Chapter 9
2338 Words
Ava’s Point of View
The ER is unusually quiet tonight.
Not empty, but quiet enough that Luna and I are leaning against the nurses’ station instead of running around like crazy people.
I glance over at her.
She is flipping through a patient chart, but something about her feels... off.
Her shoulders are tight and her eyes keep flicking to the clock
“Are you okay?”
I ask and she looks up immediately, nodding her head.
“Yeah. I'm fine why?”
She asks and I shrug.
“You look tense... Almost like you are waiting for something bad to happen.”
I say and she snorts, closing the file.
“In the ER? That is a safe assumption.”
She says and I roll my eyes.
“Luna.”
I say and she sighs dramatically before turning to look at me completely.
“Okay, fine. I am feeling a little on edge tonight, that's all.”
She says shrugging and I frown.
“Why?”
She leans closer like she’s about to tell me a secret.
“The moon is almost full.”
She says quietly and I stare at her for a few seconds.
“That’s your explanation?”
I ask with a frown and she nods her head.
“Absolutely.”
She says firmly and I arch a brow at her.
“You’re blaming the moon.”
I ask and she shrugs again.
“Have you met people? Full moons make everyone insane.”
She says and I laugh.
“That’s actually a real thing, you know.”
“See?”
She says, pointing at me.
“Science supports my argument.”
“Barely.”
I mutter and she grins at me.
But before either of us can say anything, the ER doors burst open and a nurse rushes in with a gurney, followed by a man.
“Finally!”
Luna says, straightening.
“Let’s go.”
She says, already making her way over to them.
We step into the trauma bay.
The patient looks rough.
Mid twenties. Covered in dirt. Blood soaking through his sleeve. His breathing is uneven and his muscles look tense.
“What happened?”
Luna asks the guy who brought him in.
The man shifts nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes darting to me before landing on her again.
“Uh… he had a run in with a wild animal.”
He says and Luna nods her head slowly just as the patient groans loudly.
“Okay. Let’s get him stable first.”
She says before stepping closer to the bed.
“Hey. Can you hear me?”
She asks calmly.
His eyes snap open and the second they land on Luna, everything changes.
His whole body goes rigid, his breathing turns sharp and uneven and his nose flares.
“What’s wrong?”
I ask, stepping closer, but he doesn’t even look at me.
He is staring straight at Luna.
For a second I see fear flashing across his face.
Then anger.
“Who are you?”
He snarls and Luna freezes for half a second.
"My name is Luna. I am a doctor here. You got hurt and you are in the ER. Just calm down and focus on your breathing.”
She says calmly but the patient shakes his head, pushing himself up slightly before wincing from the pain.
“You...”
He says, pointing weakly at Luna.
“You’re not from here.”
He says and his eyes narrow. The monitor beeps faster as his heart rate climbs.
I step forward.
“Hey, relax. You’re injured.”
I say but he shakes his head again, still staring at Luna like she is some sort of threat.
“You don’t smell like this pack.”
He says and the room goes quiet for a second.
My eyebrows shoot up and I glance between them.
“What?”
I ask, but no one answers me and I frown.
“Sir, I think you might be disoriented.”
Luna say carefully, but he shakes his head.
“I’m not disoriented. I can smell it.”
He snaps at her and my frown deepens.
Smell it?
Smell what?
He begins to look around the room again, panicked now.
“You’re not from our pack. You shouldn’t be here.”
He mutters.
“Sir, I think you’re confused.”
I say and his eyes land on me before snapping back to Luna.
The patient suddenly starts thrashing.
“You shouldn’t be this close. Why are you alone here?”
He growls.
“Easy.”
Luna says.
“No! You’re not ours. I don’t know you.”
He snarls.
His eyes narrow again.
“What pack are you from?”
Luna folds her arms slightly.
“That’s not relevant right now.”
“It is to me.”
“You’re injured. I am trying to help you. Just focus on breathing.”
She says firmly but he trashes again.
"No, don't touch me."
I step forward as Luna tries to touch him.
“Hey, relax. She is just helping you. Your arm is bleeding pretty badly...”
I begin but he jerks away from Luna.
He mutters quietly, words I can't quite make out, still trying to get out of the bed. He snarls at Luna as she steps closer to him again.
“Luna.”
I say but she shakes her head.
"It's okay."
She glances at me before looking back at him and reaching out.
“You’re hurt. You need to calm down.”
He bares his teeth slightly.
“You shouldn’t be near me."
He snarls and for a split second Luna’s eyes flash gold, then they are back to normal again.
“Listen to me.”
She says softly and she places her hand on his arm.
Suddenly his body goes still, his breathing slows down and the tension drains out of him like someone flipped a switch.
“It’s okay. You need to calm down. You are safe.You are in a hospital, and you are bleeding everywhere. So right now you are going to take a breath and let us help you.”
Luna murmurs and the patient blinks up at her slowly.
His shoulders relax and then something like realization hits him and his eyes widen slightly.
“Oh shit.”
He mutters but Luna’s expression doesn’t change.
“Easy.”
She says calmly.
“You’re Alpha blood.”
He whispers and I see her tense for a second.
“What did you just say?”
I ask, but he is already shaking his head, ignoring me.
“You shouldn’t be here...”
He mutters.
“Sir...”
I begin, but he ignores me again as his full attention is on Luna.
“You're an Alpha’s daughter. Why would they let you walk around alone?”
He says and Luna sighs quietly.
“I’m not alone. I'm with her.”
She says, nodding at me.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He says and she just smiles at him.
“I know, and I appreciate the concern.”
She says, her expression staying neutral.
He stares at her for a few second before slowly nodding his head.
“Sorry... I didn’t mean to… react like that.”
He says and she gives him a small smile.
“All good. Now let’s deal with that arm before it gets infected.”
She says and he nods his head slowly.
“Yes… ma’am.”
He says and for a few seconds I just stare at both of them.
“What just happened?”
I ask and Luna glances at me then she smiles casually at me.
“See? Full moon crazies.”
She says lightly and I frown at her.
“What?”
"He just panicked."
She says flatly as she opens his wound.
The patient closes his eyes, completely calm now.
And for a few seconds I just stand there, staring at her.
She moves like nothing strange just happened.
Grabbing supplies.
Checking the wound.
Talking through the procedure.
“Ava.”
She says suddenly, her voice snapping me back.
“Yeah?”
“Can you grab saline?”
She asks and I nod my head.
“Uhm yeah, right...”
I mutter, moving automatically to hand her what she needs.
We begin to clean the wound. It’s deep but not life threatening.
“Looks like claw marks.”
I say and Luna hums.
“Probably a bear.”
She replies easily and I arch a brow.
“Bears are not common around here.”
I say and she shrugs again.
“Maybe it got lost.”
“Sure.”
I mutter.
The rest of the treatment goes smoothly.
We wrap his arm.
Give him antibiotics.
Run basic tests.
And the entire time Luna acts completely normal.
Like nothing strange happened.
Like a patient didn’t just panic because he could smell something on her.
Like her eyes didn’t turn gold.
Like she didn’t calm him down with one touch.
But my mind keeps racing.
None of that makes sense.
None of it.
By the time he is discharged, the ER is quiet again.
Luna stretches her arms over her head as we leave the room.
“Well... That was exciting.”
She says and I stare at her.
“You’re not even going to explain that?”
I ask and she tilts her head at me.
“Explain what?”
She asks and I frown.
“That whole thing.”
“What whole thing?”
“The patient, Luna!”
I snap at her and she shrugs at me.
“Oh, that I told you he panicked. Maybe he was just on something."
She says and I arch a brow.
“He said he could smell you.”
She shrugs.
“People say weird things when they’re stressed.”
“Luna.”
She leans against the counter.
“Yes, Ava?”
“Your eyes changed.”
I say and she pauses, just for a second, then she grins at me.
“That happens when I’m annoyed.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
She says, nudging my shoulder.
“You’re tired. You need more sleep.”
“You literally told me earlier the moon makes people crazy.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t explain your eyes.”
I say as we lean against the nurses counter again. She grabs a pen and taps it against the desk, sighing.
“Ava. It’s the full moon.”
She says and I frown at her.
“That’s not a real answer.”
I say and she shrugs again.
“To bad, because that is my answer.”
She says and my frown deepens.
"Seriously?"
I ask, folding my arms in front of my chest.
She just smiles back at me, unbothered.
Which somehow makes it worse.
The rest of our shift passes quietly.
We have a few minor cases, but luckily nothing dramatic.
But I can’t stop thinking about earlier.
Because this isn’t the first time.
I have seen it before.
Everytime Spencer gets angry, her eyes change color.
Just for a second, but it changes.
As does Liam’s.
I have convinced myself that is was a coincidence, that it was just the lighting.
Or stress.
Or my brain playing tricks on me.
But now…
Now I have seen Luna’s do it too, as well as the patient's and I know I didn’t imagine that.
By the time our shift ends, I’m exhausted.
Luna stretches again as we change out of our clothes.
“Freedom! Finally!”
She declares and I laugh, shaking my head.
We grab our bags and head towards the exit.
The hospital halls are quieter now as th3 night shift settles in.
“You did good tonight.”
Luna says and I glance at her.
“Thanks. As did you. You handled that patient really well.”
She grins.
“I have excellent bedside manners.”
She says and I roll my eyes.
We push through the hospital doors and the cool night air hits us immediately.
Luna takes a deep breath.
“God I needed that.”
She mutters as we start walking back towards campus.
“You’re still thinking about earlier.”
She says suddenly after walking in silence for a while.
I glance at her.
“How do you know?”
“You get this wrinkle between your eyebrows. It’s very dramatic.”
I groan.
“Great."
I mutter, rubbing between my eyebrows.
"So?"
She asks and I sigh.
“I’m just curious about what happened tonight.”
I say and Luna just nods her head.
“Mhm.”
“You’re not going to explain anything, are you?”
I ask with another sigh and she smiles slightly at me.
“Nope.”
She says, shaking her head.
“Not even a little?”
“Nope.”
She says and I sigh again.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been told.”
We reach the dorm building.
Climb the stairs.
Unlock the door.
Luna drops her bag on the floor and collapses onto her bed.
“I might sleep for twelve hours.”
She mutters and I laugh.
“That sounds amazing. Wish we could.”
I murmur and she glances at me.
“You worry too much, Ava.”
She says and I shrug.
“Someone has to.”
“Everything is fine. Now, go to sleep and stop overthinking everything. Goodnight.”
She says as I sit on my bed and I give her a small smile.
She turns around and for a few seconds I just stare at her back.
Maybe she is right, maybe I am overthinking it.
But as I replay the night in my head... The patient’s words, and the image of Luna’s eyes flashing gold refuses to leave my mind.
Because now that I’ve noticed it…
I can’t stop wondering.
What exactly are my friends hiding?
- Writer
