Hidden In Plain Sight: Book 2 (Wolves)

Chapter 11- Alistar

It feels like all I’ve done the last two days is sleep and lay around. I’m just so tired, but was told to take it easy. I’m not used to sitting still so much. I’ve also been ravenous, craving meat, protein of any kind. My ankle hurts, but appears to be healing, or at least I hope so. Yesterday was worse than the first day, but today I was able to get up on my crutches and hobble to the bathroom without hurting myself further. I consider that a real feat. As I sit here completing a word search, I hear a knock at my door. I yell, “come in.”

The door is pushed open and my Mom says, “Doctor Hansen will be here to see you in about twenty minutes. He asked me to give you some medicine before he arrives to change your dressings and check your wounds.”

I swallow the pills and drink all the water she gave me. I guess I was thirsty. Handing the cup back, I say, “thanks Mom.” Mom smiles, nods, and leaves the room. I continue my word search until Dr. Hansen arrives.

Susan surprised me by coming to assist the doctor. She positions my foot so it’s suspended in the air from the knee down so Dr. Hansen can work and examine my wounds. After removing the exterior cast, a towel is placed on the bed under my lower leg to protect the bedding. Both the doctor and Susan don gloves before he begins saturating the dressings with sterile normal saline to help ease the removal of the bandages. Susan begins to ask me questions, but I’m more interested in my injuries. Cutting one side of the gauze, Dr. Hanson peels the dressings off with only minor sticking. I cringe slightly when he pulls the sticking dressings off, but that’s the only time it hurts. I’m shocked to see parts of the wound already appear to be healing. Dr. Hansen informed me, “well, it looks like healthy pink tissue. No signs of infection, no drainage, and parts appear to already be starting to knit themselves back together. Remarkable, really.” Dr. Hansen makes eye contact with Susan and raises his eyebrows to communicate something, but neither tells me why.

I become irritated, “what was that look for? What aren’t you telling me?” I cross my arms over my chest and likely look like a pouty child, but damn it, it’s my leg. I deserve to know! “Please, just tell me. I’m a big boy, I can take it.”

Dr. Hansen takes a breath, removes the soiled gloves, cleans his hands, and sighs. The doctor nods at Susan and she meets my eyes. “Let’s get your foot rewrapped and then I’ll explain everything. Okay Al?”

I couldn’t help but smile at her old nickname for me. I hadn’t had a decent conversation with Susan since she started dating Travis. The woman stealing bastard! I noticed only a few stitches had been placed, but it was those areas that seem to be healing faster. Dr. Hansen was afraid to close the wounds completely in case of infection. They told me they’d cleaned it well, but a bite can be extremely dirty and full of bacteria. “So, it seems so far I’m pretty lucky huh? Hey, how is the she-wolf that saved me? Were you able to save her Doc?”

Dr. Hansen looks at Susan again before saying, “I’ll let Susan explain that as well. I’ll put your mind at ease though, she is alive, eating, and drinking already. Okay, I’m going to leave supplies so that Susan can change your dressings every other day. I will return in seven days to remove the few sutures we placed. If Susan thinks they should be removed sooner, she can contact me.” Doctor Hansen began putting his used equipment in a bag marked “dirty”. To be sterilized. The old dressings were placed in a plastic bag and tied shut to be disposed of.

“Thank you doctor. Amazingly, that was fairly painless.” I give him a s**t eating grin and relax back on my pillows. Susan finishes taping the dressings before reapplying my soft cast to immobilize my lower leg and foot. Most of the damage was bilaterally on the ankle. Lucky for me the back of my leg and heel were relatively unscathed, so at least I could rest the ventral part of my foot and lower leg on the pillows without excruciating pain.

“Take care young man. If you have issues, please let Susan know. She acts as the go between in the pa.. err gated community when individuals may need medical care. A few weeks to a month and I think you’ll be good as new, if not better.”

“Better? Way to think positive Doc! Ha!” I watch the doc leave my bedroom with a smirk on his face, as he closes the door behind him. Susan sat down in the chair next to my bed. I guess she really is going to tell me and wasn’t just trying to shut me up. “Okay, please tell me what’s going on now.”

Susan sighs and grabs my hand in hers before starting to explain. “Okay Al...the she-wolf you saw was my cousin Halyn who is one year older than you and starting college this fall after taking a gap year. Halyn will be staying with Gannon and Cat while she attends college. She relocated from Alaska to spend time with us and hopefully achieve her educational goals.”

“Susan, she was a wolf when she saved me. She cannot be your cousin. Just how the hell did she become a naked woman when she passed out? It was an excellent illusion, but how did they do it?”

“Try to keep an open mind here Alistar. There was no illusion; what you saw was real. Werewolves or wolf shifters, really do exist.” I sat there with my mouth hanging open, staring at Susan like she was off her rocker. I had so many objections and questions, but no sound would come out my mouth, no matter how hard I try. “I know it’s a lot to take in, and most humans are not supposed to know we exist.”

“Wait, we?” I pull my hand away from Susan and look at her as if she has sprouted a second head. “You want me to believe that not only are you a shapeshifter or werewolf or whatever, but that there are more of you?”

Susan nodded calmly and watched me as I mulled over what she was telling me. How could any of this be

possible? “So say what your telling me is true, prove it.”

I sit and watch Susan to see what she will do. “Al, I would show you in a heartbeat, but I’m pregnant again. They encourage us to avoid shifting while pregnant due to the fact it increases the likelihood of miscarriage.”

“Sure it does. Convenient answer.” I shake my head and scoff like I don’t believe a word she is telling me. “So have someone else show me or get out of my room!”

Susan purses her lips like she is frustrated before she gets a far off look in her eyes as her eyes appear...yellow? Why the hell are her eyes yellow? Just as fast as the yellow appeared, it was gone again. Susan sat back in the chair and said, “Luna Paulina will be coming to shift for you. Being a Luna, she shifts pretty effortlessly, so it’ll be a good demonstration. Young wolves sometimes struggle when they first start shifting, and the less powerful the werewolf, the harder the shift.”

I sat there listening, but believed Susan had lost her ever loving mind! Although, if it were true, that would explain how both wolves on the river bank, became naked humans. I couldn’t help but bite my lower lip as I went over this repeatedly in my head. I’m not sure how long we sat there, but I was startled by a knock on my door. “Come in,” I yelled from my bed. When my door opened, not only Paulina, but also my father came in. “Dad, I thought you were working?”

“I was Al, but Alpha Gannon asked me to come home. Paulina and I arrived at the same time, so I let her in. I told your mom that I’d update her when we were done.” Fred sat in the empty folding chair next to Susan and looked up at Paulina. “Thanks Luna, for helping make things more real.”

Luna Paulina smiled,’patted Fred on the shoulder, and replied, “no problem at all. Alistar, as you know, I’m Paulina, Travis’s mother. First, I want to assure you that when I shift, I’m still in control, and I’d never hurt you. Understand?” I nod my head in response. “Okay, secondly, watching someone shift can look and sound awful, but try not to be alarmed. I’ve done this hundreds, maybe thousands of times. As long as you don’t approach a wolf mid shift, they and you should be okay. During the shift, we are very defensive to protect ourselves, so never touch a shifting wolf. Questions?” I shake my head. “I’m going to step in the bathroom and strip, then I’ll start to shift as I step into your view.”