Mythical Mates

Ten

When Brie pushed through the doors to the medical ward, she was surprised to see it was empty. Not a single person was sitting in the waiting room. Werewolves were rowdy and reckless creatures. There was hardly ever a day that someone wasn’t sent to the infirmary with a few broken bones. Getting hurt every day is part of the culture. Slowly, she made her way to the front desk, feeling uneasy at the sound of her sneakers tapping against the marble floor. Even the television was turned off. “Hello?” she called at the empty desk. Looking down, she could see how clean and organized the desk was. It looked as though no one had been there all day. Realizing that no one was coming, she pushed at the double doors leading to the patient ward. The doors were automatic, so she couldn't enter without being buzzed in. She made her way behind the receptionist's desk. She wasn’t worried about getting in trouble as she could easily bring attention to the fact that had someone been at the front, she wouldn’t have needed to do it herself. She searched for a switch or button, but didn’t see anything. Of course, it could never be that easy. They must open the doors on the computer. She opened the drawers, searching for anything that might have the password written down. She wished she could just call her father, but she had lost her phone during the attack. She palmed her face dumbfounded, forgetting that she never needed her phone in the first place. She reached her mind out to her father, hoping he would be able to hear her comm. Nothing. Charley had said her father had been injured. Maybe he was resting and the meds were scrambling her signal. She reached out to her mother, to Dr Esan, to Everet, but no one responded. Why was everyone being so silent? Could her link have weakened after being away? Could Fin’s secluded world have tampered with her mind? She opened a file cabinet and searched for her father’s name. It was strange, there didn’t seem to be any record of his hospitalization within the last couple of months. Had Charley been mistaken? She then searched for Everet’s, hoping to see evidence that he had been cured.

Patient: Everett Maroon Weight: 220lb

DOB: 02/23/2019 Height: 6’3

Sex: Male

Patient diagnostic: Abnormal brain activity-Premature stroke

Doctor: Dr. Eric Esan

Mr. Maroon was admitted into the hospital at 19:50 on Tuesday where he was placed into our urgent care unit for immediate surgery. The patient displayed severe damage to the torso, legs and head, as well as a deep gash in the right shoulder. After several hours of testing, his charts revealed something strange regarding brain activity in the prefrontal cortex…

Brie skimmed through the parts she already knew. Esan had been excessively detailed when describing Everett’s condition and the words were starting to make her head ache. She was about to put it back when she came across the log written the day after the attack. Esan had written about how frustrated he was with Charley as he visited his office several times that day to talk about Everet’s condition. As she kept reading, it sounded like Charley had been trying to convince Dr. Esan to stop treating Everet and brush it off as wolf rage. Wolf rage was something that typically happened to a select few people during their first year following their first transformation. During a full moon, their wolf counterparts would involuntarily take control and act on their animal instincts. For a second, Brie thought he was right, but something didn’t make sense. Everet had already turned 19, meaning he was past that phase of development. Also, wolf rage would never make someone turn on their own pack. Typically, they’d just howl at the moon and run around hunting deer and small animals until dawn. The rage had never been known to make someone that violent. She read the log for the next day and Esan wrote about more research he was doing in the library. After a detailed description of all the tests and research he did, Esan finished off saying he had a hunch about what was going on and that he would announce it in his next log when he was 100% sure. Brie’s heart raced as she flipped through the file for the next log. However, that’s where the logs end. “Did he not write it yet? That can’t be it.” she ran over the logs once more to make sure she hadn’t looked over it. Esan had always been so punctual and attentive. He wouldn’t have forgotten to write it.

“You can’t be back there.” someone said behind her.

Brie jumped unnecessarily hard as she didn’t even hear any footsteps approaching. Where did she even come from? Had she been so distracted that she didn’t hear the doors open? She tried to hide the file, but the nurse had clearly already seen it. “I-I wanted to see my friend, but I didn’t know the code to open the doors. A-And no one was here.” She hated how her voice trembled. She was the alpha’s daughter, afterall, with years of combat training. She was certain she was far stronger than a nurse who sat and pushed papers around all day. Despite this, she still felt uneasy. Was it from the thrill of being caught doing something that she shouldn’t be doing? The nurse stared at her with blank eyes, almost as though she didn’t care. Brie climbed to her feet, knowing that she needed to save face. “I need to see Everett Maroon,” she said sternly. Even as she stood in front of her, Brie couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling of needing to get away from this nurse. She wanted to ask Cora if she was getting the same vibes, but knew that she was probably still not talking to her. The nurse reached around and took the file from Brie’s hand.

“Patient files are confidential and shouldn’t be viewed by anyone other than the medical staff and the Alpha.”

Brie frowned. “Hey, it’s not entirely my fault. I went to visit my friend and no one was up here. Did anyone even come in for work today? Why’s it so quiet?” The nurse glanced briefly over at the vacant chairs in the waiting area.

“Slow day.” she said.

Brie almost laughed. This place usually had more traffic than the packhouse. But she chose not to argue, considering the packhouse was just as dead. This would just be another item added to the list of things she needed to talk to her father about. “Where’s my father?” she asked. “I was told he was here, but there aren’t any recent records of him being admitted. Shouldn’t you guys stay on top of things like that?”

“Who’s your father?”

Brie furrowed her brows in disbelief. “You don’t know who I am?” Even though she wasn’t as socially popular as Angela, people still knew her. She attended every event, every party her parents hosted. Even if you were a part of the few who didn’t, you could make a pretty good guess. She looked exactly like her dad. “I’m Brielle Duchane. Alpha Isaac is my dad.” The nurse showed a small hint of surprise. Then she smiled.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m new and haven’t gotten around to memorizing everyone’s faces yet. I hope I didn’t offend you.” Brie crossed her arms, but didn’t say anything as the nurse made her way behind the desk and logged onto the computer. Brie strained her neck trying to see the screen. “Looks like his paperwork is still in printing. We’ve had quite a lot of documenting to do the last few days.”

“Is he that bad?” she asked, worry creeping in. “Can I see him?”

“Alpha Isacc is still under a lot of painkillers. He likely won’t be able to properly have a conversation with you until morning. I can take you to his room if you wish.” Brie nodded and the doors opened. The nurse grabbed a few files from the cabinet and ushered Brie to follow her. Brie noticed that she hadn’t placed Everett’s file back. They walked through the long corridor, the sound of Brie’s sneakers was the only sound echoing off the walls. The deadly silence unnerved her. It felt wrong to be in a hospital and not hear doctors and nurses talking, to not hear patients snoring and groaning. There weren’t even any machines beeping.

“It’s so quiet? Where are all the doctor’s?” she asked.

“The chaos that happened a few days prior left a lot of people injured, including some of our physicians and nurses. We had to send a lot of them over to neighboring packs to be treated. We only kept as many people as our remaining staff could handle.”

Guilt washed over her. The flashbacks of seeing her people being attacked played behind her eyes. She hated that it all happened around her and she couldn’t do much to stop it. “How many casualties?”

“Not too many, thankfully, but there are still a few people missing to say for sure.” she stopped at a door secluded from the others. It was the room reserved for the Alpha and their immediate family. Brie knocked on the door lightly. “No one’s inside, you can go in.” The nurse stood outside as Brie walked in and closed the door. Her father was lying in the hospital bed. His eyes were closed, but she could see his eyes fluttering beneath his eyelids.

“Hi, daddy,” she whispered, not wanting to wake him. She brushed a loc of hair away from his cheek and smiled, feeling the warmth on his skin. “I’m sorry I left you and ran away. You must be disappointed in me.” She trailed her fingertips along the tips of his beard. It had grown thicker since the last time she’d seen him. He looked tired and paler than usual. Brie wished she could go back and stop herself from running. She should have helped. With Charley and Angela, they definitely could have stood a chance. At least then he wouldn't be here. She thought back to the logs she had read. What had Charley really been trying to accomplish? She wished her father would open his eyes. She had so much she wanted to tell him, so many questions. Everyone else was acting as though nothing had happened. At least she could trust him to tell the truth. She moved his blanket to see how hurt he was and paused. There weren’t any bandages. That didn’t make sense. They said he was hurt. Had he healed already? If so, why was he still on meds? She glanced back at the door and gently began to shake him. He didn’t wake up. She shook him harder, but he didn’t react, not even a stur. “Daddy,” she called, “Daddy!” She placed her head on his chest and sighed with relief. He was alive, that’s for sure, but why wasn’t he waking up? She slapped him. Had the meds been too strong? Was he in a coma? She climbed on the bed and pulled on his arms, trying to force him to sit up, but he was too heavy. “Dad!” she called into his ear. Still nothing. She frowned. She noticed the IV and took it out of his arm. She rummaged through the drawers of the room and found paper and pen. She wrote something down and hid it under his blanket. She kissed his cheek and started toward the door. She threw the door open, ready to curse out the nurse, yet no one was there. Had she gone to help another patients? “For f**k’s sake,” she swore. She trotted down the empty corridor toward the exit, but stopped when she saw Everet’s room. She peaked in and squealed. Everett was sitting up, staring at the TV. He didn’t look at her until she ran over and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my goddess, Evie! You’re okay!” He stared for a moment before putting on a smile.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked.

“How am I? Dude, I should be asking you that!” She was so happy to see him back to normal. It looked like his wounds were nearly fully healed. She touched his head. No more fever. Maybe Charley was right. Maybe this illness wasn’t as severe as she had thought. Still, she didn’t trust Charley completely. Something else had happened that no one was telling her. Where was her mother? “How’re you feeling? Any pain?”

“No,” he said flatly.

“How long have you been up? When will you be free to leave?”

“Leave?” he asked.

“Yeah, you know, get back to work.” It’d be nice to have someone keeping me company who isn't a raging cunt.” She laughed, but he didn’t join in. She tilted her head, wondering why he was staring so blankly. “Hey, have you noticed anything weird happening around here? It’s like this place has taken a 180 since I left. The lack of chaos is really starting to get to me.”

“Has it? Huh,” he leaned back into his pillows. “I can’t remember much.”

“Are you saying you don’t remember wolfing out a few days ago?” Brie asked. His brows furrowed as though he was thinking hard. She saw him wince as he massaged his shoulder. She touched him again, this time brushing the scar on his head. “Hope that stroke didn’t give you brain damage.”

“Stroke? No…I” he winced again. Brie was startled by the rapid beeping of his monitor. “Why can’t I remember?” he mumbled. Brie rushed to comfort him.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m sure they’ll come back to you.”

“I think you should go,” said a voice,

Brie jumped, turning around to see the nurse standing behind her. “W-What the f**k lady? Where did you just come from?”

“The patient seems to be in distress. I’d advise you to allow him to rest.” the nurse said, ignoring her question.

“Actually, since you’re here, what’s going on with my dad?”

“Who?”

“The ALPHA!” She yelled. “Why is he still hospitalized? I looked at his supposed wounds and there were none. None that are visible, that is. Why do you guys still have him in there drugged up?”

“I assure you we know what we’re doing. The alpha was badly injured and required hospitalization. He will remain here until he is cleared by a doctor.”

She laughed. “Is the doctor in the building with us because this place is emptier than a ghost town. I’m telling you to release him.” she countered.

“You are not the alpha nor the luna. Therefore your request is invalid.” she sidestepped away from the door. “Visiting hours are currently over. You are welcome to come back after 8am tomorrow.”

Brie threw up her hands. It was clear this nurse wasn’t going to be giving her any straight answers. Something was definitely going on. “Fine, but you’re gonna regret this when I bring my mother. Hope you have a backup job.” She gave Everett one last kiss on the forehead before heading for the exit. “I’ll tell Hailey that you’re awake, Evie. I’m sure she’d be happy to see you up again.” As she stepped outside the door, she turned for a final glance and paused, seeing Everett’s confused face.

“Who?” he asked as the nurse closed the door.