Lady and the Wolf [Book One, Lady and the Wolf Series] -Published-

Chapter Four: Generosity

"Okay, sweetie, this might feel uncomfortable for a little bit, but keep still, okay?" said the man in the strange white clothes as he pulled the tube from her throat.

Aira was still too drowsy to really take in what was happening and when the doctor pulled that horrible thing from her throat, she coughed and spluttered everywhere.

Tears came to her eyes when the itching in her throat wouldn't disappear. It was a horrible feeling that Aira had never felt before. No matter how much she wanted to speak, her voice would just not come out.

"Mom-Mom..." she choked out, trying desperately to get out the word "Mommy," just so they would understand what she wanted. In the end, she gave up.

The pretty blonde woman that had been by her side the moment she opened her eyes was by her side in an instant. She was rubbing Aira's throat attentively and whispering soothing words of encouragement. Aira wanted to ask who this woman was and why she was there in her mother's stead, but since that was impossible, she just let the strange woman carry on.

The doctor was to the side of the room, on a phone that looked like what her daddy used, and didn't look happy at all. She didn't understand where she was or who these people were, but what she did understand was that they were here to help her. She wondered what had happened and where she was. Her memories were scattered, faces of people she vaguely remembered passing through her mind like a movie that skipped. She couldn't remember anything beyond trees and water.

But she did remember one face. A man with light around him, staring into that deep, dark hole she had nearly wasted away in.

Her hero.

*******

He didn't come because he wanted to. He didn't come because he had to. He most certainly did not come because his lycan told him to. He was here because if he didn't show up, his brother would not let up about how heartless he was for the remainder of his natural life. He had had that conversation before and grew tired of the same nonsense.

He moved through the buildings different areas with a swift stride. Emma had discreetly messaged him the room number the girl had been moved to since her recovery a day before in the trauma ward. According to the message, she was out of any immediate danger and was on her way to a complete recovery.

Van doubted the girl would completely recover, not after witnessing the deaths of her sister and mother. He had gotten word a few days ago that two male corpses had been found twenty meters away from the campsite. They were identified as Charles and Ian Blight, the girl's brother and father from the looks of it.

He eventually found the room where the child had been moved. As he looked around, he noticed she was in a room with two other children and their parents. The stench of antiseptic and other horrid smelling chemicals hit him like a punch in the face. He held back his nausea as soon as he noticed the girl he had originally come for.

A doctor loomed over her, an unknown presence, as they checked her fluids and throat. Van's brows furrowed as he tried to contain Konstantin's threatening growls. Whatever was driving his monster wild would have to be destroyed the moment he found out what it was.

Van let out a loud cough to gain the man's attention. From his scent, Van could already name the man who spun around in a panic. This was a doctor Van had met once before, but hadn't caught the name of – or he might have, but hadn't bothered to remember it. He was one of the newer physicians his brother had taken on board at the hospital.

"Can I help you?" the young doctor asked, as if Van were a customer shopping for a new dress shirt and not a visitor at a hospital.

His answer was blunt. "I'm here to see the child. Where's my brother?"