A Second Mate

Chapter Five: Infected.

Ben's POV.

4.32am. I'm awoken from my slumber by a dull ache in my chest meaning something's wrong with Dakota. Us wolves know when our mate is injured or in need of help, however only some of us can recognize the signs that our trying to warn us. Jumping out of bed, I rush towards the guest room where I find Dakota upright in bed, hand clutching her bandaged thigh. The bandage is dark brown with what I can only presume is blood and Dakota is gritting her teeth with the pain. "Something's wrong. My thigh's aching." She complains as I pry away her hands and begin unwinding the bandage, careful not to hurt her. The wound is clearly infected, a nasty odor can be smelt from it and pus is oozing out. "Gross huh?" I chuckle before turning serious. "I can't treat this, we'll have to bring you to the hospital."

~~~~Later On.~~~~

The doctor's prescribe Dakota with different antibiotics and clean up the wound to prevent further, unnecessary infection. "How you feeling?" I ask her concerned as I sit by her hospital bed in a dully coloured armchair. "Much better now, thanks." She smiles as I lean over the bed, stroking her hair. "You should get some sleep." I murmur as she nods her head and buries herself deep in the covers. Somebody clears their throat behind me and I turn round. "A minute please?" The doctor says and I nod, stepping outside. "I can't thank you enough doctor." I say but the monotone look on the doctor's face worries me.

"You're most welcome.." He pauses. "We took several tests on Dakota to make sure the infection hadn't caused anything more serious, ranging from blood tests and so on. Nothing bad was detected however one of our older members of staff found a lump on Dakota's head. We'd like to take a few tests to check for any signs of brain damage etc. Did she fall recently?"

I don't even have to think before I speak again. "Yes, she hit her head yesterday. Please take whatever tests are needed."

~~~~The Next Day. ~~~~
Dakota's POV.

Ben informed me when I woke up of the doctor's worries and I went through with the tests earlier this morning. The results should be coming in any minute now, both Ben and I are nervous as heck. "It's okay, don't worry." Ben comforts me and kisses my forehead as I nervously wait.

The doctor and a nurse return about fifteen minutes later with the results. I squeeze Ben's hand as we wait. "Well?" Ben asks impatiently. "We detected some damage towards the brain which has lead to the development of a condition called Aphasia, I'm so sorry."

"What's that?" I ask timidly.

"It's a disease which causes the patient to lose the ability to speak or fully understand sentences they hear or read."

I'm speechless as I turn to Ben. "I-I'll never speak again?" I ask as I look at Ben who looks so upset. "You'll be able to speak but not very well, I'm sorry." The doctor says as I lean on Ben's shoulder. "How long does she have till she'll lose the total ability to speak?" Ben inquires.

"It's different for each person. What you have is known as Broca's Aphasia. This type of Aphasia will cause you difficulty in saying long or complex sentences and you may only be able to string out a couple of words once it fully develops. The starting symptoms will cause you to forget certain words and perhaps stutter, eventually leading to the previous. We can arrange Speech and Language therapy which may give you more time before you lose most of your speech."

"We can live with it, I'll help her through." Ben says whilst massaging my tense shoulders comfortingly. "We won't go down without a fight."