Chapter 7 - Poisoned

Ace -

They went to the fucking hospital, sh!t, now what?? I need to think of something…

Almost as soon as our meeting had ended yesterday afternoon they went over to the hospital to pay a visit and spend time with each of the wolves that were injured during training and most specifically, they went to see how Cassie was and what she could tell them about how she ended up there. Luckily for me, she was still out cold when they got there and she didn’t wake up at all while they spoke with the doctor, seeing if he had any insight into how she came to be in this condition, but when Cassie wakes up I have no doubt she will tell them everything.

I managed to sneak into her room last night at around 3am, during a shift change, so I went completely unnoticed and I slipped a dose of wolfsbane into her I.V. Just a small amount to keep her unconscious a little while longer, while I come up with a plan, but obviously she will wake up eventually and spill all, it’s not like I can kill her, I need her.

I just need to find a way to get to her as soon as she is awake and make sure that she understands what will happen to her if she causes me issues by telling the truth.

Cassie -

The next time I wake up, there is daylight streaming through the window, and a woman I recognise from around the pack house is standing by my feet reading from a clipboard occasionally glancing at the machines by my side. I don't move, I just watch her curiously as she begins making notes on the clip board, still watching the machines intermittently. when she notices I am awake, she smiles. It is a small smile of pity that causes my eyes to prickle with tears, I don't think I can handle pity on top of everything else.

This morning, there is no confusion, I remember everything that happened to get me here. Personally I think it is the stress of finding out just how much Ace has scrẹwed around with me since the Alpha and Luna left and thinking that the only reason he could have done it all was simply.because I was his mate, I can't think of anything else I had ever done to him that got me into this situation.

I grimace back at the nurse as she comes around the side of my bed and lifts a glass of water into my line of sight, I sigh and nod my head thinking water would be wonderful, and she brings the straw to my lips, just as Dr Thorne did last night. After taking multiple sips through the straw, I let it slide from between my lips and take a breath.

"Good morning dear," she says before I can speak. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"What time is it?" I ask. "Please," I add after a pause.

"10.30 on Wednesday," she says gently, and as though she can predict my reaction, she places a hand on my shoulder.

I push against the hand holding me in place, trying to sit up, I spoke with Dr Thorne a few hours ago, and he said it was Tuesday, well he didn't say specifically, but I passed out on Monday and he said 20 hours, that makes it Tuesday. This nurse must be wrong.

"But, but I spoke with Dr Thorne in the night, he implied that it was Tuesday!" I state, my throat a little scratchy towards the end.

The nurse helps me sit up, shaping the pillows behind my back, and hands me the glass of water before she speaks again.

"You did speak with Dr Thorne in the early hours of Tuesday, but, well, let me get the Dr, and he can explain." she says, and she scurries from the room.

"Please!" I call after her to come back, but she ignores me and disappears from view, leaving the door to my room open in her haste.

"Cassie," the Dr looks happy and relieved as he walks into the room, I see him nod towards someone who stands outside my door as he turns to close it gently. "I'm surprised to see you awake. You must have a very strong wolf."

"I don't understand. We spoke a few hours ago. What happened?" I ask, trying to understand why he would be surprised.

"Cassie, that was yesterday, now, I want you to stay calm, this may be a little upsetting to here, but I want you to know we are investigating and there will be consequences for those responsible." He is speaking slowly to ensure I understand, but my mind is completely clear, so I nod for him to proceed. "After I left you Tuesday morning somebody, we aren't sure who yet, snuck into your room and gave you wolfsbane, we discovered something was wrong within an hour and managed to flush most of it out of your system, but obviously not quickly enough, you went into a mini coma, we expected you to stay asleep until the wolfsbane was completely burned out, your wolf would have had to do the hard work there, and with your recent treatment we didn't know how she would handle it."

I stay silent so as not to interrupt, but my mind is whirling again. "So you can understand our surprise at you waking today, we anticipated you waking, maybe Friday, but I am so pleased to see your eyes. Can I run some tests and check your vitals to be sure you are healed?" he asks.

I nod my head, still trying to work out what I want to say to all of that. Dr Thorne proceeds to draw some blood, he checks my pupils, he presses on my stomach, he reads from the machines, and he switches out the IV bag.

"Let me just run this to the lab, then I will come back, and you can ask anything you like." he says, holding up the 3 blood vials. I nod, and as he leaves, I think about what he told me and what more I want to know.

Dr Thorne comes back quickly and sits beside me in a chair that looks very uncomfortable. He doesn't speak. He simply watches me and waits, sensing I suppose that I have questions formulating in my mind.

"I was given wolfsbane? and I'm not dead? how?" I start, I want to ask who, but Dr Thorne already said they don’t know. Wolfsbane is lethal, a large enough dose kills instantly, a medium sized dose kills agonisingly slowly, a small dose will cripple you and cause pain enough that some choose to sucumb to death while others are able to heal from it.

"From what we were able to determine, you were given a small dose, bordering on medium, which caused your body to begin shutting down, we found the problem and began flushing your system as I said, within an hour of the attack. you were very lucky, to be honest, and when Alpha Sven was notified, he had a guard placed at your door for your protection."

I'm speechless. Who would risk doing this? Wolfsbane is banned from pack lands. Anyone caught with it faces banishment. Who could hate me this much? and why?

Ace -

I need to get to her while she is awake, to explain a few things to her and ensure she keeps her mouth shut, but how the hell am I supposed to do that now they have given her a fụcking bodyguard? I mean seriously, they haven’t even spoken with her, how could they possibly think she is in danger or in need of protection? They shouldn’t have known about the wolfsbane, I left not trace of myself behind and nobody saw me, I only used enough to keep her unconscious, they had no reason to test her blood.

I just know that this bodyguard is going to be a problem for me, I don’t know him personally, he was one of the warriors Alpha Sven took to guard Luna Lily, so I imagine he is pretty good, but I could take him out easily enough, the problem is that doing that will raise more eyebrows and make them more cautious, I need to come up with something, and fast.