Chapter 2
MARK
I’ve been to Auden’s twice before. Once was a stop with Jalon on our way back from a conference. Or… something. It was years ago. Shortly after Auden had built the house. It was still obviously new with the trees disturbed, grass not grown in, and everything screaming ‘I’m new!’
I distinctly remember a second time, though for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was for. There’s not a single incident I recall when Auden’s been injured.
His house is elegant but oversized. It’s filled with clean, curved lines and Craftsman features. Not rustic as one might expect in the forest of Oregon. There’s nothing rustic or woodsy about Auden’s house.
Stepping up to the door with my bag on my shoulder, I pause when I hear the dogs. Deep, growly barks. It’s unsettling. I’ve known Rhodes for most of his life. I’ve been in his dogs’ presence too many times to count. I can’t recall a single time when I’ve heard them barking.
As I’m lifting my hand to knock, I hear Auden’s voice. “Rhodes. They’re tracking blood everywhere!”
What the hell happened? Auden’s call was overwhelmed with a whole lot of noise. All I truly got out of it was that his son’s boyfriend was badly injured. Rhodes was freaking out. Which meant his pack was freaking out. I could barely make out Auden’s words.
I’d been in Seattle for a conference, so I was close. Which sounds fortunate.
I press my finger to the doorbell instead of knocking. I’m guessing my knock will go unheard with the chaos inside. The doorbell should be louder.
It’s not long before the door is pulled open.
Auden is a bear of a man. His arms are huge, his shoulders broad, his chest big. He’s wearing a button-down shirt tucked into slacks and a leather belt. The top two buttons are undone, hinting at the hairy chest it conceals. Smears of blood have ruined the rich fabric.
He has one of the nicest, fullest beards I’ve ever seen. It’s neatly trimmed, perfectly full, even if short. The hair on his head is dark, like all the Van Doren’s but his beard has a hint of red in it. There’s slight graying in his hair, though it hasn’t touched his beard yet.
Auden sighs. “Thank fuck. Rhodes is going to lose his mind.”
I glance at the blood smeared on his shirt. “Want to tell me what I’m walking in on?”
“I’d love to if I could get a word in edgewise. Rhodes is determined that Bennett is going to bleed out. I’m not as convinced.”
He steps back to allow me inside. It’s chaos. The pack isn’t made up of small dogs. They’re not big like German Shepherds. They’re enormous, like long-extinct dire wolves. I’m not sure where he even managed to find these damn dogs.
“Rhodes!” Auden says over the bedlam of the wolves. Rhodes is kneeling on the floor beside the couch where Bennett is sprawled out. There’s a bandage wrapped around Bennett’s head, and he’s propped up slightly.
Rhodes looks up. “Go say hi,” Rhodes immediately says, which is usually the command that his dogs greet me. They circle me to take a whiff, but Rhodes, being inconsolable with worry, has them nearly knocking shit over.
Auden looks at me with barely concealed frustration.
I grip his forearm for a minute and set my bag down. “Up, Rhodes. Let me tend to him.”
Rhodes looks at me and then at Bennett. “I can’t bring him to the hospital,” he demands. “There could be more insane doctors there killing people with rat killer!”
Yeah, that was a thing that Jalon recently uncovered. However, that was in Arizona. Not Oregon.
“I know. I’ll take care of him, but you need to let me. Give me some room. Your pack isn’t helping the situation, either. Their distress is going to keep Bennett distressed.”
Rhodes looks like he’s about to lose his mind.
Auden pulls him to his feet and grips his face. “Take your pack outside and clean them off. Let Mark tend to Bennett.”
“But I—”
“Now, Rhodes,” Auden demands. “They’re getting blood all over my house and breaking shit. That’s coming out of your inheritance. Clean them up and calm them down. Do you understand?”
His eyes turn to look at where I’m checking Bennett’s vitals. He’s stressed, but I think that stress is being fed by Rhodes and the pack more than his injuries. I don’t doubt that he’s in pain. I’m pretty sure his arm is broken.
“I won’t let anything happen to Bennett,” I assure Rhodes. “I don’t have rat poison. You’re welcome to check.”
Rhodes releases a breath and pulls out of Auden’s grip. “Let’s go,” he says, and six of his dogs join him. One remains sitting beside the couch. “You too, Lee,” Rhodes says when it’s clear this one doesn’t intend to join him.
Rhodes gives him a second to comply before he says, “Lethal Babydoll, now!” He points to the floor beside him, a clear sign to heel.
Lee, whose name is apparently Lethal Babydoll, lifts his lips in a growl, ears back, but gets to his feet.
It’s clear that he’s pretty grumpy about being forced away from Bennett as well.
Rhodes crouches down, so he’s on Lee’s level.
Eye-to-eye. I’m not sure I’d willingly put my face that close to his teeth.
“Dr. Mark says he’ll take care of Bennett. We have to trust him. Once we’re all cleaned up and your sisters and brothers aren’t creating madness, we can come back in. We have to be good boys until then. Okay?”
I glance over in time to see Lee huff and lick Rhodes’ face. Not a massive tongue lapping at his face, but a delicate little touch of his tongue on Rhodes’ nose.
“That’s my good boy,” Rhodes says. “Let’s hurry and get clean, and then we’ll see if Mark will let us cuddle with Bennett.”
Lee looks in my direction before the two of them leave the house.
“It’s scary how obviously they understand Rhodes,” I say.
Bennett smiles brightly. “They’re such smart, sweet puppies,” he says, and then scowls when I touch the skin that’s open on his head.
“Yes,” I agree. “That’s exactly how I’d describe them.”
I keep Bennett talking, somewhat to gauge the severity of his head injury. Something he finds amusing when I ask him about current events. I try to weave the questions into our conversation, but I’m not fooling anyone.
Neither is Auden as he hovers nearby, making no effort to clean up after the dogs. He’s not hiding his concern for Bennett at all.
Auden video called me and showed me what we were working with. I walked him through cleaning and wrapping, and I have to say, he did a good job. I clean a little more, though Bennett barely notices until I staple the wound shut. That makes him flinch, despite the local anesthetic.
That was the relatively simple one of the two injuries. I have a feeling his arm is broken, though whatever he did, he miraculously didn’t break the skin.
“Auden, there’s a dark, hard-shell case in the trunk. Will you bring it inside, please?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer as he walks away. When we’re alone, I ask Bennett, “What happened?”
Bennett sighs in frustration. “I slipped. Nothing exciting. I slipped because the guy we were chasing pissed on a rock—purposefully, I think—and I landed on a rock and slammed my head on the way down.”
“Why do you think he pissed on the rock?” I asked.
“Smell. Also, he laughed. That was the last thing he did because the game was over then. Rhodes set the pack on him, and they… weren’t happy.”
“Ah. That’s where all the blood came from.”
“Yes. The blood on Rhodes is from my head. Not the guy. He tried to make it stop bleeding and then freaked out when he saw the wound. They’ve all been freaking out ever since.”
“You’re not freaking out,” I note as Auden returns.
“I was, but I think I was because they were. It made me believe it was much worse than it felt,” Bennett admits. “I thought I was going to die.”
“He’d freak out if you bled from a paper cut,” Auden says, walking back into the room. He sets the case beside me.
“Help me with this, Auden. It’s a portable X-ray machine. These are primarily used for places like zoos when they need X-rays of their animals.”
“That’s a thing? How does that work?” Bennett asks as he shifts to look at what we’re doing.
“Most zoos train the animals to actively participate in their own healthcare,” I tell him.
“There are a few documentary-style shows that follow several zoos and aquariums, where you see how they take care of their animals. As with humans, it’s dangerous to always put someone under anesthesia often, so if they can train their animals to be active participants in their healthcare, it’s better for everyone involved. ”
“That’s so cool. I’m going to look it up. I bet the pups will enjoy watching it with me,” Bennett says.
His good humor dissipates slightly as I have him move his arm around to make room for the equipment. He’s completely still as I take the images I need. I have Auden bring him an ice pack while I wait for the images to render on the computer. It takes almost no time.
“Clean break,” I tell him. “Good news is that your bones are still pretty much aligned, so I don’t need to do any manipulation.”
Bennett sighs. Not quite as loudly as Auden, though. Big man isn’t fooling anyone. He was as worried about Bennett as much as his son and the pack.
“Just sit tight. Let me see what I have to get you set up. Auden, want to put the machine back?”
Auden inclines his head and kneels on the ground beside me. The days of plaster casts are long behind us, except in very specific situations and circumstances. This isn’t one of them. I pull out a brace with a solid metal structure in it and carefully wrap his arm.
By the time he’s fully doctored up, save for some pain medication, Rhodes and the wolves are back inside. Rhodes looks pale. Fear does not look good on him.
“Come on over,” I invite.
His shoulders relax as he comes nearer. Now that he’s close, I realize that he’s stripped right down to his underwear and a white shirt, his hair dripping. I suppose that’s one way to get the blood off.
I help Bennett sit up, and Rhodes sits where his head was. Together, we maneuver them around the couch so Bennett can lie comfortably.
“I’m going to clean the rest of the blood off you,” I tell Bennett. “How do you feel otherwise? How’s your pain level?”
Several of the dogs are hovering closer, but no longer are they barking and howling. They’re not running around the house. They’re staring at Bennett.
“High. Can I have something for it? I think I’d rather have my arm sawed off than deal with the pain.”
Auden offers a bottle of water, and I pull out my options for pain.
Selecting a couple of high-dose ibuprofens to begin with, I hand them over.
Rhodes helps Bennett drink, and then they’re still while I carefully work to get rid of as much blood from Bennett as I can.
He needs a shower, but I think having him on his feet right now is only going to cause more unnecessary stress at the moment.
Rhodes and the pack need to see that Bennett is okay for a while.
When I’m relatively satisfied that he’s as clean as he’s going to get, I suggest we bring Bennett to a room with a bed so they can all settle. This, of course, causes another bout of unruliness among the pack until Bennett is undressed, wiped up a little more, and then tucked into bed.
“Come on, Lee,” Bennett says and pats the bed. The massive dog is surprisingly light on his feet as he jumps up and carefully lies beside Bennett, gently placing his massive head on Bennett’s chest. Rhodes is curled against him on his other side.
I shake my head as the pack settles around, getting as close as they can, and make my way from the room.