Eventually I knew I had to get up and take a shower. I was itchy from the crusted blood and dirt covering me.
"Why didn't anyone rinse my off? I'm disgusting."
"Kane, wouldn't let any of us touch you except Doc," Mia admitted. "He brought you in snarling at everyone to get out of the way and took you straight here. Luckily werewolves don't have to worry about infections so Doc just did what he was told and sewed you up. I'm very glad that you regained consciousness so quickly."
"Well do you think that you could help me clean up?"
I looked down at my cloth bandages in dismay. I had one on my thigh, one that started at my ribs and converged around onto my stomach and a smaller one on my upper arm. As I slowly stood the stitches pulled against my skin unpleasantly. Mia eventually found some saran wrap and covered my bandages with the thin plastic to keep them from getting wet and helped me limp into the shower that was in the back of the room.
The water felt heavenly on my skin. I looked down at my arms and realized that I didn't have any cuts or scrapes or bruises to go along with my more serious wounds.
"So whats the healing time line here?" I asked Mia as I gingerly raised my arms to lather some scentless soap into the rat's nest on my head.
"Well generally the smaller things heal first, which I'm sure you noticed. The larger and more severe the wound the longer it takes to heal. It will still be much faster than your healing rate was as a human. Every werewolf is different it's based on how much innate power you have. I'm sure you'll heal quicker than expected."
Of course I would cause I was a Super Rogue. I rolled my eyes at the thought. I suppose though there could always be worse things than a quick recovery.
"Mia, there's something I need to tell you," my brain had yet to process Kane's confession, I mean maybe what I heard and what he said wasn't exactly the same.
"I heard..."
"Oh, God. What... what do you think that was about?"
"I think we both know what it was about, and I think we both need to not mention it. You still haven't really tried to experience our world, and that's completely understandable. With the way you were changed no one is expecting you to jump headfirst into this life, but a lot of people expect a lot of things from Kane. You are not one of those things. The pack needs to learn to accept you as a part of the whole before the dynamic is turned on its head. Cassie, in the short time I've known you you have become my best friend, but I also love this pack and it can't take anymore upset right now. And we cannot look weak to the other packs or someone will try to swoop in and challenge Kane for alpha. So please Cassie, just... pretend like he didn't say anything. Just for now?"
There were a lot of reasons I loved Mia, this one especially. I didn't have to guess how Mia felt, or what she thought. She just told me. As sweet and kind as she was she wouldn't lie to you to save your or anyone else's feelings. And if it was really as important as she said I would forget that conversation ever happened. I didn't know much about pack structure. I sure didn't know anything about other packs, but I did know that Mia wouldn't lie to me. If she thought it was important for the pack's safety, for her safety, then I wouldn't think about Kane's words again.
*************
After Mia helped me out of the shower and unwrapped me she got me a change of clothes and helped me out of the infirmary.
"Why wasn't I here the first time I was injured by the rogue, when Kane bit me?"
"This is where we bring pack members to be cared for and to heal. The other room is for aggressive wolves, or hostiles from other packs," Mia casually explained.
I was limping toward the stairs that would take Mia and I to our rooms when I heard the commotion.
"Don't stop Cassie keep walking."
"There's no reason to protect her!"
"She almost got us all killed!"
"What are you hiding-"
The last shout was cut off by the roar of a very pissed off male. I knew it was Kane and I knew they were talking about me.
"Cassie please come on," Mia begged, one second from physically removing me.
"UPSTAIRS."
I knew that roar and currently I was disinclined to butt heads with him. Mia and I all but scurried up the stairs with our tails tucked. Mia shut the door to my room firmly behind us and I slowly sat down on the bed. I didn't want to broach what we were both thinking. The pack wanted to give me up and why wouldn't they. What was I to them? Why should they protect me from the rogues? I didn't belong here, we all knew it.
"Cassie, I can almost see what's going on in your head right now and you need to stop it. You didn't ask for any of this and we would be a sorry lot if we fed you to the wolves. Literally."
At that I finally looked up laughing, "You did not just make that joke."
"Indeed I did," Mia flashed me a smile. "Seriously though, as upset as they are I really don't think even if Kane allowed it they would give you to the rogues. There personal distaste for you aside we have a natural aversion to giving them anything they want. If they want you theres probably a million good reasons they shouldn't have you."
"Mia is correct."
For the first time I didn't jump at Kanes voice in the doorway. I had been expecting him after all.
"Well, then what are we supposed to do?"
"My current tactic has been to leave you in the dark and try to find out what I could about the rogues wanting you but that clearly has not been working and they have escalated their efforts. It seems time I try a different approach."
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
"Well what is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm going to bring you up to speed on what we do and do not know at this point. What has been done to protect your friend Kelsey, what investigating we have done, and then you are going to tell me everything you know."
I could NOT believe that five minutes ago he basically declared his- right not supposed to think about that, but regardless I thought we were past the whole 'Cassie knows something' stage. Apparently personal feelings were being put aside here. Which frankly was a relief.
"Kane how many fucking times-"
"Cassie, I'm not saying you know that you know it. But I do think you know something."
Uh huh, that makes a load of sense. I wanted to tell Kane he was being an idiot, but then I thought of the dream I had had and I began to feel uneasy. What if he was right and there was something I knew, something in my past that was the key to this whole thing, but I just didn't realize it.
"Uh, okay sure. You wanna start now?"
"No," he said looking at me suspiciously. Which given my normal inclination to immediately dispute anything he said I completely understood. "Tonight you will rest. This week you will heal. As soon as you have healed you will be formally introduced as a member of this pack, and then, we will find out what the rogues want with you. And we. Will. Kill them."
He left without another word, not that I could have said anything. When he mentioned being a member of the pack my mouth had dried up like the Sahara.
"Uhm. Fuck. What does that mean?"
"Well, I guess we need to talk about becoming a member of the pack. The induction right, the vows... I'll give it to Kane the man is ruthless, but smart. If you are a full member of the pack then they are sworn to protect you from any outside threats just as they would anyone. They can still kill you themselves, theoretically, but they couldn't vote to give you over to the rogues. I'm sure you won't have any problem at all passing the trials. Which they don't know, so they won't even be worried about you being a member until it's too late. They won't even fight Kane about it because none of them would believe you could survive it. He is a smart bastard."
I cringed at Mia's wicked smile. She it seemed was completely behind Kane's plan. I was hoping she would still be on the side of Cassie getting back to her normal life eventually, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"What are the trials?"
"Right, get comfy because we have a lot to talk about."