SWNOVELS Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
I check in with my kids. Claire has them and she's got some elaborate castle with dragons and dolls and a whole slew of small toys spread across the floor.
It's the kind of messy fun that's wonderful while it's happening, but then brutally painful when you step on some small piece or toy that got left out. "Aren't you supposed to be with Cam?" Her eyes flutter like she's talking to him. "Tell me you didn't leave him alone with MacPhearson. Damn it- "Auntie Claire!" this from Jaceylyn.
"Darn, darn it, sweetie." She looks to the ceiling. "I'll start a swear jar."
I want to laugh. These kids are changing the dynamic for all of us. Claire is always composed, always assertive. Seeing her fumbling her words around my kids is a small bit of joy. But what she said... she's right.
"You two, be good for your Auntie, okay?"
"Yes, momma!" Aaron yells. My daughter nods. "Okay, mommy."
It will have to do.
The twins are great kids, so I'm not too worried, but they can be a handful and they are very inquisitive. They have a way of getting into things they shouldn't.
"Mia!" Claire shoves me back out the door. "Are you nuts!? Go!"
I rush down the hall, panic rising in my chest.
It's been less than a minute since Cam left his room. I don't think he'd start up with Eric again. Would he?
I hustle down the stairs and through the long hallways.
They aren't in the main hall.
Shit.
I don't hear any yelling or fighting, but I don't see them, either.
I rush outside.
The square is set up like it's a festival. Long tables and benches along the open space, with Cam's pack and Eric's sitting and eating.
It would look idyllic, maybe even cozy if not for the growls and posturing, the many wolves lining the square with guns at the ready.
"Don't even think about fighting!" I shout. I can smell both Cam and Eric and it's clear they've cut across the square to the medical wing. No surprise. "BOTH of your Alphas will want blood if you let a fight erupt out here."
"You're no fun, Riorsen," Corinne yells.
It's met with some laughter-from both packs.
I salute her and hurry across to the hospital section.
When I push through the double doors, I see Dr. Lee is conversing with Dr. Glass. She listens attentively, her dark eyes focused on Ashley. She accepts the charts that Dr. Lee hands over.
She flips through the pages. "This timeline correlates with the initial cyber attack, Alpha." She's addressing Eric. Then she glances at Cameron. "Her brother... I'm told he connected with Ashley right before her demise."
"That's right." Cam rubs his chest.
"Did he give her anything or do anything?" Dr. Glass asks.
"I don't know," Cam admits. "She went off-lands to see him."
She moves to the hospital bed and peels back Ashley's gown.
I look away. I understand that she is a physician, but something about the analytical way Dr. Glass is studying Ashley while Ashley's unconscious-and with a room full of people... it makes me uncomfortable. Cam watches the inspection.
"There were no markings on her skin or any evidence to suggest an external affliction," Dr. Lee offers.
Dr. Glass makes a noncommittal sound. "Sit her up," she orders.
Dr. Lee moves to adjust the bed. As the hospital bed slowly lifts, Dr. Glass is already folding Ashley forward and examining her back. "Alright. Set her back down."
I think this violation of privacy is over until I hear her say, "Roll her over."
And they do.
Ashley has a tattoo on her hip and another at her ankle. Her ribs are visible on her back and it's clear she's lost so much weight from how you can see her spine. She was once a tall, stunning woman, and now her body is withering before our eyes.
"What are you looking for?" Cam asks.
She doesn't answer.
She turns to me. "Strip."
The what, now? "I beg your pardon."
"Remove your clothes."
I cross my arms.
She sighs. "If nudity is your concern, I'll remind you I already saw you naked not an hour ago in the forest."
I'm blushing. I can feel it.
"I don't understand what you can want with me?" I glance between this doctor and the Alphas. "I don't have any connection with Ashley. I never did."
Dr. Glass taps a finger to her lip. "Of that I'm not so sure. Your health has been impacted by their," she gestures to Cam and Ashley, "demise. And you were able to join with Alpha Cameron when he was in the space between life and death."
"How can you know that?"
Her expression is blank. She gives nothing away.
I glance at Cam and then at Eric. They offer no help.
It's clear they expect me to do what this doctor wants me to do.
No. Just no.
I wait and wait. But no one moves or says anything for an uncomfortably long span of time.
"Fine!" I throw up my hands. I'm angry and sad that...what? They think I'm connected to Ashley's duplicity in some way? This doesn't even make sense. "Whatever."
I kick off my shoes and Eric smirks when one of them bounces off his shin.
I drag my shirt over my head and my pants down my legs. I stand there. In front of two doctors, two Alphas, and a comatose woman whom I'd really like to wake up-just so I can knock her unconscious all over again.
"The bra and panties too," Dr. Glass says.