Chapter 15: Husk

“Doc, how’s Sky doing?” I asked as soon as he came out of the room, and I knew it was bad news from the way his shoulders slumped slightly and the tension around his brown eyes.

Doc was a lot smaller, and at first when we met him, we didn’t think he was a wolf. It was unusual for someone so short, and small in frame, to be a wolf. Now we knew many of our kind.

He shook his head. “He’s so fucking weak, I’ve never seen him like this. How are you feeling?”

I wanted to lie and tell him I was feeling okay. But, he scanned me with his eyes narrowing as if he knew the answer to his own question. I’d eaten seven times today, and each time food hit my mouth and down my throat, it made me feel a little bit stronger for a few minutes. Just a few, and then I would feel the need to eat again.

“Not great. But not as bad as Sky. Has he fully shifted?”

He shook his head.

“I’ve never seen him like this, only half of his body has shifted and the other half, well thank fuck it was still in human form, or I couldn’t have got him out of the office in time.”

Doc patted my back, as he moved his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped back shaking his head.

“How’s Winter doing?”

“Fine. He’s watching over Fagua right now.” And a flash of jealousy hot and fast drove into my stomach. Which didn’t make any sense because I knew she hated me, and I wasn't enamored with her either after her little attitude at lunch days ago.

His eyes lit up. “So, it’s true. The seer was right, there is a mate, and she can cure you all. This is excellent news, why didn’t you tell me you had found her?”

I nodded, thinking he was more excited about us finding her than I was at the moment.

“Yes, I thank you for putting us in contact with the seer.”

He was good to us, just like our father had told us he would be.

I cleared my throat trying to find ways to express myself, as my mind flashed for a split second to my parents who had died too young in the tragic car accident.

“This is good news, I mean if it’s true, then why did you bring him here?” He replaced his glasses. “Why not take him home so she could heal him?”

I looked down at the floor, embarrassed to admit our mate was more scared of me, rather than willing to lay down with me. I knew I had to stay away tonight, just so Winter could get her out of the room.

“I see.” He scratched his balding head, and I forgot for a second he had the power to read minds. I hated when he did it, especially without permission. I crossed my arms and a warning growl broke through me.

“Sorry, Husk.” He could tell his intrusion had rubbed me the wrong way. “It’s just as I get older and weaker, I forget myself at times. I don’t even feel comfortable looking after Sky. My powers and strength are not the same as they used to be.”

I nodded as I sat down next to him on the bench.

“I have to go to L.A. tomorrow, to tend to another.” He sighed. “Do you think you could stay here with Sky?”

“What about the nurse and staff?”

He shook his head. “It’s getting worse, and they left in search of their mates. They couldn’t stay here. Their fate would be like mine and they know our kind are dying and with no mate, there’s no life.”

I hated the fact Doc was only one year older than me. He looked as if there was at least a twenty-year age gap, because it was too late for him.

“You could find a mate if you wanted to, just like them. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself and stay just to help the remainder of us.”

He coughed. “I could, but I could die trying; besides my true mate was killed by another wolf. I’ve tried to get over it, but over the years it’s just made me bitter about what our kind have become. Before, we used to be clans who respected each other, now it’s as if we’re every wolf for themselves.”

We sat in silence. I thought about my parents and what the greed of our kind had done to them, resulting in their deaths.

Doc cleared his throat. “I’m happy you have found her. You need to do what you can to keep her, or you’ll suffer the same fate as Sky, or worse. I would hate for you to do that, but I think you need to bring her here and start the healing process, the quicker the better,” he said as he patted my leg.

He stood like he was about to leave me, but I had to get everything off my chest, and he felt like the only person I could talk to about anything right now who would understand.

“Sky shifted not so long ago, but why has he been hit worse? None of this makes sense, Winter and I always thought he would never shift. We’d hoped, but his body is like it’s trying to rip him apart.”

Doc nodded “I know, but you’ve been living with it for years. Sometimes the mind plays tricks on us, and mixed with his unhealthy appetite for drinking, it hasn’t helped him at all. I need to get ready for L.A. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to call me.”

He flashed away before I could say anything else. His second power of teleportation was too handy. My power felt insignificant compared to his, but he was right. I had to get Fagua here and get her to help Sky. Winter, hopefully, would have connected with her, and her being reasonable would be appreciated right now. I couldn’t deal with her being difficult or having to deal with any matters of the heart.