The Innocent: Chapter 15 (Patreon)

Index

Chapter 15

Camille

I pulled the Jeep into the same hospital parking lot the next day, shutting off the engine as the excitement in my stomach escalated. I couldn’t tell if it was more my excitement or Kyla’s, but either way, it didn’t matter. The occasion was special enough for Kyla to agree to ditching – Abby would be awake and taking visitors – and we’d spent the day getting our gifts ready.

Luna, Kyla, and I climbed out of the car, and I put my backpack on as we hurried toward the hospital’s entrance, but someone outside it stopped us before going in. Constance was sitting on a bench outside, with a bouquet of flowers on the seat beside her. She was staring at the ground, but she looked up when we approached and her eyes went wide. She still looked cautious about us, and maybe a little bit afraid.

"Hi," Kyla greeted her first, giving a friendly smile. “Were you here all night?”

“Um, no,” Constance said quietly, standing. “I was just-” She glanced from the flowers to the entrance of the hospital. “I felt bad, so I called to find out about your friend and…”

“Are those for her?” Kyla asked, pointing at the flowers. Constance nodded timidly, but when Kyla said, “She loves tulips,” it got her to crack the smallest of smiles.

Luna asked, “Did you want to come in with us?”

“No,” Constance blurted, eyeing the cement beneath her feet. “I mean no, thank you. I’ve been sitting out here forever, trying to work up the nerve, but…” She drew in a deep breath and shrugged. “I’m still trying to make sense of everything. I can’t.” And she gestured at me. “I can barely look at you without feeling sick to my stomach.”

“I’m okay,” I told her, “and none of it was your fault.”

“How are your wrists?” she asked, risking a brief second of eye contact with me. “You were bleeding.”

“The wounds will be gone in a few days,” I said, and it seemed like she was aware of everything that had happened while she’d been possessed, so I added lightly, “werewolf, remember? We heal quick.”

“Right,” she murmured, looking from me to Kyla and Luna like she was finally realizing the extent of what she’d been involved in. “And Abby? Is she…?”

“Human,” I answered, “but she’ll be okay, too. Don’t worry.”

“And she ain’t going to blame you either,” Kyla added. Constance’s lips pursed with another small smile, and Kyla pointed at the flowers. “Did you want us to give her those?”

“Would you?” Constance asked, picking them up and holding them out, saying “thanks,” when Luna took them. “Thank you for being so nice to me. I’m really sorry.” A car pulled up next to the curb, and when it caught her eye, she took a step toward it. “My parents. I got a call from some Council. They offered a therapist who will actually believe me about what happened, so…”

"We'll tell Abby you came by,” Kyla said.

"Thank you," she said, looking at me and giving a wave and a nervous smile, “and I’m sorry, again.” But she froze where she was, eyes widening with realization as she said, “Oh!” She reached into her pocket and hurried back to me, holding out Lacey’s keychain. “This was yours, right? Seemed important when I took it.”

"It is," I murmured as I grabbed it. I thought I’d never see it again. “Thank you.”

She grinned at the genuine gratitude on my face, said, “Bye,” and hurried to her car.

We all waved, and walked into the hospital once she was gone. The elevator took us up to the floor Abby was on, and we wandered down the halls, reading the numbers on the doors to search for her room. We found it even before we spotted the number because Abby started shouting.

“Get out!” she yelled, but her voice was raspy with weakness and it broke with emotion, and Kyla and I immediately started hurrying toward her door. “I don’t care! You didn’t tell me you screwed up and it’s your fault! Get out!”

I was almost there when a large man stormed out of her room, almost crashing right into me. He stopped just in time, and I stood there, staring up into the face of Abby’s father. He already looked furious, and even more so when he recognized us. His eyes narrowed at me, and he was very clearly waiting for me to step aside so he could continue his stomping away, but I didn’t budge. Screw him. He’d just upset Abby the morning after she almost died, and there were still remnants of protective rage in me from last night, because he could go right to hell.

I held his gaze and scowled, squaring my shoulders to let him know I wasn’t moving. If he wanted to leave, then he was going to have to go around me. But he didn’t. He glared back, taking my challenge and standing his ground with his jaw working back and forth, and that made a low growl bubble in my chest. I wasn’t the most dominant wolf in the Pack, but I could damn well show him what one looked like.

The moment that rumble left my throat, Kyla grabbed me by the arm. “Mr. Johnson, Sir,” she said, hauling me away from him.

“Hey!” he barked, turning as we darted around him. We stopped. “If I ever see any of you around the office again, you’ll be dealt with.”

Knowing exactly the way I’d react to a threat like that, Kyla whipped me around so I couldn’t see him, clapping a hand over my mouth to muffle the snarl I was about to let out. “Not here,” she muttered.

“Hi and bye, President Director Guy!” Luna said loudly, waving big to call attention to him. “It was fun saving your daughter’s life! Don’t let the door crush your fat ego on the way out!”

Kyla led me directly through the door to Abby’s room, and even though Abby was still teary-eyed from the argument with her father, she was smiling. “Did you just almost get in a fight with my dad?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t have been much of a fight,” I grumbled.

While Luna set the flowers down on a nearby table, Kyla left my side to hurry to the bed, pulling Abby into a tight hug. There was a gauze wrap around Abby’s right forearm, and an IV leading into her hand, and she was leaning to the left like the right side of her torso was uncomfortable. She looked tired too, but she was sitting up a little and her cheeks were flush with healthy color, her freckles bright. It was her eyes that really looked tired, and part of me thought it wasn’t all because of the physical injuries she had.

Kyla eventually let her go, taking her left hand as she went around the bed to sit in a chair beside it and folding their fingers together. I made my way to the bed to hug her too, feeling her unoccupied right arm go around my shoulders. It was a far greater relief than I expected to feel for myself that she was okay. She wasn’t as fragile in my arms as I worried she might be, though I didn’t hold her quite as tight as I wanted to for fear of hurting her stomach. But she hugged me with firm strength, and because I was leaning over her to embrace her, her face was buried against my neck. She hugged me for the same long minute she had Kyla, and she smelled healthy and her heartbeat was strong. When we separated, I reached behind me for a second chair, pulling it to her bedside and then setting my backpack on the ground to sit.

Luna hopped up to plop down on the foot of the bed. “Hey, wolf lover.”

"Hey,” Abby chuckled.

"Your dad’s…” Luna began to say, and trailed off to think for a moment. “Swell.”

“He’s something,” Abby murmured, a cold edge in her voice as her eyes focused blankly on her bedsheets.

“He knew,” I said. He knew that the man Abby killed wasn’t aware of his wife’s crimes. Whether he’d known before the mission or after, he knew that man was innocent, and he’d kept it from her.

Abby glanced briefly at me, gaze darting back to the bed when her eyes filled with tears. She nodded. “He said he made a mistake,” she whispered, mouth curving into a frown, “and he couldn’t admit it.” She sniffled jaggedly like she was holding back a sob, and reached up to wipe away a stray tear. “I killed an innocent person.” Kyla set her other hand on their folded ones, lying forward to rest her chin over them. The affection only seemed to make it harder for Abby to hold back tears, and she shut her eyes tight, running her free hand over both cheeks to dry them.

"It gets easier,” I said, twitching one corner of my mouth in sad smile. “The guilt never goes away, but… you learn to live with it…”

"And you’re not alone,” Kyla reminded her. She nodded, sniffling away the last of the tears and pursing her lips gratefully.

“You’ll have some pretty badass scars, too,” Luna pointed out. “Can’t hang out with werewolves without having badass scars.”

“No?” Abby asked.

Luna shook her head. “We’ve all got them.” But she blew a breath through her lips, admitting, “Okay, well, mine are all small… but Camille and Kyla have some good ones.”

Kyla sat up, letting go of Abby with only one hand so she could lift her shirt up to her ribs, revealing the bullet scar on them. “And you’ve seen my shoulder.”

I did the same with my shirt, revealing the scars across my torso from Phasing accidents and fights. “I’m sure you noticed these.”

“Welcome to the club,” Luna said.

Abby smiled, a light blush coloring her cheeks. “I should just agree before you all start taking your clothes off.”

“Aw,” Luna teased, “you two flustered her.”

“You really are a pain,” Abby said, but though her blush had darkened, she was smiling her usual bright smile, the tears gone from her eyes.

Luna beamed. "You didn't think I’d stop teasing you just because you’re in the hospital?”

"Didn’t dream of it,” she said. We all laughed a little, and then Abby motioned to the flowers with her free hand. “Are those for me?”

“From Constance,” Kyla answered, nodding.

Abby passed a confused glance around at us, so Luna explained, “She was outside, but couldn’t get the courage to come give them to you herself.”

“Oh,” Abby said, “that was nice of her. How is she?”

“She’s good,” Kyla said. “Seems like the Council’s taking care of her.”

“We do that sometimes,” Abby said, and then looked at me. “And you?” She reached out to set her hand on the back of mine. Her thumb ran below the edge of the bandage around my wrist, but when I looked up from her touch to meet her eyes, she hastily pulled away.

“They’re just scratches,” I said, feeling a warmth spread in my cheeks.

“I wanted to say thanks…”

“I didn’t do anything,” I muttered. A dull frustration rose in my chest at the fact that she’d thank me when I’d been completely useless.

“You offered to,” she said quietly, “and I know not to take that lightly.”

Kyla knew because I’d told her, and she smiled across the bed at me, but I felt Luna pondering what Abby meant. After a few silent moments, she drew in a breath, asking in complete shock, “You offered the bite?”

"It's no big deal," I said, not wanting to dwell on it because I still wasn’t even sure how to feel about it. Or what to think about it. All I knew was that I had offered, and I didn’t regret it. Luna didn’t respond, but the room was silent and she was clearly thinking deeply to herself, and every moment that she thought, the more Abby’s cheeks darkened with a blush. “Leave her alone,” I told Luna.

“No, I wasn’t teasing her,” Luna said, studying me closely. “Sorry…”

Whatever she was thinking, it made Abby uncomfortable enough that she slid her hand out of Kyla’s, but Abby didn’t leave much opportunity for things to get more awkward. “I wanted to thank all of you, too,” she said. “For helping me. Constance probably would’ve killed me if I’d been working with anyone else.”

“I’m glad we helped,” I told her, and I shrugged and admitted, “I’d probably do it again.”

Abby smiled warmly, but after a brief pause, Kyla perked up. “Maybe we should do it again.”

“But the tension between the Council and the Pack…?” Luna reminded.

“That’s exactly why,” Kyla said. “Our paths keep crossing, and maybe we can show the elders that we can work together. We’ll show Eli that the Council can include us without just using us for the dirty work, and we can show Abby’s dad that the wolves are good for more than killing. Maybe someday they’ll be open to another alliance.”

She looked across the bed at me, searching my face for feedback. I nodded and said, “It could work with Eli if he doesn’t forbid it, but his only interest is protecting the Pack. If another alliance with the Council will end like the last one did…”

All three of us looked at Abby, and she said, "I don't know how much it'll get my dad to budge.” She shrugged. “But I like working with you more than anyone at the Council. I’d do it without an agenda.”

"Partners?" Kyla asked, hovering her hand over Abby's lap.

“Yeah,” Abby said, setting her hand on the back of Kyla’s.

I put mine on Abby’s, nodding, and Luna rested hers on mine and said, “No more demons, though. And no ghosts.”

“Can’t make any promises,” Abby laughed as we withdrew our hands, and Luna gave an exaggerated sigh.

For a change in topic, Kyla said, “We brought you some stuff.” She motioned to me while I grabbed my backpack off the floor. “Camille made you her chicken soup.”

“Kyla helped,” I said, pulling a thermos of still-hot soup from my bag and setting it on the bedside table. Abby grabbed it and unscrewed the lid, inhaling a deep breath of the soup and humming her approval. She smiled gratefully while I reached into my bag again, pulling out a soft black jewelry box. “And we got you this.”

I was trying really hard not to think about what was inside so it’d be a surprise, and maybe Kyla and Luna were too, because Abby took it from me with a curious look in her eyes. She opened it, staring down at the necklace inside for a long moment before looking up. “What…”

“We went to that magic shop,” Kyla explained, “the one you took me to last semester. Harold said this was the best protection charm he had.”

“You know,” I added, “since the one your dad made you was pretty useless.”

“It’s silver,” Luna said, “so you won’t be as much of a werewolf magnet.” I reached over to smack her on the arm, and she laughed and finished, “But Harold said silver and that sapphire are super magical or something.” So was the shape of it – the small diamond-shaped rune of the metal with the blue sapphire at the center. They were great for protection.

"You guys, it's..." Abby traced the shape with her finger, looking stunned and maybe on the verge of tears again. “It’s beautiful, and so thoughtful, but you didn’t have to.”

“Harold likes you, you know,” Kyla said. “And he practically gave it to us for a lock of werewolf hair and for drinking with him.” Apparently Harold had been in trouble with the Council plenty of times for brewing a drink called Magic Moonshine, which gave people psychic hallucinations.

“You didn’t,” Abby said in shock.

“Luna did,” I said.

“What a trip,” Luna cackled. “I’m still coming down from that high.”

“Oh my god,” Abby laughed, but the movement cut her laugh off short as she sucked in a sharp breath, her hand going to her stomach.

"See," I teased, “you’re kind of fragile. You need all the protection you can get.”

"Yeah?” she asked with a smirk. “When I’m better maybe we should spar. I’ll show you who’s fragile.”

"That I have to see,” Luna said.

Abby smiled, holding back another laugh so it wouldn’t hurt, and then she gestured with the box in her hand. “Thank you for this.” She pulled the necklace from the box, raising it to try and put it on, but bending her arm to do it put pressure on the wound in her forearm. With a wince, she stopped trying and extended the necklace to Kyla. “Would you?” Kyla nodded, and while she put it in place, Abby murmured, “Stitches are a nuisance…”

“If you're in pain...” I said, glancing out the door behind me because I’d get a nurse if she needed.

“It’s okay,” Abby said, smiling gratefully as she motioned to the IV. “They’re giving me a little medicine. I’m mostly just sore.” Kyla finished putting the necklace on her, so she added, “Thanks,” while she straightened it around her neck and Kyla wiped her silver-irritated fingers on her jeans.

“When can you get out of here?” Luna asked.

“Yeah,” I said, “history’s not the same without you.”

“Did you even go to history this morning?” Abby asked.

“No,” I answered, “because it wouldn’t have been the same.”

Abby laughed as much as the ache in her stomach would allow, and then said, “They’re keeping me here today to make sure there’s no internal complications, and I should be able to go home tomorrow. I’ll probably stay at my mom’s for a couple of days before going back to school.”

I nodded as a middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway. She was about Kyla’s height, with light-brown hair and dark blue eyes, dressed in business casual attire. She looked familiar, like one of the Council members who’d been at the warehouse helping to fight vampires with us last semester. “Oh,” she said, stopping when she spotted us, “hello.”

"Mom, hey,” Abby said with a smile. “You remember Kyla, and Camille?” She gestured toward Luna. “And that’s Camille’s sister, Luna.”

"The wolves,” her mom said, extending a small smile. It was more of a polite formality than genuine friendliness, but it was at least better than Abby’s father. “Your dad called me, said he was worried.” She cast a glance around at us. “I can see now what his issue was.”

“He’s the issue,” Abby muttered. Her mom’s gaze was focused on Kyla, but after a few more seconds, it moved to me, and she stared intently like she was looking straight into my brain. “Mom,” Abby said, interrupting the look, “don’t pry.” Oh. I glanced away uncomfortably. She had been looking into my brain… guess that’s where Abby got it from.

“We should go anyway,” Kyla volunteered. She stood and gave Abby a tight parting hug.

“Thanks for the gifts,” Abby said as I took my turn hugging her. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Get better,” Luna told her, swatting her on the thigh. “I got my money on you for that spar with Camille.”

“Thanks,” Abby chuckled, giving a wave as we moved to the door. “Bye.”

We left the hospital room, and Kyla took my hand while we left the building and wandered out to the parking lot. “What now?” she asked, climbing into the passenger seat of the Jeep.

I headed around and got into the driver’s seat. “I have a proposition for you. And Luna, too, I guess.”

She turned in her seat to face me while Luna leaned forward from the back. “What is it?”

“This morning, me and Luna were telling Eli about what happened, and how you really wanted to help.” I paused, and Kyla hummed curiously. “He’s got a job for us, if you want it.”

Her green eyes lit up. “What’s the job?”

“String of wolf kills in Missouri,” I answered, “risking exposure for the rest of us. Abby can help us research the situation and, if we need to, we’ll go there under Wes’s supervision and deal with it.”

“Eli wants us enforcing?” she asked in shock.

“He wants us to learn,” I said. “If you want to help.”

She nodded eagerly, saying, “Yeah,” and nodding some more. “If a wolf is hurting people, I want to stop it.” I couldn’t help smiling, having expected nothing less. “But… what about you?” I cocked an eyebrow. “You almost just died again, are you sure you’re up for this so soon?”

“I can handle a wolf,” I laughed. “And mine’s itching for something I can actually fight. What do you say?”

“I want the job,” she said immediately.

“Luna?”

Luna tsk-ed. “Like I’d let you three have all the fun.”