The Worst Punishment For Any Werewolf

Conri continued to speak calmly and quietly. "Cain, I know you are worried about Orfila. She is here now, Cain, and she is safe. No one will hurt her, Ralph can't get near her. But you have to let Jeff and his nurses take care of her." Conri stared into his brother's wild eyes. He had never seen Cain's wolf so in control of his brother. As Alpha, Conri could exert his influence on Cain's wolf. 

He never had to in the past, but he had no choice now. He gave Cain a gentle mental push and felt Cain's wolf push back. If this was any other pack member, Conri would have taken that as a challenge to his authority, and the fight would have been on. But this was his brother, his second, and he knew it was the mating instinct at work. He gave more of a mental shove now and saw Cain's eyes flicker for a moment and go back to their normal green hue.

Cain seemed to just now notice his brother standing there. He looked back at Orfila and smoothed her hair, his finger brushing across her cheek. "She is so strong, Conri. She won't give up. I think she knows I am here. She needs me here with her. What if she turns into a werewolf and I am not here to guide her. Today is the third day and she has not turned."

"Cain, it won't do her any good if you terrorize her nurses. You have to let them get close to her. If you don't let them do their job, I am going to have to order you to leave every few hours so they can get their work done without you tearing anyone's arm off." Cain approached slowly and grasped his brother's shoulder. Cain looked up and gave a weak smile. He seemed to draw strength from his brother's touch and stood up. " If she turns into one, people will be around to guide her. I promise"

"You are right, I know you're right. But my wolf would disagree. Guess I need to have a talk with him, huh?" Cain smiled at his brother, but he kind of agreed with his wolf too. He didn't want to leave her alone for a second. But his pack would take care of her. They would never let Ralph near her and would protect her with their lives. He had to get a grip on himself and his wolf. Jeff wouldn't be able to take care of Orfila if Cain was giving him more patients to take care of. "But I am worried about Orfila, it's the third day and she is yet to wake up. Why won't she wake up?"

Conri signed, "Why don't you go clean up? You look like hell and no offense bro, but you smell like it too. Take a shower, get something to eat, and let Jeff do his job. You know you can trust everyone here. This is your family. And her family now. At least give them 30 minutes. If she wakes up, Jeff will send for you. Right?" Conri looked over to the doctor who emphatically nodded his head. "Then it's settled. Go. Now!"

Cain reluctantly turned to leave, his hand gently resting on Orfila. He lingered for another minute but felt his brother's stare and slowly walked away. Conri was right. He needed a shower. What if Orfila woke up and couldn't stand the stench of him? That wouldn't be good if his mate thought he was disgusting. Guess he should make it a daily thing to leave long enough every day to clean up just in case she came to. He wanted her to smile when she saw him, not wrinkle up her nose cuz he smelled. With a sigh, he left her.

When Conri was sure Cain was far from them, he looked at the doctor with a worried look.

"I wanted to be sure that Cain was not here before I said this….. Something is wrong with Orfila." Conri voiced his worry.

"What do you mean?" Jeff looked away from his chat, and motioned his nurse to leave the room. He then turned to Conri and waited for his response.

"She is a werewolf or something in between." Conri replied.

"Since she got bit by a werewolf, she is supposed to turn into one." Jeff explained.

"That's not what I am saying. Orfila is a werewolf. The bite meant nothing." Conri replied

"That's impossible, Cain would have known if she was one. He is the best sniffer we have after you." Jeff replied with a shocked expression. 

"Exactly, except she has no werewolf scent. But after the bite, it must have triggered something. The scent is there, very faint, you could almost miss it." Conri replied with his arms crossed.

Jeff sniffed the air for some seconds and was about to tell Conri that he smelt nothing when he perceived it, it was faint and Conri was right, you could almost miss it.

"This is unbelievable, a human that is actually a werewolf." Jeff said with a shocked look on his face.

"I have not seen one before, but I heard in the legends that it happens when the moon goddess lays a curse on someone and cages the person's wolf. But it was a punishment and hasn't happened to any wolf for centuries." Conri explained.

"What did she do to deserve such punishment from the moon goddess?" Jeff asked

"I have no idea. This is the worst punishment for any wolf, it is worse than death." Conri replied.

"Should we tell Cain about this?" Jeff asked as he looked at his Alpha.

"No. I have to get more information about this. You saw how Cain was for three days, can you imagine how he will be if he hears about this. Let's keep this to ourselves until I give you a go." Conri ordered.

Jeff nodded his head and looked at Orfila.

"For the meantime, just take care of her and put her under strict supervision. I don't want her rampaging everywhere once her wolf becomes free." Conri ordered and left the room.

Jeff signed and called his nurse into the room. After giving her instructions, they started checking her vitals before Cain returned.

Cain had to admit, it felt good to get out of those clothes. He had been in them for three days, and even wrinkled his nose as he threw them in the hamper. He really hated being away from Orfila even for a few minutes, but he forced himself to take his time. He scanned the room and realized that he'd need a bigger one for when he brought his mate home. Maybe he should build his own private home nearby like some of the other pack members had. Or maybe reopen the other wing of the house where their parents used to live. Conri hadn't wanted to move out of his rooms after they'd died, and the rooms had just been closed up. Maybe it was time to forget the past and move on. He'd talk to Conri later, after Orfila was farther along in her recovery.

Of course, he thought to himself, that was if Orfila agreed to be his mate. For all he knew, she could reject him and run away as soon as she was physically able. Whether she wanted to mate with him or not, he would make sure she was safe until that fucking lone wolf was taken care of. Then if she wanted to run from him, like it or not, he would have to let her go. The thought of that stopped him in his tracks. Would she run from him? Would she blame his whole kind for what one rogue Were did? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn't let himself think about that now. He'd think positively that she would love him for who he was and want him regardless of what happened to her. He had to think that or go crazy with the "what ifs".

He scrubbed himself raw in the hot shower. His mind was totally on Orfila, and he didn't notice the door opening or the figure who slipped into the bathroom. His eyes were closed as he pictured that night in the park, his arms around her tightly, his lips pressing to hers, their tongues dancing in unison. At first when he felt the light touch of a hand on his back he moaned, thinking it was her. And then he whirled around to see Lila, nude, in his shower with him.

"What the fuck are you doing in here Lila? Get out!" The look of rage on his face was a shock to Lila. She hadn't seen Cain since she left on a business trip two weeks prior. They had been on great terms up till then. The last time she saw him they had fucked for hours and he begged her to stay longer. When she went on a trip, he begged her to hurry back because he needed her. She thought they would pick up where they had left off.