Eudora's Baby

Chapter Six: Marion Winters

It hadn’t been hard to find the pack in Oakridge.  They weren’t that big, as far as packs go, but they were powerful and well respected.  Security was tight, and Marion wasn’t able to just waltz in.  She’d been sitting outside the boundary line for days, looking for a weakness.  When getting in and out undetected seemed unlikely, she got impatient and opted for a more direct approach.  Painful, but effective.

She staggered up the main road, on foot, holding her bleeding mangled hand against her chest.  The main gate was closed, and armed guards were stationed outside 24 hours a day.  Marion did her best to look sweet and innocent.  At 5 foot nothing, and barely 100lbs, it wasn’t hard to pull off.  She whimpered at the guard and said, “Mercy please… I need to see a pack doctor.” She held out her hand.

“Whoa.. what happened?” The guard examined the bloody hand. 

“I was attacked by a rogue I think… I’m traveling north, supposed to meet up with some friends from college in Jersey.”

The other guard had been mind-linking with someone inside the compound.  “The Beta says to search her, and then she can be brought to the pack hospital for treatment.”

A she-wolf appeared from somewhere, a stocky female guard.  She frisked Marion over with professional detachment, but Marion had expected as much and left all her weapons hidden in the forest.  She wasn’t here to fight, she was here for information.  “She’s clean, you can take her in.” The female guard said dispassionately.  One of the male guards opened the gate, and escorted her up to the pack house, which looked rather like an old southern plantation mansion, made with brick and crisp white shutters.

A young man met them at the door.  He was tall and good looking, with intelligent grey-blue eyes and short cropped dark hair.  “I’m James Carrole,” He said cooly.  “I’m the beta here.  What is your business in Oakridge?”

Marion held up her bloody hand.  “Please sir, I’m sorry to bother your pack.  If I could just see the pack doctor?”

James waivered for a moment, and then nodded, opening the door, and allowing the tiny woman into he sanctum of the pack house.  He lead her down the hall and into the east wing where there was a small clinic for pack members.  The pack doctor was an older man, with a shock of white hair that stood up at all angles, and a pair of thick glasses that made his eyes look huge.

“What have we here?”

He put Marion on a stretcher and gently took her ruined hand in his gloved hands to examine the mess.  “A rogue you say?  Looks more like you got it caught in a lawn mower.” 

Marion bit her lip.  Not a lawn mower, exactly, but that was close to the truth. She’d used the fan-belts in her jeep, while it was running.

“You’ve severed some tendons,” Dr. Connoly said matter-of-factly, “We’ll have to stich those back up or you are apt to lose some use of your digits.  Hopefully if we get everything lined back up, you will heal up just fine.”  He barked some orders to the nurse “Get this young lady a gown and get her settled.  I think we can just do this under local anesthesia.”

 A nurse came in and handed her one of those ugly hospital gowns that tie up the back.  The woman helped her out of her street clothes and into the gown.  “These are all bloody,” the nurse said, bagging the clothes.  “Why don’t we just throw them?  I’m sure we have some extra’s around that will fit you,” She eyed Marion’s petite figure.  “Maybe some kids' sizes.”

Marion repressed the urge to roll her eyes.  The things she had to endure to get to the prize.  And the prize, she reminded herself, was considerable.  She let the doctor numb up her arm and watched as he cleaned her wounds and stitched her hand back up.  She admired his work, and was thankful that they had allowed her into the pack.  This could have been a disaster if she’d had to go to a human hospital to have her hand put back together.  Dr. Connoly knew his stuff, and in half an hour, he was wrapping her hand in bandages that would have to be changed every few hours.

The doctor was tight lipped, but one of the nurses, a young girl fresh out of the nursing program was quite talkative.  It was from the nurse that Marion learned that the newly wed and newly appointed Alpha and Luna were away.  The young Beta was in charge, but the retired Alpha and Luna were also on site and keeping an eye on things. 

Marion lowered her voice, and whispered in a girl-to-girl voice.  “The Beta is hot.  Does the Alpha look like him?”

The young nurse sighed.  “Oh yeah.  Alpha Jericho is to die for… they look a lot alike, but the Alpha is… you know, more mature, more manly… filled out.”

“Ohhh, do you have a picture?”

The young nurse didn’t see the harm in taking out her phone and bringing up the Alpha and Luna’s wedding photo, which had been given to all the pack members.  It showed the Alpha, tall, dark and handsome in his tuxedo, standing behind the Luna, her flowing hair wreathed with fall leaves and flowers.  Marion’s eyes dismissed the  man in the photo, and gazed hungrily at the young woman.  She was beautiful, in a very earthy and natural way, but more importantly, she matched the glossy, but grainy 8x10 that she’d been given by Dominic Brown.  “Oh wow, its too bad he already has a mate.” Marion said, still playing the girl-talk game.

“I know right? But the Luna is sooo nice, its impossible not to like her.”

“I wish I could meet them.  Will they be back soon?” Marion asked, handing the phone back to the young nurse.

“I guess not.  They were supposed to be gone just a few weeks, but I guess things were worse at the Luna’s pack than they thought, so they have extended their stay.”

“Oh, that’s a bummer.” Marion wanted to ask where the Luna’s pack was, but the nurse was called away before she had the chance.  Marion sat back in her hospital bed and swore.  So close, but so far away.  She slipped out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Dominic Brown.  Dominic Brown was just a human.  A rich and powerful human, but he didn’t know anything about the world of Werewolves and supernatural creatures that existed outside of his business empire.  “I found the home of the person you are looking for,” she said, carefully wording her message, in case it was intercepted. “But she is not at home.”

“Well find her damnit, we don’t have much time.”