Pack Mentality: Wild at Heart

Chapter 7

"That's okay. It's okay. I don't need details. I'm just seeing how much you can recall." Zenna reached over and adjusted her pillows. "Isabelle did a very good job stabilizing you," she began, "and Seth did what he could, but I think you were there for a while before Seth got home, weren't you?"

Tears slid out of Becky's eyes and down her temples, startling her when they hit the pillow. Were tears always so loud? "I think so. When I... when I couldn't move anymore, she turned human again and ran, and then I was alone." In some ways, that had been more terrifying than the attack. She had managed to grab her cell phone and tried to call Seth—then Holly, then 911—but she got nothing but silence; her clumsy attempts at texting, which would have baffled even the strongest auto-correct settings, never went through. It was just her and a symphony of suffering: her ragged breathing, her blood dripping onto the floor, bones creaking as she moved. "I tried... to scream. Maybe... neighbour?"

"Seth found you," Zenna replied, checking her pulse. "And he did everything right. A human hospital could have stopped your bleeding, but they would have treated this like a dog attack."

At least Kevin wasn't home, Becky thought. Darrell had had the good sense to run and hide, but intrepid little Kevin would have tried to attack the werewolf and likely would have ended up dead for his efforts. "Bites?"

"The teeth marks would have been similar, yes, but... not the effects." For the first time since entering the room, Zenna sounded hesitant. "You lost a lot of blood, Becky, and you had a lot of bite wounds. And as I'm sure you know from being with Seth, the full moon is close...."

"Full moon," Becky repeated. That meant something, more than just a big white orb in the sky. "Does it make... bites worse?"

"Yes. Many younger werewolves also have a harder time controlling themselves around a full moon," Zenna added, "and I believe your attacker is younger."

IS younger. Becky's mind caught on the verb like a lifeline. She hadn't killed the werewolf. Strangely, part of her was worried about that. What would other werewolves have thought of Seth if his human girlfriend had killed a werewolf? Would they shun him? Would they try to punish him? She had acted in self-defence, but she still worried about the consequences. "Where is... she? Is Seth safe?" She craned her neck as best she could, but she couldn't see any sign of Seth.

"Seth is fine," Zenna assured her. "You were sleeping, so I told him to get some rest. I'll wake him up in a little bit. Your attacker is in custody. Isabelle—the witch who tended to you—came with two werewolves who tracked down your attacker. They locked her up on your flight here."

She was on the same plane? Becky shivered a bit. What if she had broken free? What if she tried to finish what she had started or gone after Seth instead? Becky hated to think what would have happened if Seth had come home with her. "Where... now?"

Zenna stood abruptly and started examining Becky's limbs. When the doctor pushed the sheet back, Becky realized she was wearing a tank top and pyjama shorts. "She's being held in custody. Don't worry. She's not in the hospital. She... sustained some injuries during the flight." For the first time in the conversation, Zenna's tone had a bit of a chill. "She received medical care here and then was taken to a secure facility."

Becky waved a hand at her body. "How bad?" She didn't enjoy being in pain, but she almost wished she could feel just how broken her body was. It didn't seem right to be so disconnected.

"Are you sure you want to hear this right now?" Zenna asked, stepping back. "You suffered a severe trauma, Becky. You need some time to process...."

"Please." Becky tried to lift her arms to examine them, but they flopped uselessly at her sides.

Sighing, Zenna lightly touched the cloth wrapped around Becky's neck. "This actually wasn't as bad as it looked. You sustained much of your blood loss from your neck, but the actual bite didn't do any major damage to any muscles or anything. It will be very sore for a while," she cautioned, "but it will heal up nicely."

Becky's jaw tingled and she remembered another injury, the time when Seth lost control and nearly ripped off her jaw. She had survived that with scars that only supernaturals could see, so maybe her Irish luck would pull her through one more time. "Good. What about... arms?"

Zenna lifted her left arm first. "There's a lot of defensive damage. I'm guessing you held your arms up to fend off the attack. The left is worse than the right. The right forearm should heal fully. I suspect you might have lingering issues with the left, however."

What about wrestling? Becky thought. How would she be able to lift weights—or her opponents? If she couldn't lift another wrestler, her career was over.

"The stab wound missed major organs, thankfully, and was rather clean. It will hurt like hell as it heals," Zenna remarked, "but it shouldn't be too bad. The bites in the region, though...." She lifted Becky's tank top and touched a few spots on her abdomen. "Those will make it hard to stretch."

That leaves the legs, Becky thought grimly. She was sure they were the worst of the wounds.

"Your left thigh is severely damaged. She bit through muscle, tendon, bone. They're all just... gone." Zenna's expression darkened for the first time since she started her assessment. "If you stay human, you'll likely lose the leg."

Becky knew the last part—you'll likely lose the leg—was the key part, but the wording of the first was what caught her attention. "If I stay human?"

Zenna nodded gravely. "Between the blood loss and the number of bites... you might turn."