by Jade Allen
Nobody spoke again until they reached the hospital. Seth jumped out of the car almost before it stopped moving, racing through the double doors of the emergency room.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Aiza muttered.
“I think Sera needs her family.”
“She has her family. Her new family. And she’s probably much better off with them.”
“Yeah, but they’re not blood. You know, Seth told me nobody came for her. Not her parents or her brother. Not even any friends.”
Aiza’s heart twisted, but her stomach was still in knots of fear, tightened by self-doubt.
“Come on. You don’t want to miss out on this chance. Trust me.”
“What if he doesn’t let me see her?” Aiza asked.
“He’ll let you see her. Seth is a good man, Aiza. He’s a good wolf and a good Alpha. And he loves your sister so goddamned much he’ll do anything to make her happy.” He said the words with such open and simple sincerity that she couldn’t doubt him. “Do you trust me?”
“You’re the only one in this world I do trust,” Aiza admitted.
“Come on then.”
Other members of the Longtail pack had followed the ambulance, and since they weren’t slowed down by an unexpected detour, they were already in the ER waiting room, staring anxiously at Seth, who was caught in a low conversation with a doctor. Noah led Aiza to the nearest chair, seating himself between her and the rest of the family, a protective hand on her arm. She felt the curious eyes fall on her, and she wondered how much they all knew about her and her last, unfortunate encounter with Seth and Sera.
“She’s in emergency surgery,” Seth said to no one in particular and everyone at once after the doctor walked away. “She’s lost a lot of blood. She may...they don’t know...about the baby.”
Seth’s pack immediately surrounded him, offering hugs and encouraging words and comfort. Aiza remained rooted to her chair, Noah at her side. The weight of his hand on her arm was the only sense of comfort she had, and it was fleeting. She wanted more. She wanted to curl herself against his chest and let his strong arms hold her there until this nightmare was finally over. She wanted him to stroke her hair and tell her everything would be all right, and then take her home and continue to hold her until she fell asleep. She wanted a hug.
But she didn’t deserve any of it, and so she remained as still and cold as a marble statue, the tears frozen behind her eyes.
It was impossible to say how much time passed before the same doctor emerged from behind the closed doors and gestured for Seth. He only said a few words before Seth broke away and ran past the orderlies, disappearing behind the swinging doors.
“Sir! You can’t go back there! Security!”
The waiting room suddenly erupted with noise and confusion. It quickly became clear to Aiza that the pack, far from helping the security guards and orderlies, was trying to stop them and create extra chaos to buy their Alpha some time. Nobody noticed Aiza in the general melee, and she took the opportunity to slip away from Noah and rush after Seth, using her nose to track his path.
He led her right to Sera’s bed. She looked so pale and helpless against the hospital sheets, with all kinds of wires and tubes protruding from her limp body. Aiza’s eyes flew to the monitors, which still showed a heartbeat and oxygen levels, but all the numbers seemed much too low.
“Let go of me,” Seth shouted, wrenching his arm away from a nurse that was trying to hold him back from the bed. “She’s dying!”
“Sir, sir, you have to calm down. We can help her, but—”
“You can’t help her. She’s dying right now. And I’m not going to let that happen.”
Aiza understood, better than anybody, what Seth intended to do, but everything was moving in slow motion. She tried to reach for him, but she was too far away and grabbed nothing but air. She opened her mouth, trying to beg him not to do it, not to curse Sera the way she was cursed, but all that escaped was a whimper. His face shifted, his mouth elongating into a snout, his teeth descending into sharp, brutal points. One of the nurses screamed, and Aiza hoped that would be enough to distract him. But he didn’t even seem to notice it.
“Don’t,” she choked out.
Seth looked up, his eyes twin discs of silver. “I can’t let her die.”
Aiza had nothing to say to that. She could do nothing, think of nothing except the reality of never seeing her sister again. Seth opened his mouth, his teeth flashing under the fluorescent lights, and then sank his fangs into the fleshy skin above Sera’s elbow.
Sera’s eyes flew open as soon as his jaw closed, and she looked directly at Aiza. First there was fear, then confusion—and then a flash of pain that Aiza felt in the center of her own heart.
“I’m sorry,” Aiza whispered, as the wolf’s virus entered her sister’s bloodstream. The change was immediate. Her heart rate increased, as did her blood pressure. Color returned to her cheeks and Sera had enough strength to scream.
“He’s coming! Oh God, oh God, the baby. He’s coming!”
One doctor went to the foot of her bed while another nurse finally pulled Seth away from her. Seth didn’t resist the nurse, but stood watching with a bloody mouth and wild eyes as his son kicked, screamed, and clawed his way into the world.
****
Noah managed to drag Aiza out of the emergency department and back to his car before they put the entire hospital on lockdown, which was the standard protocol when dealing with werewolf attacks. Hospital security had swarmed around Seth, dragging him to the ground and forcing his hands behind his back, though he did nothing to resist them, his attention locked on Sera’s still face. The nurses moved with the precision of an ant colony, working around the chaos to see to the baby and new mother. A voice overhead warned the staff that they were in the middle of a code 9653, and all patients were to remain in their rooms until further notice.
Aiza barely even noticed the pressure of Noah’s hand on her arm or the way he shoved her into the front seat. She was too dazed, too absorbed by Sera. She wanted to go back to her sister—wanted to protect her from further attack and to hold her hand—but she knew that wasn’t an option. Not with the security staff in the hospital on full alert and the cops on their way.
“What’s going to happen?” Aiza asked as Noah put the car into gear. “Why aren’t we staying?”
“Trust me. You don’t want to get caught up in this shitshow.”
“But what about Sera? Is she going to be okay? Is Seth going to be arrested?”
“She’ll probably be okay and he probably won’t be arrested.”
“What if he is arrested? Can’t you help him?”
Noah shook his head. “Not my jurisdiction. The cops might arrest him tonight, but unless Sera wants to make a statement and press charges, he won’t be going to jail.”
“Well, if everything’s going to be okay, why are we running?”
“I never said everything’s going to be okay,” Noah pointed out. “At any rate, the Brotherhood has eyes and ears everywhere. Literally, everywhere. All it takes is one asshole and your cover is blown.”
“My sister just had a baby and was turned into a werewolf and you’re telling me I can’t be with her?”
“For now. Look, Aiza, I’m sorry. Believe me, this was not my first choice. But your safety is my number one priority, and I couldn’t risk you being exposed.”
“Where are we going?”
Noah frowned. “It’s too far to make it to the safe house tonight. I need to go back to Seth’s and give everybody an update, then we’ll find a hotel.”
As Aiza did not want to return to the safe house at all, she signaled her agreement with a nod and turned her attention to the perfect darkness outside the window. The moon wasn’t visible through the blanket of clouds, and once they left the town limits behind, there were no streetlights or even oncoming headlights to break through the void.
“Is she going to be okay?” Aiza asked, without turning to f
ace him. “Is it...is the bite going to fix her like it fixed me?”
“I reckon it should.”
“And is she...Seth wouldn’t hurt her, would he?”
“Aiza, I trust Seth with my life. I trust him with the lives of my family. If you’re worried he’ll try to control her, don’t be. As an alpha, he has that power over every wolf in his pack, and he’s never used it.”
“Well, not to your knowledge. I just don’t want her to go through what I’ve been through.”
“Aiza, do you trust me?”
She opened her mouth to give an automatic of course I trust you, but the words were stuck on the back of her tongue. She did trust him. She truly believed he meant to help her, that he had no intention of causing her arm, and that he was a good man. In fact, she would go as far as to say he was the best man she’d ever met. Honest, kind, patient, intelligent, and dedicated.
“I’m...I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Noah said softly.
“But I am sorry. You’ve never given me a single reason not to trust you but I just...I can’t…”
“You can’t trust anybody, or anything, right now. I know. You can’t trust yourself. You can’t trust the law. You can’t trust the wolf who took your sister. You can’t trust your only friend. And I’m not going to ask you to because you have a very good reason to be on your guard. But I am asking you to recognize that your experiences have shaped the lens you use to view the world.”
“Are you telling me that everywhere I look, I see Dwight?”
“Can you tell me that’s not the case?”
“No,” Aiza admitted softly. “He’s...he’s everywhere. Sometimes I’m so scared he’s still in my brain and wonder if I’m making choices of my own free will, or if I’m still responding to his programming on some level. I think I still dream about him.”
“He’s not in control of you anymore.”
“How do you know?” Aiza demanded.
“Have you harmed anybody? Have you killed anybody? Have you wronged anybody?”
“No, but maybe it’s because I haven’t had the chance.”
“You just watched Seth bite your sister,” Noah pointed out, his voice low and even. “You didn’t attack him. You could have turned and lunged for his throat in a blink of an eye. Nobody would have been able to stop you. But you didn’t do it. It didn’t even occur to you, did it?”
It hadn’t occurred to her, but Aiza didn’t know if that necessarily meant anything. She hadn’t shifted once since the night she nearly killed Sera, and she had no intention of ever shifting again. She wished she could have the wolf removed completely. And now her system was burdened with the same beast. Was it so hard to imagine that one day she would be burdened by the same fears? The same guilt and recrimination?
“I want to see her in the morning. I’ll need to see her.”
“I’ll do my best to make that happen.”
It wasn’t the answer she wanted, but she would accept it because she did trust him that far. He would do his best.
He slowed, turning onto the narrow, unpaved road that led to Seth’s home. Something in the air changed and her nose trembled as the sleeping wolf inside of her began to stir.
“What’s that?”
“It’s blood,” Noah said grimly, pressing on the accelerator, though he couldn’t gain much speed on the loose gravel.
Her first thought was that maybe the scent of Sera’s blood had lingered in the air, but it was too strong. Too fresh. Her heart jumped to her throat while her stomach dropped to her knees, and in the sudden yawning gulf between them, she felt nothing but dread, dark and sludgy. She tried to brace herself, but she still didn’t know how to prepare herself for the worst.
The yard surrounding Seth’s cabin was full of vehicles and all windows glowed with light—and yet, there was no noise. Noah killed the engine and they sat for a beat in the heavy silence before throwing open the car doors and racing towards the house, the smell of blood growing stronger and stronger with each step.
“Stick with me,” Noah instructed as he pushed the cabin’s door open. They were met by more of that eerie silence. Aiza stayed close to Noah’s heels, scanning the empty rooms for clues. Somebody had been there, and recently, too, judging by the state of the kitchen: the stove was still on, and half-prepared food waited for the return of the missing chef. A TV was on in the den, though the sound was off, and muddy boot prints led into the house from the back door, but not out again.
They paused at the back door, the stench of blood so overpowering that Aiza nearly gagged. She no longer felt dread, just a terrible certainty—one she didn’t want to see confirmed. She reached out for Noah, putting a hand on his arm. He wrapped his fingers around hers and gave them a brief squeeze.
“Stay here. There might be...just...stay here.”
He braced his foot against the wall and pulled his pant leg up, revealing a holster strapped to his shin. He pulled the pistol free and turned off the safety, sparing her another quick look before opening the door. She did as he instructed and stayed within the cabin as he took his first steps out, his gun at the ready.
“Aiza, there’s a switch on the wall. Turn it on, please.”
She did as he instructed, and light flooded the empty backyard. Aiza took her first easy breath since they reached the cabin. Still, the smell of blood was strong.
“Hello? Is there anybody here?” Noah’s voice echoed through the dark trees.
A wolf melted from the shadows, shifting into a tall blond woman as she crossed the yard. Aiza found her familiar, though she couldn’t recall her name or where they met. “Noah?”
“Stephanie? What happened here? Where is everybody?”
“We were attacked.”
“By who?”
“The Brotherhood, I think. There were only four of them. I’ve got everybody in the panic room.”
“Was anybody hurt?”
“A few bites and scratches, but nothing fatal.”
“What about the attackers?”
Stephanie pointed to her nose and then gestured at the deep forest.
“You should get to the panic room, too,” Noah said.
“You don’t give the orders here, Noah.”
Noah immediately looked chagrined. “I’m sorry but, I just meant it’ll be safer there until the police arrive.”
“They’ll be long gone by then. I’m getting them, with or without your help.”
“I’ll help,” Aiza said, before she realized she meant to speak at all.
Their heads whipped around and it was easy to see the family resemblance in their coloring and the way their eyes narrowed.
“What are you—” She looked back to Noah. “What the hell is she doing here?”
“I brought her—”
“You brought her? What the hell were you thinking?” Her words were low, her fury undeniable. And that was when Aiza realized why the woman seemed so familiar.
“That wasn’t me,” Aiza said quickly. “I mean, it was. It was me. But it wasn’t—I didn’t mean to do those things.”
“She was under her maker’s control,” Noah said.
“Dwight?”
Noah nodded.
“That asshole was a real piece of work.” Stephanie looked her up and down and then nodded. “Just try to keep up.”
“Wait—” Noah started, but the withering look Stephanie gave him was enough to close his mouth.
“As I said, I’m going with or without you. It’s entirely up to you if you want to come along.”
“I’ll go with you,” Noah said.
“Stick with me. I don’t want either one of you wandering off on your own.”
Aiza undressed while Stephanie spoke and didn’t think twice before shifting into her wolf form, despite her previous misgivings. She owed it to Stephanie to help her. She owed it to the Brotherhood to fight them. She owed it to herself to do the right thing.
Noah shifted beside her, and his scent changed
as the wolf emerged. Aiza took a deep breath of it and barely contained her urge to bay at the moon. The fur on the back of her neck and tail stood on end, and she felt as though the air itself was electric. Her muscles tensed, and though her attention was on Stephanie, her senses were completely keyed into Noah’s—she wanted to run with him; to hunt with him.
Stephanie darted forward and Aiza was right on her heels, her body low to the ground, her ears laid back against her head. Noah was right behind her, so close she could feel his breath on her tail. Aiza had spent time with Dwight as a wolf, but only him. She had no idea what it felt like to hunt in a pack, no idea what was expected of her, and no idea of what she might be capable of if she had allies at her back. But it still felt natural to move with them, to follow Stephanie’s lead as she took deep breaths, searching for that tendril of a scent.
There. She stopped, her tail and ears going up as her nostrils flared. Stephanie must have caught the same scent, because she changed direction without stopping, her steps so quick and light she made no sound at all, gliding through the underbrush like a ghost.
They came to a clearing, slinking on their stomachs to the edge of the shadow. Enough moonlight broke through the clouds to illuminate three men standing over a wolf. Its ragged breathing indicated that while it was still alive, it wouldn’t be for long. Stephanie’s ears went back, her lip curled in a silent snarl, and Aiza’s response was bone deep, her body coiling, ready to spring forward in an instant.
She thought Noah was at her side, but she didn’t look to find out—not wanting to take her full attention from her alpha’s target.
A cloud drifted over the moon, cloaking the figures in darkness, and that’s when Stephanie made her move. She moved so swiftly that she had the target on the ground before anybody, including Aiza, knew she had moved at all. The two remaining men instantly transformed into the stronger, faster versions of themselves, giving Aiza the precious seconds she needed to put herself between them and Stephanie’s vicious attacks.
