Amie is frowning when I reach her.
“I think he needs a hospital.”
Linc rushes over and lifts him.
Roxy speaks into the phone. “Cat, Uncle Lor dropped in the bar. We’re heading over. Amelia, Mason’s… mate is with him… Yeah, one sec.” Roxy passes the phone to Amie.
***
We’re in the clinic. Lorenzo is ready to leave, but Cat’s talked him into staying for a couple more hours so she can observe.
Lorenzo dropped out of nowhere.
And then Lorenzo couldn’t shift.
I’ve known him my whole life and the frustration coming from him when he couldn’t shift was palpable. It generated such an onslaught of negativity from him that I physically put my mate behind myself.
Ten minutes later, he tried again and succeeded.
Beyond that, he has a deep bruise on his lower back from an injury while he was running as wolf over a week ago and it hasn’t healed despite multiple shifts. He also told Cat he’s had a headache all day, and he’s never had one in his life.
He showed to Roxy’s for dinner as per his usual routine after running errands in The Hollow and doesn’t remember collapsing. But that a super-alpha in our pack had difficulty shifting today is a concern. That he hasn’t healed. That he’s got symptoms he’s never had.
Cat said when he arrived his blood pressure was dangerously low.
Shifting is as easy to do as walking for a council alpha. It’s who we are. It’s what we are.
Cat tells us that Gus came in a couple days ago and he too had trouble shifting, a headache, and low blood pressure. And after Gus having problems healing after a shift last week, this means something is amiss. There needs to be a council meeting. And we’ll call in our historian Bailey, the retired historian, and the retired council alphas while Cat runs some bloodwork and confers with her contacts in Scotland.
“Why don’t you people take it seriously when a trained medical professional states that someone needs a hospital?” Amie grumbles from Cat’s waiting room.
“Do you think we don’t know how to handle medical emergencies? That we haven’t done so for our entire history? Cat is the healer.”
“Do you not realize, Mason, that Cat didn’t know why my sister was running a fever, hasn’t been able to figure out why Gus couldn’t heal after shifting, and that she didn’t have an answer when he told her he couldn’t shift the other day? Maybe it’s time to bring in some professionals.”
“You mean professionals from the mainstream world who don’t know shifters exist? How’s that gonna help?” I fire back.
“We have supernatural specialists,” Cat puts in. “I’ve got someone flying over. And incidentally, Amelia, I do have medical training. I went to medical school in the mainstream world and then did an internship in Washington at a renowned supernatural hospital under the tutelage of a top doctor and researcher, Dr. Adrian Constantin. I can treat shifters, fae, vampires, and other supernaturals.”
“I wasn’t trying to be confrontational Cat.” Amie raises her hands defensively.
“I’m not trying to be defensive either. I’m stating facts. I have training and practical experience. And I have access to a wealth of resources here at home as well as abroad.”
“Okay,” she whispers, looking remorseful. “I apologize. In my world, when something like this happens, you go to a hospital. I work in a hospital. It’s my go-to.”
Cat rests her hand on Amelia’s forearm, speaking softly, “I understand. But now that you’re part of the pack and because you’ve got medical training, too, not to mention it shows how much you care about the quality of care someone receives, I’d love to talk about you signing on to work here with me. I could use the help.”
“Okay,” Amie whispers. “We can talk about that. Until then, what can I do to help?”
“I’d like to examine everyone in the pack and put together a quick survey for everyone, which could help us pinpoint any similarities in symptoms, places they’ve been, things they’ve consumed, and so forth. If we don’t find out quickly what this might be between Gus and Lorenzo’s samples, we might want to collect urine and blood samples from everyone. It’ll be a lot of work. Maybe Amelia, you and I could set up a list for preliminary questionnaires and mini exams to start with.”
“Definitely,” Amie agrees.
They sit down together to start mapping out their plan.
“I’m calling a council meeting,” I call out, eyes on Linc who is leaned against the wall, then turn my eyes to my mate. “Are you fine here with Cat while I go do that, baby?”
She nods. “Yes. Go do what you need to do.” She gives me a smile, her eyes and our connection both flaring in my chest.
I lean over and kiss her, thumb grazing over my mark as I do, thinking that I want to run calling the witches by the council.