Wolf's Bane (Monstrous Hearts #2)

Chapter Seven

Alice had never been admitted to a hospital before, but there she was, dressed in a medical gown and tucked into bed. Needles were attached to both arms; she didn't ask why, or bother reading the fluid bags that they led to. Denise sat in a chair by the bed, eyes averted from Alice as if hospitalization was somehow catching. Her father stood stiff and grim-faced, still in his suit from work.

Alice glanced at the clock, wishing time slid by faster. Wishing the doctor hadn't ordered her to stay a few hours for observation.

"I don't see why I can't go home," she said, timidly. "The x-rays and MRI came back fine."

Her father sighed. "Ally, I saw your car. It looked like a crushed tin can. If they want to watch you for signs of a concussion, then that's that."

"And we can take care of anything that needs to be done at the house," added Denise. "Feed a pet, or drag out the garbage cans, or... Well, anything."

The next words that came out of her hurt, and not because of her scraped, battered body. "Did you try the sawmill, again?"

Her father answered. "Yes, just before I came back in here. He still hasn't shown up. Doesn't he have his own phone?"

Alice shook her head. She had once asked him something similar, and had gotten the reasonable answer that the more he carried with him, the more he was likely to lose in a sudden switch to his wolf form. So simple and yet so impossible to reveal to others.

She didn't miss the gleam of curiosity in Denise's eyes, or her father's dubious expression. Her first rambling words to them in the hospital had been to call him; outside of her brief answer to Nicole's question, it was also the first time she'd revealed that he even existed in her life, and she half-wondered whether they thought she'd made him up under the stupor of pain medication.

After a short silence, Denise said, "Your father also called Phil. It's obvious you'll need a new car, and you know how he loves to battle with car dealers."

Phil Harris, her father's financial adviser. "That's really not—"

"You need a car," said her father. The undercurrent to the words warned her not to argue. "An SUV for those mountain roads."

Her stepmother's voice brightened. "How about a Subaru? Terry loves hers."

Alice said nothing, realizing that giving them something to talk about would be better than suffocating silence. Looking at the needles taped to the backs of her hands made her feel sick, so her gaze drifted out through the doorway. The nurses' station was within her line of view, men and women in their scrubs hurrying in and out like bees at a hive. For one heartbeat, she thought she glimpsed a flash of black among the dull blues and greens of weaving bodies, and thought she heard the rap of a heel among the squeaking of rubber soles. Fingers digging into the blankets, she closed her eyes. If she saw Magdalene's face again, saw that smile, she might scream before she could stop herself.

"Honey, was it really a deer?" Denise sounded hesitant. "It's just that you were acting a little odd this morning..."

"Denise." Her father's voice sounded low and curt, the tone that Alice recognized as a warning to change the subject.

She kept her eyes closed, panic starting to itch at her. "Is that how you really want to put it? Or do you actually mean that I was acting crazy like my mother?"

"Alice." Nearly a growl, that.

"I'm sorry." She opened her eyes again, but kept them fixed on her fingers, which were still white-knuckled against the blankets.

Fortunately, a doctor appeared soon after that, announcing his presence with a crisp knock on the doorway. Alice remained quiet as he checked her over, heart pounding in her throat while waiting for his pronouncement.