Keeping My Pack

by Lane Whitt

  I glare at the guys until they get in the car too. The silence makes for a long and awkward ride to the hospital. Kellan takes my hand and places it in the crook of his arm as we approach the sliding doors. To my discomfort, it seems Maksim and Albert have decided to tag along, but they hang back behind the rest of us. The lady at the information desk is friendly and kindly asks us if she can help us. I tell her I’m here to see Mikey, and when she asks who I am, I tell her I’m his sister. She eyes me warily as she looks at her screen, but shows me the room number and says only I will be allowed in to see him. Ash grunts, but no one disagrees with her.

  We take the elevator to the third floor and walk quietly to the children’s wing. We stop at another desk, and the male nurse behind the counter tells us he was informed of my arrival and points out the room for me. Everyone except Remy finds seats in the small waiting area, but he continues to follow me.

  “You’re not supposed to go in with me,” I tell him quietly.

  “I won’t go in, but I’m standing at the door. It’s not safe for you to be in public alone.” He tells me, his expression daring me to argue with him. I don’t, just grateful he’s not throwing a fit about being here in the first place.

  Leaving Remy to his post at the door, I step into the dark room, only beeping machines making any noise. I leave the door cracked open and moved the empty chair by the wall over to the side of the bed. Mikey’s little body looks even smaller than usual on the wide bed and with the big machines towering over him like they’re ready to close in on him any minute now.

  I carefully take his hand in mine, being mindful of the tube in his wrist and the contraption on his finger with the wire coming out of it. “Hey Mikey, it’s me,” I whisper to him. “If anyone asks, I’m your sister. Sorry about lying but they wouldn’t let me back here if I didn’t.”

  I lean forward and brush his messy brown hair away from his face. “Sorry I wasn’t around buddy. I came as soon as I heard. I was a bit broken myself for a while, but I don’t think that’s a story I’ll ever tell. Miss Annie told me the hockey program is up and running; that’s good, right? You know, you’re the reason it happened, so you should be proud of that.” I smile sadly at the sleeping boy. His face looks peaceful in sleep, even if a machine is breathing for him, making his chest rise and fall rhythmically. His bruised skin has turned greenish-yellow, and I hate to think what he must have looked like when they were fresh and with all the swelling.

  My chest aches seeing Mikey like this. He was always so full of energy and spunk, always saying exactly what was on his mind. For one so young, he sure has had a rough life, which is probably what bound us together from the start.

  After a while of just sitting here quietly beside my buddy, I hear the door creak open further, and someone step inside.

  “Just a few more minutes.” I plead, thinking it’s Remy telling me we should go home now.

  “Take all the time you need. You’re his first visitor that isn’t a social worker.” A cheerful voice replies, making me jump at the unexpected volume in the quiet room. It was an average volume, but I’ve been whispering.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m just doing my rounds.” The doctor smiles politely as he takes up position on the other side of the bed.

  “It’s okay,” I respond automatically. I watch as he checks different machines, tapping at the screen of a tablet, which thanks to Finn, I now know the name of.

  “You know,” The Doctor starts as he flips the tablet case closed. “I didn’t know Mike had a sister. In fact, I know he doesn’t.” He lifts a dirty blonde brow at me, hands going behind his back in that stance that doctors always do.

  My heart pounds faster as I sense I’m about to get into trouble, but his demeanor tells me that he’s just playful and inquisitive. I don’t think he’ll rat me out to security.

  “Okay, I’m not his sister, but I know him and care about him. He used to come into my work, and we’d talk. He doesn’t really talk to many people.” I lift my lips in a sad smile.

  “I know! He’s been here a week and hasn’t said one word to me.” The doctor exclaims, tsking and shaking his head.

  My eyes widen in shock, glancing from Mikey and the tube coming out of his mouth, back to the doctor, thinking he can’t be serious. The doctor chuckles at me, and I realize he was joking around. I giggle nervously at his weird sense of humor.

  “Sorry, long days around here. I have to keep myself entertained or else I’d just be depressed all the time. So, sister, do you have any questions for me?”

  I shrug a shoulder and look back to Mikey. “I don’t know medical things, but is he going to be alright?” I ask.

  The doctor sighs. “I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. His broken arm and ankle will heal, his bruising will fade, and the scar on his abdomen will turn into a scar he can be proud of on the playground, but the brain is a tricky thing. When he came in, he had trauma to the head, and there was some swelling in his brain. The swelling has gone down, but we’ve seen little improvement in his brain activity. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any; the question is always how long do we wait for it to happen.”

  I swallow thickly. “I understand.”

  “I’ve been at this for a while now, I’ve seen many a miracle, don’t give up hope just yet.” He tells me as he starts for the door.

  “Wait!” I call after him. He turns to look back at me questioningly. “I’ll take over his medical bills; I’ll cover all of it, pay in cash if I need to, just do everything you can, okay?”

  He raises an eyebrow. “He’s a ward of the state; they hold his power of attorney and I’m not supposed to go to any extraordinary measures.”

  “What they don’t know won’t hurt them. And I’m asking you to be extraordinary, Doctor.” I meet his green eyes with my own, begging him to be on my side. He doesn’t respond verbally, but his eyes spark, and I swear his head bows just the tiniest of bits. It’s the most I can hope for.

  With his exit, Remy enters. “We’ll do everything we can for him, Love.”

  “I guess I’m going to need to work now after all,” I tell him.

  He shakes his head at me in wonder. “There’s a few perks to being a Princess you know, an expansive bank account being one of them. You’re the richest wolf in the world now, Kitten. Money isn’t a problem for you.”

  “Oh,” I say, tilting my head to the side. I guess I haven’t thought about that. “Well then, can you help me make sure his bills here are covered?”

  “Of course, we’ll make an anonymous donation, more than one if needed. And we can ask Kellan to look over him as well, he may have rights to work in this hospital. If not, he can obtain them.”

  “Thank you, Remy. I’ll never be able to make up for all you guys do for me.” I tell him sincerely.

  “We’re family, it’s not tit for tat, we help when we can, and so do you.” He tells me, placing a kiss on the crown of my head. “Now let’s allow the boy some rest. You can return tomorrow if you’d like.”

  “I would like.” I beam at him. Before leaving, I give Mikey a quick kiss on his forehead and tell him I’ll see him tomorrow and to hang in there.

  The next week seems to pass by quickly. I keep busy with yoba, lessons, laundry and visiting the hospital. Kellan was able to sign paperwork that allowed him to take over Mikey’s care and between the two doctors and an off-the-books brain surgery, they’ve gotten him to where he’s breathing on his own now. It’s too soon to wake him up out of his medically induced coma according to Kellan, but his tests are coming back showing improvement. I’m told the real worry now is how functional he’ll be once the new swelling goes away.

  Lessons with Albert are excruciating, considering we spend most of the time with him explain exactly why things are the way they are. Pack rules make no sense to me what-so-ever. The ranking system regarding dominance for instance. Apparently it pays to be bossy in the wolf world. The more people the bossy wolves have to bo
ss around, the happier they are, and some people actually like to be bossed around and take no offense to this. I can’t help but think this is the opinion of bossy people. His constant talk of mates has made being around the guys a bit uncomfortable. Since no one seems to know just what exactly I am, they can’t tell me whether all eight of my guys are my mates, or if I’m just mated to Tristan and find comfort within his pack. I was beyond shocked to find out that I bit Tristan when they found me and that meant that I had marked him and bound him to me, and that’s also the cause of the static-like electricity when we touch.

  “I have some news for you, my Princess.” Albert greets me with his usual bow before taking the seat across from me in the library.

  “Maksim got bored and is leaving?” I answer hopefully.

  Albert frowns at me and shakes his head, taking a leather-bound book out of his satchel. “You haven’t spoken to him since the day we arrived; you should give him a chance. But no, he’s not leaving and no, that’s not my news.”

  He flips through the worn pages of the book before turning it to face me and sliding it in front of me. “What’s this?” I ask, staring down at the words that are not words.

  “Oh, right. I forgot you can’t read Russian. This is Mikel’s personal journal. Here, he talks about his success in impregnating a woman in the Australian changeable wolf colony. He mentions that the woman was actually half wolf, half human, but chose to go unchanged so she could stay with her family in the colony.” Albert explains.

  “So I was an experiment? My father didn’t love my mother?” I ask, confused.

  “I believe Mikel had a relationship with this woman, your mother, but his feeling toward her was not made clear in this journal. This is the last entry he made. The fact that this was found amongst Marcus’ belongings when most of Mikel’s personal things were destroyed makes me believe that this was stolen.” He says with a thoughtful expression.

  “And my conception may be the reason he was killed,” I state more than ask.

  “It’s a possibility, Princess, but it wasn’t the only reason Marcus would have wanted your father dead. It won’t do you any good to think like that.”

  “I guess you’re right. Are you sure that this is me he’s talking about? That I’m the baby mentioned? Because it still doesn’t make sense for me to be found in a dumpster here, when my mother was from Australia. And if there is a colony of changeable females, then why don’t you change them to make more girl wolves?” I ask.

  “How you got here is still a mystery, but as to why no one changes the females of the colony, well, put simply, they don’t want to be changed. The more in-depth answer would be that the colony is protected by the Australian wolf pack, and even Marcus knew not to mess with the Aussies. We have greater numbers on our side, but an Australian wolf with home field advantage is one of the most dangerous fights you can be in. They offered the females sanctuary on their own pack lands and still honor the pact they made with them.”

  “So the Ivaskov’s aren’t the most feared and respected wolves in the world, the Australian’s are?” I say with a smirk, having read between the lines.

  Albert seems to contemplate his answer. “Yes and no. The Aussie’s have something worth fighting for, whereas us Ivaskov’s have not had to defend our position in some time. Sometimes in war, it matters not how many soldiers you bring to the field, but the passion and righteousness of those soldiers. Victory tends to favor those who want it more.”

  “I see.” So the answer is, he doesn’t know.

  “As for what this entry does tell us, it may put your mates’ minds at ease to know that you are nineteen or twenty years old, depending on how long you were carried in your mother’s womb.”“Will I be able to speak with these Australians one day and see what they know of me, if anything?” I ask hopefully.

  “Of course, the entirety of the wolf community is eager to meet you.” He tells me. Okay, no pressure then.

  And so began his lesson on the proper etiquette and procedures when dealing with other high ranking wolves. Our lesson is cut short though, as an annoying, blunt pain takes up residence behind my eyes and I excuse myself to lie down.

  I pass Reed in his studio working on a painting on my way to his room. “Hey, Babe. What are you up to?” He calls to me as I pass by.

  “My head hurts and I was craving some time in your cloud bed, mine isn’t as comfy,” I tell him, realizing I should have asked first.“Oh.” He blinks at me, surprise written on his face.

  “Is that okay?” I ask, biting my lip.

  “Always, it’s just…you’ve been sleeping in your room since you got back, I thought…maybe things have changed.” He says, sounding unsure of himself.

  I look down at my toes, feeling ashamed. “I just needed to be alone sometimes.” I shrug. In all honesty, I just didn’t want them to know that I sometimes woke up crying. I’ve cried more since I’ve been back then I did while I was being abused.

  “Hey, I completely understand. There’s nothing to feel guilty over.” Reed croons.

  “Okay. Do you, I mean, if you’re tired at all, want to take a nap with me?” I stutter out, sounding like an idiot.

  Reed smiles brilliantly, tossing the paintbrush behind him, not even watching where it landed. “Sounds delightful.”

  I crawl up the bed, sinking slightly into the soft mattress and blankets while Reed shucks his paint splattered clothes. He folds the comforter down, and I slip beneath it, wiggling around in the luxurious softness.

  “Can I hold you?” He asks as he moves in next to me. I nod my head and in moments, my face is cradled in Reed’s shoulder as his arms wrap around me.

  The pressure behind my eyes lessens slightly, and I sigh in relief. In doing so, I get a lungful of Reed and boy, does he smell good. I can’t place what he smells like exactly, something sweet and wild. My blood feels warm as I feel it rushing through my body, my ears filled with the sound of it. My mouth waters, causing me to swallow constantly. I lick my lips, and by default, end up licking Reed’s shoulder.

  “Reed…” I start, my breath coming in short pants. “This might sound crazy but, I think I want to bite you.”

  I expect a laugh, or maybe for him to run away from the crazy person, but instead he answers me with a light rumbling sound that I can feel in his chest. Before my brain can wonder if that means go ahead or get away from me, there’s a sharp but quick pain in my mouth and then a delicious flavor coats my tongue. My tongue darts out to lap at the honeyed goodness and Reed gasps, his hand going to the back of my head to draw me in closer.

  Once I’ve had my fill, and I feel as if I’m floating, I release him and fall back onto the cloud, I mean bed. I feel Reed nuzzling my neck and I let my head fall to the side, giving him more room. A tiny prick of my skin and then lighting is coursing through my veins, and my hands are fisting the sheets. “Oh, my.” I groan. Every inch of my body is acutely aware of every inch of Reed. It only takes a minute or two before the electricity dies down to a pleasant hum, much like what I feel when I touch Tristan. To test my theory, I bring up and run my fingertips down Reed’s bare back. Yep, exactly the same.

  Reed pulls back; then the next second Kellan is standing in front of me. When did he get here? My head swims as I try to remember him entering the room.

  “Come here,” I smile at him, or at least I think I do. He bends down, bringing his ear close to my lips like I’m going to tell him a secret. For some reason, that makes me laugh, and I laugh harder as Reed starts to laugh next to me.

  “What?” Kellan starts to pull away, but I grab him quickly.

  “No, wait. You have to try this.” I tell him, pulling him closer to me. I kiss his neck lightly before I sink my teeth into his exposed neck. I feel euphoric as Kellan’s clean taste washes over me, through me. I pull away and he blissfully returns the favor, the full force of the lightning returning. I feel Reed snuggle into my back, his hand resting on my hip and his breathing evening out to that of a sleeping pers
on. Kellan collapses onto the bed on my other side, moaning out something, but I can’t concentrate on the words. My eyes feel heavy, and my soul feels at peace, a deep, rich peace that I’ve never felt in my life. Kellan continues to nuzzle at my neck as I feel myself drifting away.

  “And just what the fuck do we have here?” Logan thunders, waking me up with a start. “No, scratch that. The real question is why the hell wasn’t I invited?” He asks, crossing his arms over his chest, one foot tapping impatiently, cat-that-got-the-canary smirk in place.

  Reed grumbles behind me, snuggling his face deeper into my shoulder. Kellan, on the other hand, reacts like he’s just been shot, his body jumping off the bed a foot high before he falls off the side, smacking his head on the nightstand.

  “It’s not what it looks like.!” He exclaims, his eyes wild and his hands up in front of him.

  “That’s what I would say too.” Logan tsks playfully. “I expected this behavior from Tristan, or maybe me, but you Kellan.” He shakes his head, trying to hold back his grin.

  “I…I…” Kellan struggles adorably.

  I take pity on the poor man. “It’s okay Kel. You didn’t do anything wrong, and he’s just messing with you.” I tell him through my giggling.

  Logan pouts at me. “Aw, you never let me have any fun.”

  “Did you come in just to be nosey, or did you actually need something?” Reed asks, his voice muffled from talking into my skin.

  “Oh, right.” He claps his hands together. “It’s Thanksgiving you bunch of bums, so get your asses up and moving!”

  “Thanksgiving is tomorrow,” Reed informs him.

  “Nope, you lazy mofos slept through the night. Tristan needs some help in the kitchen and you know I’m not fucking doing it.” He tells us as he leaves, making a point of leaving the door open as far as it goes.