Hers (#1)

20| first your blood will spill

The metal door of the safe swings open and she stretches her arm into the repository. He fingers wrap around a navy stamp and she quickly brings it out of the safe. "She saved my life--and so many others. She saved our race." She flips through the papers in my blanch file till she pinpoints the page where my incorrect date of birth is recorded. She cancels it out with a pen in a swift red strike and stamps into a blank space. "I may not agree with all her methods most of the time, but I will always be in her debt." Blowing softly on the parchment to speed up the drying process, she turns to face me. "You are so very lucky, Marcus, to have someone like her as a mate."

I smile softly and nod my head. "I am, aren't I?"

She closes the file and tucks it underneath her armpit. "Everything's done. All you have to do is get a blood test done by the Doctor and then you'll get going." Flame leads me to the emergency wing. Walking down towards our destination, I think about everything I just heard. So I guess she sees Lana as some sort of savior. A Messiah, almost. But who was the "man" who helped Lana transition? We reach the doctor's smaller office and Flame opens the door. Doctor Meinang is waiting for me, a small medical box to her right.

"Thank you, Gamma," Dr. Meinang says to Flame. "If you will excuse us."

Flame bows her head slightly and walks off, leaving the doctor and I in the room alone. "Are you going to stand there all day?" She growls at me.

I roll my eyes, expecting her mood. "You sound a little angry," I tease. "Is it Jen? You guys having a fight?" Her eyes spark in fury and she opens her mouth, ready to fire back. "Listen to me, you--"

Before she can say anything, I pull down the collar of my t-shirt and expose my now healed mark. "Ah, ah, ah. Remember what this means. No being mean to Marcus."

She opens and closes her mouth for a good few seconds before she shuts in completely. I swear I can hear the frustration in her breath. She pulls out my arm with unnecessary force and uses a sterilized cotton ball to swab my pale skin. "I need to ask a favor of you."

She scowls at me about to disagree when I cough and point to the mark once again. She lets out a sigh of exasperation and bites. "What?"

"I never got the chance to do this myself but I need you to recommend to Lana a program that helps Hazard's become more comfortable with their wolves. Nothing big, just weekly activities that gives them a bit of exercise. They could do things that they would usually do in wolf form, like running."

She stares at me and I swear to God that she smiles for a fraction of a second. "I actually had been thinking about that myself. It's why Alex gets into so many fights--Hazard's are essentially half-galdoni and therefore have more heightened emotions compared to regular wolves. His inner wolf is itching for any sort of physical activity but Pack Law means he's constantly alternating between physiotherapy and house arrests. That's a very good idea, I'll give you that."

Sticking the needle into my arm a lot more gentle than I thought she would, she continues. "I'll try and pass the idea on to the Alpha." I flinch as my blood seeps into the syringe, the ball of dread that was formerly dormant returning. Why did it seem like some sort of omen? Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I turn to the Doctor and grin. "Thanks." She wipes my arm and covers the spot with a small, flesh-colored bandage. "You should go now, before you're late."

I walk out of the emergency room leaving Dr.Meinang behind. I guess that's what she's like when she's civil. Or with Jen. Another situation with her and Jen pops into my brain and I shake it off, disgusted with myself. I reach the front door of the C1 Pack House where Lana stands waiting for me.

"Where's Logan and Fei?" I inquire.

Running her fingers through her silky obsidian hair, she replies; "They've gone back to Central C. They have work to do." Her expression grows sullen and I move towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Whatever it is," I soothe, knowing Logan and Fei working wasn't what was troubling her. "It'll be fine. You're gonna be okay."