The Porch Wolf
Hospital

I hate hospitals.

I was wheeled into the Emergency Room and examined briefly. “Mr. Volkov, your shoulder is dislocated. We’re going to give you some drugs to relax your muscles, then we will use the Stimson technique to put it back in place.”

“Just do it, Doc. I’d have done it myself if they would have let me do it.”

He just shook his head. “I’m going to roll you onto your stomach; just let your arm hang towards the floor.” He had a nurse hold tension down on the arm while he massaged the muscles, then moved my arm and shoulder blade. I felt it pop back in place, and immediately it felt better.

“Oh yeah,” I said. “Do the same thing to my ankle and I’ll clear out of here before the fun really starts for you tonight.”

“We always overstaff on this night, Mr. Volkov. The next stop for you is radiology.” There was good news there; the ankle was not broken, but it was bruised and swollen, with several torn ligaments and a severe sprain.

Just after midnight, he was putting an immobilizing boot on the ankle and giving me my discharge instructions. I was to follow up with an orthopedist next week to see if surgery was required for the torn ligaments; otherwise, it was RICE, RICE, baby. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Since my same-side shoulder was also injured, I was to use the wheelchair as much as possible. “Wonderful,” I said.

“Is there someone in your home who can help you? I can give you some numbers for home health aides,” he said.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I need to check on the others who were in the truck with me if we’re done here.” The nurse brought me back out to the waiting room, leaving me where Donna was sitting with Brent. “What do you know?”

Donna started. “Mike took Anita home, she had a clean break and her arm is in a cast now. Larry went too, he’s supervising the cleanup of the scene. The carcasses are in your pole barn until you make arrangements to return them to the Welch Pack.”

I looked over at Brent. “How are Liv and Vicki doing?”

“Vicki woke up during the ambulance ride. She got her bell rung pretty good, and it caused her to throw up. And throw up again, then again. All that food she ate sprayed over the EMT’s and their rig. They are probably still cleaning it up,” he said with a grin. “She got five stitches by her left temple, but the MRI was clear. She has a concussion and is being held overnight for observation.”

Thank Luna it wasn’t worse. “And Liv?”

“Bruises from the crash, and thirty-plus stitches in her leg to close up the gashes. She’s up in the room with Vicki.”

One of the Sheriff's Deputies was waiting for me; I gave him a statement about the crash, going as close to the truth as I could. I said it was a dump truck but didn't see anything other than the lights and the plow. I signed it, and he left.

“Ask the desk if I can visit my niece’s room before you take me home,” I said. “I need to talk to Liv.”

It was past visiting hours, but since we were all in the same accident, they made an exception. They gave me the room number and called ahead that we were coming. Brent volunteered to wheel me up there; a wheelchair sucked when my arm was in a sling.

When we arrived in the darkened room, Liv was by the bed in her own wheelchair, her bandaged ankle elevated. Her face lit up as we came in. “Leo,” she said softly. “How are you?”

“I’ll get better,” I said as I was wheeled next to her. “How’s our Sharkbait?”

“Dizzy and tired,” she said. “They have to wake her every hour to check her because of the concussion. Thank God the MRI was clean and she didn’t fracture her skull. If she passes her tests, they will let her go home tomorrow night.”

“She’s a tough one, and sharks have cartilage. Much more resilient than bone,” I teased and got a weak smile. “We have another problem, and this one is with you.”

“I’ll be fine, a few weeks for the gashes to heal up. I don’t need rabies shots, do I? Is that a problem with werewolves?”

I was my turn to be shocked, then smile. “No, that won’t be a problem. The doctor gave you a tetanus booster?” She nodded. “That should cover it, and we’ll watch for other infections. No, the problem is that you are going to turn into one of us.”

“I thought you weren’t going to turn me because it was too dangerous. You said more die than make the change.” She was starting to panic a little, and Brent reached over and took her hand. She calmed almost instantly.

“I said we should not turn you voluntarily because of the risk. This attack took that choice out of our hands. The bite will infect you; a fever will start by morning, and you should complete your change by late tonight.”

“Oh, God…”

“I’m sorry, Liv.” She was looking between me, then at her daughter, then out the window and back again. “We need to keep her calm, she can’t run out of here or start telling humans about us. We have to protect our secret,” I sent to Brent.

“You’ve seen what your daughter went through. Your change will take longer and be more painful than Vicki’s since she was born a werewolf, and you are changing.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” she said with a snort. “Her change was horrible.”

“Lying to you won't make it easier for you. Your daughter needs you to be courageous enough to make it through the change. It is going to be the hardest thing you will ever do, Liv, but you will do it. I believe in you. All of us in the house are pulling for you, Liv. We think that you are a woman of extraordinary character and strength, destined to take her place among us. You have all the qualities we want in a Pack member. I don’t believe Luna brought you into our lives to be taken out now. I refuse to lose my family, and you are FAMILY, Liv.”

I could see the gears turning and the tears falling. “Vicki…”

“She will not be alone. My in-laws are going home to get a few hours of sleep; they will return and stay with her today. They are her grandparents, at least that is what we will tell them. It’s close enough; I think of you as my daughter, after all, and you know they will keep her safe.” It was all I could do. “Brent, go back down to Admitting and get paperwork that will authorize Larry and Donna Winters to check her out and bring her home. Liv can sign it as she won’t be able to do it tomorrow.”

“She might need a limited power of attorney. I’ll find out and get her the forms she needs,” he said as he got up.

“Why can’t I stay here with her?”

“Unless the doctors change their minds, Vicki has to stay here under observation for another twenty hours or so. As soon as the fever hits, the doctors will think your wound is infected. Nothing they do will work, and no virus or bacteria will show up in the culture. You saw the changes in her body; we cannot allow humans to see that. You have to come home with us before it starts, and we will help you through it.”

We continued talking, stopping only when her nurse came in to check her vitals, and wake her up to make sure she was still functioning normally. She had difficulty getting her to open her eyes, which Liv told her was normal. “The smoke alarm over her bed went off last year, and she didn’t even move. I always do it this way. Let me try something.” She got up and leaned over Vicki, pulling the covers down and blowing a raspberry on her stomach. The noise and the tickling woke her quickly.

“MOMMY! STOP!”

“You need to get up, Vicki. The nurse needs to check you over again.”

As the nurse checked her over, she caught sight of me sitting next to her bed. “Unky Leo? You’re hurt!”

“I’ll heal up, Sharkbait. How are you doing?”

“My head still hurts, and I’m hungry,” she said. “Can we go eat prime rib again?”

“It’s too late for that,” I said with a grin. “Go back to sleep, you need your rest.”

Brent came back up with the forms, which Liv had to take back downstairs so the notary could witness her signing them. I stayed and watched her as she slept.

I was shocked when I felt a mental push from someone I hadn’t linked with in years. “Ivan? Brother? You’re still around?”

“I wanted to stop by your house, but then I saw the wreck being winched out of the ravine. Are you all right?”

“Dislocated shoulder and severely sprained ankle. I’m in a room with your daughter; she hit her head in the crash and has a concussion. Thank Luna that it wasn’t worse.”

“It wasn’t an accident?”

“No. A Volkov Construction dump truck knocked us off the road, then Welch Pack wolves came after us at the bottom of the hill. Liv got her ankle bit, she’s going to change in the next day.”

“That bastard,” he sent back. “He went after Vicki?”

“The wolves came after the girls, not me,” I said. I’d been thinking about this all night; if it was just that Todd didn’t want me stealing his wolves, there was no need to go after Liv and Vicki like they did.

“He knows who she is from when I asked him for help protecting her. I bet his first phone call after I left was to my ex-mate to see what it was worth to her. You were just a bonus. If he waits to make a move on you, you’ll have numbers and recognition. He always was a pussy, afraid of a fair fight.”

He was right about several things. “He will pay the price. I can’t shift and half my Pack is injured, but I’ll make sure he suffers.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. “He tried to kill my daughter, Leo. I’ve got this.”

“He tried to kill me too. I want his blood on my teeth after I tear his fucking throat out.”

“I hear you, brother. Rest up. I wish things were different, and I could get to know Liv and Vicki. They’ll never forgive me for her grandmother, though.”

The whole situation sucked. “When Liv and Vicki are ready to hear it, I’ll tell them that you loved them,” I promised. “May Luna guide your steps, my brother.”

“I love you, Leo.”

“Goodbye.” I didn’t know what he had planned, but I had an idea. Todd would be on alert, expecting me to retaliate, and he was one man.

A man with nothing to lose.

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