Alpha's Faire

XIV

"Alpha Stone," Dr. Lewis blinked her sapphire eyes in surprise as Raphael threw the door open. The booming echo was startling to all in the room. Even some of the fairies jumped at it. 

"You're early." 

"Too early for an emergency meeting?" He bit as his eyes stared her down, daring her to tell him otherwise. She narrowed her eyes in return at him. The two stared at the other, exchanging a hidden meaning that each understood. Neither party was going to put up with any shit tonight. Unfazed by the waves of power rolling off Raphael, she continued to meet him. Raphael's respect for the woman grew, as did his irritation.

Eye contact for werewolves was almost a language, particularly for Alphas. She had already demonstrated that she knew this in their last encounter, masterfully handling the situation with respect towards both Alphas. So she knew that if they kept their little exchange, his wolf could take it as a challenge. But she glanced away, tactfully.

"No. But since you're here, you can meet Captain Yong." She gestured to the lean man leaning over another human who typed furiously away on a laptop. She was one of the other task force doctors, a human. "Captain Yong, come please meet Alpha Stone of Whitehaven." The man looked up with a pair of dark green eyes towards the two. His jet black hair was neatly brushed in a side part, kept out of his face. He wasn't very tall; to Raphael's surprise, he was short and slender.

"Alpha Stone, it is an honor." The Captain nodded in respect as he gestured out a hand for Raphael to take.

"I understand that you come recommended by many in the FLA," Raphael responded, taking the man's hand. "Including, Dr. Lewis here." He watched Dr. Lewis's eyes narrow at the mention of her name. She knew he was testing Captain Yong.

"Dr. Lewis has been a great judge of character, ever since she was young." Captain Yong replied smoothly. "But I like to prove myself through my work, rather than recommendations."

"Good" Raphael declared before releasing his hand.

"Alpha Stone, we are just wrapping up our latest findings and debrief from the Wintercrown source, so please excuse me." Captain Yong turned to Dr. Lewis. "Dr. Lewis, do you mind giving Alpha Stone the agenda and talking through the presentation ahead of time? I'm sure that Alpha Stone would prefer to be aware of the situation in full ahead of time."

Ah, a man who didn't just talk out of his ass. Raphael smirked as Dr. Lewis painfully grinned at the request. He wasn't afraid to do the work but also understood how and when to delegate, much to Dr. Lewis's chagrin. It also meant that Captain Yong understood how much Raphael thought of the doctor. He wondered how much information the Captain had before assigned to the job.

"Of course, Captain Yong. I would love for the doctor to give me a personal debrief." Alpha Raphael dismissed the Captain, leaving him alone with Dr. Lewis. His eyes wandered down her frame as she shifted her weight, placing her hands on her surprisingly ample hips.

"Well, Alpha Stone, let's go into another room. I'll get you updated." She pulled two sets of folders that laid on the table in the front of the room and gestured to the side door.

"Thank you, Dr. Lewis." He remarked as the two found their way into a small conference room close. Dr. Lewis handed him a bound packet within a folder. Raphael took it, but as he went to open it, Dr. Jess Lewis cleared her throat, sitting down at the table. She pulled the chair next to her out and gestured for him to join him. Her eyes softened as Raphael narrowed his own. Normally, an Alpha would dictate the format of a meeting, especially with someone of lesser social standing.

"Alpha Stone, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm going to forgo procedures and politics here since we're alone. You seem like you could care less to be honest about whether I follow social conventions here or not." She replied with a small smirk to his arched brow. She was observant, that was for sure. Raphael trained his eyes on her, watching them soften as they stayed on his.

"Don't worry, Dr. Lewis. Please proceed. " Raphael gestured for her to begin while filling the seat she pulled out for him.

"I'm sure you're aware of the virus's initial symptoms. A wet cough that develops eventually into pneumonia, a red rash of blistering whelps, a 20-degree increase in fever, as I'm sure you know, for werewolves this usually averages around 120 degrees." She stated, shifting back into her seat. "But once the fever starts, the body seems to develop an abundance of red blood cells for some reason. The blood slowly congeals in the body while the nervous system slowly begins to shut down. This exhibits itself at first with neuropathy in the extremities and loss of sensation. Eventually, this escalates in combination with the other symptoms to a stiffening of all the joints. 

Patients become unable to move their fingers, hands, toes, and feet, all the while every nerve in those extremities begin to feel like it is on fire with an increase in pain receptors. Standing feels like you're walking on a lake of broken glass. Eventually, this spreads across the body. Even laying in bed becomes extremely painful for patients." She paused. "All of this occurs at the same time as the victim's blood thickens to the point that it can't move through the body. Internal organs begin to shut down: livers fail first typically before the heart eventually cannot pump anymore."

"I'm aware, Dr. Lewis." He bit out. Raphael's stomach churned as images that other packs had sent him of patients flashed through his mind. Thankfully, for the most part, a combination of wolfsbane and the orchid kept the blood thin and prevent the very end. For many patients, it was approaching quickly. They laid in bed, in agony, unable to move, to even scratch at the painful rash that spread across their skin. Many of them end up sedated to prevent them from screaming their throats out.

"Wintercrown began to use a black market strain of the orchid to treat their patients very early on. But unlike other packs, they experimented with the dosage." Her voice grew a little sad.

"That should have caused too much of a problem."

"The black market strain they have in stock isn't the normal variant sold, nor is it like yours." She opened the packet to a page revealing a chemical formula and molecule structure. Raphael's eyes went to the page. It was the lunar orchid's, but for some reason, it was altered. It contained more carbon, sulfates, nitrogen, and amino acids than normal and almost seemed like it was stronger, lethal even. Rage rolled off his body in waves as fury filled him.

"What the fuck?" The growl came out immediately. The orchid was his pack's pride, and some little shit decided to mess with the orchid's basic structure. Experiments to crossbreed or genetically modify the orchid were basically illegal. Raphael made sure that they never saw the light of day. So how the fuck did someone genetically modify the orchid without his knowledge?

"As you can see here, the orchid they used would only need to be used nearly a 1/4th as the regular dose to achieve the same effectiveness." Dr. Lewis stated slowly, understanding she needed to tread carefully for the rest of this conversation. "They began to overdose their pack members by accident, so the Alpha decided to stop the treatments altogether. Since then, at least one member has died each day as the previous treatments still in the body fade."

"Do we know where he got a hold of the strain?" Raphael hissed under his breath.

"There have been no leads so far. Damien the previous dealer never dealt any seeds that could be cultivated nor did he have this strain." She paused, inhaling a sharp breath. Raphael looked up to see her face twisted in pain, almost. Her eyes were down at the table as her brows were twisted upwards. "But I think I have an idea." Dr. Lewis spat out.

"Who?"

"My father."