Werewolves

Samantha.

I wake up in a hospital bed.

There's beeping from monitors, the smell of disinfectant, and an IV stuck in my right arm.

My head is spinning. The curtains are pulled, blocking the other half of the room. To my left is a wide window. It is still nighttime. Millions of stars dance around in the sky. It confirms I am not in the city. With all the city lights we wouldn't be able to see that many stars. Which means it also wasn't a dream. I was kidnapped by Australian demons.

I roll over and sigh to myself. How am I going to get out of here? Is my mother looking for me? He promised I would be able to go back. He promised me I could see my son. Then again, why should I believe a stranger, one who kidnapped me at that. He is some sort of demon; it seems as well. Demons lie. Even if I go back, I am so fired after bailing on two shifts. Hopefully, they'd understand. If not, no money means, no apartment.

My breathing begins to get shaky again.

"Breathe, Samantha," I tell myself. My head has to be on straight if I want to get out of here.

Maybe he felt bad and left me at the nearest hospital. I could probably use their phone.

First, I have to pee, haven't since I left my house in the afternoon.

I pinch the IV and remove the tube that is attached to the bag from it. What I really want to do is rip the whole thing out altogether, but I am too squeamish for that. I climb to my feet. At least they had the decency to leave me in my regular clothes and not some revealing hospital gown. I pull open the curtain, and as I take a step, I am stopping. A pair of dark eyes glared at me.

"You." We say in unison.

Gabriel is sitting in a hospital bed on the other side of the curtain. Unlike me, he is wearing a gown. He also has an IV in his arm. I notice the deep bruising on his neck from when Eli tried to strangle him.

"Great, now your demented mate is going to come in here and kill me like if I chose to be in this room with you." He folds his arms across his chest and huffs.

"My what?"

"Nothing. Did you happen to come with someone else?"

"No?"

A woman walks in interrupting us. By the white lab coat, I assume she is the doctor.

"You're awake?" She smiles at me with her bright eyes.

She is an older woman, maybe in her late 40s. Her dark brown hair is laced with a few grays and pulled back into a tight bun. She is thick and curvy with tan skin. Her face is beautifully aged with laugh lines and a hint of crow's feet. She is noticeably taller than me too, probably by a few inches.

"Dr. Ramírez!" Gabriel groans. "Please switch my room. If Alpha came in here and saw I was bunking with the Luna, he'd finish the job!"

Luna?

Dr. Ramírez chuckles, taking Gabriel's patient chart and slapping him in the foot with it.

"No can do, Gamma. We are still caring for the warriors who got injured in that battle with the rogues. With that and the number of shewolves who gave birth and are in labor this weekend, rooms are full."

She-what?

Gabriel groans again.

"Besides Alpha was here already. He told me once she's awake to send her over to him before I'd have to treat you for a missing arm." She chuckles.

By the panicked look on his face, Gabriel clearly doesn't find that as amusing as she does.

"Is that the bathroom?" I point to a door to the right of the entryway.

"Yes, mi amor." Ramírez smiles.

I walk past her and to the bathroom.

After using it, I take a moment to look myself over in the mirror. I am still pale, but whatever was in the IV has me looking a bit more refreshed. I wash my face and pat it dry with paper towels. Then I undo my braids and use one hair tie to pull my hair up into a high, messy bun. I remove my white shirt and throw it in the trash. It is covered in dirt from when I passed out. Beneath it, I am wearing a beige V-neck cami. The thin straps do nothing to cover up my pink laced bra straps. The top clings to my skin, showing off my breasts and slim waist. I use a wet paper towel to wipe dirt off my black capri cargos and all black running shoes.

I go for the door and pause. What the hell were they talking about out there before? Rogues, warriors, and shewolves?? Is everyone crazy or just me?

I exit the bathroom to find the doctor is still waiting for me. Gabriel looks over and throws his hands in the air.

"Great! Where the hell is your shirt, Luna?! Goddess Doc, get her out of here before he comes back and kills me!"

"It was dirty." I mumble, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling a bit self-conscious by his remark.

"Hush, hush." Ramírez smiles softly. "How are you feeling, Samantha?" Unlike the other words that came out of her mouth, she says my name with a strong spanish accent.

"Good, I guess."

"You had the Alpha worried, though it was only a bad-"

"Panic attack." I finish for her.

"I'm guessing you get those often?" Her brows furrow together in concern.

"Unfortunately." I rub my hands over my arms nervously.

"Your vitamin D was incredibly low as well," She goes on. "Should have gotten a good boost though, thanks to the IV drip. Still will need supplements." She taps her pen on the clip board.

"What are you?" I blurt out.

"What do you mean?" She tilts her head to the side, obviously pretending to not know what I am talking about. "A doctor."

"Haha," I chuckle sarcastically. One thing I hate is people insulting my intelligence.

"Ok, doctor..are you like him?" I point to Gabriel.

"What do you mean?" She asks nervously.

"I mean, do your eyes go black, and do you growl like him?"

They both look at each other nervously. Something tells me they aren't allowed to give me answers. Maybe a certain "Alpha" is to thank for that. That doesn't mean I am going to stop asking.

"What's an Alpha? What's a Luna? What's a mate?" They remain quiet.

I ball my fists at my side in frustration. I am tired of my questions landing on deaf ears.

"Where am I, and what the hell are you guys?!" I shout, causing Ramírez to stiffen.

Only it isn't my shouting that gets that reaction from her.

"Werewolves."

The deep familiar voice sends a chill up my spine. I spin around into the chest of Eli.

"Werewolves?" My body starts trembling. "Like some twilight shit?" I accidently think outloud. I slap my hand over my mouth and back away slowly until the back of my legs hit against Gabriel's hospital bed, and I involuntarily take a seat.

Eli's eyes turned black, and Dr. Ramírez rushes over to me and is pulling me from the bed and across the room.

"Stand down, Alpha," Ramírez says sternly, "There will be no killing of Gammas in my hospital."

Eli lets out a low growl, and with a blink, his eyes are blue again.

Gabriel says nothing. His eyes stay fixed on the predator in the room, watching and waiting for an attack.

"Like the twilight movies?" Eli chuckles, "Somewhat."

"Ok." I answer probably too calmly for them because they all look taken aback for a moment.

"Ok?" Eli studies my face.

"Is she in shock, Doc?" Gabriel finally speaks.

"Uh- I'm not sure." she pulls a small flashlight out her pocket and shines it in my eyes.

The unexpected action causes me to flinch and grimace violently from the light.

"I'm not in shock!" I glare at her. "I mean, I believe in aliens, so why not werewolves?"

The room falls quiet again until Gabriel's hysterical laughter shakes the walls. It's an annoying manic laugh that reminds me of a hyena.

"ALIENS!" He laughs, slapping his knees and the bed beneath him.

I looked over at Eli, who was chuckling into his fist, trying to disguise it as a cough and failing miserably. Even Dr. Ramírez finds it funny. Her shoulders shake as she hides her smile behind the clipboard.

"Wow," my hands fly down to my hips, "shit on my open mind, why don't you?"

"Sorry Luna, it's just too funny." Dr. Ramírez admits, biting down on her bottom lip to prevent any giggles from escaping.

"My name is Samantha, not Luna," I roll my eyes.

Finally, the laughter stops, but this time, the silence makes me uneasy.

"Is she ok to go?" Eli asks Ramírez.

The doctor nods her head swiftly, eyes wide.

What is going on? Did I say something wrong?

"Let's take a walk outside." Eli offers me his hand, and I ignore it, walking past him to the door. I stop just before leaving and turn around to thank Ramírez and say goodbye to both her and Gabriel.