Love's Abuse
Page 13
“Fine, take me to a human hospital and I’ll rest,” I snapped, getting pissed. I was in the hospital bed with no one around when I woke up. I shouldn’t be in trouble for anything. “Why am I at a paranormal hospital?”
“Thomas, what do you remember?” He winced and looked at me, his light green eyes shedding their normal intensity and becoming soft and sympathetic. That only brought back the anxiety instead of the comfort I’m sure he had been going for.
“We were at the Bernard bust.” The events came rushing back to me. “They ended up being shifters. One went to tear out Agent Frank’s throat and I pushed him out of the way.”
“Yeah, you probably saved his life,” Brian sighed as he sat on the edge of my bed. “And got your back clawed up in the process. Claws from a lycanthrope that had shifted.”
“What are you saying, Brian? Just spit it out. You know I find foreplay tedious,” I bitched. But just like that, it hit me. “You think I’ve been infected—don’t you?”
He studied me closely but didn’t answer as if having questions of his own first and forgetting I wasn’t a goddamn suspect but one of his people. “Sera, what day is it?”
“How the fuck should I know?” What did that have to do with anything? For god’s sake! He was talking about my life maybe being ruined and he wanted me to check the date?
“It’s only the next day,” Brian muttered. Didn’t that just cool off my annoyance? “You were transported to a human hospital but when they saw how fast you were healing—well, they transferred you here.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’ve always healed fast,” I responded distantly, my tone losing its edge. Even I didn’t believe that defense, but people called me stubborn all the time for a reason. “It’s really only the next day?”
“Yeah, Sera, it is.” Brian reached out to hug me. As per usual when someone tried to comfort me, I moved out of the way, and groaned at the pain. “You healed so fast. By the time they got you here, the doctors didn’t even need to stitch you up. Your temperature is higher, like a shifter.”
“No, don’t say it, Brian,” I begged. I realized why my boss had been waiting outside for when I woke up. They wouldn’t let a shifter on a regular FBI team. “Don’t do this to me. Please.”
“I’m sorry, Sera,” he replied sympathetically, shaking his head. “I fought for you, I swear I did. There’s nothing I can do, you know the rules.”
“Did we at least get Bernard?” Right, time to focus on something solid, like the case I’d been working on for months instead of my impending nervous breakdown.
“In a manner. He’s dead. Turns out he and his whole crew were shifters.”
“How did I not know that?” I was ashamed with myself for the danger I put my team and SWAT in. I rubbed my forehead, feeling the dull throb of a headache. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“No. When you yelled out the warning, everyone else was able to react in time. It’s over now,” Brian assured me, returning to his normal, official voice. “You’ve been given two weeks leave. At the rate you’re healing, that should be more than enough time. If your transition takes longer, I’ll sign off on as much time as you need. When you’re ready to come back, you’ll report to the Mystical and Non-Human Specially Trained Regional Squad of the FBI.”
“You’re seriously transferring me to the monster squad?” My eyes went wide with disbelief as I felt desperation start to claw at my chest. “I get hurt in the line of duty and you’re punishing me?”
“It’s not a punishment, Sera.” Brian exhaled, starting to stand. “I am sorry, but that’s bureau rules.”
“Fine, call it whatever you want,” I snapped as I threw my hands into the air. This couldn’t be happening! And, when panic set in, I went with my gut reaction—anger. “It still feels like a damn punishment!”
“I know it does, but yelling at me won’t change anything,” he threw back, moving towards the door to leave. “It is what it is now.”
“What if I don’t change? What if I’m really not a shifter and you’re all wrong?” I asked as a last ditch effort.
“I don’t know, but if that’s the case, I’ll do everything in my power to get you back on our team, Sera.” He shook his head, and I wondered if he even knew he was doing it. It seemed like a subconscious answer to my Hail Mary play. Great. Just fucking great.
“I’m not going to a safe house. You better not even try to put me in one of those.”
“No, you’re not going there,” Brian agreed, quickly turning the handle and opening the door. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to leave as soon as he could. “It looks like you’ll be discharged today. But promise me, Sera. If you’re having a hard time, or it looks like you’re going to change, call the number they are going to give you. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
“Yeah, right,” I snickered, completely pissed off and—I felt—rightfully so. “After the level of support I’ve gotten from my own team, I’m going to rely on strangers.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but we did fight for you,” he whispered as he walked out the door and closed it quietly behind him.
I let him go, what else was there really to say? I knew it wasn’t his fault, and I respected him for having the balls to face me himself. That didn’t change my situation or get me my team back.
Or squash the hurt I was feeling from none of them being here when I woke up. If Brian was right and it had only been a day, it’s not like it would have been crazy to expect some support or concern.
Well, if rest was all that I had to do to recover, I could do that from home. I got up and grabbed the light green scrubs that lay in a neatly-folded pile on the foot of the bed. Thinking about all the changes to my life in the past twenty-four hours, I got dressed. What kind of shifter was I going to be? That would be something I’d need to find out before I left. I had just finished pulling the clothes gingerly over my injured body when the door opened again.
“Ms. Thomas, your test results are back,” the doctor informed me as he walked calmly into my room, as if he had heard what I was thinking. “I’m sorry, but you did test positive for lycanthropy. Wolf, to be exact.” His voice was quiet and soothing as he delivered the life-shattering news. He could have been telling me I had a mild cold.
“Wolf,” I uttered it so quietly that my ears barely even registered I had spoken as I felt my body sinking down onto the bed. Hearing the proof was so much worse than the maybes or speculations. There was no mistake or going back to my old life now. “I’m going to be a werewolf.”
“Yes, Ms. Thomas, you are,” the doc answered, looking very sorry for me. He had a good bedside manner at least. The empathetic gaze in my direction was better than I’d ever seen on a doctor when giving bad news. And I’d seen my share when either team members or victims were told their injuries. “Is there anyone we can call for you? Family or friends to come and get you?”
“No, there’s no one,” I answered dully, standing back up. “If you could just call me a cab and get me any personal effects I have here, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course.” He realized I was nicely dismissing him. Smart man. There was nothing worse than people hovering after they drop the bomb. I wanted out of here. “One of the other officers dropped off some personal effects from the scene. I’ll have one of the nurses bring them in along with your discharge papers and different lycanthrope programs you can get information from.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I turned to face the window, focusing on the smooth metal of the bars. “Anything else I need to know?”
“You’re healing quite quickly. I should think you’ll be almost completely healed by tomorrow. If you have any issues, I’ll leave a contact number with your paperwork.”
“Okay, thanks again.”
“I am sorry, Ms. Thomas.” I heard the door open and close and knew I had gotten what I wanted. To be alone.
“Yeah, me, too,” I whispered to the empty room.
A few minutes later, the nurse
came in with everything I needed. I nodded along with what she said, not hearing a single word. After everything was signed and I was free to go, I went outside and climbed in the waiting cab. It was a short trip home to my apartment. Once finally inside, I turned off my phone, crawled under the crisp, cold sheets of my bed and did something I very rarely did—cried.
For more information, please visit
www.ErinRFlynn.com
About the Author
Flynn is a Midwest girl at heart, born a Chicagoan with the mouth to prove it, a loyal Cubs fan, but still a die-hard Green Bay Packers gal who cheers for her alma mater, the Illini from Omaha, Nebraska, where she lives. She has always been interested in the darker aspects of life and mythologies—especially vampires, shifters, the occult, and anything paranormal.
To date, she has published over 100 paranormal books in different genres with dedicated readers who await each release to her numerous series under any of the three Flynn names she writes under.
FlynnEire.com
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Supernatural Script Inc.
Other Titles by Flynn Eire
WARRIOR CAMP
Love’s Deceit
Love’s Indecision
Love’s Denial
Love’s Abuse
Love’s Neglect
Love’s Confinement
Love’s Distance
* * *
SHIFTING REALITY
The Coming Storm
Whirlwind Revolution
Unavoidable Turbulence
Misery Hailing Down
* * *
OPEN ENDED VOYAGE
Recapturing the Illusion
* * *
WOLF HAREM
Second Chance Bite
Spencer’s Secret
Dying Assassin
The Final Addition
* * *
SEXLECTION
Shifters for Sale
Double the Price
Cost of Love
* * *
HOUNDS OF HELL
Avoiding Hell’s Gate
Switching Teams
Fighting Insanity
Defeating Fear
Becoming Family
A Supernatural Script Inc. Book
Copyright © 2014 Erin R. Flynn
Warrior Camp 4: Love’s Abuse
E-book ISBN: 978-1-940036-33-5
First E-book Publication: September 2014
Editing by Jae Ashley
Cover design by Pamela Sinclair, ItGirlDesigns.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.