Erick felt like his body had been hit by a car broken every bone and then set on fire. Although then men outside had seemed to have an understanding of what was going on so hopefully, he would have answers soon. As he sat up, he gave himself a once over. While he was unconscious someone must have cleaned him up and dressed him in loose-fitting lounge clothes. How long had he been asleep the bruises and scrapes that had riddled his body were completely healed? If he hadn't witnessed them himself, he never would have believed he'd ever been hurt.
Looking around the room he noticed the padded walls and the bars on the window. He was sitting on a small bed but other than a little table beside the bed the room was empty. Had he lost his mind? Was all of this a delusion? Maybe he had a mental break? Things had been stressful lately with work but he didn't believe it was enough to cause all of this? As he continued to question himself and his surroundings the door opened and the nurse from before and a man walked in. The man was older, evident by the salt and pepper crew cut and the beginning signs of wrinkles on his face. He was likely in his fifties and despite being older took very good care of himself. He was overall very fit looking with a broad chest and muscular arms made him seem like the type to run triathlons in his spare time.
"Good morning, I am Dr. West but most people just call me doc." He reached his hand out to shake Erick's hand. "I am guessing you are more than a little confused as to your situation here. I may not have all the answers you're searching for but I may be able to shed a little light on what is going on." The nurse brought in a small collapsible chair and a tray with a sandwich and glass of water. She set the food on the bedside table looking at Doc she said, "If you need anything else I'll be at the desk." Doc gave her a smile and a nod and turned back to Erick, "Eat I am sure you're ravenous and we can have a little chat." He took a seat on the little stool slapped both his knees and said, "Well, where to even begin!"
The turkey sandwich was nothing special but Doc was right he was starving and savored every bite and drank the water in one big gulp. Doc chuckled "Would you like another?" Erick nodded "Yes, please but before that can you please tell me what is going on I feel like I have lost my mind!"
"Ahh yes, I can imagine you might feel a bit out of sorts. I have a question first, what can you tell me about your family? Do you know anything about your family history? Where you come from?"
"What does this have to do with what is going on now?" Erick didn't understand.
"It will all begin to make sense just bear with me. Can you answer my questions?"
"I was orphaned when I was four. Other than their names were Eldrick and Eva I remember very little. I had a great uncle Jack on my mother's side but after my parents died, he was the only other relative they could find. He died as well when I was ten. I have been alone ever since. I remember Uncle Jack used to mumble about where my father came from. Calling him a nasty beast. I just always thought there was the possibility that my father may not have been a kind man. My Uncle made it abundantly clear he never thought he was good enough for my mother."
Rubbing his chin and nodding as Erick spoke "I understand, that explains quite a bit of why you don't understand the situation you are experiencing. It seems we may have to start from the beginning."
"What does being an orphan have to do with me having a mental breakdown?" Erick raised his voice exasperated at his words.
"It explains why you have no idea about your bloodline. Or what your uncle was hinting at was your father was a werewolf. And for whatever reason, something has happened within your life to trigger your change."
"Excuse me? Are you freaking kidding me right now? Do you belong in a padded room yourself because you have to be delusional? Werewolves only exist in books and movies. That's it get me out of here. I want to go to a real hospital. Somewhere that can tell me what is going on instead of telling me I am a damned mythical creature. "
Without even flinching at Erick's response Doc just shrugged his shoulders, "I understand it is a lot to take in. You didn't grow up with this knowledge, you didn't have a family to teach you our ways and history. Growing up outside of a pack has put you at a major disadvantage. We intend to look into the accident that killed your parents. Typically, in your situation you never would have entered the foster care system, the pack takes care of their own. We are puzzled about how you could have slipped through the cracks. Even if your mother was a human, which we suspect she was, you would have always had a home with the pack." Doc started rambling like he was trying to process his thoughts out loud versus actually talking to Erick. "Although, if your mother's family was human there is the possibility that they attempted to break you away from the pack, your parents were still married so your father would have retained his pack connections. Wait a minute, how old are you, and I mean exactly?"
"Stop! Just stop I don't want to hear any of this. I have no family they are all dead. What the hell do I turning 25 last week have anything to do with this?"
"Young man it could have everything to do with not only what is happening to you now but if I am correct your parents dying was no accident. If you are who I suspect you are then your parents were murdered."
Erich felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, just who the hell or what was he, and could his parents have been murdered?