Alpha Ian's The One and Only

Chapter 3

The same day

It was late afternoon when the meeting concluded with The Chief of Surgeons. Ours is not the hospital like the ones in cities, but this is the only hospital shared between three towns. These monthly meetings help in the smooth functioning of the hospital. But four hours of constant talking and budgeting has drained me.

As I entered my office, I immediately removed my heels near the door and sank into my comfy chair. I wanted to unwind before starting any work, but more than that, I want to go home early, spend time with my kids, and order pizza! I love pizza. I think I look forward to our pizza nights more than my children. Guilty as charged. With food in mind, I switched on my laptop and got to work. It took an hour and a half to finish all my reports. I checked the time, 5:30 pm. Perfect. As I was packing up my things, I heard a distinct buzzing. I knew it was coming from within my office.

I checked my phone. Nope.

I checked all the drawers. Nope. Nothing in them except files and papers.

Hmm, could it be? I quickly opened my messenger bag and grabbed a small rectangular box with 'For Emergencies' written on top. Yes, the buzzing sound was coming from inside the box. Upon opening the box, I saw a black burner phone displaying Slade's name.

Dread settled in my stomach. This cannot be good.

After our meeting two weeks ago, Slade had put up some security measures around the house and gave me a couple of burner phones for emergencies.

Emergencies. Did something happen to his family? Were they attacked by whoever was chasing us? Did they find out about my family? Are my kids in danger? With so many scary thoughts running through my mind, I nervously picked up the phone and flipped it open before answering it.

"Hello?"

"Why do you sound so scared? Did something happen?"

I pull the phone away and stare at it in disbelief. Is this man serious?

"You are calling me on one of your 'emergencies' phones and asking me 'something happened'? Why are you calling?" I half yelled, half demanded, trying to calm down my racing heart.

"I am sorry, Nat, I didn't mean to scare you. Take a deep breath for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and exhale for four seconds. That's good. Try to calm down, " he instructed in a calm, serene voice, which reminded me of the meditation audio tapes Claire likes to hear during her yoga session. And it worked.

"Sorry I overreacted. Over the past two weeks, I have been a little jumpy."

"Are you having nightmares again?"

"No. Well, since everything is alright, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. I don't want him to worry by telling him that after our meeting, I started having flashbacks of those days in Amazon. But from his tone I know he isn't fooled.

"Hmm, we will talk more about this later. For now, I need you to come over here. I can't go into details over the phone. I am running out of solutions, and patience. I would very much like to pick your brain."

My first instinct was to say no because I don't wish to get involved in anything supernatural again. I want to make my children's life as safe as possible. But knowing Slade, he wouldn't have asked for help if it wasn't something important. I mean, come on, he is a Vampire with centuries of knowledge not only in biology but also in physics and chemistry, and for him to ask for my opinion must be something. So I agreed.

"I was about to leave for home, so I am all packed. Send me the address." He gave me a few cautionary instructions, and we said our byes. I picked up my bag, locked my office, and walked toward my car. I looked at the address Slade sent me.