Sly as a Fox {Book One}

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

A/N: The gif above is another of Willow.

Forgiveness

noun

-the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven

-disposition or willingness to forgive

Thankfully, Blithe never had to go into surgery because of the wounds Kyle had dealt him. He was given a very powerful dosage of pain medication through his IV and then they numbed the area with some local anesthetic so they could sew his skin back together. Though he was fast asleep by that point, I had to leave the room when they stitched him up. I couldn't stand to see so much blood and carnage, all of which could have been avoided if I hadn't been such an idiot.

Once the nurses and doctors discovered who they were working on, things changed, I could sense it. Their entire demeanor shifted and the way that they spoke of treatment and medication options changed simply because of who he was; or, rather, what we was. He was the Alpha of the Madawaska Pack now, he wasn't just the Alpha's son or future Alpha. He was a political figure who ruled over three states, one of which included the city of Boston itself. Of course I was more than thrilled that they were providing him with the best care, but I couldn't help but wonder what they would have done if he had been just any old Lupo; if he had been a Volpe.

The way they treated me changed too, realizing that I was the unofficial Alpha Female by extension. I didn't mind the way they catered to me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all for show because of our status. Nothing about me had changed, but everyone was treating me differently. I didn't like it.

Still, the Carca nurse from the beginning stayed unwavering in his kindness and without an attachment back to Blithe's pack, I knew that it wasn't for any political reason. He was just a good man with a good heart. That was the kind of nurse I wanted to see and I was thankful for him.

The Carca man, whose name I finally read as Stan on his name tag, came out to get me when his team had finished stitching Blithe up. I was holding onto a plastic cup of water with everything I had, my mind spinning without a hope of being caught. "Ms. Marino?" His deep voice called out to me and I looked to find warm brown eyes staring down at me. "He's all fixed up, but he's still knocked out from the pain medication. We used salves and creams to speed up the healing process, so I doubt they'll scar, but we'll have to see. You can come back now, if you'd like." He angled his body back to Blithe's room, his hair dramatically striped on either side of his head a light brown compared to the remaining black coloring.

I nodded my head, trying to pin myself back down to reality. Clearing my throat, I stood up, still gripping the plastic cup like it was the only thing tethering me in place, "Thank you so much. When do you think he'll be released?"

He beamed down at me as we walked, "First thing tomorrow morning. His stitches are dissolvable, so he won't even have to come back to get them removed." I technically had school tomorrow, but the idea of walking back into that high school seemed trivial now. I can miss one day, I thought, imagining all of the stares I would receive when I did go back. The longer I could delay that, the better. Stan pulled one of Blithe's chart down from a holder on the wall and scribbled something on it before he parted the curtains for me to enter. Good god, I've had a long past few nights with this wolf, I thought cynically. I wondered in passing if I would ever get a good night's sleep again with him around.