Alma

Chapter Thirteen: Alma

Alma:

Christ does my everything hurt right now. The walk over here damn near killed me, but with Aubrey there I couldn’t ask for help; she would have seen it as weakness and attacked, and I could not fight her again. Now Dante has decided to be more than a little possessive, though he has no claim on me. He did, however, settle my wolf by a lot, and I really need to thank him for that, and honestly I just want ot hug the man for dealing with me as I slowly go crazy. The new aid, a raven shifter named Brian, who normally helps me when I show up here, is terrified of Dante, who is snarling whenever Brian cems near me. I am trying my best not to seem like I am in pain knowing that it will make Dante worse, but I seriously cannot do anything but feel pain right now.

I offer a sympathetic look to Brian before turning to Dante. “You’re scaring Brian. Stop this madness. Please.”

I hate the way I sound, weak and tired, so freaking tired. But, I hate his reaction more. He is now openly growling, and I grab his hand, hard. “Stop, Dante. I really need help, and you doing this is getting me the opposite.”

This seems to snap his attention away from Brian, who shrinks even more than his small size gives him. With a small half-smile, I keep the conversation going. “If you don’t stop this behavior, the growling and losing control and whatnot, they will have to sedate you, and then who is gonna be my shadow until you wake up? Now please, let Brian--” he interrupts me with a small growl, which I gladly respond to with a snarl of my own, “let him do his damn job and then help me get home, dammit.”

Dante only nods. I motion poor Brian closer, and his black hair falls in his eyes. “So, I’ll give you a rundown. I got stabbed with a wolf’s bane coated silver dagger about four hours ago and it won’t stop bleeding. Any help I can get? Luckily, I have more than a little bit of magic, and that is keeping most of the poison at bay.”

Brian nods and gestures for me to show him the wound. I grab the bottom of Heather’s borrowed shirt, which I will need to replace, and lift it up to about my ribcage. Dante reaches for the hem but stops himself. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.

Brian examines the wound, ignoring Dante as best he can, and tells me some lovely news. “You’re going to need medical attention from the doctor, Alma. That--” he points to my stomach, “is torn up inside. Did you rip the blade out after it was twisted?” I nod, and he sighs.

“You’re probably going to need an operation. Again.”

“Fuck.”. I don’t like surgery. At all. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on, but I nod. “Let’s get it over with then.”

Brian nods and leaves the room. He returns a few seconds later with a doctor and a vial. “To counteract the wolfs bane,” he tells me as I drink the green, bitter liquid.

My limbs get heavier a few moments later. “That wasn’t just the counter agent, was it?” I mumble. Now I really want to nap, but know Dante is going to flip his s**t once I am unconscious.

I lean my head, which is too heavy for my neck right now, on his shoulder. “Don’t be mad, okay? I’ll be back in a little while.”

He seems confused as I move my hand to pat his arm. “Okay, Doc, I’ll see you in the operating room.”

I move forward and Brian helps me stand, and together we leave the room.

“Brian, I better get a hell of a good nap out of this.”

“You will. That was a heavy dose. We don’t want a repeat of last time.”

Ugh, last time. That sucked. “Alright, good.”

The world fades as we reach a little familiar door.

***

I come to right as the doctor finished the last stitch. “Hi.” I drag out the word, my mouth full of cotton.

“You should still be asleep,” is the only response I get from him.

“We still haven’t figured out what the right amount is for me. My medication metabolism is much higher than a wolf, and a Fae’s, because that makes sense.”

I am quiet for a second, and then remember something. “How bad was he?”

“The wolf alpha? He is sedated, and in the sense-dep chamber.”

I sit up, even as the doctor tries pushing me back. “No,” I tell him. “Take me to Dante.”

“We can’t do that, Alma, he’s--” I cut the damn doctor off.

I know I should probably listen to the guy, but right now, I needed to see Dante. “He won’t hurt me.” Truth. “And, I can calm him down.” Possible truth.

The doctor considers it. I don’t think he realizes that I am not asking.

Something about this doctor rings familiar. He wasn’t the same as my last surgery-- that was a young elf lady. Though “young” is relative to the long-lived elves. Leaping off the high table, I scramble toward the door, only to become curious about this doctor. Taking a deep breath, I recognize his scent immediately. “Your a Fae-shifter.”

His magic is probably amped, just like mine.

The doctor gives me a sidelong glance. “Yes. How did you know?”

I scoff. “You smell like me. It’s not my blood on your clothes though, because there is a difference. You-” I point at him, “smell like a dude. And your magic is stronger smelling.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I just had to use it.”

“Healer?” Some Fae were excellent healers. My grandmother had been one of them. And from what I’ve heard, my mother. When I finally figure out what my Fae abilities are, I suppose I’ll be a healer too.

He nods, and I glance at his name tag. “Dr. Geaga?”

“Call me Twigg. Geaga is my last name.”

“Your name is Twigg… Branch?” I translate the Gaelic easily, thanks to my language course and of course, my mother’s sister, who taught me when I was young.

“Creative, yeah?”

I chuckle and then turn back toward the door, leaving. I notice my wolf is calm for the first time since the bond to my home pack began decaying.

Finding where Dante was put isn’t very hard. There are two sensory deprivation chambers in the building, and only one was closed. I had spent enough time in them to know where they were, and the codes to unlock them. Once the door opens, I find Dante unconscious on the floor, his hands bound together to keep him from ripping the door off the hinges immediately after waking up.

He looked peaceful, relaxed even. His dark hair was longer than when we first met, sweeping into his eyes. His mouth was forming a small smile, as if he were having a good dream. I don’t wake him as I crouch beside him, making my way to sitting down with my back almost touching his side. Then I reach forward to brush the hair out of his eyes, trying to be careful not to wake him.

I failed, not even getting past his chin. He woke up immediately, his eyes glowing bright and his teeth sharp. “Easy, killer. It’s just me.”

Dante calmed a little. “You gotta let the human drive. Conversation is difficult otherwise, remember?” I speak softly, like a child.

“The human is ‘driving’.”

“Then don’t sound so growly. And cool the headlights.”

Surprisingly, he listened.

“I thought I asked you not to freak out?” I sound small, even to myself.

“I tried not to, Alma. I was listening.” He sounds like he is pleading, and something in me cracks.

“It’s fine. They’ll let you out in a few hours. Then I can scold you proper. Hard when you're so defenseless.”

He lifts his upper lip showing me his canines. “Almost defenseless. Better, O Alpha?” I tease as I move to undo his bindings.

He shakes his head with the ghost of a grin, and I make to stand up. “Don’t.”

I look over at him. How dare he try and command me with his damn alpha voice? My wolf rises in interest though not challenge, and he sees it. “Please, don’t.”

“Better. I apologize for being so… well, bitchy.”

Again he shakes his head. I lean back a little, resting my back against the flat of his stomach. “Do they have you propped up or are you just on your side?” If he doesn’t have something to support his otherside, we will both topple, which would probably be more comfortable, considering his hands are bound in front of him.

“I’m good, Alma. Just stay, please.”

I nod, and proceed to yawn right after. I was still tired from everything this evening. I scoot my ass forward so I am resting my shoulders and head against his stomach, which was uncomfortable. Seeing what I was doing, Dante rolled onto his back, so I was resting against his side proper. With a sigh, he moves his bound hands and starts playing with my hair. It doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

***

I wake up an hour or so later when Dante begins to growl. “Will you cut that out?” I gently smack his ribs with the back of my hand.

“I thought they said you couldn’t visit him,” a familiar snarky voice says.

“f**k off Aubrey, and let me sleep. Thanks to blood loss because of your beta, I am exhausted.”

Dante snorts silently. Aubrey does not. “Get up, Alma.”

“No.”

“I’ll have to get security.”

“Why are you here if he isn’t allowed to have visitors?” I lift my head, my eyes squinting against the bright light.

“I got permission.”

I wave her comment off and go back to my position.

I hear her clack out the door. A minute or so later, I feel four hands pulling me up. “What the f**k! Lemme go!” I kick my feet and thrash around.

Dante sits up, quick as lightning. The murder written on his face reflects my feelings perfectly. “God dammit!” I let go of my dominance, and both of the guards fall to the ground on their knees, smashing both of my legs downward with a definite crunch. Ow.

Aubrey is keening, on all fours. I shake the guards off and limp over to Dante, helping him stand. “I need help,” I choke out just loud enough for him to hear.

I want to cry with pain. I look down to inspect my leg but find my stab wound is also open and bleeding again. Lovely.

I heard Dante grunt as he breaks the bonds on his wrists, and then he picks me up, princess style. “Not what I meant.”

“It’s okay though?” He sounds hopeful, like a kid asking for a piece of candy.

I only nod before looking at Aubrey. “I need to let them go.”

Dante only makes an affirmative noise and I pull in my dominance. The guards slowly rise and Aubrey falls silent. I look over Dante’s shoulder at the former. “Be good boys and fetch Dr. Geaga?”

They quickly leave and I rest my head on Dante’s shoulder. “I am over this night. Let it end.”

“Sorry,” I feel him rumble.

I wave my hand again as I hear the tapping of dress shoes calming striding across the tile floor. “Dr. Geaga? I told you everything was fine. Why didn’t you trust me?”

Twigg looks at me quizzically before gesturing for Dante to follow him to an exam room. “I just got done surgery with you. How are you already bleeding?”

“Security decided to drag me from the sense-dep chamber, per Aubrey’s request. I didn’t agree. I also hurt my legs. It made a crunch in the ankle and lower leg, on opposing sides.” I point to the respective areas.

The doctor sighs and reaches forward, only to stop when Dante growls in warning. “He’s a doctor, Dante. It’s okay.”

His grip tightens, not painfully so, but enough to let everyone know that they can go ahead and shove if they want to move me. He also falls silent, watching with a terrifying intensity. Dr. Geaga places a hand on both injuries and I smell his magic permeate the air, smokey and dark. He must come from Fire Fae.

Each tribe of Fae-- Earth, Air, Water, and Fire-- all have a distinct smell when they use magic, and it costs them a lot. If an Air Fae uses their ability, they have trouble breathing. Water Fae got sick afterwards. Earth Fae normally end up with some bodily injury, and Fire Fae have burns. This causes the air around them to smell like their element. My line is from Earth and Fire tribes, which is dangerous-- I could burn myself and break something every time I had to use my magic, or the reaction will choose one line and amplify the repercussions. Another reason I am afraid to explore my Fae abilities.

The burning smell dissipates after a few minutes and I find that while the injuries are not completely healed, it won’t take very long for me to return to normal.

I myself am an anomaly. I don’t require as much food as a full blooded wolf, but medications? It takes more than twice as much. I can heal others quicker than an alpha, but I can’t heal myself without sleeping for a day. It sucks.

I don’t move from where I am when the Doctor backs off. Mostly this is because I can’t move. Dante is frozen in place, effectively caging me against his chest. But I don’t care, because he is really warm, per shifter requirement, and it’s really comfortable. “I appreciate the help, Doc.” I say as I relax, causing Dante to do the same, if only a little.

“Can we go now?”

“Are you going to reopen your stitches, again?”

“No sir.”

“Then go.”

I nod, but again don’t move, with the exception to my head, which I let drop against Dante’s heart, which was beating strong and steady. It was quite calming, the sound. I feel myself drifting again into sleep, and feel as Dante speaks, but I don’t hear anything at all.