Out in the Woods [5SOS AU]

Chapter 20

Luke wasn't sure what to do.

No, actually, not sure what to do was an understatement.

Luke was freaking out.

He wasn't sure what to do, yes, but he handled it a bit... well, as if he was freaking out. He was frantically searching for Ashton, not even realising he could've simply searched for the Alpha telephatically. Would have saved him some trouble. And bumping into things.

It was when he reached the Alpha's room, that he finally bumped into something that helped. Or someone, rather. Ashton.

"Whoa, what's up, Luke?"

Luke gulped, looking at his Alpha, before looking down at the floor, fiddling with his fingers. "Um, well, it's- um."

And yeah, Luke was suddenly stuttering and was now also not sure how to bring this. Because how should he tell his Alpha that Valeria has been bitten and is probably going to be one of them soon? That especially after Ashton has said she can stay, for as long as she needs to. Which meant she had to leave at some point, right? That she had to look for a solution so she didn't need to stay with them forever. Right?

"Luke, just spit it out." Ashton said calmly, giving the blonde a comforting look. Luke nodded lightly, taking a few deep breaths before blurting it out. "She got bitten."

Ashton's face was blank the first few seconds, him taking in the words and trying to grasp the meaning. 'She' must mean Valeria and... "Wait. You're saying Valeria got bitten?"

Luke nodded, biting his lower lip. Ashton blinked at him, before looking concerned. "As in... she's turning?"

The blonde sighed sadly, looking down again as he nodded. Ashton gritted his teeth, trying not to curse. Of course this had to happen. Everything was going fine and now this. It had been nothing but a hassle since they found her.

"How do you know?"

Luke flinched a little at Ashton's strong voice, biting his lower lip even harder. He thought back to it, grimacing a little as he remembered how pale the girl had looked. "She was awfully pale. And she denied feeling unwell at first. I also think she hasn't eaten properly since her and the boys got back from the incident. And just, the way the wound looked..."

Ashton pursed his lips, thinking about the well-known symptoms of the turning. It was a pretty painful process, especially the first transformation, which was usually the first full moon since the bite. Next to that, not eating and/or drinking well was one, because really, while feeling so horrible, it wasn't weird to not feel the need to eat or drink. There was also the pain in the gums, as wolves had different teeth than humans, obviously. And the itch everywhere, as wolves had fur and again, humans are different. That was what Ashton could think of so quick, wondering if he had seen anything about Valeria since the incident that made him suspicious. But he hadn't seen her much as she had been in her room a lot.

"Any pain in the gums? Itch anywhere?"

Luke furrowed his eyebrows, biting his lower lip for a bit as he thought back to the moment. He then shook his head, sighing quietly. "No, not that I know."

"How about we go and take note of how she's feeling. Maybe you could get her some painkillers for everything, because it isn't going to be pretty." Ashton proposed, raising an eyebrow lightly at the blonde in front of him. Luke nodded, agreeing and going off to the kitchen, leaving Ashton to enter the bedroom alone. Just like he had expected, he saw a pale Valeria sitting on the bed and itching at her lower arm. "Hey."