Dr. Wolf, the Fae Rift Series Book 1- Shockwave

by Cheree Alsop

  “He wanted you to check with me?” Aleric was taken by surprise; he reminded himself that he was the doctor’s fae expert. If only the citizens of Drake City could see him now. He nodded. “Yes, extra liquids would be good. Anything you’d give a tree, really. Wood nymphs are closely related to plants, as you can tell.”

  He moved the sheet up higher on the wood nymph’s body and positioned her hand more comfortably on top.

  “You really care about them, don’t you?” Nurse Eastwick said.

  Aleric glanced at her. He let out a breath. “I do. Things are different here. We don’t have our people or packs; it’s like all we have is each other.” He gestured to Valerian. “She was shot just because someone was afraid of how she looked.” He gazed down at her. Small, soft, delicate leaves covered her face and closed eyes. Her breath stirred the velvet that showed on the leaves beneath her nose. “I guess I feel like they’re mine to take care of. If the world is trying to hurt them, they need someone who is also trying to save them.”

  “You’re a good man, Aleric,” Nurse Eastwick said.

  “Don’t tell anyone else that,” he replied.

  A tap sounded at the door. Aleric looked over his shoulder to see Dr. Indley standing in the doorway to the Light fae wing.

  “Light and Dark; I guess that should have been a clue,” she said. Her expression was unreadable.

  “You can come in,” Aleric told her.

  She took several steps inside. “Is the demon in here?”

  He shook his head and pointed.

  “Oh. The Dark side. Right. Like Star Wars,” she replied.

  “What’s Star Wars?” Aleric asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just ironic. I feel like I’ve stepped into a movie or book or something. The whole world has changed.”

  Aleric nodded. “I feel the same way.”

  “I guess you would,” she acknowledged.

  Aleric didn’t know what to say. The silence that filled the room between them was heavy and uncomfortable.

  Marae finally broke it. “So, how is our patient doing?”

  Her words lightened the mood.

  “Braum’s awake. You should say hi,” Aleric told her.

  He led the way to the faun’s room. He glanced back to see Dr. Indley following a few steps behind as if nervous to meet the patient.

  “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “Faun’s don’t bite.”

  “We have flat teeth,” Braum’s voice said from the other side of the door.

  Aleric pushed the door open. Braum looked more at ease in his bed than the last time the werewolf had been there. The faun smiled at Dr. Indley.

  “Hello.”

  She gave a tenuous smile back. “Hi.”

  Aleric let out a breath at the doctor’s sudden shyness.

  “Dr. Indley, this is Braum. Braum, she’s the one who saved your leg.”

  “I am in your debt,” Braum said. He ran a hand through his light red hair in an attempt to straighten it around his short horns. “I didn’t know I owed my life to such a beautiful doctor.”

  Red ran across her cheeks. “I’m actually a veterinarian,” Marae said.

  Braum gave Aleric a questioning look. Aleric grinned. He was going to enjoy this.

  “She’s an animal doctor.”

  Braum’s mouth fell open. “Well, I never—”

  Dr. Indley shook her head. “That doesn’t mean I thought you were an animal; it means Dr. Worthen doesn’t know how to work on animal parts and your legs are, well….”

  “Goat legs,” Aleric finished helpfully.

  “It’s true,” Marae said. “So he called me because my expertise ranges on the animal side of the spectrum.”

  Braum looked a little less offended. “The animal side of the spectrum,” he repeated.

  Aleric laughed. “You could have put that differently,” he said.

  Dr. Indley looked entirely flustered. “Well, I, uh….”

  Aleric took pity on her. “It’s alright. What matters is that you saved Braum’s life. I’ll leave you two to talk. I have a vampire to feed and a selkie to check on.”

  “Salt water.”

  Aleric paused at the door and looked back at Braum. “What?”

  “Give her salt water. I heard the fairy talking. Is the selkie caught between forms?”

  Aleric nodded.

  “Give her salt water. Selkies change form in the ocean. She must have been transported here while she was phasing. I doubt she’ll wake up until her body can stabilize again.”

  Aleric stared at him. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Because werewolves don’t need water to phase. When’s the moon full?” Braum asked.

  Aleric felt the answer thrum through his veins. “Tonight.”

  Braum nodded. “I’d recommend avoiding humans. They sound a bit trigger-happy.”

  Aleric looked up at the exposed ceiling. “You hear everything in here, don’t you?”

  Braum indicated his pointed ears. “And beyond.”

  Aleric nodded. “I know the feeling. Holler for me if you need anything.” He tipped his head at Marae. “Or let Dr. Indley know. She’s extremely competent.”

  She looked entirely caught off-guard by his compliment. He was outside the room when he heard her say, “Well, thank you.”

  A small green figure caught Aleric around the waist in a hug. He looked down at Valerian’s sister.

  “Thank you, thank you for saving us! We were so scared. We couldn’t get away from that man, but we knew we had to find you.”

  Aleric waited until she stepped back to ask, “What do you mean, you knew you had to find me?”

  The wood nymph looked up at him with her bright green eyes. “We saw you save the demon.”

  “I fought the demon,” Aleric replied.

  She nodded. “Fighting Forsythe was the only way to save him. When he’s in fury mode, there’s no reasoning with him.”

  “There’s no reasoning with a demon anyway,” Aleric said.

  “Demons are people, too. He’s just as lost as we are.” The wood nymph’s expression became sympathetic. “I heard what happened to Sherian.”

  Aleric raised his hands and backed away. “What is this? How do you know me? I don’t know any wood nymphs.”

  “I’m Vinca.”

  Aleric stared at her. He shook his head. “It’s not possible.”

  “Anything is possible,” Vinca replied.

  “That’s what your elders said,” Aleric replied. “But they were wrong.”

  She set a gentle hand on his arm. “Losing Sherian—”

  Aleric shook his head, cutting her off. “I don’t want to talk about it, not now or ever.” He waved in Nurse Eastwick’s direction. “Loreen will take care of you and your sister.”

  The nurse stared at him as if shocked by the change in his attitude.

  “Nurse Eastwick, please start the selkie on a bag of saltwater. We may have to up it to two if she doesn’t respond before nightfall.”

  “Yes, Dr. Wolf,” she replied.

  Aleric left the Light fae section in a daze. His feet took him to the Dark section. He wandered inside and found the closest bed. He threw himself on it and stared up at the beams that lined the unfinished ceiling.

  “I smell blood.”

  Aleric tipped his head to the side to see Dartan watching him from his usual corner near the window; the vampire sat on the floor with his hands folded in front of him looking much more composed than Aleric felt.

  “I asked Nurse Eastwick to bring some. It’s probably in the other wing. I’ll grab it in a moment.”

  “I’m fine,” Dartan replied. “But I still smell blood.”

  Aleric sighed. He should have known the vampire would smell it no matter how good he scrubbed. “I helped Dr. Worthen remove the bullet from the wood nymph.”

  Dartan shook his head. “Ugh. Wood nymph blood. Disgusting.”

  “Vampires don’t like their ve
getables?” Aleric asked dryly.

  “Wood nymph blood is like a vampire tranquilizer. It makes our bodies and joints gum up; very painful. The red stuff is much better.” Dartan tipped his head at the werewolf. “Performing surgeries now? Impressive.”

  “I excel at holding things,” Aleric replied, turning his attention back to the unremarkable ceiling.

  “You’re different.” He heard the vampire rise. “What happened?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I do,” Dartan said, pausing near the bed. “It’s quite boring in here. The only sound is our demon friend’s snoring.”

  Aleric listened for a moment to the rattling breaths that came from the furthest room.

  “The wood nymphs say he’s not usually in such a bad mood.”

  Interest colored Dartan’s voice. “They know him?”

  Aleric nodded.

  “By your silence, can I take it to mean that they also know you?”

  Aleric was still for a moment, then nodded again.

  “Ah, I see. Perhaps I need to speak with them.”

  Aleric glanced toward the door. “Good luck getting in there. The UV lights Tranquility rigged look effective.”

  “I’d consider it a minor sunburn compared to my skin now.”

  Aleric’s attention turned to the vampire. He pushed up to a sitting position. “I’m sorry to say I forgot. Let me see.”

  Dartan shook his head. “I didn’t bring it up to turn you to doctor mode again. We’re just having a conversation.”

  Aleric gave the vampire a searching look.

  “They’re already healing,” Dartan said with an accepting sigh. “The darkness is almighty and all that. Yay.”

  His droll tone brought a small smile to Aleric’s face. “Full moon tonight.”

  “That’ll be fun,” Dartan said. “Any chance I could cage the big bad wolf in here and keep you from doing something stupid?”

  “I’d like to see you try,” Aleric replied. He hesitated, then admitted, “Though it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

  “Consider it,” Dartan suggested. “It’d probably be good for your health.” The vampire walked back to his usual spot and sat down.

  “I could get you a chair,” Aleric offered.

  “I could get myself a chair,” Dartan replied. “The floor’s fine. It’s cooler down here and once in a while I can hear birds singing beyond these boards.”

  “I didn’t take you for the bird type.”

  “Their blood has a gamey taste. I think the draw is more like cats on the other side of a window. I’m a big, bad predator, but birds evade me. No wonder vampires made up the story they could turn into bats.”

  That brought a chuckle from Aleric. He settled back onto the bed. It was bumpy, but at that moment, given all he had been through, it felt like the most comfortable bed in the world.

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll catch a little shut-eye. The E.R.’s quiet for the moment as far as the fae are concerned, but we know that’s only a temporary condition.”

  “I’ll stand guard, captain,” Dartan said in a wry tone.

  Aleric closed his eyes. “Should I be concerned that I’m trusting a vampire to keep an eye on things while I sleep?”

  “If I can be concerned that my only friend here has fleas.”

  Aleric snorted and rolled over. His weary mind drifted off. Memories took over almost immediately.

  He heard the faint knock on the door. The wood was marked with the crest of the forest dwarf. Aleric pulled the door open. The scents of Blays rushed inside with the cool breeze. He grimaced. The backstreet always smelled like the gnomes’ ale from the tavern across the way.

  “Ric.” The pet name came out as a soft rasp.

  Aleric looked down and his heart skipped a beat.

  “Sherian!”

  He dropped to his knees. She leaned her head against his chest. He tried to help her to her feet, but she let out a cry of pain. When he lifted his hands, they were covered in her red blood.

  “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.” Aleric froze. He didn’t know what to do. He looked around wildly, searching for help, but no one was in sight at the late hour. He didn’t kid himself to think that any of his neighbors would be willing to help. Werewolves were on the outs with the Fallow Conflict. Nobody wanted to be involved.

  Aleric gathered Sherian up in his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder.

  “Stay with me, Sher. I’ll get you to help. Don’t you leave me.”

  Aleric ran down the street. Sherian’s head bobbed up and down and she moaned. He tried to soften his steps, but the sound of her drops of blood hitting the pavement met his ears like the toll of a bell.

  “They’ll pay,” Aleric promised. “They won’t get away with this.”

  “No…more,” Sherian gasped out.

  Aleric looked down at her. Her eyes were filled with tears of pain when she met his.

  “The fighting…stopped. They killed everyone.”

  Aleric’s steps faltered.

  “Everyone?” he asked.

  She nodded. “They’re gone, Ric. The demons…Forsythe…the vampires called them.”

  Aleric gritted his teeth. “I’m taking you to the wood nymphs. They’ll help.”

  They were the only ones he knew who would aid a werewolf. Aleric felt so helpless as he ran down the street to the Drake City forest. He knew the twists and turns of the path by heart. He heard Sherian’s heart skip a beat, then another. His shirt and pants felt coated in her blood.

  “Help me!” Aleric yelled. “Somebody, please help!”

  “We’ll help you,” a gentle, whispery voice replied.

  Wood nymphs appeared from the trees around him. Aleric knelt on the forest floor. His hands shook when he took them away from Sherian.

  “The demons,” he said. “It was the demons.”

  “We’ll do what we can,” a nymph replied. “Anything is possible.” She held out a red-leafed hand. “Vinca, take this werewolf to the grove. We’ll meet you there.”

  “I’ll kill them all,” Aleric growled.

  “You won’t,” the Light fae replied. She touched his forehead. “For now, you’ll sleep.”

  Chapter 13

  “Aleric, wake up.”

  Aleric’s eyes opened at the sound of Dartan’s voice. The room felt different. He could tell that night was falling despite the boarded up windows. He sat up.

  “How long did I sleep?” he asked.

  Dartan stood near the door. He glanced at Aleric over his shoulder.

  “A few hours. It was good for you. The nurse came in a few times, but she said things were quiet out front. She wanted to let you sleep.”

  Aleric felt rested for the first time since he awoke in Edge City. He stood.

  “How are you doing?” he asked the vampire. “Do you need blood?”

  “I appreciate the offer,” Dartan said with a half-smile. “But the nurse brought that as well. She’s quite thoughtful, that one.”

  Aleric nodded. “How about Forsythe?”

  “Still sleeping, though I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to shoot him again. It was fun the first time.”

  “You got the better end of the deal on that one,” Aleric told him. He made his way to the door. “I’d better go check on my patients.”

  “Let me come with you.”

  Aleric looked at the vampire in surprise. “Are you kidding?”

  Dartan shook his head. “I’m not going to hurt anyone, honest. I am going out of my mind here. That’s more dangerous than a little bloodlust.”

  “You sure about that?” Aleric asked.

  Dartan rolled his eyes. “Look. Get me a clean pair of scrubs. You could use the help.”

  “There’s not much to do,” Aleric said.

  At that moment, he heard footsteps running down the hallway. He pushed open the door just as Gregory burst into the D Wing.

  “Dr. Wolf!” he gasped. “Come quick! Something’s wrong with t
he boy!”

  “You mean the banshee?” Aleric asked.

  “You have a banshee?” Dartan repeated.

  “I forgot to mention that,” Aleric replied.

  “Hurry,” Gregory said.

  Aleric stepped through the door.

  “What about me?” Dartan asked.

  Aleric nodded. “Let’s go.”

  As much as Aleric hated the thought of seeing the banshee boy again, if something was wrong, the boy’s cries could affect all of the fae in the hospital. He didn’t want to risk that happening.

  As soon as they threw open the doors to the Emergency Room, Aleric’s hands rose to his ears.

  “Is that the banshee?” Dartan shouted over the sound. He cringed in pain.

  “That’s why I forgot to tell you,” Aleric yelled back. “I blocked it out.”

  Gregory led the way as if the sound didn’t bother him. The vampire and werewolf slowed the closer they drew to the room. Aleric felt himself blacking out from the pain. He leaned against the wall. Dartan put his forehead against the wall next to him.

  “We can’t go in there,” Aleric said. “It just might kill me.”

  “Let me talk to him,” Gregory replied. He disappeared into the room.

  A few minutes later, the crying stopped. Aleric let out a sigh and glanced at vampire. Dartan stared at the wall in front of his face.

  “That was unpleasant.” He looked at Aleric. “Do you taste that?”

  Aleric moved the acrid taste around in his mouth. “Nasty, right?”

  Dartan nodded. “Tastes like bad blood, and trust me, I know what that tastes like.”

  “I believe it,” Aleric replied. He walked to the open door. “Is it safe to come in?”

  “Prepare yourself,” Gregory replied.

  “For what?” Aleric asked. He rounded the corner and paused.

  A strange network of vines filled the room. Gregory stood in the middle near the boy. Tears streamed down the banshee’s face. In the far corner, Aleric made out a cocoon of vines with goblins bigger than his head standing on it.

  “Who’s in the cocoon,” Aleric asked, forcing his voice to be calm.

  “Dr. Worthen,” Gregory said. “I asked Daylen to let him go, but he doesn’t know how the doctor got there in the first place.”

  The boy shook his head. “I was missing my mom,” he said. “The doctor came in and told me it was going to be alright, but I couldn’t stop crying; then the air opened and the goblins appeared. They wrapped him up.”