THE MEMORY OF seeing all of his blood for the first time made me shiver.

I currently sat in Polar Park's infirmary, waiting for Adrianne to arrive and detangle the webs of confusion in my mind.

"He's going to be fine," Brian's voice cut through the roaring in my head.

"Huh?"

"He's going to be fine," he repeated.

I nodded on autopilot.

The man the wolf had transformed into was someone I knew! Ian, a person who worked with the wolves alongside me.

"Not a person any longer, hey?"

Smart-cucumber. The voice never failed to be witty and endearingly rude, even in times of distress.

After I'd discovered who the wolf was, I whispered to him a quick word of encouragement before sprinting to the main office. Luckily, Brian was working late. As soon as my incoherently fast speech registered, he sprang into action and ran with me back to the staff building.

Now, we sat side by side on chairs in the waiting room of the infirmary, waiting to hear back on Ian's condition.

"The patient is stable now, sir," the doctor who suddenly stood in front of us only addressed Brian.

"Hmph, why didn't he mention us?"

It would be weird if he said, "the patient is stable now, sir and ma'am" or "sir and Katie" or "sir and tall person".

"Still, he should've shown respect."

"Can we see him?" I asked, completely ignoring the voice.

Nodding, the doctor gestured for us to follow.

Ian was in a medically induced coma when we got the green light to see him. The doctor said he would wake in an hour. In the meantime, Brian and I quietly sat at his bedside, both waiting for Adrianne to come.

I turned to look at Brian's now-collected face and concluded I was the only one who didn't know Ian was a wolf. Or a wolf was Ian. Who knows?

Swallowing, I forced myself to think about anything non-related to Ian: I pondered what other supernatural beings existed. Vampires? Zombies? Nymphs?

"Do you want something to eat?"

My head slowly turned to stare at Brian, not saying anything.

He had gotten out of his seat and awkwardly shuffled, hands fidgeting behind his back.

"I'm good, thanks."

Brian nodded and quickly pointed towards the door, mumbling about cupcakes and bananas before rushing away.

What's up with him?

No response.

I don't understand the need to rush out of the room. He was perfectly fine a minute ago. Is my breath really that repulsive?

"Yes. But I don't think that's the reason for his swift departure.

I dryly laughed into the silent room.

"Just saying, you sound creepy," I turned to see a girl in scrubs poke her head through the door, "I had to check in case it was a witch."

Giving her a bewildered look, a witch? I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment...

At most a few years older than me, the girl cringed. "I realise how impolite that sounded, sorry."

"Whatever, it's fine," I waved her away.

Just as the door swung to a close, it was slammed open, revealing a flushed Adrianne.

"Gosh! I ran back as soon as I heard of Ian's injury-" still slightly panting, Adrianne noticed Brian's absence.

"He went to get cupcakes and bananas," I said before I could stop myself.

"Cupcakes and bananas?" she echoed in confusion.

Stumbling further into the room, she dropped her signature dark grey trench coat on the bed and collapsed into Brian's chair.

I suddenly noticed the state of her attire; her clothes wrinkled, and she looked like she had run straight from her slumber, contradicting her original huffing state.

Or maybe the huffs were due to her torturous departure from her warm bed. Amelia could vouch for how often she heard my huffs in the mornings back in Colorado.

Adrianne muttered something incomprehensible before looking up and smiling kindly, with no trace of her recent discomposure. "Would you like to hit the sack for a while? You look like you got quite a beating, staying up all night."

It was true. Every few moments, I found myself dozing off.

Before I succumbed to her offer, "will you explain what happened with Ian?"

Looking equally tired, Adrianne nodded, promising to talk when I woke.

I mustered my most enthusiastic nod before collapsing face-first into Ian's bed, sleep consuming me whole.

***

A/N:

Hello, nothing much to write this time 'round.

QOTC: what was/is your worst (or least favourite) subject at school?

Run wild,

Hilda

Check out Chapter 12: 21May2022