"Use this every three hours to help fight the infection."
"Are we done here?"
"Yes, we're finished.” Dr. Nesbitt's smile faded. “Please don't be upset about what we talked about. I was just trying to help. Glen was just trying to help."
"I know.” Rose nodded then added in a soft voice, “thanks."
Dr. Nesbitt's smile returned. “I'll see you in a couple weeks?"
"Yeah."
"I'll let you get dressed then. See you in a few minutes."
"All right.” The doctor left, closing the door softly behind her. Rose stared at the door for a few moments, hesitating before moving. She thought about what Dr. Nesbitt had said and some of her words made sense. She pushed them around in her mind, moving her hands idly over her belly. She lifted the paper gown and rubbed flesh against flesh. The baby moved around and Rose shuddered.
She thought of her mother, tried to imagine what she must've gone through. Her mother never had to go through what Rose had with Simon, with Jason. Her mother didn't have to worry who the father of her child was. She didn't have to cry into her pillow every night because her husband had left her. No, her mother had been a good woman.
She had done the right thing to take care of her daughter and she wasn't alone in doing it. A tear splashed on Rose's naked arm bringing her out of her reverie. She hastily wiped her eyes and looked up at the clock. It was the middle of the afternoon and her appointment had taken longer than necessary due to Dr. Nesbitt's lecture and her own stubbornness. It was over though, and she was thankful for that.
She dressed quickly, having a little difficulty bending to retrieve her shoes, but managed to slip them on. She had given up on shoelaces. Her stomach was too big for her to bend down comfortably to tie them. And she hated maternity clothes. They didn't seem very flattering over her grossly enlarged stomach. The rest of her body seemed right, but her stomach was huge. At first, she had wondered if she was going to give birth to a whole little, but Dr. Nesbitt assured her there was just one baby and a small one at that.
She wore the clothes anyway. In a month it wouldn't matter. The baby would be born. And then what? What are you going to do once the baby is born? Leave the baby with the PRDI and go out looking for him? He's not coming back.
The baby kicked fiercely and leapt within her. Rose groaned, grabbing at her stomach.
"Stop that,” she hissed. She felt the baby stop and settle again. It was as if the kid new about her anxiety. She took a few deep breaths. “I swear, you know more about things than I do,” she whispered. Between her worry about Jason, her annoyance with Dr. Nesbitt, and her busy schedule, she pushed her thoughts and worries about the baby out of her mind. She had other things to do, like welcoming the new arrival to the PRDI.
Rose checked the clock again, brushing a strand of her hair away from her face. She had half an hour to finish getting ready, to gather up the paperwork for the new member arriving this afternoon, and talk to Glen about a few things.
And boy was she ever going to talk to him.
She finished getting dressed and left.
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Chapter Two
"Davis, where are the new admission's papers?” He released the intercom button and tossed a handful of useless papers aside.
A moment later, Davis Miller's voice called back, irritated. “You don't have to yell,” he said, his voice a bit distorted with static through the intercom. “I don't have the papers. They should be in the inbox on your desk.” Glen Cole let out a deep breath and stared at the intercom. He hit the button again.
"Well, there's nothing there."
"Then sorry. Can't help you.” The intercom went silent.
"Great,” Glen shook his head, “Just fucking great.” He glanced over his desk. Papers were strewn about; his computer keyboard was covered in them. But the ones he needed weren't there.
He couldn't find the admission papers and the new arrival was due to arrive at any moment. He paused a moment, staring at the papers. Maybe Pierce could help.
He pressed another button on the intercom. “Pierce, where are the new admission's papers?"
There was silence for a long moment before Pierce answered. Like Davis, he sounded very annoyed. “I don't have them and I don't know where they are. Stop bothering me."
Glen narrowed his eyes at the intercom and shook his head. He hit the button again. “Some second-in-command you are. You know how disorganized I am. This is why you're here."
But Pierce didn't answer. It was just as well. Glen didn't want to hear any more of his shit. Pierce was perhaps the worst person for the position of second-in-command. He would have much rather had Davis or someone else he trusted in the position. They needed a change in regime. But that was something he would have to deal with another day. Right now, he needed the damn admissions papers.
He turned back to his desk, staring at the impossible mess. He struggled to remember just where he had last seen the papers. Today was not shaping up to be a very good one. He bent over to pick at a few of the papers when there was a knock at the door. He could smell her scent, strong and feminine.
"Hello, Rose."
"Hello, Glen.” Her voice sounded stiff, formal. He knew she was pissed. He lowered his head and didn't turn to look at her.
"How did the appointment go?” He asked the question, but immediately wished he hadn't. He knew how it had gone. Part of him had warned him against talking to Dr. Nesbitt directly about Rose and the situation, but he hated to see her hurting herself and the welfare of his future little cousin. He only tried to do what was right, but the wrath of his cousin was horrible—even more so now that she was pregnant.
But he would have to face her sooner or later.
He heard her sigh and shuffle her feet. Slowly, he half-turned and caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. Her pregnant belly was the first thing he saw, protruding through a flowery maternity shirt that seemed somehow too big for her. For a pregnant woman, she seemed small, save for her stomach. Her face seemed pinched and her bright blue eyes too large for her face.
He turned to face her fully and met her burning stare. She was pissed, her eyes dancing with flashes of gold. She leaned against the doorframe, a newspaper folded in her hand. She stared at him for a long time before she spoke.
"You know damn well how it went."
Glen sucked in a breath in preparation for an onslaught of angry yelling, but she went silent. She shook her head, strands of her shoulder-length dark hair whipping across her face.
"I'm sorry, Rose."
She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “I don't want to hear any apologies, Glen. You broke a promise to me.” She took a few steps into the room. The door shut behind her with a soft click. The room became dark suddenly and it enfolded her. Only her eyes were bright in it. “You told!"
Glen studied her face. Her eyes were severe, locking him in her gaze. He thought he saw a glimmer of tears, but he could've been mistaken. “I'm sorry, Rose. I was trying to help you."
"I don't want your fucking help,” she snapped.
He had to take a few deep breaths to keep from lashing out at her. He clenched his fists tightly and his fingernails dug into his palms. Of all the things that had happened to them over the past few years—Simon, the deaths at the PRDI, Jason splitting, which hit Glen closer to home than he liked to admit—Rose neglecting herself and her unborn child was at the threshold of his withheld feelings.
"Rose, stop this,” he began, closing his eyes so he didn't have to look directly at her, “You are eight months pregnant. You have a baby you need to be worrying about—"
"Simon's baby,” she interrupted in a low voice. Glen suddenly could not hold his anger in any more. He had had about enough of this. His eyes flew open and he glared at her.
"You don't know that.” He spoke between clenched teeth, trying to keep his voice down. “You know this kid could be just as much Jason's—"
"But it's not
! I can feel it, Glen. I can tell. This kid is not Jason's. It's Simon's. It's Simon's baby—” Rose's hands began to shake and she let out a shuddering breath. Glen was suddenly at her side, offering an arm to her.
She refused.
"I'm fine. I'm not going to faint.” She took a couple deep breaths. Regardless of what she had said, she looked as if she could drop at any moment.
"Here, sit down.” He grabbed his desk chair and rolled it toward her, but she shook her head and stepped away.
"I said I was fine. I don't need your coddling."
"I'm not—” he started to say, but stopped. “Okay, fine.” He pulled the chair away from her and sat in it himself. “I can be stubborn, too.” He moved his chair closer to his desk and started going through the papers again.
Rose watched him for a moment. “I'm not being stubborn."
"Oh, really?” His tone was sarcastic.
Rose let it go. “Yes. I'm being realistic."
"No, you're being stupid and stubborn.” He looked up at her. He was angry with her now and not trying to hide it. “I am just trying to help you. Dr. Nesbitt is just trying to help you. You are going to have to let us."
"I don't need your help. I don't need you telling everyone about my problems when you get just a teeny bit worried about me."
"A teeny bit worried? Rose, I'm terrified..."
"It doesn't matter. Next time, keep your mouth shut. We've talked about this before. I don't want everyone knowing about—"
"I know that, but with Dr. Nesbitt—you can trust Deborah. You've known her for as long as I have. I thought if I told her about it, she could help you out more."
"Well, thanks a lot, Glen. You succeeded in making me feel worse than I already do.” She sniffed loudly.
"I'm sorry for that, I really am.” He paused. “Sinuses still bothering you?"
"Fuck yes. I hate it. I can't smell a damn thing."
"Did she give you anything for it?"
"Yeah, some nose spray stuff. Not sure if it will work."
"Are you going to even try it?” Rose shot him an angry glance. “And what is that supposed to mean?"
Glen raised an eyebrow slightly. “Well.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. “I just wonder if you're going to use it, considering it would mean accepting her help, in a sense."
Rose stared at him blankly for a moment, mulling over his words. She realized he had backed her into a corner. She sighed. “Fine, maybe I do need help."
"Finally, she admits it.” Glen grinned.
"Oh shut up,” Rose snapped at him, but it wasn't really in anger. The tension between them had eased up a bit. “Yeah, maybe I do need help, but I don't need you telling everyone about ... that."
"Hey, it was a one time thing, I swear."
"It had better.” Now that they were no longer at each other's throats, Rose smiled. “Don't let it happen again."
"No problem. You think I like it when you're pissed at me?"
Rose couldn't help it. She had to laugh. “No, I guess not. I'm sorry. It's the hormones."
"It's a lot of things."
"Yeah,” Rose trailed off into silence. She sighed and thought for a moment. “Look, Glen, I really am sorry I snapped—"
"It's okay, really.” He stood and walked to her. Standing over six feet tall, he towered over her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked down at her. “You have a lot on your plate. I don't like having to tell you what to do. I'm Head of the PRDI and all those associated with us are under my responsibility, and you are doubly so, being my cousin. I just want to help you.” He paused and moved his hand to her stomach. He smiled. “And help my little cousin."
Rose smiled a little and moved his hand away. “I'll try to do better with it. Now that we got all that messy business out of the way...” She thrust the folded newspaper toward him. “You need to look at this."
"What is it?” He unfolded it to the center page and skimmed over the headlines.
Rose took his empty seat and eased herself into it. “It's Simon."
"I see,” he said, finally finding what she wanted him to see. He read the headline aloud. “'Body of Man Found Mutilated in Woods'."
"It's the same woods, same description..."
"Definitely Simon.” Glen read through the short article. “They haven't identified him yet, and it looks like they are chalking it up to an animal attack, as usual."
"Look at the date."
Glen folded the paper and looked at the bold black print. “May twenty-second of this year—wait, this is last month's paper—"
"Yeah, I found it in the recycle bin. Looks like we need to stay brushed up on our current events."
"Man.” Glen ran a hand over his head, brushing back a strand of long black hair that had fallen loose from the braid he normally wore it in. “We completely overlooked this."
"I've looked through some of the recent papers, but there was nothing in it about him, about that. I guess no one cares."
"I'd be glad to keep it that way too.” Glen folded the paper again and tossed it among the pile on his desk. “Guess I'm going to have to have a little talk with Davis about keeping things like this on top priority."
"Davis probably didn't know. He's not really one to read the newspapers anyway, not since—” She stopped and took in a breath. “Not since Claire died."
"He hasn't really wanted to do anything, really. I don't blame him though,” Glen folded his arms over his chest and affixed his eyes to the floor. “But he's got to snap out of it sooner or later."
Rose looked away quickly when Glen snapped his eyes to her. The same could be said of herself about Jason and they both knew it. Rather than have it brought up, Rose turned her head quickly away. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, where an ache had begun.
Glen's eyebrows touched in the center. “You all right?"
"Yeah, just more sinus pain."
"Do you need to lie down? You can, if you want. I can handle the new arrival."
"No, no, I'm fine.” She shook her head. “I want to meet her, I really do. It keeps me occupied."
"Are you sure? I can do it. It'll be no trouble."
"No, Glen. It's all right.” She smiled a little. “She'll be here any moment."
"Better get ready then."
"I am.” She eased out of the chair with Glen's help. “I just need to get down the stairs and I'll be all right."
"You sure?"
"Yes, Glen, stop asking that.” She even laughed a little, which surprised Glen. It had been a long time since he had heard her laugh. Female hormones were a strange thing, and pregnant ones were even worse. One minute she was ready to tear his head off and the next she was laughing. Glen shook his head and chuckled back.
"Can't help it, kiddo. I worry about you and the little pup you're carrying."
"Yeah, yeah. Just get me down the stairs."
Glen walked with her to the door and then stopped. “Oh shit, the admissions papers..."
"Don't worry,” Rose touched his arm. “I have them on my desk."
"Oh, Rose. What would I do without you?"
She only smiled as he led the way out of the room.
* * * *
* * * *
The room was small and cramped. It smelled stale from lack of ventilation and was poorly lit. The only real light came from the monitor screens he stared at. They flashed intermittently, showing through the cameras, one room in the PRDI to another. The front doors remained constantly under surveillance. He stared at the image of the front steps on the monitors in front of him and narrowed his eyes.
A new werewolf was due to arrive today and he had a horrible feeling about it. He had gone over the admissions papers and everything seemed in order, but something about it unsettled him. It wasn't the sort of feeling he could ignore. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, made the wolf within him want to growl.
But Davis Miller did well enough to hold it all inside.
He shifted his weight in his chair, leaning back a bit to cross his arms over his chest. His eyes flickered briefly from the monitors to the door of the security room. Another camera was positioned just outside the door and he checked it quickly. There was no one there, but he could've sworn he saw something.
He couldn't just dismiss it. There might've been a time, years ago, even months ago, when he might've just passed it off, but not now. He was more vigilant now, since his girlfriend and fellow packmate, Claire Hennessey, had been brutally murdered by a werewolf on PRDI property. He made a vow to never let anything like that ever happen again, even appointing himself, against Glen's orders, as head of the PRDI security.
The new position gave him a sense of purpose. It gave him a reason to live, to keep other brutal murders from happening.
But his purpose came too late. No matter how many people lived because of his observant watch, it was still not enough to change what had happened. Claire was not coming back. She was dead by Simon's hand—claws, he reminded himself—and the pain of it still burned.
He tried not to think of her, but like always, found he couldn't. He stood up and began to pace the floor.
Claire was a human—the only one in their pack—and it was under unfortunate circumstances that they met. They had first befriended one another when they had been working in Simon's little hunter group. Later, when he had been betrayed by Simon, and after Claire had gotten up the nerve to leave, they became closer. They became lovers, though their relationship was riddled with difficulties from the very beginning.
Because Davis was still awakening to his half-blood werewolf nature, Claire had been hesitant in committing to a full-time relationship. There were other factors, but Davis couldn't focus on them now. He only saw her face, framed by her blonde hair with her piercing brown eyes locked on his.
He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. He clenched his hands together and willed her away. He loved her still, but thinking of her was too much. There was too much pain. He opened his eyes and looked into the monitor.
Dark Moon Magick [The Moon Series: Book 4] Page 2