Rite of Submission (Rite #1) Unedited

Wolfsbane

The bed was empty beside me when my eyelids finally fluttered open in the morning. I had been awakened by the sound of angry whispers. It was as if someone was yelling, but also trying to keep their voice down so they wouldn’t wake me. Lying there, I couldn’t really make out any specific words, but clearly there was someone very upset in the other room. Wrapping a sheet around me, toga style, I made my way towards the hushed argument.

“I’m sorry Alpha, I don’t know what else to tell you, blood doesn’t lie.” The doctor from last night sounded frustrated as she pleaded with Dmitri. “What would you have me do?”

The answer was barely even words, sounding more animal than human. “Then test it again! All of it!”

“What’s wrong with me?” The pair of them turned towards me, both trying to mask their true emotions.

“How long have you been up?” His voice was gentle and soothing, nothing of the primal growl he’d used with the doctor. “Are you hungry? You can head over to Sophie’s rooms if you like, I’ll be there-“

“What’s wrong with me?” I repeated louder, interrupting him and giving the doctor a slight shock. Stepping further into the room I aimed the question at her this time, “What is wrong with me?”

She looked to Dmitri for permission, continuing only after he gave her a curt nod. “We don’t know exactly,” she wrung her fingers, “as far as I can tell you’re a completely healthy female. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for your feinting spell or your fever yesterday. How are you feeling this morning?”

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as she looked me over. I could only imagine what I looked like after last night, and I was standing there in nothing but a sheet. “I feel ok I guess,” I shrugged. I was a little sore between my legs, and I was definitely hungry and a little tired, but I felt fine.

She nodded, but pressed her lips tightly together as Dmitri stared her down. Bowing her head she addressed him, “If I may Alpha, I’d like to draw new samples and have them tested later today.” There was a long uncomfortable silence until he nodded. “I will go prepare for the necessary arrangements then.” She was quick to turn on her heel and rush out the doors.

“If I’m ok, why do you seem so upset?” His face relaxed, smoothing away the angry lines.

“Nothing to worry yourself about little one,” stepping close and pulling me into his arms, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “I would just like the doctor to take another look over you today, just to be safe.” His fingers hooked into the top of my makeshift toga, “In fact, I wouldn’t mind a quick look as well.” He tugged at the sheet playfully. “But it’s already too late in the morning, and I don’t want to upset Sophie by being late to breakfast again.”

“I suppose I’ll have to pilfer some of your clothes again if don’t want to show up naked,” I teased. Was I flirting?

A wicked smile spread across his lips as he wiggled his eyebrows, “Is that right?” He grabbed for me, just missing as I darted back into the bedroom. He leaned against the door watching as I dug out a fresh tee shirt and a pair of boxer shorts to replace my sheet. “How will I get anything done today, if I have to think of you in such a scintillating outfit?”

Before I thought better of it, I dropped the sheet on the floor and let him watch me pull the shirt on, making sure he could see the clamps still on my n*****s. “You’ll be fine, I’m sure,” I stepped into the shorts and pulled them up. I pushed past him to get into the bathroom to at least brush out my hair and pull it up into a messy bun.

“What are you trying to do too me?” he whined dramatically.

Stepping into him, I leaned in for a kiss, but stopped short. “Down boy,” I whispered, then pulled away and headed for the doors, “You’ll see me again tonight.”

“Not tonight,” he frowned.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to suffer,” I teased, stepping out the doors. He followed close behind, laughter rumbling from his chest as we made our way across the hall. We nearly bumped into Blake; a comically confused look twisted his face as we passed by.

“Someone seems to be in a very good mood today!” Sophie called from the table, grinning ear to ear. I shrugged, pressed a quick peck to the still laughing lips of Dmitri, and pulled up my own chair.

He greeted her with a forehead kiss, and joined us at the table, his smile as big as hers. There was a bit of banter between the two of them while we all ate. Over all it felt like an oddly normal experience, as if we’d done it hundreds of times and not just the week it had been. It was also the first time we were all in the same room without an argument, which might be why he never brought up the deals we’d struck the day before. He even kept his hands to himself.

Before long, there was a soft knock at the doors and Nathan stepped in. “Your first appointment is here.”

Nodding, Dmitri pushed his plate back and stood up. He placed an awkward kiss on top of my head before circling around to Sophie. “You’ll make sure she sees the Dr, and take her to one of the upper libraries today?” I nearly bit my tongue when I clamped my jaw shut to keep my mouth from hanging open.

“Of course,” she smiled cheerfully up at him. “And Candy will be out running errands today, yes?” He nodded. She waved him off, “then off you go, we’ll be just fine today.”

“Very well then,” he bowed slightly. “See you ladies in the morning.” He was still grinning as he walked out the doors. Nathan looked as befuddled as I felt, and clearly Blake was as in the dark as we were.

I didn’t even get a chance to ask what was happening. As soon as the door was closed, she smiled across the table at me, “Did you want to change clothes first or would you rather wear that today?” she gestured at me, but her expression told me that she wanted me to change clothes.

“I suppose I could change,” I shrugged. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Or are we pretending like that was completely normal?”

She shrugged and headed into the bedroom. I had no choice but to follow her if I expected to get answers. She perched on the bed and folded her legs under herself, letting me dig through the pile of clothes she’d pulled for me. “Seriously, what is going on?” I settled on a long white a-line skirt and a lacey tank, I held them up for her to see.

She nodded approval and I dug out a matching bra and panty set. “I practically had to drag him out of the room last night so the Dr could examine you. The only way to keep him out of the way while she worked was to make him talk,” she froze and blushed as I took the shirt off. “You really shouldn’t keep those on all day,” she looked away still red.

“Honestly,” I huffed a bit frustrated, “I don’t know how to take the stupid things off.”

“Oh,” she giggled and hopped off the bed to make her way towards me. “Umm, here let me,” she stammered, and lifted one of my breasts in one hand while the other removed the clamp from my n****e. I had to suck in a breath to keep from moaning and she blushed again. “Sorry,” she mumbled, “I should’ve warned you about that. Are you ok for me to release the other one?” I nodded, holding my breath this time as she gently lifted and released the other clamp. I may have imagined it, but she seemed to let her hand linger longer than she needed to this time.

I hurried into the change of clothes, painfully aware of everything and anything that brushed against my n*****s. “So he told you everything?” it was my turn to blush.

She grinned, “I’m 100% all for Candy getting tossed on her ass, but I didn’t want her to aggravate him all day,” she spread her hands, “So I made him promise me that he’d limit her access to him and never be alone in a room with her, I may have also insisted on a dress code for her.” We both laughed.

“That’s all you talked about? Our deals,” I slipped on some shoes and eyed her suspiciously.

“He was really worked up after you feinted,” she frowned. “I haven’t seen him that upset in a really long time, so,” she chewed on her lower lip a bit. “I may have offered some suggestions about being less of a d**k and not trying to push so hard.” She twisted her fingers as I stared at her, “I mean you’re going to be with us for a while no matter what happens, so I just thought that I could get him to chill out and make you less miserable.”

“I see,” the oddly gentle behavior made a lot more sense now.

“You’re not mad?” she stared at me with sad puppy dog eyes.

“No,” I sighed, “I’m not mad, just wish I had known.”

“He didn’t trick you into anything last night did he? He promised me that he wouldn’t…” she started to ramble.

“I’m still a virgin, if that’s what you’re asking.” I assured her.

“Ok,” she didn’t sound assured. “Should we go ahead and get the Dr visit knocked out of the way?” I nodded and let her lead the way from her rooms. Blake was waiting for us outside the door and followed a few steps behind as we made our way through the halls and stairways. We never bumped into anyone else or even heard another voice.

“Luna! And Luna Vicaria! What can we do for you today?” an overly cheerful brunet with large brown eyes greeted us at a reception desk.

“Dr Martinez should be expecting us to run some tests,” Sophie answered with a warm smile.

The girl typed a few things into the computer on her desk, and then jumped up to open the door behind her. “Looks like exam room four is all set up for you!” She held the door open for us, and waved us through.

I followed Sophie as she seemed to know where she was going, until we got into a room set up exactly like what you’d expect to see in a Dr Office exam room. Blake stood outside and closed the door behind us. “Are we still in the same building?” I really was surprised to find so many different things crammed into one place.

“Yup,” she sat down in one of the chairs along the wall. “Hop up;” she gestured at the exam table, “the Dr should be in rather quickly since she was expecting you to come down this morning.”

I cringed as the paper sheet crinkled underneath me. “How did you know she’d be expecting me? I practically interrupted the argument she was having with Dmitri this morning.”

“She stopped by my room after she left his, I get reports same as Dimi.” She explained.

It had been less than a minute when we heard a quick knock and the door opened. “Who’s ready for some tests?” she asked, barely looking up from the file she was reading. She pulled the prepared tray closer to the exam table and set the thick folder down. “Let’s just check the blood draw from last night,” she lifted the arm that had had a cotton ball taped to it last night and frowned. “Not even a mark,” she mused quietly, drawing my own gaze to the spot she was inspecting. Sure enough there wasn’t even a red dot.

Sophie jumped up and grabbed my arm to look at it, “What does that mean?” she asked worriedly.

Dr Martinez gently pulled my arm from Sophie’s grasp and set it back at my side, “Nothing bad,” she assured, “She must’ve inherited enhanced healing, like your sense of smell and hearing. It would seem that she heals almost as fast as your brother does. It’s just an interesting note; it wouldn’t have caused her to feint yesterday.” She tied a rubber tube around my arm and tapped my hand, “make a fist for me dear.” I balled up my hand like she asked and she tapped the vein in my inner elbow. “Just a pinch…” she pushed a needle attached to a plastic tube into my arm and snapped an empty vial into it. She quickly filled 2 more vials with my blood and removed the needle, taping a cotton ball firmly over the puncture. She checked the clock on the wall, “I would be interested to know what time it heals over, if you notice it.” I just nodded, and applied light pressure to the cotton ball.

“How sure are you that the tests you ran last night weren’t contaminated?” It felt weird to hear Sophie sound so commanding and authoritative.

“I can assure you, Luna, I took the samples myself and ran the tests immediately afterwards. They never left my possession. And I ran the panel twice to confirm the results.” She tucked the new vials into her lab coat pocket.

“What is everyone talking about? And why hasn’t anyone told me what the results were?”

Sophie stared at the Dr exasperated. “No one told you?” she frowned at me.

“Alpha insisted,” the Dr apologized, “he was worried the information could cause more stress to her system.

“What information?” I almost yelled, tired of people talking about me like I wasn’t in the room.

Sophie took my hand in hers and frowned, “Wolfsbane,” she almost whispered. “There was more than a lethal does in your system if the tests were right.”

“Wait, what?” I pulled my hand back and looked at both women who refused to look in the eye. “How would that even be possible? And I was with Dmitri the whole day, if there was a lethal amount…” my thoughts swirled with images of the many times we’d exchanged bodily fluids, if I should be dead, wouldn’t he be at the very least, sick?

As if she could read my mind Sophie patted my hand, “Dimi was tested as well, and there weren’t any traces.”

“We’re going to run a full panel today, and see if there might be another reason the test showed such high traces in your blood. There’s no chance that you could be pregnant?” She’d picked the folder back up and was thumbing through the pages.

“Don’t you have to have s*x for that to happen?” I replied drily, but at least it made Sophie snicker.

“I see,” she scribbled a note. “How are you feeling today, any nausea, dizziness, or fatigue?” I shook my head no. “How’s your appetite, are you eating well and hydrating?” I nodded. “And you’ve never shifted?” she eyed my arm.

“No,” I answered flatly, getting slightly annoyed now.

“And you’re last menstrual cycle?”

I had to count back on my fingers to remember, “About 3 weeks ago, I think.”

“Pretty regular?” she made another note and I nodded again. “Ok, barring a full physical, that’s all I have for now.” She turned to Sophie, “I’ll run the tests immediately and bring you the results as soon as I have them, Luna.” Sophie waved her off and she disappeared back out the door.

“Don’t worry,” Sophie smiled, “I’m sure there must’ve been a mistake last night, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it all today.” She headed towards the door, “I heard a rumor that someone would like to borrow some books to read.” Still unsure, I hopped down from the table and followed her.

Naturally Blake was stoically standing guard outside the door, waiting for us. Sophie looped her arm in mine and led us away from the medical wing. In a few minutes we were standing in one of the small libraries with a reading nook and a single exit. “You can help her find her way back upstairs when she’s done?” she asked Blake. He nodded. “Then I think it’ll be fine to give her the room,” she gestured to the door. “I’ll meet you back up there later.” She winked at me.

“Wait,” I stopped her, “where are you going?”

“I’m going to let Dmitri know we stopped by the Dr and that he can expect to hear from her soon.” She smiled. “You’ll be fine, and Blake will be right outside the door if you need anything or want to come back upstairs.” I hesitated a moment and nodded. She waved and left, closing the door behind her.

I collapsed into one of the overstuffed chairs in the windowed alcove. I didn’t have the motivation to even look through the book titles in the room; my brain was too busy trying to make sense out of the last 24 hours. There was no way that I could have been poisoned without someone else getting at least a small dose of it. If it was such a high concentration, just kissing me should have affected Dmitri last night. I pulled the tape off the cotton ball and checked my arm, even though it’d been less than half an hour. There was only small pink dot where there should have been a fresh sore from the blood draw. What the hell was going on?