Not a Usual Occurrence…

Fight by Icon for Hire

“Alpha!”

“Luke, my dearest friend, if you do not call me by my name- I have it for a reason you know- I’m seriously gonna-”

The out of breath man before him slammed his hands on the table, effectively making his alpha look up from the paperwork he had been reading. A moment of silence filled the room as Luke straightened himself and smoothed out his crazy, red hair.

“The northern patrol found a beaten and bleeding to death human girl. She was being chased by some unknown wolves, not rogues though, and a human hunter.”

It’d be concerning for his pack’s safety if the wolves had been rogues. They were wolves that had been outcasted from a pack, something never done lightly. A wolf could always leave a pack and not become a rogue, but being a rogue was like a version of exile. One where they were constantly hunted.

“Loupas?” He stood up then, eye to eye with his beta. Already his blood boiled in rage, heating his skin to an impossible level. Any respectable pack would not be chasing a human girl through the woods, beaten and bleeding according to Luke.

“Yep.”

“Dr. Smith?”

“Treating her as we speak. He thinks you need to come and see it, Brad.” Smiling stiffly to his beta, Brad, with quick strides, exited his office.

The infirmary had been built on the bottom floor in the easternmost wing of the main house. Dr. Smith, currently, was the only doctor with a degree, therefore excluding the several nurses who could also be considered doctors. Smith played surgeon most days.

Reaching the room the human girl stayed in, Brad felt a turning in his stomach. Something felt wrong, his wolf sense, which often laid dormant unless shifted, was stirring in the back of his mind. He felt his self-control being tested. Iron and salt, a nasty odor that drifted throughout the hallways and invaded his senses in the worst of ways. He twitched, the wolf in him snapping in hungry agitation at the scent. Clearly, something beyond his reasoning was happening.

Pack members were lined against the wall, all curious about the girl. They nodded respectively when they noticed him.

“Alpha Brad, please come in. You really need to see this.” Stepping aside, the doctor allowed him into the room first.

Shaking all over, Brad took unsteady steps to the bed. Whispers could be heard behind him. People in the hallway could see him and passed onto the others who couldn't see what was happening.

“Brad?”

Out a breath and ready to collapse, his wolf howled loud enough to burst eardrums and break the glass light bulbs above. A part of him felt ready to heave and he clutched his shirt in anticipation.

A burning flared across his neck. A sensation he never felt before raced down his spine, making his legs feel heavy.

“I don’t understand...” Her pale hand felt cold and dead as he held it in his. The door clicked closed and Luke placed a hand on his shoulder.

Calmer than before, his wolf whined low but loud. A pitiful sound that made Brad cringe as if a child had been just told that his parents weren’t coming home anymore.

Brad felt shocked at the simple fact he hadn't fallen to his knees. The confusion and sudden sorrow mixed with rage made him dizzy.

His human sense, not quite the same as having a human side, couldn’t understand the wolf in him. While they were one, wholly and completely, there were things only the wolf could understand - could sense. Those were gifts left to that piece of his kind, his human sense being above average. Only one sense could be used at a time, the wolf only when shifted, the man only when in its form, and never could they intermingle. These were their limitations.

“Take a seat, man.” A chair had been brought behind him so he could sit by Dr. Smith’s desk.

Currently, tons of tubes and wires were connected to her that it squeezed his heart. No, it didn’t squeeze, it constricted his heart to a crumbling mess.

“Alpha? Would you like the report?”

“I think he would, uncle.” Luke’s hand kept a firm grip on Brad’s shoulder.

Brad ignored them as he continued to take in all her features, cocking his head as he did so. Her brown hair laid on the pillow in a short and uneven mess, looking slick and oily.

How long had she gone without a comforting shower? A relaxing bath? One with bubbles, little candles and scented soaps that tickled the nose.

A more interesting concern arose, when had she last ate? Her thin appeal looked so sickly fragile, if he had so much as tried to touch her, she would disintegrate. That much he knew.

“Her nails, both on her fingers and toes, were ripped apart. That's the only way to describe it, honestly. I’m sure they’ll heal fine under gentle care.” Smith stood to his left, a clipboard in hand.

His optimistic and hopeful demeanor almost made Brad want to hug him as he ripped out his throat. Comforting as it was, optimism wasn’t what Brad wanted. He wanted answers and for someone’s ass to be kicked.

No one, no matter what should be subjected to such untold horrors that her body and mind were holding.

“Continue.” Smith smiled, the old wrinkles giving him the look of a kind grandfather.

“I had to break one of her ribs and re-align it since it was the only one not healed correctly. She had two broken ribs which are already set and healing so no worries there.” The room fell silent as Smith scratched a few notes and took her vitals.

“Brad, listen,” he grabbed the young man’s shoulder to catch his eye, “I hate to even think about this but at one point every rib in her body was broken or fractured. Except for the one that wasn't, each were healed rather well. I think she had to do that herself, or else, under the circumstances, I am imagining, it wouldn’t be so clean.”

Gulping, he nodded before he frowned and asked, “what's wrong with her forehead?”

“My guess is that she head-butted her attackers so much it bruised and that might where she got her concussion or it could be a contributor to it.”

“Why?” The word barely left his lips but they had heard him.

Choosing to continue his report, Dr. Smith flipped a few pages before he settled on some more photos of her injuries.

“Her knee is fractured as well. But I want you took to look at the x-rays, Alpha.” He pointed to the wall where the x-rays were.

Brad stood and took long strides over to them, no longer shaking. The shock had worn off and replaced by white fury. His wolf turned wildly inside him, wanting to track, maim, kill… anything.

“It doesn't look like a normal fracture, Doc.”

“That's because it's not.”

“Are you telling me they did this to her?!” Brad’s lips twitched, the corners turning up, at the sound of Luke’s angry voice.

“No,” looks of shock met the Doctor’s short response but he easily continued, “this is a defensive wound. My guess is that she continually kneed her attackers in the jaw. It never properly healed or had time to heal before she was doing it again. Also, fun fact, she's right-handed.”

“This is off topic but how can you tell?” Brad looked back at the bed behind him.

“She used her right knee and never her left probably because she is right handed and had the tendency to use her right knee. Plus, most people are right handed anyway from the studies I’ve read.” A moment of silence washed over the room before the door timidly creaked open.

Talking could be heard outside but it all quieted down while people tried to get a good look at the newcomer.

Lilac, one of their many high school students, walked in with a tray of water and crackers. Using her foot, she closed the door gently behind her, swishing white strands of hair out of her face. The tray of crackers and glasses of water slightly clinked together from her movement.

“I thought you might want something if you're gonna be here awhile.” She chose not to look at them but scuffed her shoes on the tile floor, finding the plain pattern fascinating.

“Thank you, Lilac. Please set the tray over there.” Smith pointed towards a table where his laptop rested, waiting for him to finish his typed report.

“Um… Alpha? Is she really your Last Purpose? Everybody was talking.” She still didn't look up but did as told. Her teeth scraped against her bottom lip, looking ready to tear at the flesh.

“Uh...” Was that the burning sensation? The rage that sent the wolf in him to consciousness. “Don’t listen to the talk, Lils. People have been whispering that since I graduated high school.” He swallowed uncomfortably.

Brad glanced at Smith while Lilac kept her gaze elsewhere, unaware of their interaction. He wasn’t quite sure about anything at this point. The man frowned at him, not sure either.

Smiling, she finally looked up, not catching the dilemma, “she’s all sickly pale now but I’m sure she's really pretty. She’ll like you too, I’m sure.” Then as if she did something wrong, Lilac bowed her head and dashed out of the room.

“Excuse her. She’s very jumpy and-”

“Smith, it's fine. Lilac’s a good girl.” His lips twitched upward in a sad, half smile.

Looking back at the x-rays, he took his time examining the ones with her ribs. Brad’s gut twisted and he couldn't help but scrunch up his nose in distaste.

“There is something else, Alpha.” Smith made his way to her side and motioned for them to come closer. From his clipboard, he handed pictures to them.