Once, I Stole A Crown

X-Rays and Warnings

The hospital was the tallest building I'd ever been in, and somehow most of the building was empty. Luca had explained to Sam that we weren't used to seeing the types of machines and equipment he'd have to use on us, so Sam was kind enough to give us a tour of them. It was easy to allow myself to be overwhelmed, and the huge machines were frightening with all the moving pieces and noises. The needles made Lily uneasy. I would have to be brave for her.

After the tour, we were handed medical gowns and robes.

"Okay," Sam said as he clapped his hands together. "The machines are warming up. Just put those on and remove any metal and jewelry from yourselves. We'll start with some blood tests while the computer boots up. Danielle, would you assist with the blood draws?"

"Of course." She said.

I went first to show Lily that there was nothing to be afraid of. Danielle wiped alcohol across a spot on my inner arm. I couldn't watch so I focused on Lily and she focused on me. The pinch of the needle was nothing compared to other pains I'd felt, but even still I never wanted to feel it again. Not that I let it show. When the needle was out, a small tube remained in my arm which she taped in place. Four vials of dark red liquid sat on the tray beside my seat. Luca handed me a small bottle of juice and smiled at me.

"One thing down." He said. "Are you ready, Lily?"

Lily looked unsure and very nervous.

"Here, Lily," I said. "Come sit on my lap. I'll hold you the whole time, okay?"

Lily climbed into my lap and I wrapped my arms around her middle and kissed the side of her head as Danielle repeated the process. She screamed in shock at the pinch of the needle and cried throughout the rest of the process. It only took a minute, but soon we had matching tubes and Danielle was labeling tubes.

Every room we entered was freezing. Lily and I were shivering in the exam room we were waiting in, Lily tucked into Luca's right side, while I was tucked into his left. He had an arm around each of us while we attempted to sap all of his body heat. After a few hours, Sam came into the room.

"There is a children's play room in the waiting room downstairs. Maybe Danielle could take Lily to play while we talk? The cafeteria is open twenty-four hours. Maybe they could get some ice-cream?"

Luca looked to me and I nodded. "If you think that's best, but please, Danielle, keep her safe. I don't like her being out of sight."

"I understand." She said. "I won't take my eyes off of her for a moment. I promise."

Danielle took Lily's hand in hers and led her out of the room with a promise of snacks and toys. Once she was down the stairs and out of earshot, Sam set a screen up on the small counter beside the chairs where we sat. He pulled up a series of pictures and turned to us.

"Well," He said. "Your sister is relatively fine. I only found trace amounts of sedatives in her blood, looks like pretty low doses, nothing that won't work its way out of her system in time, so nothing to worry about there. You, on the other hand-" Sam took a deep breath and stalled for words.

"Tell us, Sam." Luca said.

Sam huffed. "Well, I hope you kill the bastard." He said as he handed Luca a stack of papers. "There are hard drugs in her system. Everything from prescription drugs to illicit street drugs. She has bones that were broken and never set properly, she's half starved, her growth is stunted... I can't believe she's able to stand!" Rage was coming off of Luca in waves, but it didn't seem right to take it from him, so I just listened to what Sam was saying.

"It looks like the bulk of the damage was recent, just in the last two or three years, but the drugs in her system are from as little as two days ago. There's evidence of badly healed abuse from long before that too though, and all of that is only what the human side looks like. She'll need to shift in order to see the whole picture."

"Oh, I- I can't do that." I stuttered. Luca looked at me with confusion and anger. I knew that the anger wasn't because of anything I'd done, but the anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks anyway.

"Oh, don't worry, we have a sub-basement that's been under construction for a while now. It's completely empty. No one will see you."

"It's not that...I've never been able to shift. I don't know how."

"How is that possible?" Luca asked. "You should have been able to shift at sixteen. Didn't your wolf ever tell you how?"

I shook my head sadly. "We aren't allowed."

The anger was dripping from every word he spoke between clenched teeth. "It's a bodily function, you can't just turn off a bodily function!"

"He could. With the cane. When we turn sixteen, our fathers use a thin wooden cane soaked in wolf's bane to whip us. Once the fever hits, we're chained up and every time the shift starts, they whip us and shock our bodies out of the transition. They do this for days until the fever passes and it never comes again. We are fed wolf's bane in low doses, but enough that our wolves never speak to us. Typically the shift is forced on us when we mate, or give birth. Sometimes its enough to kill us. That's what happened to my second aunt. She died in childbirth because the shift was forced on her and she bled too much. Their father was killed and my cousins are being raised by my parents now, and if I don't get them back, the cycle will continue. The twins are fifteen now. They don't have long."

Sam covered his mouth with his hand as tears streamed down his face. "I'm so sorry..." Was all he could say.

Luca's emotions were all over the place. "We will stop him. We'll get them back and we'll stop them. I promise."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Scissera is in no condition to fight anyone. She needs time and treatment. I honestly don't know where to begin with the shifting problem, but a fight is not something I'm convinced she can handle." He turned to me. "I'm sorry Scissera, I know you have a lot at stake, but until you're healed, I don't see you being able to succeed against a monster like that."

I nodded. "I understand. I want to be stronger and I want to be healthy. Just tell me what I have to do."

"Yes, Sam, what are the options? We don't have time to waste."

"I get that, man, but anything we try is going to be purely experimental! This is entirely unprecedented even for werewolves." Sam sighed and thought for a moment."

"I mean, theoretically, your wolf's blood could heal her body and detox her blood. We can put some weight on her easily enough, but introducing your plod into her system would be a huge risk."

"Why's that?" Luca asked. "She's my mate, I should be able to help her heal."

"I get that werewolves can heal their mates, but if she passed the fever without shifting, she's medically human. I have no idea what will happen to her. She could shift, have a reaction, her body could reject your blood and make her sick, hell it could kill her! I simply don't have enough information and I definitely don't have the time to conduct safe protocols and experiments first."

Luca turned to me. "How much time until their birthday?" He asked.

"They were born in the winter." I answered.

"Can you narrow it down any? Was it before or after Christmas?"

"I don't know what Christmas is, but it was towards the end of winter, just before the last frost."

Sam muttered mostly to himself. "Seriously? No holidays either?"

"The summer solstice is in a month. That gives us about eight months, but I'm going to say seven to be safe." Luca said. "We've got seven months. With that in mind, it's your body and your choice."

I stared up at him. I'd never been given a choice about anything before.

"Listen, Scissera. Wolf or not, you were still able to form a mate bond with me. There has to be a reason for that. If you were truly human that wouldn't have been possible. I have faith I can help you. But you have to decide this, I can't do it for you."

I considered the options while Luca held me. My life, as well as my girls' safety was at risk no matter what I chose.

"Will you still save my girls if I die?"

"Yes."

"And you'll take care of Lily?"

"Like she's my own daughter."

"Then...I want to try it. I want to try the blood."