Blood Rites

"Arrrrrgh, I'm so going to skin him the first time I see him as a wolf and make him a nice rug to lay on in front of the fire place," Jen growled.

"Um, Jen, you don't have a fire place," Sally pointed out.

"My hypothetical fire place, Sally. Come on, keep up will you?"

"Oh, my bad. I forgot that I'm supposed to be taking notes on your hypothetical life so that when you make references to it I will know exactly what the freaking A you are talking about."

"Well, at least you are able to admit when you are wrong. That's a step in the right direction." Jen patted her friend, then jumped back just before Sally's fist could connect with her shoulder. "Man, it's nice not to have that stupid pole stuck to me."

Sally sat down on the bed and looked at Jen, her face no longer playful. "What's the plan, Jen? I know you're cooking one up because that's what you do best, so what are we going to do?"

"Sneak into the ICU of course," Jen said, matter of fact like.

"Nice." Sally smiled conspiratorially and then listened intently as Jen laid out her plan.

Chapter 21

"Start her on IV Vancomycin and Fentanyl twenty five micrograms bolus, f/b continuous infusion of three micrograms per hour. Then cover her with cooling blankets. Let's try to get her temperature down. If she starts shivering, replace them with regular blankets." Dr. Steele was issuing orders as she continued to monitor Jacque's condition. She had no problem deciding to sedate her given the amount of pain she was in; the fact that it would make it easier to move her was just a plus.

While the nurses followed out her orders, she stepped into an empty room and called Logan. He picked up on the first ring.

"I had to bring her to the ICU. I need to get her stable and then I will get the nurses out of the way so you can come up and move her," Cynthia explained.

"What do you mean get her stable? What's wrong with her?" Logan's voice was low, and Cynthia couldn't tell if it was worry in his voice or something else.

"The human blood she was given through a transfusion is attacking her body."

"Can you fix her?"

"Yes, I will tell you how once you are on your way to Denver. I'll text message you when I'm ready."

Logan heard the line cut off as Dr. Steele hung up. He couldn't believe that something really was wrong with Jacque. Was it his fault? No, he told himself, you didn't make them give her the transfusion. That was just something that happened, one of those no fault situations. Besides, Dr. Steele said she could fix it, that's all that mattered. Jacque would be fine, and she would be his. He sat down in a chair as he waited in her office for the text that would bring him one step closer to his goal.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sally whispered to Jen as they walked down the hall. They'd had a lucky break when Skender, the wolf Vasile put on the door had stepped away to go to the bathroom.

"Of course it's going to work, it's my idea," Jen said confidently.

"Right, like that summer you decided it would be a good idea to sneak out and go camping?"

"Hey, everything turned out fine. It was just a little fire," Jen said carelessly.

"A little fire, Jen? Really? You burned three acres, the freaking fire department had to get one of those crop duster planes to pour water over it, and you say that turned out fine?" Sally's whisper was now more of a whispered shout.

"Okay, so it got a little out of control. This is nothing like that. It's a simple in and out op."

"Did you just say in and out op?" Sally asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, you know, op like operation. We get in and we get out undetected."

"Oh, well once you put it like that, I don't know why I was ever worried." Sally rolled her eyes, clearly not comforted in the least by Jen's words.

They continued to walk down hall after hall. All of them were beginning to look the same.

"Do you even know where the ICU is?" Sally finally asked.

"No, but I figured they would have signs with arrows that said 'you are here', and then pointed you the way you needed to go. You know, like in the mall."

"Says the genius who planned our in and out op." Sally took a deep breath and let it out slow.

As Jen rounded a corner, she saw a guy in scrubs coming towards them. Before Sally could be seen she pushed her back. "Go," she whispered.

"What?" Sally gasped.

"Go, there is a nurse or doctor coming this way. I will distract him. You go on like we planned." Sally hesitated. "Are you going to let Jacque down, Sally? Leave her all alone, scared in that unfamiliar room?" Jen knew the guilt trip would do the trick and sure enough...

"Sometimes I want to punch you in the face, Jennifer Adams," she ground out as she turned and walked the opposite direction.

"I love you too," Jen whispered, then quickly added, "Its 11:00 p.m. Now, meet back in the room in an hour and a half." Sally lifted her hand in acknowledgment but kept walking.

Sally walked as quickly as she could down the hall and, rounding the corner, nearly ran into two huge doors with the letters ICU labeling them. Well, ask and you shall receive, she thought as she gently pushed on the doors to see if they would open. They didn't. Wishful thinking never did anyone any good but it was worth a try. She looked along the walls on either side of the door because she had noticed that a lot of the hospital doors were automated with a button so that you didn't have to push them open. As she examined the wall to the right of the doors, the hairs on the back of Sally's neck began to rise. She felt like she was being watched. She began to turn but before she could she felt pressure on her neck, and then darkness and silence engulfed her.

Chapter 22

Skender was standing in front of the room that Jacque's friends were staying in when he heard the elevator ding to announce its arrival. He couldn't help his natural instinct to take up a defensive posture when he was protecting something. When no one immediately exited the elevator, his wolf perked up. He sniffed the air and sharpened his hearing. He could smell a human and hear breathing. There was someone on that elevator, someone not conscious by the sound of their slow breathing. He moved quickly before the doors could close and a steady stream of curses in his native tongue began to flow from his mouth at the sight of one of Jacques' friends in still form in the floor, the one called Sally. He quickly scooped her into his arms and hurried towards her room. He knocked before opening, hoping that he would hear the other one, the mouthy one they called Jen, answer. The response was louder than any words could have been. Skender had learned that sometimes silence was the worst kind of noise. He opened the door slowly, only to confirm his fears. The room was empty. He carried Sally in and laid her on one of the beds, checked her pulse and watched her for a few seconds to make sure her breathing was steady. Then, as quietly as he entered, he left. All the while, the silence that filled the room screamed at him. Once in the hall he debated over and over in his mind whether to go search for Jen or call Vasile or Decebel and let them know what was going on. He could only imagine the wrath that Decebel would reign down on him. His actions towards Jen may not be obvious to him, but everyone else saw it, and if he found out she was missing he would tear Skender apart. Maybe I can wait just awhile to see if she comes back, if not then I will panic. In the back of his mind he knew he should call his Alpha, but fear stayed his hand.