Page 137 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“Is this…” she started.

“Something you’ll never see in human medical textbooks.”

“Oh…” Amelia winced. It took her a few seconds before she figured it out. “Wow, impressive. Do limbs really regenerate?”

“It depends on the individual. As far as I remember, that case was of a lycanthrope who regenerated very well, despite the severe trauma. However, I’m not sure he would have if it weren’t for Viktor’s supporting salves, restoring exercises and motivational words.”

Amelia’s gaze focused on his. “Is Viktor your best friend?”

“One of them,” he said, wondering if he had ever mentioned Viktor before, for her to make the assumption. He must have.

She returned to the notes, sifting through pages and making comments. Mikhail found himself entertained by her reactions. Occasionally, she would scrunch up her nose at something, raise her eyebrows, or simply read the text out loud.

Until she suddenly closed the book and looked up at him. “I… I can help.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can work. Here! At the Hospital.” Her face lighted up. “I could read all of your notes and learn from them. I was about to graduate in medicine, after all. It shouldn’t take too long for me to catch up on immortal anatomy and the like.”

“You wish to work as a healer at the Hospital?”

“As a surgeon,” she said. “I’m not prepared yet, but I’m a quick learner, I promise.”

He imagined her in the Hospital’s OR, dressed in scrubs, working alongside creatures. Like she had when he’d taken her under his wing. His gut tightened at the thought, and his chest warmed up simultaneously. Could he allow her? In his OR?

Mikhail had brought her here with the idea of igniting her enthusiasm, but not to that extent. He wanted her cooperative enough to participate in the mind experiments he’d planned for the day. But having Amelia fully invested in his immortals’ healing…

He crossed the distance between them and placed his fingers on the book she held. “Our patients are not humans, Amelia. You may learn their anatomy, but their behaviour is not something you could easily get used to. In states of pain and confusion, which are the states of many of our patients, the internal spirit always predominates.”

She dropped the book on his desk. “Meaning what?”

“For us, unstable emotions often lead to aggression. You don’t have the supernatural perceptions of an immortal to sense when somebody is about to lose it. You might get hurt.”

As her features fell, something inside him stirred. Fuck. He disregarded it, folding his arms over his chest. “A few days ago, you tried to run away, and now you’re talking about working in here. You do realise that if I let you permanently inside the ORs, it means you’re staying here, forever?”

Her eyes widened, suggesting that she hadn’t really thought about it. Just like last night. She had desired him, but hadn’t realised who exactly had been in bed with her. Mikhail made a mental note to remember that.

“I’m aware that it would require me to stay here, but…”

He interrupted her, “Are you also aware these are not humans we’re treating at the Hospital?”

“Of course.”

“Once you get inside the OR, however, it gets as real as in any other hospital.”

“I know, and I can handle it!”

Like she’d handled him… A vision of her moaning softly while he’d taken her to the edge – and over – swam to the forefront of his mind. He chased it away. “What would you do when a patient of yours bleeds like a pig but you cannot get to them because they’ve become violent?”

“I will sedate them?”

Her naïveté made him laugh. “This is no game, Amelia. You flinch, and people die. Just like in real life.”

He pushed aside the memory of her reaction the previous night, but the echo of real lingered. She had sought proof that all of this was real, and when it had come in the form of his aroused – but still human – state, she had recoiled. Mikhail understood her fear, but he couldn’t afford to take risks with what could happen in the OR. His creatures’ lives depended on his surgeons’ focus and control. He wouldn’t hold her past reaction against her, but he couldn’t ignore the reality of their situation, either.

“But I’ll never be alone during surgery. There will be other healers as well, right?” she insisted.

Mikhail towered over her. “And what happens when you glimpse the beast behind your patient’s face? The animalistic fury, the predator’s determination?”

---