Chapter 5 #2
“For your information,” said Travis, “Full moon was two nights ago. A blue moon, to be exact.”
Once in a blue moon. I couldn’t remember what that even meant.
A full moon that appeared blue because of atmospheric conditions?
A moon that was closer to the earth than normal?
All I knew was that they were special enough to have a name.
And what was the White Wolf Moon that Travis had mentioned earlier?
The opposite of a Harvest Moon? I’d try to remember to add these to my list of things to google when I got to my hotel.
“With your wolf blood,” Alexander said, “you’ll heal fast, but given the extent of the damage, it may not heal correctly on its own.
And that would not be good, my friend. Plus, the moon’s strength is waning.
It’s a good thing you came in—we’ll need to do x-rays and an MRI.
See if anything is broken or torn and get things set and aligned if necessary. ”
I gulped and blinked a few times. Did he just say…wolf blood?
“At least give me something for the pain first.”
“I’m not a complete monster, Travis.” Alexander gave me another wink, then stuck his head out of the door and barked some orders.
The back of my neck prickled with heat. What was it about the island and all these monster references?
I looked at the two men. They seemed like such normal, intelligent, good-looking guys.
It had to be a series of inside jokes among old friends.
Although all of this was bordering on weird. Too weird.
A nurse with salt and pepper hair and a dragon tattoo on her neck entered the exam room.
She handed the doctor a small tray with a vial and syringe.
I’d have taken a step backward and moved away to give them some room to treat their patient, but Travis was still holding onto my hand pretty tight.
I grabbed a nearby folding chair and sat down to face him at the head of the bed.
If I had to stay here, I sure as hell didn’t want to see him getting poked.
“You’re going to feel a slight pinch,” the doctor told him.
Sure enough, Travis winced. “Shouldn’t take too long for it to kick in.
Don’t be surprised if it makes you feel groggy and a bit loopy.
” He dropped the used needle into a red receptacle mounted to the wall and held the door open for the nurse with the dragon tattoo.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to give that a chance to work. ”
“I really don’t want to be here,” Travis admitted to me after they had left. “And I detest needles, so I appreciate you staying.”
“No problemo.” I wanted to ask him about the wolf blood comment, but it sounded so stupid. I had to have misheard the doctor. Travis would no doubt look at me and wonder if I were the one on drugs.
However, I couldn’t help but notice that under these bright, overhead lights, his eyes did look a bit more golden yellow than brown.
“Where are you from, Daphne?” he asked in that slight drawl of his. “Where do you hang your hat?”
I smiled at his charming turn of phrase.
“In the suburbs outside Atlanta, but I’m originally from Michigan.
” I wasn’t about to tell him I didn’t exactly have a safe place to hang my hat at the current moment—that would inevitably lead to a whole host of questions I didn’t want to answer.
Or couldn’t, I thought, remembering that disastrous, vomit-y interview with Mulder and Scully. “What about you?”
He lifted an eyebrow as if he found my question amusing. “Born and raised here, actually. But I split my time between Vancouver and L.A.”
I was confused. “But your accent…”
He chuckled. “That’s what hours of voice coaching will do to you. I have a hard time getting rid of it when I’m not on set.”
Ahhh. Of course. The guy was an actor—that explained a lot.
The mob on the ferry. Everyone holding their phones to record the scene after the accident.
Whispers of the nursing staff about tabloid articles.
I really wanted to know what show he was on but didn’t want to ask and seem even more clueless.
I was about to ask him if he wanted me to let his fiancée know what had happened—I mean, Ruby should be here, not me—when I heard a commotion outside the exam room.
A different nurse, this one with no visible tattoos, rushed in to grab something from the cabinet.
And through the open door, I saw two EMTs pushing a gurney down the hallway with what appeared to be a dog strapped to the top.
I blinked a few times. A dog?! As a patient in a human hospital?
Portia had said she owned a nail salon that did car repairs. Was this place a combination hospital/veterinary clinic? Was that even a thing? The island was small, yes, but was it that small?
The poor animal was whimpering and yelping as the gurney disappeared past the open door.
“What’s going on out there?” Travis asked, straining to see.
“Car accident,” the nurse replied, his arms filled with supplies. “A boy on vacation was hit while in his coyote form.”
A boy in his coyote form. His coyote form! I would’ve questioned whether I’d heard it correctly, but the nurse was a good enunciator. My heart was pounding so hard right now that I barely heard what Travis was saying.
“Is it serious?” he asked.
“He’ll be in good hands with Dr. Lasauvage,” the nurse called over his shoulder. “So please be patient. It may be a little while until he can get back to you.”
I turned to Travis. “What’s going on?”
His eyes were at half-mast due to the drugs. “We’ve seen it happen all too often with tourists. Especially shifter kids. They’re so excited they can roam freely on the island in their animal forms that they completely forget about traffic safety.”
I tried to swallow, but there was a huge lump of WTF lodged in my throat.
Shifters. Coyotes. Then I thought about the dire wolves in the ferry line. The boy who asked if George was my son. Carlisle, the blood-sucking doctor. Travis and his wolf blood.
My cheeks were getting hot, the little hairs on my arm standing on end.
I was on Darkaway Island. Where monsters come to play.
“Daphne,” Travis said groggily. “Are you…okay? You don’t look so well.”
I stared into his golden eyes, recalling his incredible strength and reflexes. His obsession with the moon.
Taking a step backwards, I slipped out of his reach, courtesy of his meds that had thankfully kicked in.
“I’m…I’m fine.” My voice sounded far away, as if I were inside a darkening tunnel. I needed to get out of here. Quickly. I’ve fainted before, so I knew the feeling well. You couldn’t talk yourself out of it, no matter how hard you tried.
Even though I was in a hospital, this was the last place on earth I’d want to pass out.