The Beta's Justice

Chapter 21

Audrey's POV

He just left beautiful me here in bed alone all because Leon called for him. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I felt as though I needed him. Last night was the best sleep I had ever had. Now he was gone and I was restless. Rolling onto my side, I grabbed my phone and scrolled through it. I don't know how long I was on it, but it was long enough for Darren to come back.

"Time to get up," he told me.

"But you said you would come back and lie with me," I whined.

"I know, but we have an appointment to get to," he said as he went to my closet, coming back a few moments later with clothes for me.

"What appointment?"

"A doctor's one," he said. Then I knew exactly what he was talking about. Dr. Richard had been trying to get me into the hospital to run tests, but my time had either been consumed with training or family.

"Oh, come on. We can push it off for a little while longer," I tried to give him my best puppy dog look.

"You've been pushing it off for a month," he scolded.

"So what's another hour or two or even a day," I smiled at him as I pushed myself up to a sitting position in the bed.

"Nope, we are going now. I've already given my word that you will go to the appointment," he said as he set down my clothes onto my lap. "Now shower, change and I'll meet you downstairs. If you're good, I'll give you a treat," he said as he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"What am I? A dog?" I asked with a huff.

"Well not yet," he chuckled.

"Fine, I'll go get ready," I grumbled as I swung my feet out over the bed, grabbed my clothes, and went into the bathroom.

I set the clothes on the countertop, turned on the shower, and then decided I was in no rush to go. So, I took my time. I brushed my teeth, slowly took off my clothes, and then stood in the hot water for a good ten minutes before I even started to wash. I knew he wouldn't come in to hurry me along. He wanted to wait until I was of age for everything other than kissing. When I finally exited the bathroom, he did not look pleased.

"What on earth were you doing in there?" He questioned, displeased.

I shrugged my shoulders as I passed him to sit on the chair in front of my mirror. "Getting ready, of course."

"Can you do it a little faster?" His tone shifted as he tried to coax me to move more quickly.

"I guess, but I don't see the point in going to the hospital," I grumbled as I put on eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss.

"The doctor said you need tests. Let's not question him and just get it done." He was tired and something else. There was another emotion. Was he hiding something from me? Would he hide something from me? I thought we were honest with each other.

I stood and grabbed my purse. "Ready," I informed him.

"Good, let's go," he said as he slipped his hand into mine and wrapped his fingers around mine.

I felt the spark zip through my body. "You wouldn't be hiding anything from would you?" I asked as we left the room and headed down the stairs.

I could feel his grip tense slightly. "Well..." he started, but then stopped himself.

A knife struck my heart. He was hiding something. What could he be hiding? How bad could it be? "Darren." I stopped walking, making him turn to look at me.

He let out a sigh. "It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Let's walk and talk," he suggested.

"Why?"

"Prying ears," he said as he glanced around.

"Okay," I responded, beginning to feel nervous.

We left the packhouse and when we were far enough away, he started talking. "When we were at Ryker's lab, I found files. They were on his desk. At first, only saw a few, but when I opened the filing cabinet, I found more. I packed up your file, the twins, Nova's, and her parents' files. I took the files and then handed them over to Alpha Leon and Dr. Richard. That was what the meeting was about this morning," he finished.

We walked in silence for a few moments as I took in everything he said. "What was in my file?"

"We knew most of it. You have siren blood, but there is something more. However, Ryker didn't exactly write it clearly. So, we need to let the doctor run some tests to see if we can make sense of what else was written in your file," he finished explaining.

"Okay," was all I could say. I wasn't sure how to react. Is it considered lying if he just didn't tell me? Did he break my trust because he went behind my back to have a meeting about me? It was all a little too much.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" I asked after we started walking again.

He was quiet for a long time. "I wanted to know as much as I could before telling you," he said. I could hear hints of shame in his voice.

I didn't know what to say. If I were in his position, would I have done the same thing? Or would I have told him? We reached the hospital and went inside. "Good afternoon. What brings you to the hospital, today?" The nurse at the front desk questioned.

"Dr. Richard requested I come in for some tests," I told her.

"I see. Give me a moment," she said as she picked up the phone and dialed for someone.

She spoke with someone over the phone for a minute and then hung up. "Go to the left and follow the blue line on the wall. It will take you to the back where Dr. Richard has his primary office."

I felt like my heart was beginning to squeeze in on itself. Why do we need to go to the primary office? Does that mean something is wrong? Really wrong? We walked toward his office and the closer we got the harder it became to breathe.

"Audrey," I felt Darren take both my shoulders and force me to look directly at him. "Calm down. I'm sure whatever tests he runs and whatever the results are everything will be fine." He was trying to soothe me, which he did to some extent.

"Okay, you're right," I said as I took a few deep calming breaths.

"Ready?"

"I think so," I said, trying to stop my nerves from getting the best of me.

We walked into Dr. Richard's office to see him sitting behind his desk looking over papers. Looking up, he motioned us in. "Good afternoon, glad you were able to come in," he said as he set down his pen.

"Sure thing," I said as I plopped down on the chair.

"Now, we will start with a round of blood work followed by a urine test. I am planning on putting you through as many tests as possible. Since your file is leading us to believe that you have something hidden in your DNA," he informed me.

"Okay," I responded. "How long will it take?"

"Got big plans today?"

"I have training to get to," I told him.

"I'm sure Darren and the twins can cover for you," he offered.

"I guess," I muttered. I didn't want to admit it, but training was one of the highlights of my day. It used to be that I hated it, but the kind of training I do with the special wolves is different. I actually feel a part of something, something important.

"I'll see you later," Darren said as he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "I'll take care of everything. Don't worry about a thing," he promised.

"Thank you." I gave him a tight smile.

"Just do the tests and then come to the training facility when you're done. I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you." He smiled reassuringly.

I nodded. "I'm off then," he grinned.

"Shall we get started?" Dr. Richard asked, bringing my attention back to him.

"Yup. The sooner the better," I said as I stood.

I followed him out of his office down the hallway. We entered a room where there were six comfy-looking chairs set up. Others were already sitting and having blood drawn. "Take a seat and the nurse will be with you shortly."

"Okay, thank you." I sat down and he took his leave. Part of me had thought he would conduct all the tests himself, which was foolish. He is a doctor. He must have more important things to attend to.

Nearly three hours later, they had drawn so much blood, I felt a little dizzy. I had peed in a cup and got X-rays on every part of my body, along with an MRI and CAT scan. I was exhausted and so ready to get out of the hospital. Once I was done, they sent me away, saying the doctor would contact me when all the results came in.

I left the hospital feeling drained. They had given me juice and cookies to help with my blood sugar, but I was still tired and dizzy even as I walked out of the hospital. I headed to the training facility. They should be done training by now, but I hoped they weren't.

Pushing open the door, I walked in. Lila was in combat training with another young wolf and she was winning. Once the door opened, she lost focus for a moment to look over at me. Then the young wolf struck her with a swift punch to the gut. She hit the floor with a grunt. Before I could rush over to check on her, she was back on her feet and roundhouse kicking the poor young wolf. He went flying to the ground, winded. Then she skipped over to wrap her arms around me. "I missed you," she said happily.

"I missed you too, but I had an appointment to go to. How was the training session with the twins and Darren?" I asked as she stepped back.

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "It was interesting," she responded. It was always her way of saying it wasn't fun. She didn't like to be rude or insult anyone. Therefore, interesting was the word she used in those cases.

"Well, we could spar," I offered her.

"Really?! You're not too tired?" She asked, but I could see the hope in her eyes.

"No, I'm not too tired. Just let me put down my bag," I told her as I went over to set it and hang it on a hook on the wall.

When I turned around, I saw she was already on the mat waiting for me to step on. As soon as I did, she started swinging. With ease and grace, I stepped out of the way of each swing. I let her punches land a few times to help build her confidence while carefully hitting her to make sure she didn't get hurt. After a few minutes, she was panting and ready to call it. Her hands were on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why are you so good at this?" She panted. She always asked and the answer was always the same.

"Practice," I grinned.

"I just want to be better faster," she huffed as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Then more practice," I laughed as I threw a towel at her.

She groaned as she sat down on the training mat. I couldn't help laughing harder at her expression. All the other mats were filled with others sparing. But when we had started our little fight they had stopped to watch and now that we were done they had started up again. The atmosphere here was light. It used to be heavy and hard to breathe with all the tension in the air, but over the past few months, everyone had begun to relax. This was home for them now and me.