The Results Are In, Part 2

RYAN’S POV

As soon as Dr. Gail left the examination room to run the labs, a tech came in and took Scarlett down to the imaging department to get the ordered X-rays. I had several minutes to myself before Scarlett was returned to her room. I sat down, running my hands through my already unruly dish blonde hair, in complete confusion. I mind-linked my Beta, Chris, to update me on the rogue situation and ensure that no one else at the Carnival had been attacked or was aware of the breach. “No one other than us is aware that anything happened with rogues. There have been no additional reports of anyone else being attacked. They must have only been here for Emily. Thankfully, they failed,” he responded. I knew it was something that I would need to address with my warriors. He further informed me that the remaining guests from the Carnival were leaving and making their way to their own homes. The captured rogues had been remanded to the dungeons until I was ready to interrogate them. I thanked him and told him to be on stand-by if I needed him further before cutting the mind-link. Outside of this rogue problem that presented itself, Halloween Carnival was overall a success.

When Scarlett was returned to the room, I pulled a chair up next to her bed and sat there quietly, holding her hand. I searched my memory for any clue of who she was and who her family was. Still, I was coming up empty, which concerned me because even though we had over 1500 wolves in our pack, there were very few people that I didn’t recognize by sight, even if I didn’t know what their names were. So I linked my Gamma, Ophelia, to pull up a pack roster and email me the worksheet. As long as I was sitting here, I figured that I could use the time wisely and do some investigative work. I wanted to try to figure out who her family is, if for no other reason than to inform them that she is in the hospital, unconscious.

While I was waiting for Ophelia to send me the email with the requested documents, Emily came in with some more clothes for me since the only thing I had on was the sweatpants I had pulled on after shifting at the packhouse. “How is she?” Emily asked, looking helplessly at Scarlett as she slept, seemingly peacefully. “Honestly, I don’t know. Dr. Gail is running some tests, so we won’t have any answers until they come back,” I replied. I strolled over to her and enveloped her in a brotherly bear hug. Then, with my voice soft, I asked her, “How are you holding up, sis? I know this had to have taken a toll on you, too. Are you OK?” I asked as I looked her up and down for any signs of physical injury. “I’m fine, honestly. See,” as she twirled around 360 degrees to show and convince me that there were no physical injuries. “But I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t shown up when she did,” Emily began to sob.

 I guided her over to the couch to sit and suggested that she rest while I went and got a cup of coffee from the vending machine down the hall. “I’ll bring you your favorite unhealthy choices back with me, OK? Now let’s see, that would be a King-sized package of Reece’s Cups and a 20 oz. bottle of Coke, right?” I asked as I ruffled the hair on the top of her head. She smiled through her tears and nodded her head, all the while staring at Scarlett.

As I walked down the hall to the vending machines, I pondered what Dr. Gail and I had discovered upon removing Scarlett’s inflated Mrs. Potato Head costume. The physical abnormality of being significantly overweight was something I had never seen from any wolf. Our pups may have a little baby-fat pudge when they are young. Still, after puberty, when all wolves shift, that goes away fairly quickly due to the extremely high metabolism and the mandatory training that every pack member must begin once they shift for the first time. With our metabolism levels as high as they are and the rigorous training everyone is subjected to, our pack wolves are lean, muscular, and fit. The only exceptions to the mandatory training rule were the pups, the elders, and pregnant she-wolves.

The other thing that caught us off guard was the thick prescription glasses she was wearing. Most wolves never have vision problems unless they are elderly, and even then, the issues are pretty minimal, like only needing low prescription reading glasses. However, even if a younger cub shows signs of having vision problems, again, this is rectified once the person shifts for the first time. That is when a person’s wolf’s regeneration and healing abilities started working and took care of minor adolescent health problems. 

I returned to the room with my coffee and Emily’s snacks to find her sound asleep, curled up on the couch. I retrieved a blanket from the closet and covered her up before returning to my chair at Scarlett’s bedside. I reached out and took her hand in mine again, holding it, rubbing my thumb in small circles on the back of her hand. Then, speaking softly, I leaned over towards her and whispered, “I don’t know who you are, but I would like to. However, for that to happen, you are going to have to come back to me.”

A level of comfort came with just being near her. I felt the same way when we were walking around at the Carnival, talking about nothing. If I had to describe the feeling, I would say that it felt like returning home after a long trip; like being wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket for two while sipping on homemade hot chocolate sitting on the porch swing. There was just a cozy familiarity to being in her presence that I could not explain. But I knew that I liked it. As I was replaying the time I spent with Scarlett at the Carnival and how my body and emotions reacted to her, Dr. Gail returned, sticking her head in the door. She saw that Emily was sleeping on the couch and motioned for me to meet her in the hallway. I tucked Scarlett’s hand under the blanket before leaving her to talk with Dr. Gail.

When I stepped out into the hall, Dr. Gail began to explain that the lab work did not help to answer any questions, but in fact, had presented a plethora of additional questions. According to Dr. Gail, Scarlett was repeatedly injected with a bioengineered potion. The potion, or mixture of brews, was comprised of a mix of Belladonna (which causes tachycardia, explaining the increased heart rate), Moondust (which inhibits health regeneration), Monkshood, and Wolfsbane (both of which prevent shifting). According to the labs, there were different levels of wolfsbane and monkshood, which was why she felt that Scarlett had endured years of suffering by some cocktail potion. This information would partially explain why the X-rays proved she had never shifted and somewhat answer why she was overweight and had vision problems. However, it did not answer why she was not allowed the possibility to shift at puberty, why someone would give any wolf this cocktail of toxins unless they were an enemy and being tortured or interrogated for information but not a harmless and innocent child.

This information was difficult at best to process. But when Dr. Gail dropped the bomb that Scarlett also tested positive for Luna’s Metal (silver) as well as Angel’s Essence (which gives a natural immunity to silver), I felt anger boil up at the injustices that Scarlett had endured at the hands of Goddess-knows-who. The Angel’s Essence was a complete mystery, though. The only ways I knew that anyone would have Angel’s Essence in their DNA was 1) be an angel, which had already been determined not to be the case, or 2) to be infused with it from an Angel. I had never even met an angel, and they honestly were deemed more myth than reality. 

At some point, Emily came out into the hall and heard most of the results, upsetting her further. Confusion was the first and foremost feeling in my mind. But what I was entirely sure of was that this was not a discussion to be had in the open hallway of the hospital. I turned to Dr. Gail, suggesting that we move this discussion to the conference rooms before turning on my heel and making my way towards the offices without another word. I mind-linked Chris and Georgia to get to the hospital ASAP and be ready for a long night.