Derick's POV
I was standing in the funeral home my mind running a mile a minute. it was a small business set up years ago by my great grandfather to deal with the last rights of fallen pack members and allow for were-gatherings. But now I was waiting to be let into the back. Mathew had gone inside first leaving me to stand alone in the front room. He had only been gone for a few minutes but they were the longest few minutes of my life.
A noise made me look up. Mathew had returned his face grim and his lips pressed tightly together. He glanced up.
"I don't think you should..." I didn't let him finish. Already I could smell the faint traces of Jessica and knew it was her back there. I went to where the smell was the strongest and pulled back the sheet. My heart dropped at the sight of her, and my blood ran cold as Murphy howled with sorrow in my head. Finally, Jessica was home.
Danica's POV
By the time I had awoken up it was very late into the night. I was feeling hungry and suffocated. Rodger was spooning me, and Oscar nearly suffocated me his furry chest pressed to my face. Now I was remembering why I never shared a bed with him as it usually ended up with him on top of me sleeping.
I moved and for the first time I didn't feel like I was being torn apart from the inside. With a squirm I rolled my arm around and came out from under Oscar. Sitting up on the sofa I felt better and could move freely. A few lingering pains persisted where my bones had been broken. This included my left foot, ribs on both sides, my left collar bone and I think my right shoulder blade had fractured when I had been slammed into the bars.
Rodger tried to snuggle into me then twisted as he realized I was no longer laying next to him. He looked up and shifted closer to kiss at my hip.
"Looking better today." I ran a hand through my hair and groaned.
"Yeah, but I need a shower… I'm stinking." He winked.
"I could give you a wolf wash." I shuddered.
"Fuck no, I have no clue what that is and don't want to find out." He sat up and nodded.
"I don't have a shower up here. I'll have to take you to the locker room." I nodded and wrapped a blanket around me.
"I can walk." He smirked as I got to my feet.
"I know you can Toots, but I don't want you to fall over. Especially with that foot." I could see the swelling on my broken foot and the bruise that spilled over my toes and up around my ankle. He dressed in a set of joggers then grabbed me before heading to the locker room.
In the locker room I pulled my locker open to get my toiletries. I grabbed them and my towel then hobbled off to the shower. Rodger was already there standing naked with the water going. I rolled my eyes as he took my stuff and hung up the towel where it wouldn't get wet.
"Come on…" He looked around then walked to where a plastic seat stood in the corner of the room. He placed it under the water and I frowned.
"Really?" He nodded and motioned for me to sit.
"Really, really. I don't want you falling over… it would be bad for business?" I sat in the chair feeling like a complete cripple.
"What business?" He grinned.
"Well… fighting… fucking… the only thing your good for at the moment is actually accounting." I let a laugh leave my lips and winced at the sharp pain in my ribs it caused as the hot water spilt over me and I felt his hands running through my hair with the shampoo.
I had enjoyed the feeling of being clean but Rodger's mother hen routine was beginning to annoy me. We made our way back to his office and l saw Enoch had returned, He had something in a bag that moved almost like it was pulsating.
"Enoch! That was quick." Rodger looked around as Bella and Oscar kept their distance from the bag. "Don't be so scared. He's already dead." Enoch pulled open the sack and pulled out the massive heart the size of a football.
"Cut evenly?" He looked to Rodger, and he shook his head.
"Taking in that much power at once will kill you." He pulled out a knife and patted a wooden chopping board. Oscar pulled me onto his lap and I watched as Rodger began to cut the heart into small sugar cube sized chunks.
Twenty minutes passed and Rodger had everything cut up and placed in varying piles. He brought out paper plates and piled the different amounts on each then handed them around accordingly. Enoch took the plate without question but Bella hesitated. With a slight look to her father she took the plate then watched as Oscar and I received our plates.
My eyes scanned over the little pulsing cubes in front of me. I looked to the jar Rodger had filled with the leftovers and shuddered as they all pulsed in unison and gave off a little glow.
"Why have we each got a different number?" Rodger smirked.
"Well… I can't consume as much as you, Enoch, Oscar or even Bella." He sucked at his lip. "You're all stronger than me and so can handle more." He took the first cube and placed it into his mouth swallowing it without chewing. I looked over to Enoch who had just as big a plateful as I did, however, he was already swallowing the cubes like they were water.
"So just swallow them?" It was Oscar that asked and Roger nodded as he choked a little on his second piece.
"You can try chewing but it's tough." He sighed. "And take a little rest between cubes. You'll feel your body changing. I slipped from Oscars knee and sighed as I grabbed the first cube and brought it to my lips. The feeling of the moving cube in my mouth was disconcerting and as I swallowed I could feel it beating on its way down causing me to fight my reflex to gag.
Enoch shuddered as he placed his empty plate to the table and his eyes seemed to glow as he took a few deep breaths. I hesitated before taking another cube. Bella had also stopped, but Oscar had cleared his plate, so too Rodger.
The three seemed in a trance like state as Bella sighed and took another cube. She had eight in total and was halfway through. She shuddered and placed the four remaining cubes down still on the plate.
"This feels strange…" I winced as my foot seemed to burn.
"Are you ok?" She nodded.
"I feel stronger…" I swallowed another few chunks.
"It feels like... I've been resting for a long time. It's like that feeling you get after a good nights sleep." I could feel something happening, but I wasn't sure what. She nodded and took another cube.
"Are you going to eat all those?" I shrugged. I was about halfway through my plate and was feeling hot and full.
"I'll just go slowly." She nodded and sat back in the chair.
"It has a nice buzz to it. But I think that's all I'll take." Slowly I finished a few more cubes then hesitated there was six pieces left but my body was feeling like it was burning. I gulped down the water from my bottle and waited for the feeling to pass or diminish. After ten minutes the strange pain had left most of my body but lingered around my foot, shoulder and ribs. I took the last few cubes.
"Well here goes…" I popped them into my mouth and washed them away with the last of my water.
"Are you ok?" Bella sat forward as I nodded. But a strange warmth had settled into my stomach and radiated out. A wave of heat beat out and I could feel my blood heating up.
Suddenly my injury's seemed to be exploding. I gasped and flopped over onto the sofa and took a few painful breaths then felt the world around me start to burn.