few crazy fantasies– anything from sex with sexy aliens to having sex at the beach. None of my fantasies featured Alpha Kaden. Imagining him beside me wouldn't have been a fantasy but a delusion.

Now he's here, offering the unexpected. Is this a joke or a late Christmas gift from the Moon Goddess? Kaden isn't known for sleeping around. He's always wrapped in something, and from what I hear, it's rarely pussy.

(My problems seem resolved)

"Alright." I set my shoulders back. A puny attempt at matching his confidence.

Yes, I've just accepted his offer. I've been stressed the past months, and there's no one more fitting to pump that stress out of me than this male. I've only slept with one other wolf, so I have no idea how I'll handle an alpha cock, but those details can be worked out later. I'm way overdue for a vacation, so I don't care if the plane crashes as long as the flight takes me out of this world.

Kaden's eyes bounce from my chest to my eyes. "I need to tell you that there's not much I can give you other than sex. So if you're prone to get attached..."

"No attachment. Just casual sex between us," I interject. I'm smarter than that. I'm a doctor, well-versed in the psychological benefits of frequent sex. I also enjoy my tranquil life. The closer I get to Kaden, the more dramatic and erratic my life becomes. He will be kept at arms-length through our friends-with-benefits arrangement.

"Glad that's settled."

Those are his last civil words. His hands start doing the speaking for him, and they have nothing mannerly to say. He grabs my hips so firmly that I lose my footing. I'm lifted onto the patient's bed. This is the most inappropriate place to have sex, but I can't keep my legs from widening.

My lab coat and the rest of my clothes are yanked off until I'm bare-assed on the cold, cushioned leather of the bed. The only thing I wear now is my arousal, which pools on the seat below.

Kaden tugs my thighs further apart. His eyes feast on my pink flesh.

All of my senses are alert. This is crazy, borderline unethical, but I'm not crazy enough to let this golden ticket slip away.

My Alpha falls to his knees. A man that kneels for no one is before me, staring at my cunt with intent. He leans closer, and then I'm his. He licks my pussy from ass to clit, but he's a greedy man because he slurps the wetness that pooled on the seat below me, too.

He swept into me like death, and he's kissing me like he's trying to suck my very life right out of my core. He's dizzying, overwhelming.

I look at the bobbing head between my legs. He's so enthusiastic about tongue-fucking me that I worry he'll hurt his wound.

"Be careful with your-- Fuck. With your stitches!"

He doesn't take orders, so he ignores me and eats me with the same eagerness.