Chapter 53 Fifty-Three
The day of the full moon came, leaving Danica a nervous wreck. Even though she had told Mason that she wasn't worried about the change, she had gone through those two torturous months with no changes after all; she couldn't quite keep good to her word.
As the days passed and the day grew closer, she couldn't quite help but feel the dark being within her growing more and more irritable.
Before, when it wasn't helping her, it would simply go dormant and remain nonexistent in her mind, but now that the curse Martha had put on her was lifted, she could constantly feel its presence, along with that of her wolf.
"You're making me dizzy with that pacing." Mason said, drawing Danica's attention to him.
She had been busy pacing back and forth like a ferile creature while Mason lounged lazily on the bed, watching. He had remained quiet up until this point, but it seemed that he had grown annoyed with Danica's frantic energy.
"Sorry." Danica murmured, stopping. "I just...."
She floundered for a word to use; she was just what? She was just freaking out; that was what she was doing. However, she couldn't possibly voice this to Mason. Chances were he would insist she was overreacting, and frankly, he could damn well be right.
"Come here." Mason commanded, holding his arms out temptingly.
Letting out a sigh, Danica made her way over to Mason. Leaning forward, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap.
"Now," he smirked, kissing Danica's cheek. "Tell me what has my honey all in a tizzy."
"What if I go rogue when I shift?" Danica whispered, unable to meet Mason's eyes. Even though he was taking this lightly, she wasn't.
"What makes you think that would happen?" Mason asked, concern beginning to lace his words.
"I can feel the dark being more and more every day." Danica began to explain while a shiver ran through her. "Before, I only felt it when it would help me, but now it gets stronger by the day."
As Danica spoke, she couldn't help but find herself hoping that Mason didn't find her insane. Everyone else in the world could think that, but not him.
"Well..." Mason considered, "if something does happen, even though I doubt it will, I will be there to help you."
"But what if I hurt you?" Danica continued, her anxiety growing. "What if I run off and hurt others?"
Mason let out a sigh as he tightened his hold on Danica.
"I won't let anything happen to you." He insisted, his eyes flashing. "No matter what, I won't let you disappear."
"Some things can be out of our control, Mason." Danica pushed; she wanted so badly to believe his words, but she knew that life was unpredictable. "What if something happens to you because of me? I could never forgive myself."
As she spoke the words, Danica couldn't stop the shivers that rolled through her. Sighing, Mason nuzzled her neck as he nipped.
"Listen to me." He murmured, kissing her skin softly. "Have faith in me; I am Mason Thompson, and I always stick to my word."
"Cocky." Danica muttered, feeling her spirit lighten a little.
"Maybe." Mason shrugged, smirking. "Do you want to go somewhere with me to take your mind off your worries?"
"Where?" Danica asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
"I'm going to see Dr. Williams and check on my infected pack members. Do you want to join me?" Mason asked, eyeing Danica.
"Usually you would be against me going anywhere near them." Danica pointed out.
"They are no longer contagious." Mason explained, smiling. "After a week, the virus grows dormant and can't be spread."
"That's great." Danica said, feeling her heart lighten.
With everything that had happened, she hadn't had the chance to ask about their condition or think about how they were doing. Inwardly, she felt awful for this, but she also knew that no amount of worry she had would make their situation better either.
"So you'll come with me?" Mason asked, beginning to stand.
Yelping, Danica caught herself before she slipped off Mason's lap as Mason grabbed her, laughing. Swatting at him, she glared at his little trick.
"Let's go," Danica said, straightening herself up.
The first thing Danica noticed when she and Mason arrived at the abandoned hospital was that the usual agonizing howls and scratching that could be heard weren't present. The second was that the hallways were bustling with nurses and doctors roaming around, entering and exiting rooms.
"What is this?" Danica asked Mason as they moved further in towards the heart of the building, where the infected remained.
"While we were in the darklands, there was another rogue attack." Mason explained.
"What?" Danica half-yelled, causing a few nurses to look her way before going about their business once more. "Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded.
Mason ran a hand through his hair and said, "With everything that you had gone through, I didn't want to worry you." He explained sheepishly. "You had enough on your plate already."
"But this is most certainly something I should have known about." Danica snapped, narrowing her gaze. "How could you keep this from me?"
Instead of responding, Mason remained quiet, clearly feeling wrong about his decision to keep Danica in the dark. As she began to feel bad for the man, Danica let out a long breath.
"Next time you must tell me, got it?" Danica said sternly.
Nodding, Mason promised as he wrapped his arm around Danica's waist and began pulling her towards the corridor where the infected wolves were being held.
They managed to find Dr. Williams exiting a room that contained one of the infected. Danica couldn't help but notice that the man looked like he had aged a few years. His face held deep wrinkles, and dark bags had formed underneath his eyes. It was clear that treating these patients was taking a toll on him.
"Any news?" Mason asked as he stopped in front of the exhausted-looking doctor.
Dr. Williams let out a long breath. "Nothing new; they still show no signs of getting any better."
"Are they getting worse?" Danica asked, Even if they weren't getting better, if they weren't getting worse, then there was hope, right?
"No change." Dr. Williams responded. "According to my data with this virus, they should have already started showing some signs of worsening or improving; however, they are just remaining the same."
"Do you think the rogue leader mutated the virus somehow?" Mason asked, frowning. "Is that possible?"
"I have no way to be certain; all blood samples contain the virus alone, nothing more." Dr. Williams explained. "We have tested on multiple occasions to see if maybe something was different, but..."
"But you couldn't find anything." Danica finished for Dr. Williams as her heart began to thump madly in her chest.
She couldn't quite explain it, but just thinking about these poor wolves and their conditions, she couldn't stop the anger that was suddenly beginning to build within her. It was slowly growing to the point of being maddening when Mason gently placed a hand on her arm.
"Thanks doctor." He said quietly as he turned Danica around and began to lead her away. "Give me a call if anything changes." He called just as they turned down a hallway.
"Why the sudden depature?" Danica demanded once they were out of earshot of the doctor.
"Your eyes turned red," Mason explained.
Gasping Danica let his words sink in; her eyes had turned to the color of a rogue. Heart sinking, she once again felt her anxiety ebbing as she knew that her change would be happening soon, and it seemed that her fear of the rogue taking over was beginning to seem more and more possible.