Finding Course

6

Zane.

Stupid woman. I told her to stay put. Of course she didn't listen. Not only did she disobey my command, but she went and got herself stuck in a hunters trap in the woods. As I scrambled with Sophia to get bandages on Katherine's leg, all I could think about was making the bleeding stop. The minute we walked into the house she lost consciousness, likely from blood loss. I had shifted back to human form as fast as I could, grabbed a pair of navy gym shorts, and got to work helping Sophia bandage the leg. Katherine's body went into healing mode, shifting itself back to human. I found a throw blanket on the nearby couch to give her some bit of modesty, but our efforts were more focused on her keeping her leg than worrying over showing a bit of skin.

"We need to call for help," Sophia started to panic.

"I already did," I said through clenched teeth as I kept pressure on the torn flesh of her calf. Sophia just kept grabbing more towels, sopping up blood as it continued to drain. Why wasn't the bleeding slowing down? Something was wrong, and I assumed it was a chemical from the hunter's trap.

"Well where a-" she was cut off by the growls and yips of the others.

"What happened?" Charlie was the first one through the door and was at my side in seconds. His regular laid back demeanor was all business as he took in the situation.

"Hunter's trap. She's lost a lot of blood," I answered, looking up at him. He focused on the task at hand, giving commands to Sophia to grab him more supplies. I looked up from the scene where where I could see Jack standing near the open door. He and I briefly made eye contact and I glanced behind him at others starting to gather. 'Daniel?' He shook his head. 'Shut the door and give us some time. Send patrols out, and inform the elders,' I instructed through our private link. He remained silent, nodding at me in understanding. As he quietly backed out onto the patio, I vaguely heard the sliding door shut again as I turned my attention back to Katherine.

"Is she going to be okay?" Sophia started to tremble.

"She's goin' to be okay. We just gotta stop this bleedin' and let her body heal," Charlie answered, looking up at me.

'Send Sophia to go do somethin' she needs to feel useful. We can take care of this, and she's too anxious. She'll listen to you," he asked me privately. I studied him for a moment, but then nodded as I rearranged my grip on Katherine's leg.

"Once we get her patched up she's going to need some clothes and stuff. Can you go to Daniel's and pack her a bag? You would know what she might need," I asked Sophia, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"A bag?" she asked, confused.

"Yeah; she's going to need a few days to recover at the least, can you get her some clothes, or whatever else she will want?" I pulled the bull shit excuse from thin air, hoping she'd take the bait.

"Uh, sure," she stammered, jerking into action. Charlie was right. She needed to feel like she was doing something. I heard her exit quickly and then was able to focus on Charlie's directions. His dad was a military medic, passing on some basic survival and emergency medical knowledge. He picked up on tricks of the trade and adapted what he could for shifters. It came in handy, and was especially helpful when dealing with hunters.

Ian suddenly made an appearance, bringing in a red bag for Charlie. I could tell they were communicating via pack link, and I guessed he asked Ian to get the medical bag. "Thanks," he said as Ian left us. "There's a small orange bag in there, can you grab it?" I nodded, getting the bag for him. I unzipped it, revealing clear tubing and what looked like IV start kits.

"What are you going to do with this?"

"Well, she needs blood. So we are going to give her blood."

"What, here?" I gestured around at my basement. It wasn't dirty, in fact it was pretty clean. What I found odd was that Charlie wanted to do a blood transfusion in my basement living room.