I was so scared only seconds ago. But the moment the packhouse glimmered into view every ounce of fear melted away. As the house opened up from the evergreens and aspens, a flood of happiness poured over me. It felt like home. It was gorgeous and serene. It looked exactly like some beautiful wooded resort, tucked away in the summer forest, ready for a photoshoot with an upscale magazine. It wasn't half the size of Wilde Claw's packhouse, so the many cabins we passed made sense. I leaned forward eagerly for a better look, seeing the wide and tall building. Windows at the front entrance were large and open, and I could just imagine the breathtaking beauty you could look out to early in the morning when the sun shimmered in.

We then passed over a small bridge going across a river, with crystal waters as blue as the ocean. I turned to watch it flow down the mountain and smiled at children playing and splashing in it a ways off. Mothers watched while they chatted away on lawn chairs. Not too many men around. I'd seen a few working in the yards of a handful of the cabins as we passed, but it would make sense not to see that many if there was a war going on.

Adam drove past the wide roundabout in the front of the building, and I looked to him in interest.

He understood my unasked question. "We're going to the hospital entrance. Nate has them ready for us."

I nodded and watched as we rounded the building. It was like a school, or a university. So many buildings interconnected. And all so well maintained.

When we drove out around another branch of the house, I saw three people dressed in white overcoats waiting near wide-open double doors with a large wolf-sized stretcher. They had the cliché doctor appearance, so I figured that must be where we were headed.

Adam parked near and they guided the stretcher over, already starting to take the tarp from the truck. Adam grabbed my suitcase and got out, so I jumped out from my side.

The moment my feet hit the ground though, my head started to spin, and my eyes went black. I tried to grab onto the truck bed for support, but I was suddenly held in someone's warm arms.

"You're okay. I've got you." Adam said at my ear.

My arm that was reaching for the bed now curled to his shoulder and I rested my forehead against his chest. "Just a dizzy spell. Give me a second."

I heard a thumping at the truck bed and a doctor comment, "take it easy there, Alpha."

My lips turned to a smile thinking Nate was jumping up to protect me or something. "Yes, you take it easy Alpha." I twisted my head up from Adam and turned to Nate. He was sitting up, eyes peering over the bed. I stretched my hand out and petted Nate's nose.

Adam's voice was at my ear again. "He wants me to carry you in. Would you like me to?"

I then brought my hand back to Adam's shoulder and closed my eyes tight in concentration. I tried to take a few centering breaths and then stood back. "No. I think I'm alright now. I can walk. Thanks though."

The shortest of the doctors with thinning dark brown hair, came over with a hand outstretched. "Hi Elise, I'm Doctor Wright. Alpha Nate has asked me to take care of you."

I shook his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

The other two doctors easily lifted Nate from the truck bed and to the stretcher, quickly walking inside with him. Wolf eyes stayed on me until they were completely inside.

Doctor Wright motioned after them through the double doors. "This way Ma'am."

I followed him and Adam stayed tight at my side, probably afraid I'd get dizzy again, but at that moment I felt alright. Well, not alright, super sore and itchy, but at least not dizzy.

As we entered the building we walked a bright long hall, and I tried to take everything in. It wasn't elaborate or exquisite, but still very clean and finely decorated. Paintings and photos of the most gorgeous forest scenes lined the walls. It was like some museum of art. I saw a photo of a pack of eight magnificent wolves standing tall and proud in the greenery behind them. Nate's wolf was out front and center. They all looked so regal; it was breathtaking. I started to pause to get a better look.

"Oh, uh, Elise. This way." Doctor Wright chastised from a few rooms down, motioning inside.

Adam's fingertips brushed my back as I slowed, pushing me to remember I was supposed to be getting my painful arm looked at.

"Coming," I acknowledged and hurried my steps toward the room.

It was any basic doctor's appointment room I'd ever been to. A bed, few chairs, bookshelf lined with books, a cabinet and sink, walls painted white. Another stunning picture on the wall, this time of the river out front. I felt like I could put my hand in the photograph and feel the cool water.

"Up here if you will Miss." Doctor Wright patted the bed.

"Doctor Wright wait," Adam cut in then turned to me and held out my suitcase. "Why don't you put on some shorts so that he can see the sting on your leg as well."

"Oh, right. That's a good idea." I took my suitcase from him and started unzipping the side.

"We'll just step outside. Let us know when you are ready," Adam moved to the door and closed it behind them.

I quickly put on a pair of basic denim shorts and closed my suitcase with my jeans tucked inside. After sticking the case out of the way, I opened the door.

"Alright, let's take a look at you," the doctor commented, both men coming back inside.

I climbed up on the bed and waited as Doctor Wright poked and prodded my arm. My teeth clenched in pain with every movement. I held in a hiss as he undid the claw mark wrappings and pressed at the wounds.

"Gamma Cassandra did these?" The doctor asked.

Adam answered for me in a flat, "yes."

"They aren't too deep. I think it's fine without stitches, but we will need some antibiotics. As for the wolfsbane...." He trailed off staring at the veins running up my arms and leg and sighed, "that will need some help."

I knew the compounded stings at my arm had to be pretty bad. The streaks went clear up to my shoulder and even down my ring finger and pinky, where I'm used to them only climbing out an inch, maybe two. Would they go longer without treatment? Wolfsbane poisoning could kill humans too. With a look to my leg, that one and the ankle one looked like my normal. But the darned things still hurt.

The doctor then grabbed a pen light and had me follow the movement with my eyes. "Alright, good pupil response, slightly elevated heartrate, but high fever, vertigo, and of course the veining. I think we need to proceed with doses for the wolfsbane, fever, and pain, a round of antibiotics, and salve for the sting sites. We will get you wrapped up and then you can meet back with Alpha Nate."

I nodded. It didn't sound too strenuous.

But then the doctor started pulling out syringe after syringe, placing them delicately on a rolling table.

Needles.

My eyes got wider and wider with each new addition. He couldn't be thinking of all those for me, right? Could he? Doses equals pills, not injections.

My heartrate increased. "Wait, those aren't for me, right?"

He picked a syringe up and pressed the air from the tip. "One for each site of wolfsbane poisoning." He pointed down the line. "Then fever, pain, vertigo."

"What? No, I don't need all that. Maybe just some pain pills?" Immediate dread filled my lungs.

"Don't worry, this is the best remedy we have for wolfsbane."

"Uh, no...no I'm sorry, I can't do needles."

"It's only a slight poke Miss."

"A dang hundred slight pokes!"

"It will be over before you know it." He then stepped to me, poised for action.

"No!" My legs swung off the bed and I hurried to stand up.

Adam blocked my escape, heavy hands with pressure on my shoulders. "Hey, calm down. It's okay. You need them. Your arm is getting worse. It will help you heal."

"Adam, I can't. That's too many." I look a look at the line of needles and cringed into him, my panic on high alert. "I can't. I can't do it."

He lifted my face and bent to me, hand requesting me to sit back. "It'll just take a minute. I'll be here."

My terrified glance went back to him. "No. I'm serious. I can't do this." My eyes swept the room to make my exit. "I've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here!" I bent forward to make a run for it.

Adam knelt making us eye level. His piercing blues caught on mine and held steadfast. "Look at me Elise."

An electrifying flash flew down my body, stopping my retreat.

And I did. I looked at him. My chest heaved though I felt no air, but I didn't try to leave again.

I started shaking my head in panic.

"These will help. Let the doctor do the injections. It's just a sting like a bee. You can handle that right?"

My eyes pricked with tears, and I continued shaking my head. No. I couldn't.

"Yes, you can. Remember you told me not to panic for a silly bee sting?"

I stopped my shaking. A heavy swallow of dread.

"You can do bee stings. These won't be any different."

My fingers starting to play with my nails in nervousness.

"And you don't want a big ole wolf galloping in here and crashing around to see why you're having a panic attack do you?"

I shook my head, no. Still staring deep into his eyes.

His hands came up to cup my face. "Then just look at me. You can do this."

The heat of his hot hands melted into my cheeks. My heart was pounding with fright.

"You can do this," he reiterated. "It's just a moment and then you can get better."

Nod.

"Will you let him do his work?"

A pause, my hands started to tremble at the bed.

His thumbs glid over my cheekbones. "Nate doesn't want to see you in pain anymore. I don't want to see you in pain anymore. Will you let the doctor do it, for us? For me?"

A few more breaths. Slight nod.

"Please say it, Elise. I won't force you, but I need you to take the injections, okay? I need to know you're okay with it."

A tiny voice. "Okay."

He didn't break eye contact. "Doctor Wright, go ahead."

A whimper sounded from my throat, as scuffling was heard around me.

"Just look at me. Tell me about Buttons."

"Buttons?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, tell me about her. What breed is she?"

I felt the doctor pull my arm straight and I yelped.

"Elise, what breed is she?"

"Uh," I stammered as I felt the first injection. "Nubian."

"Nubian. Good. Why did you name her Buttons?"

Another injection. My eyes tried to move from his cupping hands to see my arm as I squeaked.

"Look at me." Back to his piercing blues. "Why did you name her Buttons?" He asked soft and insistent.

I swallowed some panic down. "She, uh, had... has a black spot on her nose. When she was a baby, I chose her because of the spot."

"A button nose?" A smile.

I followed the form of his lips, trying not to imagine the puncture happening to my neck. "Yeah," I whimpered.

"Where did you get her?"

"A farm in the country. I got the other goats there too. Nice people." A distressed smile. "They come to the diner for cake sometimes."

"Good. How long have you had her?"

A tight eyed cringe crawling to my face with a sting on my other wrist.

"Back to me. How long?"

I opened my eyes. "Seven years."

"And Buttons likes to eat purslane, right? What's purslane?

Air was coming back into the room. "It's just a weed. Little thick leaves, looks like tear drops. Sometimes there's tiny yellow flowers on it. People can eat it too. Lots of vitamins."

A grin. "Have you eaten purslane?"

"Yes." A pull on my leg, and I tried to twist my head to see.

His hands kept my face straight on. "Do you like it?"

"No."

"No?" He chuckled. "It's better for goats then?"

"Yeah." My chest stopped heaving and a sliver of a smile caught at his laugh.

"What's your other goat's names?"

"Oreo. Pumpkin."

"Oreo is your black and white one?"

I nodded taking a deep breath.

"And Pumpkin is the brown one?"

Nod.

The doctor spoke then. "Alright Miss. That's it. They are all done."

"There you go. You're done. You did it." Adam released my face and I turned.

"I'm done?" I checked down my arms and legs for puncture sites.

The doctor then grabbed a glass jar filled with a yellow sticky substance. "This is an herbal salve. It will help your wounds close."

I grabbed Adam's arm in fright but calmed as the doctor just wiped a gloved finger through the ointment. I watched his steady hand apply it to every sting, every probable injection sight, and claw mark. He wasn't painful, but it wasn't the soft touch that Adam used with the honey.

I bit my lip, embarrassed at the anxiety now. My glance looked up to Adam, head slightly bowed. My voice was hushed. "Sorry." After a few seconds pause. "I guess I don't do well with needles."

His hand grasped my shoulder, careful to stray from the sting. "It's alright. You did great."

I tried to make a joke. It sounded sad even to me. "Well, good enough that there is no wolfed-out Nate running amok in here." I couldn't even laugh myself.

His thumb drew a circle. "No there's not."

Doctor Wright cleared his throat. "Okay, well. Miss Elise, I need to wrap you up. Can I do that now?"

Slight nod. "Yeah, sorry doctor."

He shuffled in a cabinet for a moment and then started bandaging up the stings and wrapping the claw marks. He was quick and efficient.

"Alright Miss." He handed me a bottle of white pills. "This is your antibiotic. Take twice a day. And then that's it. I'll check on you again tomorrow. Now I am needed with my colleagues and Alpha Nate. You are free to walk about. Maybe find the kitchens or movie hall. We'll call for you when Nate is ready for visitors."

"Thanks Doctor Wright," I said with a small voice.

"Was nice to meet you Elise." He smiled and headed out the door.

Adam stood up tall by the bedside.

"Thanks for doing that. Sorry I freaked out on you." I looked up at him from under shamed brows.

"Are you hungry? It's not quite lunchtime, but we could find something to eat."

I shook my head. "No, not really. But I'll go if you are."

"I'm alright. Would you like to walk around the complex? Get a tour?"

After my episode and feeling painful sores and shots, I didn't think I was up for wandering all around. But there was one thing I could think to do. "Could I go back and see that wolf photo?"

A smile opened on his face. "Yes. Are you ready now? Or would you like to rest here a while longer?"

"Now." My smile followed and I slid off the bed. But again the dizziness took me, and I braced a hand back on the bed and closed my eyes. "Oops, hold on."

His hand steadied my hip while the sensation past.

I opened my eyes and looked at him, with a deep inhale. "Okay. I can go now."

He seemed unconvinced, but I started walking without him knowing he'd follow anyway.

I passed a few other pictures, checking each until I stood in front of the wolf one. I just stared at it a whole minute as the warmth of the wolves' presences flowed through me. Even through the image one could feel the majesty and power.

Nate's black wolf was out in front, and the rest stood, heads held high with control, flanked behind him. The greens of the trees in the background so saturated that it almost felt like no such color should exist. A few rays of sun peeked through the canopy, sharing halos of light around them.

Breathtaking.

I pointed to the black wolf. "That's Nate, right?"

"Yes."

I turned to Adam, towering by my side. "Who else?"

A slight smile, and a glance to the photo. "Cassandra is red on the left." His eyes came back to me studying my examination of the snapshot. "I'm the dark brown to the right."

A wide mouthful of a grin filled my face. "This is you?" I touched at his wolf, sure to leave fingerprints in the glass, but I didn't care. "You're beautiful."

He let a breath of a laugh. "Thanks I guess." But he was pleased.

I was quiet as I studied every hair. Each a different shade of deep brown. Cinnamons, mahoganies, chesnuts, and cocoas. All so rich and magnificent.

He gave names of the others behind them, but my eyes were stuck on blacks and browns.

After a few minutes of quiet contemplation while Adam just let me look in silence, I moved to another picture down the line and he started telling me about where it was on the property. We continued on down each photo and painting in the same way.

I wanted to see each place in real life.

Lone Raine territory was an oasis. I never wanted to leave.