by Pixie Unger
Fuck, he missed pussy. The pack generally helped each other out, but it wasn’t the same. Gus told him he hadn’t gotten any since he turned back in 1867. He had never belonged to a pack with an Ulfurinn in all those years. Although, really, when Mac thought about their previous Alpha, he could understand why no female would want to stick around.
Bastard had carved a smile onto the face of every member of his pack. That was just unnecessary, but the sick fuck had gotten a kick out of calling them "A Pack Of Jokers." Honestly, the best day of his life had been when Marv ripped the asshole’s throat out.
September 4th
Mac noticed her smell change. Fear. He stopped reading for a moment and slid his chair a little closer. There wasn’t any sign of movement, but…
“You're safe. You're in the hospital. We’re takin’ care of you.” He thought for a moment, “We’re takin’ care of Molly too. She gets lots of walks and we found the right brand of food for her. She misses you, but the doctors won’t let her come visit. You gotta wake up so you can come home to her.”
He stopped to watch her for a long moment, “I want to hold your hand. But I won’t until I know it’s OK. We’ve been helping take care of you. Brushing your teeth, moving your arms and legs a bit to keep your blood flowing. Gus made you a bunch of warm socks. You seem to like them. Or at least you like having warm feet. Your heart rate goes up when we take them off and comes back down after we put a new pair on.”
“Sean found out you like those fancy colouring books, so he got you a bunch and some real nice pencil crayons. Marv got a room set up for you.” Mac hesitated, “We’re hopin’ you come home with us. We can still drive you into Plattsburg every day, if you wanna start school after New Years. You don’t havta stay with us, but we are all hoping you will.”
He thought some more. “It’s complicated. We want to have everything ready for you if you agree to come home with us, but we don’t want to cross that line into creepy. Gus figures he and me‘ll have to stay out of your way for a while, when you first wake up. We aren’t exactly pretty. Sean and Craig are more chick bait, so you will probably wanna spend a lot of time with them. Marv says if you wake up, what happens next has to be your call. He won’t insist on anything.
“I hope I get a chance to talk to you when you wake up. Gus thinks it’s weird that I talk to you when you can’t answer, but you were afraid five minutes ago and now you are more calm, so it can’t be all bad.”
He watched her for a moment. “I’m going to hold your hand. If you get afraid, I’ll stop, OK?” He waited for a moment. “OK, I’m taking your left hand. Wow, your fingers are cold too. Maybe I should get you some mittens. I’m not sure they would let me put them on over the IV. If you don’t mind, I could just hold your hand and keep your fingers warm. I know I’m babbling. I don’t know what to say and it’s harder than I would have thought holding up both ends of the conversation. I’ll go back to reading now that you are feeling less afraid.”
Mac watched her for a moment. Fuck he had no idea how to talk to girls anymore. He was vaguely aware that you were supposed to call them women now. He had left humanity at the age of 24 in 1975. At that point he had been listening to punk music and pushing for anarchy in the world. He wanted to date a girl who wasn’t a poseur. And would suck his cock.
Sadly, these days all he wanted in a girl was one who could survive.
September 4th
“Are you supposed to be holding her hand like that?” Marv was frowning. He was here to take over observation from Mac. It had been a shit day. Their parts order was late. The jackass who had ordered a custom bike from the shop had tried to haggle on the finished product. The fairy ring in the forest had opened and the pointy ears made his teeth itch. Fuck, you spend the day repelling an interdimensional invasion through a naturally occurring wormhole and all you get is stabbed. Not even so much as a thank you, because (if you are doing your job right) the public never finds out they almost became the newest slave race for an ancient and powerful species.
Mac looked guilty. “She smells more relaxed when I’m holding her hand.”
“Really.” Marv sounded sceptical.
Mac let go. Sarah’s fingers curled around his, weak as a newborn kitten, there was barely any pressure in her grip, but it was there.
“Shit.” Marv said, staring at their hands. “Looks like you’re staying, boy.”
Mac swallowed, “Can you hear me, Sarah?”
Finger twitch.
“You fell and hit your head. You are in the hospital.” Mac hesitated. Marv was pheromone dumping like his life depended on it. “Can you squeeze my hand again?”
It was gentle, but it was there.
September 5th
“Hey! Stop! You can’t bring a dog in here!”
Craig rolled his eyes. Clearly he could bring a dog in here, the question was could the staff force him to stop. The answer was no. They might just not understand that. Marv had said the girl was starting to show signs of waking up. This would help, therefore this was what was going to happen.
He ignored the nurse who was flapping at him. Molly seemed a little nervous about that, but Craig rubbed her ears and she settled right down. Until she saw Sarah. Then she gave a bark and jumped into bed with her owner. She smelled Sarah’s face, then laid down and began anxiously nosing the girl’s hands.
Once Molly got her head under Sarah’s hand, she started to whine.
Sarah’s fingers twitched and started to scritch the dog.
Craig and Marv made eye contact. The nurse ran off.
“Tell her to open her eyes.” Craig said.
Marv shook his head, “I don’t-”
Craig interrupted. “I can’t do this. I’m not dominant enough. We need to know if her brain is still working or if her muscle memory is doing this. They are going to take her away for tests in a moment. You need to tell her to open her eyes now.”
Marv glared at him. Craig dropped his gaze.
“Sarah. Open your eyes.”
Craig turned to stare at the girl. Her eyelids fluttered. It was a start.
Mac gasped. Craig ignored him.
Marv considered this, “C’mon, girl, open your eyes.”
They cracked open a little and closed like someone trying to wake up from a deep sleep when they weren’t really ready too.
“Look at me.” This time Marv really put some weight behind the command.
Craig relaxed. At this point Marv would do what needed to be done. Instinct would take over. It would be fine. Marv had never not known the Black Treaty. Craig had lived in isolation for hundreds of years before he learned of it. So, while he wholeheartedly approved of the treaty, it wasn’t second nature for him the way it was for these boys.
----
Sarah’s head ached. Her eyes were crusty and her mouth felt like something had died in it. She licked her lips. Yup. Dead and still there until the neighbours complained about the strange stain in the ceiling.
The headache was not being helped by the man who had worked hard at not sounding like he was from Alabama arguing with the man who was clearly from Boston at the top of their lungs.
Blinking wasn’t working too well for her and there was something bothering her nose.
On her third try she managed to scrub her face with her hand. There was a tube coming out of her nose. It was taped to her face. Her fingers weren’t up to much but she managed to get a grip on it.
A hand gently closed over hers and a familiar voice said, “Please leave it. It has been keeping you fed.”
Newcastle. What the fuck was with all these people?
She managed to get her eyes open and some jackass was immediately flashing a light in and out of them. It hurt. She made an involuntary shriek-hiss that was startling even to her. What the hell?
Hell.
Hel.
Hel’s Hounds
She scrubbed her eyes. They didn’t quite want to focus. “Was I in a car accident?” Her voice was soft and s
cratchy. Worse than when she first woke up in the morning. More like a really, really bad case of laryngitis. “Did... did I hit a biker? I was trying not to.”
The hand was still holding her hand. It smelled good. Everything else in here, including her, stank.
“Come on, lad. Time for us to go.”
Not Glasgow, not Edinburgh, not highland, but still decidedly Scottish. Newcastle let go of her fingers. She whimpered at the loss. Again, what was that? That was not a sound she made.
“Did I hit my head?”
“Do you remember?” Boston asked.
“Just answer the fucking question.” No. That wasn’t… she didn’t talk to people like that. “Aw crap! I have brain damage don’t I?”
There was a long moment of silence. Sarah blinked a few more times to try to get her eyes to focus. It didn’t really help. “And I’ve gone blind. Is that the part of my brain that I damaged? Vision and swearing?”
Alabama - no, not quite… Kentucky? - answered. “You fell out of a truck and hit your head. They did an MRI and declared you brain dead. Me an the boys have been taking care of you the last few weeks.”
“Read Hogfather?” she asked
Someone cleared their throat, “Yeah. You seemed to like it.” Newcastle said.
Sarah frowned. “I don’t… I remember but I don’t remember at the same time. How does that work?”
Light in her eyes again.
“Fuck off!” She tried to grab the light and missed. Something growled and it wasn’t Molly laying on her legs.
When he spoke, Sarah realized Boston was the one with the light. “We don’t know how any of this works. We would like to do another MRI.”
“I don’t have insurance.” Oh crap. She didn’t. She had just spent god only knows how long in the hospital and had gone blind and had no insurance and now what was she going to do? This would mean her parents would go bankrupt trying to help!
An alarm started to go off. Maybe-Kentucky was suddenly really close to her. “Sarah. It’s OK. You are gonna be fine. We’re taking care of it. You don’t have to panic. You are gonna be fine.” He smelled like leather and machine oil and, god help her, she believed him. “It’s OK. Just try to relax.”
Sarah took a deep breath in and fell asleep as she breathed out.
----
Gus took Mac and left. Once they made it back to the garage he called the science division. The pack had been making sure they were sending along information daily. Their contact was very interested in what they had to say. Arrangements were made to transfer Sarah plus one to a head injury clinic for assessment. There were people working there that owed the lupers some favours. Sarah would be brought in and treated, then the paperwork would mysteriously get lost.
All that was left was to decide who the plus one would be. The pack just assumed it would be Marv. Marv thought it should be Mac.
“You’re the one who spent all that time reading to her. You were holding her hand when she started to wake up.”
Mac shook his head. He wanted to point out that it was Craig bringing Molly that had been the final push to get her to wake up. The problem with that was they all knew Craig had spent a lot of time alone. If there was anyone who might take the Ulfurinn and not come back, it was him.
Gus had a number of concerns about Mac going. But the one he put forward was that it should be Marv. He was the pack leader and had more experience.
Marv shook his head. “If I go, it leaves the town open to territorial challenges. Mac and the Treaty will keep her safe.”
Craig didn’t trust the treaty the way the others did, but it was Marv’s decision to make. And he was right, they had just repelled an invasion attempt. Robert’s pack got on with the boys well enough, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to expand his operation if Bellmont was left without an alpha.
Angus had put forward the suggestion that he and Mac sit out the first couple out months. He didn’t want them scaring her off with their scars. He had pointed out that Craig and Sean were closer in appearance to her age and a lot more conventionally handsome. Craig just shook his head. Sean was not psychologically in a good place to transition anyone into the pack, and Craig…
Well, he had never had that experience. He was turned. His Alpha had given him orders. He had followed them until he had gotten separated from the pack. After that, he was careful not to get too close to that kind of Alpha again. New York had been a mistake. And he had regretted it for twenty years until Marv had solved the problem.
Marv was interesting. He didn’t really throw his weight around. His pack stayed together because they wanted to, not because he made them. From what Craig understood of the Black Treaty, Marv was applying it to every member of his pack. That alone would make for an easier transition for the girl.
Sarah.
He needed to remember that Ulfurinn had names now.
He was going to get so much of this wrong. He prayed to Frigg that the - that Sarah would be patient with him.
----
Sarah woke up. The room was out of focus. She had never needed glasses, but maybe this meant that she did now. What was with the smells around here? She could barely see the man sitting silently in the corner, but she could smell him.
Mmm… She had no idea what cologne the man was using, but it was the best one she had ever come across. Wood and moss and forest.
If she concentrated, she could smell the other patients and someone who smelled like salon shampoo and expensive makeup.
“I want a bath.” She thought for a moment. “I want all of these tubes out of me and a bath.”
Yummy Smelling Man went to talk to Salon Woman. Sarah hadn’t heard him speak before. It was… Newfoundlander? Ish? Newfie mixed with Minnesota, maybe. Weird. Did any of these people have standard accents?
The discussion about unhooking Sarah was getting heated. Boston came back and was firmly on the leave it alone side. Sarah remembered something. “I refuse treatment.”
They didn’t hear her. Yummy did. He dragged Makeup and Boston over. “What was that?”
“I refuse treatment. I am allowed. I want the tubes out because I am refusing that medical treatment.”
“Sarah, I’m Dr Andrews. We need to ask you some questions, but we can’t just remove the equipment because -”
Sarah pulled out her IV. There was a panic and a scramble as her hand started bleeding and IV fluid went everywhere. “I can get all this stuff off of me myself, but better if I let you do, yeah?”
“Sarah -”
“NO! My head hurts and my throat hurts and I really want a bath. Other than that I feel fine!” She didn’t mention the vision thing, being fairly certain that it wouldn’t help her cause. She fumbled for the nose tube again. Hands grabbed her, she struggled.
“Let go of her.” Yummy had spoken really quietly, but there was more raw menace in his voice than most people got by shouting. Everyone froze. “Aside from the inconvenience of needing to put things back if she falls back into a coma, is there any reason why she currently needs to be hooked up to all of this?”
Dr Andrews did something that Sarah couldn’t see and then sighed. “We don’t know. I haven’t been able to examine her or run any tests.”
“The IV is already gone. The NG tube isn’t going to make any difference if she crashes. The catheter is helpful for keeping her clean, but I’ll change her sheets if she pees. Unhook her.”
Sarah wasn’t sure why they did as they were told. She got the firm impression that they weren’t either. After they were done, Dr Andrews stormed out. One of the nurses went to organize a bath for Sarah.
“My name is Craig. I am part of the family that runs the garage where your car was towed. We have been sitting with you and taking care of you since then. Will you let me help you take a bath?”
Sarah hesitated. “I don’t know you.”
“You don’t know them, either.”
That was a fair point. “What is Newcastle’s name? The one who re
ad to me?”
There was a long pause. “His name is Mac.”
Sarah shook her head. “No. Not the Scottish one, the one who read to me.”
Craig chuckled softly. “The Scot is named Gus. Angus. Mac is the one who read to you. Marv… owns the garage. Sean-”
“- drives the tow truck.” Sarah finished. “I didn’t remember that until you said his name.”
The nurse was back. “OK. Let’s get this over with.”
“My friend Craig is going to take me for a bath.”
“We can’t -” she fell silent.
Craig used that opportunity to say, “Why don’t you and Dr Andrews get her discharge papers ready? I’m sure you will want her to sign something before she leaves AMA.”
The nurse stomped off.
Craig picked her up. She could hear Molly yawn and stretch and pad after them. There was some jostling to get her in the tub and the soap smelled terrible, but the water was warm and Craig was washing her hair. Sarah sighed as his fingers scratched perfectly at her scalp. “Definitely a wash and repeat day,” she suggested.
He was careful not to get shampoo in her eyes when he rinsed her hair.
Sarah spoke again as the second round of shampoo went in. “I’m not sure if any of this is real yet. It all feels a bit trippy. I can smell everything. The shampoo feels nice, but it smells terrible. I can smell which brand of makeup the nurse was wearing. Or at least I think I can.”
Craig passed her a washcloth. Sarah started at her hands and then scrubbed up her arms. Ugh. It was past time to shave her armpits. Maybe not while Craig was helping. After the second rinse, he lifted her out of the tub. He wrapped her in about three of the too small, too rough hospital towels and put her into a wheelchair before he pulled over a table. He gave her a toothbrush with paste already on it, a cup of water and a basin to spit into. Molly came over and leaned against her legs. While Sarah was brushing her teeth, she could hear Craig cleaning the bathtub.
“How bad of a ring did I leave?”
Craig snorted, “Let’s just say, it’s a rinse and repeat day.” She finished brushing her teeth and could hear him filling the tub. “Marv is going to want you to come stay with us. At least until you can see again. It will be your decision, but this would be easier on all of us - and you - if you did. At least for a little while.”
