He Will Be Mine

Chapter 64: The Change

*** Alyssa's POV ***

Dr. Michaels comes back into my room and gets both guys hooked up to IV lines and various monitors to track their vitals. I guess he must notice my curious expression because when he looks up at me watching from Tyler's side of the bed, his features soften, and he points to the various medical supplies lying in wait behind him.

"Things can get kind of intense once the venom starts making its way into their systems," he explains. "It's easier to do this now versus later, in case they need anything like extra fluids, painkillers, or sedatives. Once they start changing, injections that work on humans will become less effective, and we might need something more heavy duty. Sometimes the fever gets pretty severe too, and we might need to treat that. So, they may or may not need these, but it's a good precautionary measure to take just in case."

"Couldn't they accidentally pull them out if they start thrashing or fighting or something like that?" I feel the need to ask. I've heard horror stories about this process, and it just seems like a bad idea to do something they might not even need.

He nods slowly as he ponders a spot on the bed, in a way that looks like he's responding more to his thoughts than to me, and then looks up at me again.

"I think you're thinking of when someone is changed against their will. That can get kind of violent because the person instinctively tries to fight the process, but that rarely happens when it's an elective procedure like this. There's a huge difference between being scared and unwilling, perhaps not even fully understanding what is happening to your body and mind, and when someone is well-informed and fully willing. We'll have a chat before the Alpha begins the process to go over what you can expect and answer any questions. I don't expect much thrashing or fighting after that."

That makes sense, but I'm still a little confused. "If that's the case, then what did you mean by things getting intense?" I ask him.

"Painful," he answers. "The process is painful. Imagine what you go through during a shift, only drawn out over days. The worst of it generally lasts at least a full day. They won't want us to touch them, let alone jab needles in them, at that point."

I get it now. My mates are insane. Neither of them seems to react to that revelation, which leads me to believe that my dad has already prepared them for it. So, now I'm just left wondering exactly how insane a person has to be to agree to that. Why would anyone willingly endure this?

Once Dr. Michaels has finished with setting up everything, he does take a few minutes to tell us about what the process will be like. My dad is going to bite each of them, and then we pretty much sit back and wait. First comes the fever, along with hot flashes and cold sweats and some nausea. Then the pain sets in, mild at first and gradually increasing over time. The doctor warns me that at some points my mates might be clingy and want constant direct contact with me, and other times they will want me to leave them alone and avoid touching them.

Great. So basically, I have to stay here and watch them suffer for days with very little I can actually do about it, and sometimes I won't even be able to touch them no matter how much I want to. This is going to be torture, although I am suddenly glad that I haven't marked them yet. I have an inkling that I'd be feeling this as much as them if I had.

"Are there any other questions I can answer for any of you before we begin?" Dr. Michaels asks once he has finished explaining everything, looking around the room at all of us.

"Only one," Tyler says, taking my hand in his. "I'm assuming all these monitors mean that you'll be staying with us through this?" he asks the doctor.