Bucky had just finished tidying up the room when Dr. Hazel entered. Her smile was warm as she stepped in the room and for a moment the air around them grew lighter. "Hello everyone, I would have been here sooner but I had to get Zeke and bring him with me since Brian can't watch him while he's in the lab."
Little Zeke poked his head in the room, giggling as he held onto the wall for support. Wynter's face lit up and she immediately scooped up the little boy in her arms. "Awww! Hi little zombie. You're so cute!"
Zeke laughed and babbled back at Wynter as he clapped his hands. Dr. Hazel smiled before gesturing towards the door. "Wynter right? Do you mind taking Zeke out in the hall and entertaining him while I take care of things in here? I shouldn't be too long."
"Of course." Wynter smiled before turning to Walker. "If you need anything I'll be right outside."
Walker nodded, watching as Wynter left the room before turning his attention back to the doctor and Bucky.
"So what have you noted so far about her condition?" Dr. Hazel asked.
Bucky picked up his clipboard. "Wren is running a fever of 104.8, I already gave her aspirin and applied ice packs to cool her down. I also noticed her breathing is labored and the lymph nodes in her neck are swollen. She's also dehydrated and physically weak, but I needed you to start the IV fluids."
Dr. Hazel nodded. "You've done very well in your assessment Mr. Buchanan, now let's get that IV started."
Bucky dabbed some alcohol onto a cotton ball and cleaned the area on Wren's arm where they would administer the IV as Dr. Hazel prepared the materials.
Once he was done, Bucky stepped back and allowed Dr. Hazel to insert the needle into Wren's arm. With the needle in place, Dr. Hazel took a blood sample from Wren before hooking her up to the IV and hanging the bag of fluids on a hook above the bed.
With Wren stabilized, Dr. Hazel turned her attention to Walker. "You are Wren's brother correct?"
Walker nodded. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Walker."
"It's nice to meet you Walker. I'm Dr. Hazel and I will be overseeing your sister's care. My husband, Dr. Andrews, will be working on analyzing your blood samples to identify this illness and hopefully make a cure." She explained. "If you're ready, I'd like to take your blood now as well."
Walker slipped his right arm out of his jacket and held it out to her without hesitation. "Do whatever you need to do. If it means helping my sister, you can take whatever you need from me."
Dr. Hazel nodded, cleaning his arm before inserting the needle. She collected the blood sample and sat it to the side, taking a moment to clean up the area and bandage it.
"So, do you know if your sister has any other health conditions or allergies?" Dr. Hazel asked.
Walker took a moment to think. "Um, she sneezes when theres alot of pollen falling from the trees in the forest. Does that count?"
Dr. Hazel chuckled. "That is an allergy, but not one we to be concerned about here. What about allergies to medications?"
Walker shrugged. "The pack healers always used herbal remedies. We've never used actual medications."
"I see." Dr. Hazel replied. "Well then, I will make note to keep a close eye on her after giving her any medication just in case she does have a reaction."
"Thank you." Walker told her. "So how long will the tests take?"
"Well, Dr. Hazel began. "Depending on the results, an hour, maybe two. We're treating this as an emergency so we're planning to get results sooner rather than later."
Walker pulled his arm back into his jacket. "Sounds good."
Dr. Hazel grabbed the blood samples from the counter. "Well then, I'm going to get these samples to my husband in the lab so we can get some answers. And it looks like you have some company so I'll let them know they can come in."
Walker nodded as Dr. Hazel opened the door and stepped into the hallway, allowing Zeke's squeals of excitement echo through the room.
"Iza! Iza! Iza!"
"I think he wants you Eliza." Wynter chuckled, holding out the squirming toddler for her to take.
Eliza stared at Zeke as he reached for her, squealing her name at the top of his lungs. She was still unsure about her ability with children and was afraid she might do something stupid and end up hurting Zeke if she held him while standing up. A nudge on her arm snapped Eliza from her thoughts and she looked up at Wyatt who gave her an encouraging smile and nodded toward Zeke.
Eliza sighed and took the toddler from Wynter's arms, holding him carefully against her chest. "Hi Zeke. You missed me huh?"
"Iza!" Zeke smiled, then pointed to her Z-band. "No, no."
Eliza couldn't help but chuckle. "That's right, touching the Z-band is a no no."
Dr. Hazel smiled at the interaction before addressing the group. "If you all don't mind watching Zeke, I'm going to take these blood samples to the lab. You may also go in and visit Walker and Wren, they're right inside."
"Thank you Dr. Hazel." Addison smiled. "We'll all pop in and say hi."
Dr. Hazel headed off towards the lab as Addison, Zed, Bree, Bonzo, Eliza, Wyatt, Winnie, and Will crowded around the entrance of the door. Winnie and Will were the first to enter the room, immediately making their way to Walker's side. Before any of them could react Winnie punched Walker in the shoulder.
"Ow!" Walker yelped. "What was that for?"
"That, was for abandoning us in the middle of the night." Winnie told him before enveloping him in a hug. "And this is for everything else. I'm sorry about Wren."
"Its not your fault." Walker sighed, returning the hug. "I should have known we couldn't run from this. Now I've just put more people in danger. Some Alpha I turned out to be."
"Hey man." Will said, patting his shoulder. "We'll get through this. You only did what you thought was right."
Walker nodded as he glanced around the room. "Where's Wade? And Willa?"
"They stayed behind to watch over the pack." Zed explained. "Willa is worried about the illness spreading and Wade didn't seem to want to leave her alone."
A smile tugged at Walker's lips. "That sounds like Wade. He's always looking out for others, that's what makes him such a great friend."
"Yeah," Winnie agreed. "He's been there for all of us at one time or another."
Walker nodded before turning to Addison. "So you really believe that what you saw in your dream is true? My blood can cure this illness?"
"I do." Addison admitted confidently. "The Great Alphas of the past wouldn't have given me this information if it didn't have a purpose."
Walker turned and looked at Wren. "I just want my sister and the rest of the pack to be okay. Those doctors can drain every ounce of blood from my veins if it means not having to watch more wolves suffer like my pack did."
"Hey." Wynter placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't talk like that okay? We're not going to lose anyone, that includes you. We've all faced down problems together, and we got through it together. That's what we're going to do now."
Walker sighed. "Alright, we do this together. No more running, no more lying. I swear it on the moonstone."
"Good." Wynter nodded as a knock was heard at the door.
They all turned and saw Dr. Hazel and Dr. Andrews in the doorway.
Walker immediately stood up. "You have the results?"
Dr. Hazel nodded. "My husband has finished testing both blood samples. However, there's good news and bad news."
Walker's face immediately fell and he froze, unable to form any words. Wynter noticed his hesitation and slipped her hand into his before looking at the doctors.
"What's the good news?" She asked.
Dr. Andrews looked at his notes. "The good news is that we've identified the illness as a deadlier strain of the flu virus unique to werewolves, meaning Zombies and Humans are immune. We also discovered that human DNA contains unique antibodies that can be used to combat the virus."
"So you can make a cure." Addison smiled.
"In theory, yes." Dr. Andrews replied. "But that also leads us to the bad news."
"What is it?" Walker choked out, his voice barely above a whisper.
"We compared the DNA and discovered that the Werewolf DNA has several unique markers that Human DNA does not. While the DNA is close enough to allow them to have children together, I'm afraid creating a cure with pure Werewolf blood would be ineffective and a cure made from pure human blood would get rejected by the werewolves' immune system, doing more harm than good." Dr. Andrews explained. "Walker's blood contains pure werewolf DNA, as does Wren's. We can't use it to make a cure."
Walker ripped his hand out of Wynter's and punched the wall behind him, growling in anger and frustration before turning his sights on Addison.
"You said my blood could be used to make a cure!" Walker snarled. "You said this would work! You promised!"
Walker's eyes and moonstone flickered as his emotions flared. He lunged at Addison but Will grabbed him and pinned him against the wall as Wyatt and Zed took protective stances in front of Addison.
"Let me go!" Walker snapped as he struggled against Will's grip but it remained firm.
Will shook his head, holding his ground. "Not until you calm down. Lashing out won't help Wren. We'll find a way to make the cure, let's just hear what the doctor's have to say first, okay?"
Walker went quiet and nodded slowly. After a moment, Will released his hold, letting Walker go.
Walker turned and faced Dr. Andrews. "What will it take to make this cure? What do you need?"
Dr. Andrews cleared his throat. "In order to make a successful cure, we'd need DNA from someone who is half human and half werewolf. That would give us enough human DNA to combat the virus while having enough Werewolf DNA to keep their immune systems from rejecting it."
"What about me?" Bucky asked. "Or Addison and Wyatt? We're part human and part wolf. Would our DNA work?"
"Depends on what you mean by 'part'." Dr. Andrews replied.
"Our great grandmother was a full blood wolf." Bycky explained.
Dr. Andrews shook his head. "Your DNA would be too diluted by human genes. It wouldn't work."
Addison sighed. "I just don't understand. The Great Alpha Wahija said the blood of the Lupus' Alpha was the key. Walker is the Alpha of the Lupus pack. It has to be him."
"You heard the doctors Addy." Zed replied sadly. "Walker is a pure wolf. His DNA won't work."
"Then what was Alpha Wajiha trying to tell me?" Addison asked.
Wyatt's eyes widened. "Addison, think about what she told you.
You must uncover the truth, hidden in a past of lies
Seek help from friends, or the youngest will die
Reveal the bond the Lupus can't see
For the blood of their Alpha is the key.
Find the truth in the past, reveal a bond they can't see, the Alpha's blood is the key. We were looking at it in pieces instead of putting the whole puzzle together. The Lupus' Alpha is the key, but it isn't Walker."
Addison stared at her brother in disbelief. "But Walker--"
"No, he's right Addison. They said the DNA must be half human half werewolf, mine isn't." Walker reminded her, cutting her off. "Its tradition in our pack that the Alpha's eldest son becomes Alpha when the title is passed down. My whole life I was told that was my destiny to fulfill, but now I can see that perhaps that was a lie. I'm not the Alpha, because somewhere, I have a brother who is."
Author's Note
I promised Werewolf-eror this chapter would be posted no later than today. It's late, but I hope you enjoy it. Good night lovely readers and thank you for all your love and support. You are the ones that inspire me to keep writing.
-Meloetta246