Chapter 44

Dawson

As the days wore on, I remembered what had happened, why I was in the hospital. Dr. Cortez had explained the treatment that he utilized and how it likely saved my life. It was something that was not typically used on werewolves, but my situation was not typical. I still couldn't tell what was happening with my wolf. It was like a door was shut in the back of my mind. I knew he was behind it, but how do I open it?

The doctor was trying different types of therapy to see if he could get my wolf to come out. I was seeing a neurologist and a psychotherapist. Both were trying different things. One day the neurologist said he wanted to see if I could heal quickly or not. This would at least tell us if my wolf was in there. I begrudgingly agreed to his test, hoping that my wolf would be there.

We walked outside to the courtyard, a few tools and some medical supplies. I had asked to do this outside. I was tired of the sterile walls of the hospital. I needed some air. As we walked around to the back of the flower garden, where we could be somewhat hidden, he had me sit on a bench. The doctor took out a sterile scalpel and had me hold my hand over a surgical towel. We had discussed this at length, so that I knew what would take place. The doctor carefully cut a very deep incision into the palm of my hand, then wrapped it in a surgical towel to stop the blood flow. We waited a couple of minutes and removed the towel. The incision had begun to knit together, the bleeding almost stopped. I grinned ear to ear. Thank the Moon Goddess.

We weren't finished yet. This was something small. What if something worse happened to me? Was my wolf strong enough to heal something more severe? We sat in silence, me with my eyes closed, calling to my wolf in my mind. I thought I felt a flicker of something but couldn't be sure. Once the cut on my hand was nearly healed, barely a trace it was there, the doctor had me follow him further into the garden. What he was going to do next was not going to be pleasant.

We walked back to a grassy area, and I lay down with one arm outstretched to my side. We decided it was best to use my non-dominant arm in the event I couldn't heal properly. I closed my eyes and told the doctor not to tell me when he was going to move forward with his task. I did not want to anticipate it, that would make it worse. My nerves were already raw. I lay there breathing quietly, focusing on the air in and air out. Just when I was about to open my eyes to tell him to get on with it, I felt an excruciating, jarring pain to my left forearm. The pain shot up my arm as the metal forceps clamped around it, squeezing. I opened my eyes and looked over, it was a clean break.

The doctor kneeled beside me, talking to me as he splinted the arm, asking if I had sensation in my fingers and then in my elbow. A bone knitting back together properly was a good test of my wolfs strength. The pain had passed, leaving behind a wave of nausea as the doctor manipulated the splint. As he took my other hand to help me stand, I felt pressure in my head, and then darkness.

Ashlynn

I raced to the hospital when Dr. Cortez called to inform that there had been a development. I had literally dropped what I was doing, handing my vet tech the blood samples I had just taken from a mare, giving him quick instruction on what to do next.

I pulled up in front of the hospital, barely taking the time to throw the truck in park and rip my keys from the ignition. I ran down the hallway to the unit that Dawson had been moved to days earlier, since he was no longer critical. Dr. Cortez was waiting for me at the door. He held his hand up, indicating for me to stop, as I was running towards him. I'm sure I looked a mess, I was still in scrubs, with drops of blood on my pants.

"Hello Ashlynn, it's good to see you," he gave me a smirk as he looked at my messy appearance. "You didn't have to rush you know, you could have changed."

"Oh uh, yeah well the nurse said it was important. What happened?", I asked.

"Seems Dawson's wolf has returned. Albeit, he's very angry. We thought you could calm him down, since you're his mate." He began walking down the hall and I followed.

"I'm not following you sir," I said. "What do you mean angry?"

The doctor turned to face me, stopping in the middle of the hall way. "Well, the neurologist was trying to get his wolf to come out. He tried a few unorthodox techniques. Initially just cutting his hand to see if Dawson would heal. He did, actually very quickly. But then,"he shook his head in disbelief, " he decided to break his arm. Bone knitting would require his wolf to be strong."

I gasped when he said he broke his arm. "What happened? Is Dawson ok?", I asked.

"Oh yes, quite. However, not only did his wolf surge forward, he shifted in the middle of the garden. He lunged for the doctor and had it not been for one of the nurses taking her lunch break out there, he might have killed him." The doctor shrugged and then continued down the hall.

"Honestly," he continued,"it sort of serves him right. At any rate, Dawson is still in wolf form. We thought perhaps seeing his mate would encourage him to calm down so he could shift back." He made a left down another corridor. I noticed that these rooms had solid doors, as opposed to the ones with windows like in the critical care unit. There was a guard outside of one of the doors, and we stopped in front of it.

"A guard? Is that necessary?", I asked.

"Oh the guard isn't for Dawson. It's to keep others from accidentally going in to the room. Now don't be afraid. You're perfectly safe. We have him shackled to the wall. I will give you the key and you can unlock it, if you can get him to behave himself." The doctor pulled a key out of his pocket, handing it to me, and motioned with his head for me to go into the room. "I will be waiting right out here. Holler if you need me."

I took a deep breath, opening the door slowly, not knowing what to expect. I could hear him before I saw him, a low growl coming from his throat. As I closed the door behind me and stepped to where he could see me, the growling immediately stopped. Dawson's huge brown wolf had been standing, teeth barred. He immediately cocked his head to the side, then laid down, placing his head on his big paws. He was watching me, a slight whimper coming from him. I took a step forward, and he continued to just lay there watching me.

I wasn't sure how I should be approaching this. Should I shift? Our wolves communicate so much better in wolf form. Should I just sit here and talk to him and see if he is able to shift back. Maybe I don't need to say anything. Maybe I can just sit with him. These thoughts were running through my head a mile a minute.

I took a tentative step forward, never taking my eyes off of him. "Hi there, I'm so glad to see you Drake. Dawson was so worried you wouldn't come back. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to sit with you." He raises his head, not indicating any aggression. I slowly walk forward and sit on the floor in front of him. I reach out my hand towards him, and he licks it. His tail begins to wag, and I know I am safe. "I'm going to unchain you Drake. Be nice." I lean forward and undo the shackle that is on his front right leg. I notice that there is a splint on his left front leg.

The shackle is off and we just sit there. I have to figure out how to get Drake to allow Dawson to take control back. "Are you all healed? Maybe I can take that splint off." I scoot forward towards him, and he just watches me. He doesn't flinch or make any move when I touch the paw that the splint is on. I figured this is a good sign. I start to unwrap his leg, lifting it carefully. I remove the splint and run my hand along the leg. I cannot detect anything wrong. It has healed. The leg feels smooth, no edges to his bone. "Well that's all better then. Do you want to maybe shift back now?" I ask.

He lets out a humphh and plops his head down on the floor. Ok, I guess not. Then I have an idea, as I see his eyes drift closed and his breathing becomes even. I know he is sleeping. I slide my body next to his huge furry wolf and curl up next to him. I lay there, my body touching his, my fingers stroking his soft fur. He sighs in his sleep, one of his front legs lifting as he lay a paw on my chest. I turn towards the big wolf, laying my head on my folded arm, his paw holding me in place. I close my eyes, listening to his breathing. Eventually I too fall asleep.