Dr. Wolf, the Fae Rift Series Book 1- Shockwave

by Cheree Alsop

  Buildings loomed high overhead, crowding out the stars with light pollution while the mostly-full moon shone only dully through the clotted cement canopy. Aleric realized when he started up the street that he should have looked at a map. Second Street and Hamilton shouldn’t have been too difficult to find, but he didn’t know if Second meant two hundred north, south, east, or west, and also, if it was two, two hundred, or two thousand, for that matter. He hoped there weren’t that many streets in Edge City, but given the number of vehicles and people that traversed the roads even at night, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

  Most of the alleyways connected. Aleric found that if he kept away from the main streets, he could make it most of the way unnoticed. There were a few detours when he found himself face-to-face with either a brick wall, the connecting edges of buildings, or alleys containing makeshift houses of cardboard, mutilated furniture, and torn blankets that smelled of sour, unwashed bodies.

  Aleric backpedaled quickly and altered his course to avoid the homeless as memories of vampires, demons, and orphaned dark fae rose in his mind.

  He followed the block system, counting in his mind as he was sure no dog in the area ever had. The few animals he encountered were quick to scurry out of his way. Several scruffy cats hissed at him in passing, but knew far better than to take on the huge wolf. The scariest thing he saw was a rat bigger than the cats and carrying around what looked like half of a chicken in its mouth. He wondered if it would be considered part of the fae creatures or something evil Edge City had created on its own.

  A scent touched his nose and Aleric’s steps slowed. He sniffed the air, testing the currently carefully. Two scents came to him. One was the scent he recognized as his own. It was the other that drew him down the alley, his paws slow and heart pounding. He paused near the end where a brick wall stood. It was there that the acrid scent was strongest.

  Aleric sniffed the air, sneezed, and sniffed the air again. The sharp smell made his fur stand up. It was tangy, thick, and left a bad taste in his mouth like metal that had burned. He stepped closer to the bricks and the smell disappeared. Surprised, Aleric spun around. There it was, choking, bitter, but when he took two steps toward the mouth of the alley, the scent disappeared.

  Aleric turned again. This time, he advanced slowly. He had never encountered anything like the smell. Scent clung to things, lingering on bushes and buildings from passing creatures and objects, and trailing along the ground in tracks waiting to be followed. He had never found a scent suspended in the air like the string on a balloon. It had a beginning and an end. When he rose onto his hind legs, placing a paw against the wall for support, he found that the smell ended just below the highest reach of his nose.

  It was a hole.

  A tingle ran across Aleric’s skin at the realization.

  The scent didn’t move. It had definite edges that vanished as soon as his nose was past them. It was ragged as though someone or something had torn it open. It was a rift, a rift in whatever it was that kept the fae world and the human world separate.

  Aleric sniffed beneath it. He could smell where he had landed. There was a dumpster half-full of garbage and he found scent where his head had hit the edge of the metal container before he slammed to the ground. There were three doors leading to the alley, back doors of the small shops that took up residence along the first floors of the buildings to either side. One of them had undoubtedly found him there when they entered the alley to throw away garbage.

  If he was in wolf form when he fell through the rift, that would make sense as to why he had been naked when he reached the hospital. Werecreatures phased back to human form when they were seriously injured; being knocked unconscious must have made his body phase back in the alley before he was found.

  Aleric checked the alley from front to back, then side to side, but other than the pungent rift and the trail from the feet of the paramedics and several fresher tracks to the dumpster and back to the doors, there was nothing.

  Unsatisfied, but not sure how to find anything else out, Aleric made his way back toward the hospital. There were fae scents interspersed with those of the humans in the city. He was tempted to follow them, but the thought of Braum made him hurry. If the faun awoke and was afraid, he could hurt himself further. Aleric doubted his decision to leave the Light fae in the hands of the fairy. Tranquility had proven to be anything but a calm, easy-going creature.

  Aleric was almost to the hospital when he heard a scream. An answering roar made him rush forward so fast his paws practically flew over the sidewalk. He darted around the hospital to the side where most of the staff parked and slid to a stop. Dr. Indley leaned against her car cringing away from the dark creature that loomed over her.

  It was the demon from the D Wing.

  Aleric launched himself at the creature’s back. He latched onto the lava-patterned skin and bit down hard. The demon let out another roar and grabbed Aleric by the ruff. He threw Aleric across the parking lot with a strength fueled by rage. Aleric hit the side of a car so hard he dented it. He fell to the ground and was up on his paws again within the same heartbeat.

  The demon raised its clawed hand. Marae cowered against her car. A whimper of fear escaped the veterinarian’s lips. The claws came down. The demon would kill her right there; that much was certain.

  Aleric slammed into Marae, shoving her out of the way. The claws sliced across his chest. He let out a yelp and leaped at the demon’s throat. The demon was ready this time. It smashed Aleric to the ground with both huge hands and balled them into fists, ready to crush the life out of him.

  Aleric dodged the fists and darted beneath the Dark fae. He slashed at the creature’s hamstring with his fangs; though his teeth sunk deep, the demon’s muscular form was too thick for him to tear through the muscle he needed. The demon bellowed and spun faster than Aleric thought the huge beast should be able to move.

  He had to get to the demon’s throat. The Dark fae was guarding it now. He knew Aleric’s tricks. There was no way Aleric could protect Dr. Indley or even survive the encounter if he was unable to bring the creature down, and the only way he knew how to do that was to stop it from breathing long enough for the demon to change form again.

  Aleric looked around the parking lot. There was nothing he could use to slow the demon’s enraged rush. The creature swiped at him. Aleric dodged to the side and darted around a van. The demon clawed huge gashes through the metal of the vehicle’s side where Aleric’s head had been. Aleric leaped onto the back of a truck. The alarm sounded. The demon gripped the sides of his head in both hands and let out another roar.

  A scent touched Aleric’s nose. His head jerked up. He glanced at the air above the top of the truck.

  The demon roared and Marae gave a shriek of fear. Aleric was out of time. He jumped off the truck at the creature. The demon caught him with a backhand that slammed him into the side of the vehicle. Aleric fell to the ground and pretended to be injured. The demon reached for him with both claws. Aleric lay there until the last possible second. Just before the demon grabbed him, Aleric ducked under the reaching claws and leaped at the demon’s throat.

  His fangs sunk into the skin. Aleric had to remind himself not to tear through the demon’s throat completely. The demon stumbled backwards, pawing at Aleric’s sides. Aleric gripped harder. The demon fell to its knees. Aleric held on, dragging the creature to the ground. The demon’s struggles weakened, then stopped entirely. The demon’s skin began to shift back to normal. Aleric let go slowly and backed up.

  The door behind Aleric burst open. Three security officers with guns rushed through. Aleric slunk into the shadows and darted around the corner to the back parking lot. He didn’t stop running until he reached the dumpster where he had hidden his clothes.

  It took several minutes for Aleric’s heart to calm down. When the phase finally came, he winced at the pull of the gashes across his chest. The long claw marks from the demon bled down his skin. He debated whether to wear
the scrubs top or not, but going into a hospital bleeding wasn’t his idea of a good time, especially when one of his patients was a vampire.

  He glanced in the garbage can and saw a handful of discarded gauze and bandages from the surgery room. Aleric knew contamination was possible, which was why they had been thrown away, but he also knew if he didn’t stop the bleeding, it was going to cause questions he didn’t want to answer. He picked up several pieces of gauze still in their wrappers and made use of a nearly-empty container of gauze tape. The result was ratty but effective in stopping the bleeding.

  Aleric pulled on the scrubs and hurried across the parking lot. He paused just inside the door and let his eyes adjust from the darkness outside to the glare of the neon lights. He jogged toward the E.R. and shoved the doors open to the sight of chaos.

  “Dr. Wolf, thank goodness,” Marae said as soon as she saw him. “A creature attacked me in the parking lot. It tried to kill me!”

  Aleric didn’t need to ask where the demon was. By the sounds of arguing, he was just past the next curtain.

  “Let me see how I can help,” he told Dr. Indley.

  “You shouldn’t go over there,” she replied. “Something like that shouldn’t exist. It’s not right.”

  “There are a lot of strange things happening today,” Aleric told her. “I’ve got to help out where I can.”

  He turned the corner in time to see Dr. Worthen arguing with the security officers. The demon lay strapped to one of the beds, its skin returned to normal and eyes smoldering with a faint yellow glow. Nurse Eastwick injected fluid into the stent in its arm; Aleric hoped they were using a much stronger sedative than before.

  “I don’t care if he’s a psychotic monster,” Dr. Worthen said. “I can’t let you take him out of this wing. It wouldn’t be safe for anyone else out there.”

  “It’s not safe for you,” one of the security officers pointed out.

  “I’ve got things under control,” Dr. Worthen said.

  “This isn’t control,” the officer said. “This is sedation. It’s not a permanent fix for the situation. What happens when it wears off?”

  “We’ll keep him on a steady dose until we figure out what to do.”

  The second officer, an older man, shook his head. “I don’t know what you want me to do, Kent. I can’t leave a patient in here who can endanger everyone in the hospital.”

  “And I can’t let you take him somewhere else where this can happen again,” Dr. Worthen replied. “He’s more of a threat at the precinct than here. Trust me, Chance. It’s the best bet we’ve got.”

  Chance watched the doctor closely. “How long do you plan to keep him here?”

  “Until they figure out what to do with these creatures,” Dr. Worthen replied. “I’ll stay in touch with Commissioner Oaks. I have a spare room where we can keep him away from the others. I’ll make sure he’s monitored nonstop.”

  Chance hesitated, then nodded. “Fine, but we’ll be doing sweeps all night.” He looked at the demon on the bed and his bewilderment was clear. “I’ve never seen anything like this in the thirty-five years I’ve worked here.”

  “I know; me either,” Dr. Worthen told him. There was understanding in his voice when he set a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Let me know if you see anything else unusual around the hospital. We need to keep this contained to avoid starting a panic.”

  Chance nodded. “Definitely. I don’t like this anymore than you do.”

  Dr. Worthen glanced at the younger security guard. “Good work back there, Floyd. That stun gun was a good decision when he started moving. It helped us keep him under control until we could sedate him.”

  “I’m still not sure if it’s a him or an it,” Floyd replied. He ran a hand through his short brown hair and double-checked the stun gun hooked to his belt. “All I know is I’ll do it again if I see that monster up.”

  “I think that’d be wise,” Dr. Worthen told him.

  Aleric waited until the officers left through the front doors of the E.R. before he rounded the corner. Dr. Worthen and Nurse Eastwick met him with worried looks.

  “Gregory checked the D Wing,” Nurse Eastwick said. “Dartan was out cold in one corner. I told Gregory you’d take care of him.”

  “Is Braum alright?” Marae asked.

  Nurse Eastwick nodded. “He didn’t go to the other half. He appeared anxious to escape.”

  “He would have if I hadn’t driven into the parking lot at that moment,” Dr. Indley said. “I got out of the car and he was right there.”

  Marae surprised Aleric by gripping his arm in both of her hands. He felt her fingers trembling and glanced at her.

  “That was the scariest moment of my life,” she concluded.

  The veterinarian’s face was pale and a furrow had formed between her eyebrows. Her wavy brown hair had worked loose from its ponytail and hung around her face. The gold flecks in her hazel eyes stood out bright with her fear.

  Aleric felt bad for her. The veterinarian had just survived an encounter with a creature she hadn’t even known existed until she climbed out her car. If he hadn’t intervened, it would have sliced her to ribbons for sure. She had just survived a brush with death and knew it.

  He gave her a searching look.

  “Dr. Indley, are you alright?”

  She nodded once, hesitated, then shook her head.

  “I, uh, I think I’ll be fine. I just don’t know what to think of all of this. A wolf saved my life.”

  Dr. Worthen’s head jerked up. “Are you sure it was a wolf?”

  She nodded quickly. “I’m a veterinarian. I know the difference between a wolf or a husky or malamute. This animal was a wolf for sure. It pushed me out of the way of the demons claws and got clawed up itself. If it wasn’t there, I don’t know what I would have done.”

  Nurse Eastwick looked at Aleric. “It got clawed up?”

  Marae’s eyes were bright with worry. “Right across the chest. The wolf’s probably out there dying right now. I don’t know how anything could have survived that demon, or even why there’s a wolf in Edge City. I should go look for it.”

  Gregory caught her arm. “Uh, Dr. Indley, I’ve checked the parking lot. There’s nothing there. I think, uh….” He glanced at Aleric. “I think the wolf probably got away. They’re resilient animals. Can I escort you to the break room so you can rest?”

  “That would be wonderful,” Marae replied. “I definitely need to sit down and drink something soothing.”

  “We have tea and coffee,” Gregory said told her, leading her around the corner. “There’s also a nice selection of sodas. Maybe something lemony would help.”

  As soon as they left the E.R., Dr. Worthen and Nurse Eastwick turned on Aleric.

  “Saved by a wolf?” Dr. Worthen said.

  “You threw yourself in front of that demon to save her?” Nurse Eastwick demanded. “That’s twice in one day. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

  Aleric shook his head. “I’m trying to keep everyone else from getting killed. It’s becoming a fulltime job with that creature around. Are you sure it’s properly sedated?”

  “I gave it five times the dose of a normal man,” Dr. Worthen said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if its heart stops, but I have no other choice.”

  “I won’t say I’d be sorry,” Aleric said.

  “Don’t change the subject,” Nurse Eastwick told him. “Take off your shirt.”

  Aleric looked around. Two nurses he didn’t recognize hurried past with files in their hands. He motioned for the nurse and doctor to follow him into one of the empty curtained rooms.

  “I’m fine, really. I put some gauze over it. No big deal,” he told them.

  Nurse Eastwick pulled the curtain shut, then turned on him with her hands on her hips. “Aleric, shirt, now.”

  Aleric couldn’t help the half-smile that crossed his face. “Now you sound like you’re my mother.”

  She nodded. “That’s right. Somebod
y needs to keep you in line. Let me help you.”

  She eased the shirt over his head. Both Dr. Worthen and Nurse Eastwick’s lips pressed together in matching tight lines at what they saw.

  “Gauze, really?” Nurse Eastwick demanded.

  “What?” Aleric replied. “I’m not a doctor, remember?”

  “Obviously,” Dr. Worthen said. “Take a seat.”

  Aleric sat on the bed. He was grateful that at least he had a moment off his feet.

  Nurse Eastwick pulled at the tape stuck to his skin.

  “This looks like one of my son’s repair jobs,” she said mostly to herself. “Tape is his favorite way to fix anything. He once broke my lamp by accident and I came home to find it made of mostly electrical tape.”

  “Did it work again?” Aleric asked. He winced when the nurse pulled on a particularly painful spot.

  “Yes, it did,” she replied. “I still have it plugged in next to my bed.”

  “See,” Aleric replied. “Tape works.”

  Dr. Worthen crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Dr. Wolf, I need to tell you what my nurses are always telling me. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of anyone else.”

  Nurse Eastwick managed to free the last piece of tape and pulled the gauze away. She shook her head at the four deep claw marks across Aleric’s chest.

  Dr. Worthen gave the wound a closer look. “You got lucky. We can patch these with glue.”

  “Not tape?” Aleric asked.

  Nurse Eastwick threw her hands in the air and stormed off, shaking her head.

  That brought a smile to Dr. Worthen’s face. “Glue is our best bet. I’ll let Nurse Eastwick clean it up. If you need me, I’ll be three rooms over taking care of a man who nearly cut off his thumb with a table saw.”

  “Does that happen often?” Aleric asked.

  Dr. Worthen nodded. “More often than you would think.” He indicated Aleric’s wounds. “You got lucky.”

  “I’ll remember that,” Aleric replied. He settled back onto the bed and waited for Nurse Eastwick.

  She arrived with a tray of supplies and a disapproving expression on her face. She sprayed disinfectant on the wound and started cleaning it.