Gwen got all the necessary information for me to get to the hospital and hung up the phone. She kept talking to me, but my brain would not process her words. Eventually, I calmed down enough that my body would function. I threw on the closest clothes I could find while Gwen called for a cab. She told me she would come once she could make sure everything would be okay at the house, but she knew I needed to go now.
The cab driver pulled up into the hospital emergency drive-way and I didn't even wait for him to make a full stop. I quickly paid him and rushed in through the door. I fumbled my way through security and I'm sure I was harsher than needed to be, but my mind was elsewhere. I practically threw myself against the admission desk and the nurse looked at me bewildered.
"Can I help you, m-".
"Moon. Abigail Moon," I stammered out, trying to breathe, "My brother, Alexander was brought in about an hour ago."
The nurse tapped away quickly on the keyboard and then called someone on the phone. She hung the phone up and told me someone would be coming to take me back shortly. I clung to the counter and remembered watching my knuckles turn white from how tight I was holding on. A nurse stepped into the waiting room and called our last name. I hurriedly followed him and he motioned to one of the rooms.
I thanked him in a rushed manner and knocked weakly on the door. Claude swung the door open quickly and pulled me into a tight hug. I could see the red on his face where he had been crying and felt the hard, fast thumps of his heart, almost matching my own. He was just as scared as I was. He pulled back, hands on either of my shoulders.
"Abby, I'm so sorry," he managed to get out, "We were outside for a walk and headed to the playground down the block. He dropped his ball and I was talking to the guy at the food stall. I had my eyes off of him for just a second. But the car- the car came so fast. I turned around and heard the car horn and Alex was… He was just lying there in the street, Abby."
I stepped around him quickly and moved beside the bed. My baby brother was unconscious. He looked so still. His chest rose and fell slowly with each breath and I let out a small sigh of relief. I kissed his forehead, smoothing his hair, watching as the heart monitor blipped across the screen. The rhythmic beeping relieved me a bit more, but I still couldn't stop the tears rolling down my face. There was gauze wrapped around his forehead that was being bled through and his face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises.
"How is he," I breathed out, turning to Claude, who had closed the door and made it to the bedside chair.
"He's got some broken ribs, left leg is broken in about two places… He ended up passing out from the pain."
I winced at the thought and stroked his head again.
"I should never have left. I should have been here."
"Abby, you didn't know this would happen. I should've been more careful."
"If I were there, I could have had a better pair of eyes. This is my fault, too," I said softly. "You did good by getting him here."
He fell silent until his phone started ringing. He stepped out into the hall and let the door close behind him. I moved to sit beside Alex on the bed, burying my face in his hair. I had never even seen Alex when he wasn't full of his boundless energy. Seeing him like this was devastating, but at least he was alive. He was the most important thing in this world to me and I hadn't been there. The tears came down even harder, even when I thought it impossible.
I made out Claude's faint shouting from the hallway and watched as he came back in the room. He tried to close the door as softly as he could, but it still thudded behind him. His jaw was set and a glare fell over his eyes. He leaned against his knees and stared at the floor, hissing dark words under his breath. I knew what it was. It's what it always was.
"What's his excuse this time?"
"He's in a meeting," Claude spat, "He says he'll come once he gets his paperwork finished."
I had never seen my brother so angry in all my life. He respected my father for the most part, almost even idolized him. He was set to take over my father's company after all. Claude had never gone against Father's wishes and had alway minded his tongue, even in the most heated conversations.
I felt a shift in weight on the bed and looked quickly at Alex. He stirred awake and quickly started sobbing in pain. Claude rushed the one side and I stroked his face gently. He kept calling my name over and over between the sobs.
"It's okay, Alex. You're okay…"
It was all I could do to try and console him. Nothing seemed to work and I hated that it seemed there was nothing I could do. Claude rushed out of the room for a nurse and I continued stroking his face and just telling him he was going to be okay.
Two nurses came in shortly after with Claude and said they were going to give him some high dose pain medications and they would probably knock him back out. He clutched my hand so tight when they gave him the shot, that his nails cut into my skin. I didn't mind. He was in so much more pain and I could stomach the unpleasantry.
The medication started kicking in rather quickly, but he kept fighting off the sleep. Claude ended up passing out in the bedside chair, wrecked with exhaustion. Alex never let go of me, clinging to me desperately.
He needed his sleep, I knew that. I was trying to think of what I could do to help him and remembered a trick I learned from the pack mothers. The tune played familiarly through my mind and I hummed it gently, while stroking his hair. His eyes began to flutter closed and I continued until his breathing turned to soft snores.
It was later that night and I woke up to a nurse tapping on my shoulder. She said it was time to clean up his wounds and get him situated for the night. I looked around for Claude, but she told me he left earlier to get some food for the two of us. I also asked if my father had ever showed up and she shook her head with an apologetic smile. I moved to the bedside chair and, once they started, he woke up crying again. It wasn't quite as bad as earlier, but you could tell he was in pain. I let him squeeze my hand with all his might, begging them to stop. Eventually, he started to become uncooperative, not wanting them to touch him anymore. They brought him food afterwards, but he refused to eat it. I managed to convince him to eat a bit, but he was reluctant.
Once again, he refused to sleep despite the meds willing him to do so. I managed to lay down next to him on the bed on the side without too much damage, propping pillows between us.
"You need to sleep, Alex. It'll make you feel better."
"Tell me a story about the wolves, Abby," he muttered out groggily.
"Did I ever tell you about how I learned to hunt?"
He shook his head briefly with a sort of grunt and I kissed the top of his head.
"Well, Corbin actually taught me…"
Benry instructed the members of the hunting party that were hurt badly to rest for a few days. The less injured wolves would tend to the territory patrols. Benry didn't expect the Northern wolves to make another move anytime soon, with the damages their side sustained as well. Devon fell into the badly injured party and I fell somewhere in between the two.
After about two days, I was able to use my leg well enough and the pain to my other areas was all but gone. Devon, however, was in a worse state. He would never admit it though. He was constantly trying to get up and do things with the other wolves again. Corbin and I managed to talk him out of it for the most part. Even Kala had to come and scold him a few times. Benry came to recruit me for the hunting party for the night and I agreed, feeling it was another way for me to bond with the pack. After he walked away, I realized I had one problem; a rather big problem. I hadn't hunted a day in my life, let alone as a wolf.
I tried to talk to Devon about it, but just the idea of him not being able to go out and contribute for his pack made him anxious. I figured it better not to egg him on, so I asked the next closest wolf to me.
"You've never hunted," Corbin asked with a mock to his tone, "You're kidding me! A wolf that's never hunted?"
"Why did I even think this was a good idea," I sighed, getting ready to look elsewhere as he broke into laughter.
"No, no, wait," he was trying to get it together, "I can teach you. I'm the best hunter in the young ones."
"Are you sure?"
Corbin gave a confident nod before heading over to the female tending the other pups. He said something to her about going outside with me and she cast me a wary glance. They spoke a bit more before he came bounding back over to me.
"Got the Den Mother's approval, so we're good to go!"
Corbin raced up to the mouth of the cave and proceeded to wait for me impatiently. I went back to Devon, who was asleep. I gave him a light nuzzle around his shoulder blades and whispered that I'd be back soon. He made some kind of grunt of acknowledgement and turned to the other side. I smiled lightly and went to meet Corbin.
We went quite a ways out until we came across a part of woods that was pretty open. He said it was the "Training Grounds" that the young ones used to prepare for when they were accepted to the hunting party. He also explained that, despite the purpose, the prey was still pretty good here because most of the other young ones weren't very good yet. They just kept trying to play with their food.
He approached a fallen tree and stopped up behind it, motioning with his head for me to join him. I came up beside him and he scolded me to hunker down since I was bigger than him and couldn't hide without doing so.
"First rule of hunting," he started with a whisper, "You have to keep quiet. Too much noise tells prey that you're nearby and makes them more nervous than usual. That means they're more on edge and less likely to let their guard down. You'll need to make sure you're aware of what's around you; under you and above you. Watch for snapping twigs and loose stones. They can make or break it for you."
I nodded shortly with somewhat of an eye-roll. That seemed like a given.
"The second is to try to stay out of the wind. The wind will carry your scent to them and tell them you're nearby, so they'll hide."
He stepped back for a little more room and got down on his haunches. He took a few steps with his stomach just barely dragging the ground.
"When you're approaching small prey like rabbits or weasels, you know, snack foods, this is the way to go. When you're in the hunting party it's not so important because you're hunting in a group." He stood up and gave a very know-how look. "The key is to be super sneaky, like you're trying to hide from Benry."
"And you'd know that how," I teased, attempting to mimic his display.
"Not important," he snorted before continuing, "Next is precision. When you go for the kill, you have to be precise. If you jump and miss, you've thrown everything else out the window and you'll have to work much harder to catch the prey again."
When he was sure I understood, he went back up to the log and looked around, ears flicking for sounds of life. He suddenly fixated on a bush that shook ever so slightly. I looked there, too, and heard the faint squeaking that he had.
"Watch me, okay?"
I nodded lightly and he creeped from around the log without making a sound. He approached the bush and then leapt into it. There was a light scuffle amongst the leaves and branches and then silence. Corbin popped out from atop the bush with a squirrel between his jaws. He proudly prodded up to me and dropped it on the ground.
"Lastly, when you deliver the killing bite, aim for the vulnerable spots. Like the stomach or throat. Again, if you don't, more work. The first bite you make, should be the last. It's easy to go for a neck snap for beginners."
I nodded and we went off to find more prey. I made sure to stay quiet, as Corbin had taught, minding my surroundings. I took in the smell of the air and something familiar hit my senses. I found the source and quickly lowered myself, moving behind the nearby trees for cover. Corbin followed, his squirrel still in tow, and crouched across from me. Just beyond the treeline, a rabbit was perched among the flowers in a meadow.
"This one is going to be tricky," Corbin spoke softly, "She's out in the open, so there's less places to hide. You'll have to move fast and make sure you get it right; the first time."
I watched carefully until she lowered her head to eat. I moved slowly and kept my focus on doing so. Once I decided I was within range, I went for it. Just as I came down upon her, she turned to see me. The look of terror made me feel queasy for a moment, but it disappeared quickly. I did as I was taught and went for the neck, feeling it snap between my jaws. The body went limp and I knew I had succeeded, a wave of pride racing through me. I turned back to Corbin, who gave an approving look. He picked up his kill and motioned for me to follow.
When we arrived back at the cave, Corbin quickly ran over to the other pups, showing off his prize. The den mother gave me an almost apologetic smile. I gave her a quick nod and made my way back to Devon. He looked up groggily as I laid the rabbit before him. He had somewhat of a surprised look on his face and I only beamed proudly.
"You caught this yourself?"
"Corbin gave me some beginner lessons," I shrugged before nudging it towards him.
Devon chuckled lightly before beginning to eat. I laid down beside him and dozed off, happy that I succeeded in my plan.
At some point I woke up briefly, feeling a sudden weight fall against me. I looked around with half-lidded eyes to see Corbin had wedged himself in front of Devon and I, curled up asleep. Devon had pushed himself up against my side, lost in sleep as well. It was comforting to know they were there. I laid my head against Devon's shoulder and he let out a soft grunt. I fell back asleep in peaceful bliss, knowing the most important ones to me were safe and secure with me.
Alex was soundly asleep when I had finished. I kissed his head and carefully pulled myself up from the bed. I heard a soft chuckle that caught me off guard. I looked up to the doorway to see Mr. Reeves leaned up against the wall with a small flower arrangement and stuffed animal in hand.
"So, I'm not your only listener."
"Alex likes my stories. They help him sleep most nights," I sighed in relief before meeting him at the door.
We stepped out into the hall and, now that we were in the light, I noticed how disheveled he looked. His hair was in a mess and his suit appeared to have been hurriedly thrown on. I guess he saw the confused look on my face because he began to explain himself.
"I tried calling back the number you called me from the other day and Gwen answered the phone. I assume you left it in the middle of everything. She told me what happened and I rushed over. I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds?"
I shook my head quickly and looked back in the room, watching Alex's soft breathing while he slept.
"I'll admit, I didn't expect you to come, but I'm glad you did…"
"Of course," he said softly, resting a hand on my shoulder, "I thought you could use the company. I can only imagine how worried you must have been. I know your brother means a great deal to you from the way you've talked to me about him."
I smiled gently with a nod and he handed me the gifts for Alex. I took them back inside and I sat them on the bedside table. Checking over him one more time before rejoining Mr. Reeves out in the hall.
"Are you hungry? I can get you something. It's just hospital food, but-"
"That'd be great. Thank you."
***** A/N: If you like what you've read or are enjoying things so far, lemme know! I appreciate any feedback anybody wants to give! Thanks! *****