Lost and Found

Two

Finally giving up after searching the makeshift grave as well as the surrounding area, Leo headed back towards the hospital. What had started as a worrying scenario that he was already dreading explaining to Alpha Zane had quickly spiraled into a security issue as well. He knew he was in for a tongue-lashing once he informed the alpha.

Not only did he bring in an outsider, but now someone knew that he had taken the outsider into their pack. And, he’d done all of this without Zane’s permission.

He walked back into the hospital room, where Dr. Bre was still attending to the unconscious woman.

“Well?” she asked, not even bothering to look up from the notes she was furiously scribbling down. “Did you put the body in the–”

Bre finally looked up and frowned at him. Leo remained sheepishly quiet.

“You came straight to this room, yet you’re not holding a body.”

“Your astuteness is astonishing.”

She glared at him. “Now is not the time to impress me with your wit. I guess there’s nothing we can do about the other body. You are certain there was another?”

“Yes, Vern and Nat can confirm as well.”

“So, someone then knows we have her,” Bre frowned. “This doesn’t bode well. You need to inform Alpha Zane immediately.”

Leo sighed. He knew that was the next logical step, but he also didn’t want to face the fury that came with it.

“The longer you stall, the angrier he will be.”

“Yeah, I know. I know,” he grumbled before opening a mind-link connection with his alpha.

“What is it?” Alpha Zane snapped through their connection.

“Sir, I’d like to give you my report at the hospital.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, sir.”

There was a brief pause before he answered, “Then why am I meeting you there instead of my office?”

“I’d, uh, rather explain that to you here,” he replied, one hand covering his eyes in embarrassment.

He sounded like such an i***t, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. Leo needed to rip off the band-aid, so to speak, when it came to this topic. Even if it meant fumbling through it.

“I’ll be there shortly,” Zane replied, his voice tired.

Leo nodded to himself, knowing how much more this would weigh on Zane’s shoulders. He didn’t want to burden his alpha with anything else, but at the same time, he couldn’t let that woman die. He had already seen his fair share of bloodshed and despair in his 28 years. He did not want to add anymore, even if it meant defying his alpha’s words. A part of him knew that he may be kicked out of the pack for his actions, but he would not deviate.

Perching himself in one of the chairs in the hospital waiting room, Leo started mock conversations in his head about how to explain the situation to Zane. Would it be better to start at the beginning or get straight to the point about the woman? Was there any way to soften Zane’s anger? How could he approach his alpha in a way that showed that he had been taking precautions for both the woman and the pack?

“Leo,” Zane’s deep voice sounded as he walked into the hospital, startling him.

He immediately jumped up from his seat at his alpha’s voice. He looked at Zane, who was wearing a frown along with his clothes from the previous day, which consisted of a light blue t-shirt and black basketball shorts, and a couple days worth of stubble. His light brown hair had obviously been neglected, and his hazel eyes were shrewdly studying him.

“Sir. Thank you for–”

“Report.”

Even though he had expected the roughness from his alpha, he couldn’t help but notice he was nervous to give the report.

“Yes, sir. Borders are clear.”

“Then why am I here and not in my office, where you’re supposed to give me your report along with the rest of your team?”

“Sir, while finishing up the rounds, I noticed an unusual pile of dirt that hadn’t been there yesterday. I checked it out, and when I did, I found two bodies. One had already perished, and the other was still alive.”

Zane’s jaw began working as he held his anger in check. “You know we don’t take in strays,” he then growled at Leo.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“And yet…”

Leo swallowed nervously, knowing that to talk back to his alpha meant death. “She asked for help. I–I couldn’t just leave her there to die, Alpha.”

“So, you brought her here.”

It was a statement, not a question.

“Yessir.”

Zane sighed. It had already been a long night and a very early morning for him. There had been rogue activity at their southern border less than a week ago, and for an unknown reason, rogue attacks were becoming more frequent across all of the packs in the area. The last thing he needed was for a random woman to actually be a spy, gathering intel against their enemies.

He moved toward the rooms, knowing one of them had to contain her; however, Leo jumped up and stood in the hallway, blocking him.

“Move aside.”

Leo hesitated.

“Leo, you will do as your alpha commands.”

“Yessir. But, please, please don’t kill her,” he said as he moved to let Zane through.

Zane frowned. Leo had never talked back to him before nor pleaded with him for anything. There was something about this woman that had Zane on edge. To make one of his most diligent pack members worry for her was unsettling. He always followed directions without question. It was certainly something to take note of and think upon later.

Pushing the thought away, he went to the first room and opened the door. It was quiet, and he saw that there was a woman laying on the hospital gurney, eyes closed, with her chest rising and falling rhythmically. He studied her curiously. There was definitely something off about her, but he couldn’t place it.

“She doesn’t smell like a rogue or a wolf at all. But, she also doesn’t smell human. What is she?” Zane asked, almost genuinely curious.

“I don’t know, sir. I noticed that as well.”

It wasn’t that there was a masking agent on her scent, it simply felt like there were too many different smells on her to tell just what she was. Wherever she had come from, more than one species had been with her. This meant that she could be just about anything, and that didn’t sit well with Zane. Leo had knowingly or not brought an unknown factor to their pack, which could cause serious consequences down the line for them.

The woman then stirred briefly, her hands grasping onto the sides of the hospital bed until her knuckles were white. Her eyes frantically shifted back and forth from under their lids. It seemed like she was reliving a nightmare.

“Lara! Run!” she suddenly called out with a hoarse voice, her body thrashed about.

Zane felt his entire body grow cold as he rushed to her side and held her down so that she wouldn’t hurt herself. He didn’t care so much for her as much as the name she’d spoken. What were the odds that she knew his sister’s name? And what were the chances that this woman knew of his sister, who had been abducted several months ago? How could she yell out Lara’s name? It had to be someone else. He needed it to be a coincidence.

“Wake her up,” he spat at Bre, who had rushed in a moment later.

Dr. Bre gave Zane a quizzical look. “Alpha, I can’t. I’m sorry. I didn’t medically induce her coma. She needs to wake up naturally. On her own. Her body has to heal of its own accord.”

“I don’t care!” Zane roared. “Wake her up right now!”

“I understand where you’re coming from, but–”

Zane turned on Bre. “Like hell you do! That thing called out Lara’s name! Our Lara! We need those answers, now!”

Bre remained calm, even as she was being yelled at and was grateful that Leo was now holding down the woman.

“If this woman dies because I’ve forced her to awaken, then those answers die with her. Is that what you want?” she then asked.

Defeat crossed over Zane’s features as he slumped into one of the two chairs in the room. He held his head in his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. He’d barely slept since Lara had been abducted, and he blamed himself for it all. This was just another reason why his pack’s borders were closed to outsiders.

As quickly as the woman had begun thrashing about, she went limp. Zane took a long look at her before turning his head back toward the door.

“Fine. Leave her be, but you need to inform me the instant she wakes up. Understood?”

He didn’t wait to hear either of their answers. Grief threatened to consume him once more as he stomped all the way back to his office. His thoughts swirled around the drink that awaited him there.