Episode 34: Sick as a Dog

Genre: Horror

Characters: Kaya, Rafe, Connor, Lobo, Eli, Brooke, Jessica, Damian, Ted, Caleb, Charlie

Word Count: 3,290

Rating: R

Type: Series

Summary: Brooke goes to Greymane's private medical facility for treatment and anxiously Eli looks on hoping she gets better soon. Greymane receives a visit from WarCouncil member Damian Bloodworth concerning the recent injury of a human. Rafe's dreams become more and more vivid as he relives events from his past.

Warnings: Language, suggestive material, violence, adult content, adult situations, nudity

“What’s happening to her?” Eli yelled watching Brooke convulse as she lay on the table behind the glass wall. Kaya was doing all she could to get him to focus on something, anything other than what was going on with his girlfriend. He’d rushed her back to the manor as quickly as he could after he realized the scratch on her leg had become seriously infected within hours of discovering it.

Greymane moved quickly placing Brooke within a sterile room of their private medical facility she was now in and a team of doctors hurried to her side to go to work on her. They were also graced with the appearance of none other than Damian Bloodworth himself. Hearing that a human had been injured by one of Greymane’s put the Councilman in action and he hurried to Willow Reed to check on the progress. Frantically Eli explained to the pack what had taken place and caused the injury she was suffering from. And after a quick assessment of the situation, Lobo got on the phone with other packs to try and find a solution; one everyone was assured would not come. 

And now Eli sat panicked and confused. It was obvious she hadn’t the wolf gene in any capacity, functional or dormant, and now she was suffering through the first stages of a long and painful expiration. “Please! You’ve gotta help her!” Eli cried and pounded his fist once more against the window. Kaya pulled him away and moved him back towards the seats on the other side of the wall. Placing her arm around his shoulder she rubbed him gently to focus his nerves.

She had sat with him since Brooke went into incubation with their pack doctor Jessica and her assistant Ted. But nothing she said or did helped calm the white haired wolf sitting beside her tapping his foot impatiently. “Eli they are doing all they can to help her. You just have to try and relax; Jessica knows what she is doing. She’s been our trusted physician for over three centuries now.”

“How many times has this happened before?” he asked barely glancing over his shoulder towards her. Kaya chewed on her bottom lip and turned her gaze away. Afraid of worrying him more or making him feel worse than he already did she hesitated to answer. In truth this was the first time since she was a child that she’d ever seen something like this occur.

Wolves had very limited contact with humans to try and avoid this particular problem and no one ever dated outside of their kind. Eli was going against the norm by being with Brooke and everyone had cautioned him on the dangers involved with dating someone that wasn’t in the know about lycans. And now here he was sitting in the exact position everyone was hoping to avoid. Kaya shook her head indicating she wasn’t going to answer him and he sighed. “You just have to focus on her getting better. We can pull her through this with the medicines we have available Eli, it just takes time.”

Like a spaced out drug fiend, Eli started pacing once more. Jessica backed away from Brooke’s side and motioned for Kaya. She stepped out of the small room and into the hallway just on the other side of a set of steel doors.

Eli quickly ran behind her but was stopped by Connor. “It’s official business, you can’t go in there.” 

Eli pushed Connor’s hands away and stormed back towards the benches as he once again dropped his head into his hands. “I just…she can’t die, not like this,” he cried.

“So we’ve administered a heavy dose of Houndstooth but we’re not in a surplus of it and she’s already passed through to what I’d label as Stage 2 at this point. Her body isn’t responding to the drugs right now because it is being heavily invaded by the venom. Her leg is in a very precarious state. Her epidermis and dermis have been completely ravaged by the scratch. There is a surrounding infection leading deep into the subcutaneous layer and it is looking, for now, as though we may have to amputate. How old is the patient?”

“Twenty-two.”

“I’ve had Ted pull her previous medical records but we haven’t been able to secure them from the hospitals yet. I’m not sure we were looking at the correct one. Was she born here in Willow Reed?”

“No I don’t think she was but Eli should know for sure.”

“Have her parents been contacted?” 

“No, we haven’t called. She was supposed to be with Eli on a weeklong trip to California but it was cut short for obvious reasons. I don’t know her relationship with her family or how often she calls them but I’ll look into it.”

“Ok well we’re going in for a more invasive type of treatment. The lasers in there are set up to try and sear the venom from her blood but what it will basically do is fry her veins and send her body into shock. Now she’s young so it shouldn’t cause her any long term damage if she survives. But there is the possibility that the surgery will kill her by making the venom regenerate faster and overtake her entire immune system.”

“I understand. I know things look rather grim right now but I urge you to do whatever you have to. And Jess, if there is even the slimmest chance she can keep her leg, do it. I don’t care what it takes. Save her life and her limb.”

“Kaya the only way possible is for us to get more Houndstooth and I honestly can’t be positive even that would improve her current condition. She was scratched three days ago. And I don’t know what they were doing in the meantime instead of getting her help, but those hours where she was resting let that venom seep heavy into her bloodstream. And right now all we can do is pray for a miracle.” Jessica turned back towards the room to rejoin Ted as he placed Brooke beneath a large laser.

Kaya moved back to the waiting lounge and noticed Eli again on his feet watching everything take place in the incubator. “Why don’t you take him to get something to eat, Connor. I have a few phone calls to make.”

“I’m not hungry and I don’t want to leave her side.”

“It’s not up for negotiation,” she growled. He turned towards her hearing the reprimand in her voice and knew instantly she was exerting her Beta authority and as a member of Greymane he could do nothing but agree. He started after Connor, his shoulders low and drooping and a frown on his face but gave one last sorrowful glance towards his sick girlfriend. “Wait before you leave, where was Brooke born?”

“Wichita. Her folks have a horse ranch up there.” Kaya thanked and dismissed him and headed up the stairs towards the lobby side of the hospital. Passing the front desk she noticed her father and a man she’d seen just a few times in brief moments enter the main doors of the lobby.

“How is she?” Lobo asked keeping his voice low as he and his daughter moved to a quieter corner.

“It’s touch and go right now. Jessica has gone through our on hand supply of herbs and Brooke hasn’t responded yet. She thinks she’s entering the second stage of infection and fears that it won’t be long before the venom has overrun her system.”

“So her prognosis is grim?”

“Well Jessica said she may have to remove her leg and even then she’s not sure if she’ll survive.”

“Good, that might be best. We can’t risk her surviving this and going off about what happened to any Tom, Dick or Harry that’ll listen.” Instantly her eyes shot towards the man in her father’s company and she took one threatening step forward. “I wouldn’t if I were you,” he sneered.

Lobo took hold of his daughter’s wrist and backed her away before she was able to open her mouth about what was said. “Let me go!” she growled and twisted out of his grip as he closed the doors behind them. “What the hell was that? Who the fuck is he to say Brooke should die!”

“He’s Damian Bloodworth, Kaya.”

“And?”

“Damian as in the head of the WarCouncil. He’s here on behalf of our kind. His job is to ensure no one breathes a word to the media about us and deal with the issues if it ever does occur. How do you think we’ve been able to stay hidden outside of the hunters Kaya?”

“So what? Because he thinks he knows what’s best he’s allowed to make a decision that will affect Brooke’s life?” the question was said with enough fire Lobo understood she was talking about more than just their current situation. 

He sighed and backed towards the door checking to see where Damian was within the small lobby before turning to her with frustration. “Kaya we aren’t going through this right now. I am here for Eli and the last thing I want to do is discuss…I made a mistake and I’m sorry but that has nothing to do with Brooke right now. Damian has every right to make the decision on behalf of all Lycans; it’s why he was voted into the position he currently holds.”

“Well he never got my vote! And I won’t watch him place a rubber stamp on that girl’s life if he feels she’s beyond risk Armand!” Damian burst through the doors with a scowl on his face and moved directly towards Kaya.

“I don’t recall ever seeing you at a council meeting and you know why? Because your opinion means NOTHING to anyone involved in these matters, you’re a Beta, NOTHING MORE! If it comes down to all of us versus one measly human you’d better decide quickly whose side you’re on. I will NOT see us all burn for the moronic fondling of some stupid little boy too excited to think about the consequences his human has on the rest of us!” His gaze darted over Lobo as he moved closer stepping protectively towards his child.

A wicked smile drew on his lips and he looked between Kaya and the Alpha with disdain. “Your house is in ruins Villalobos and there’s no wonder why considering you can’t even keep a muzzle on your own bitch whelp! Both parties in question will be dealt with accordingly! This human and her wolf lover are the Council’s responsibilities now.”

With unwavering passion, Kaya stepped again towards the Council’s head dog and looked him straight in the eyes ensuring she held his attention. “Listen to me closely because I won’t repeat myself. Go near Brooke or threaten Eli again and you’ll see just how big a bitch I can be.” She pushed by him slamming the metal doors in her wake and started back towards the downstairs emergency room. 

Pacing a few times in the lobby in front of both Eli and Connor she worked on calming herself before entering inside. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly dialed up Parkridge and waited. “Kaya!” Roman greeted her with a smile in his voice. “How are things?”

“Complicated. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner just for chat but…”

“It’s ok Ky, I know things can get busy. I haven’t called you either so I won’t hold it against you.” He laughed and she felt herself become a little less stressed with his voice in her ear.

“Yeah but you’re also not calling with a favor as I am.” She blew a breath slowly over her lips and leaned back against the wall waiting on him to speak again.

“What do you need?”

“Are you able to get your hands on a decent amount of Houndstooth?”

“Of course; our seer has a pretty hefty supply on hand in cases of emergency.” He paused on that word and she could hear the wheels turning in his head. “What’s wrong? Something happen?”

“Yeah. One of my subordinates scratched a human he’s dating. It looks really bad and we’ve blown through our supply and…”

“Even what your seer holds? How bad is this?”

“I actually haven’t asked our seer I’m sort of not on speaking terms with her right now.” She pinched the bridge of her nose hoping she wouldn’t have to explain the reasons behind it but Roman’s silence meant he was not going to let her off that easy. “I learned she with the help of my father used a magic spell of some kind on me and took my memories as a child. I just got them back and learned some things that I haven’t yet been able to process completely.”

“Oh wow Ky. I’m sorry to hear that. Did you want to talk about it?” he asked comfortingly hearing the melancholy in her voice.

“Actually I’m just trying to forget about it for now and focus on more important things. So if you can?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll have someone here run it to you as quickly as possible. I know this is probably not something you were maybe thinking about but has the Council spoken to you about this? There can be a pretty heavy punishment doled out in these types of situations; death comes to mind.”

“Actually they have. Damian is with my father now.”

“Damian Bloodworth? They sent their top guns for this? That’s…curious. Normally he lets the others dispense with the dirty work.”

“Ah well I think he saved a nice helping of his endearing charm specifically for Armand and his ‘bitch whelp’.”

“Ky tell me you did NOT go head-to-head with this guy.”

“No, not really. I told him that I won’t let him ‘deal with’ my wolves but I think I was fairly kind about it.”

Roman laughed loudly unable to reply to that. He’d seen her “kindness.” up close and personal. “Kaya my Dear, you may have just made an enemy for life.”

“Well I’ll just add that to the stack with the others.”

Rafe tossed and turned in his bed desperately trying to coax his wolf to sleep. He was tired, restless and had been in pain all afternoon. He wasn’t sure when the aspirin stopped working but the fact that the new bottle he’d just bought was now emptied told him he’d better just learn to deal with the migraines and weird dreams he’d been having recently.

Afraid of what they meant but assured it was just a mindfuck from Luther’s torture he kept his mouth shut about them when he was around Kaya or the band. Besides he didn’t think anyone else would care to hear about the crazed tattooed wolf running around his head right now. Whoever the man was he was dead set on ruining any semblance of rest Rafe was after given that every time he closed his eyes, he was there.

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Shadowvale – Saturday, August 20, 1785 

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“You’re not seriously contemplating going in there now are you?” Charlie asked pacing the small area in Caleb’s study. He peered out of the balcony doors and sighed watching the others prepare for battle.

“Of course I am. How else do you think this pack will become what it was meant to? You’re future Beta of a nonexistent pack! Do you want to keep being the ‘soon-to-be’ or do you want that power now?”

“But you’ve seen those reports Angie has sent back to us! There are over four dozen wolves in that manor alone! Who knows how many more the Alpha could summon before we get what we’re going for.”

“Come on man! Have you lost your nerve? You like the fight just as much as I do. You know how great it’ll feel once we become what our wolves want; have what we crave? It’s like a never ending opium dream and it all starts with her.”

“Well let’s just hope she’s worth it. I think we’re going to lose a great many lives tonight for nothing otherwise.”

“They fight for the thrill of it as any other wild wolf does. I haven’t forced anyone into anything they didn’t want to do.” 

Caleb moved towards the fire with Charlie right behind him. Poking it a few times he watched as the flames burned higher and dropped to the floor in front of it. “They all know the risks and are ready to make it rain blood but they also know we move with a purpose! The idea of it all is just exhilarating!”

“Yeah I sort of picked up on that when you shook me from slumber. I’d first thought the place was on fire or something. I anticipate a lot of resistance with her father. I don’t think he wants you anywhere near his daughter; then again no father of logical thinking would,” Charlie smiled at Caleb’s soured expression.

“I saw her though. And even now I can feel her as if we were linked at birth. Maybe you’ll understand when you meet your mate but there’s this undeniable connection; a yearning to have her. You’ve seen the visions as I have Charlie; she’s my destiny and I won’t live without her.”

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Willow Reed - Present

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“KAYA!” Rafe awakened with a start, his heart was pounding furiously in his chest and his breathing was ragged. He allowed his eyes to dart back and forth across the darkened room to gain a sense of where he was before pulling his legs to the side of the bed. Sweat poured from his forehead as he sat up analyzing what he had seen. Another dream had pulled him from slumber and he again questioned if this was in fact real.

It was all too vivid to be a dream. He could smell Kaya’s scent on the little girl standing in front of the tattooed man that was plaguing him. Her eyes were that of the woman he has fallen in love with and the smile on her face...it was his mate as a little girl he was sure of it.

Rafe rubbed his hand through his hair and thought over the time he and Kaya explored the depths of Greymane discovering hidden chambers and documents. Have I seen a picture of her as a little girl? How else would I have been able to dream of her otherwise? Maybe the whole thing isn’t imagined as I think. “Maybe I owe Luther an ass kicking.” He pulled himself from the damp, crumpled mess of his sweat soaked sheets and started for his bathroom.

Splashing a handful of cold water on his face he stared at himself in the mirror. Bags had begun to form beneath his eyes from lack of sleep and he looked about ready to pass out. He saw the eyes of his mate once more and blinked hard to get the image of her mother dying at the feet of that wolf out of his head. She was swimming in a pool of her own blood and her death felt as personal as an act he’d committed with his own two hands. “Get a fucking grip man.”

He turned off the faucet and with one last look at himself started back towards the bedroom. Moving away from the mirror his eyes caught on something on his shoulder and he flicked on the light to examine it closer. Tracing his hand over the ink stain that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, his eyes opened wider as the awareness of what he was looking at became evident. “No.”

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