to get inside her head? Harper’s
heartbeat lurched, but the cause had come from Axel. Somehow she could feel his
emotions. That was definitely new. As a matter of fact, she had never
remembered being able to smell this well, even though her increased senses
didn’t feel odd to her.
“I’m
sorry,” Harper said, closing her eyes. “I just think I'm going crazy.”
“Harp-”
Her mom started.
The
Doctor interrupted, “That’s enough for today. Harper, you're not going crazy,
but it'll take a while to process everything. Try to get some rest and we’ll
see how you’re feeling tomorrow.” She gave Harper’s two visitors a stern glance
before leaving the room.
As
soon as the door shut, Harper knew that her mom was going to start talking
non-stop, and her words would not help the situation. Before the flood, she turned
and demanded, "Mom. Please, just give me a minute to think.”
Her
mother’s mouth had been poised for speech, but it snapped shut at her
daughter’s request. Axel still sat brooding in the corner with an unreadable
expression, and Harper could somehow feel the anger and distress pulsing from
him. She had to focus. She had to remember what she could.
She
had gone to Canyon high after moving here at 14, and her high school life had
been rough. She hadn’t quite fit in with the normal crowd, and there were a few
bullying incidents. After a while, Harper had grown to accept it. She had been ditched
by her dance date freshman year as a joke and had cried half the night. It had
all been some funny joke the ‘popular kids’ played, and Harper had known
better; no boy that cool would have honestly asked her to a dance.
Harper
remembered losing the national history competition her senior year because she
couldn’t remember the last king of Egypt’s third dynasty. Who the hell knew
that? She had studied all the potential subjects from past tests, and they had
never asked questions about Egypt before.
The
competition was in the spring, two months before her high school graduation,
but Harper didn’t remember graduating. The last memory she had was studying for
finals.
Back
in the present, Harper shut her eyes to remove her mom’s pitying face and Axel’s
distressed form from view.
“You
know, Sterling, you shouldn’t show weakness like that in public. It isn’t
becoming,” Harper’s mom said. Apparently she just couldn’t keep quiet.
Axel
growled. Harper opened her eyes in shock. He had just growled at her
mom. Harper could feel her wolf respond to Axel’s anger. Wait a minute. Her
wolf? Did she just think about being a wolf? What the hell was going on?
Harper
fought her warring emotions for a minute before finally giving in to defeat.
She didn’t know anything anymore. She didn’t even know who she was or what she
was. What had happened to her boyfriend? Harper had been dating Daniel and
things had been going great, so why did they break up?
Those
thoughts brought her eyes to Axel. Now would probably not be a good time to ask
about Danial. Axel looked pretty unstable right now, and she didn’t want to be
the one to push him over the edge. He stood up and, ignoring Gene’s comment,
strode to Harper’s side, apparently coming to a decision. Dang, this man was a
looker. Harper wondered again how she had ended up with him.
He
briefly touched her cheek and murmured, “I’ll be here when you call.”
Axel
left the hospital room, and her mom seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Faintly,
she heard murmuring something outside. After a moment, a large man walked in to
stand by the door.
Harper
took a container of water from her mom and drank deeply before asking the new
guy, “Who are you? I’m sorry if I can’t remember…” Harper trailed off lamely.
“I
am Conner, the pack’s beta.” His voice was deep and clipped, like a sergeant.
Did he just say pack? Hopefully that wasn’t connected to her ‘wolf’. Yep, her
head was definitely rewiring his words. Somehow on the
heartbeat lurched, but the cause had come from Axel. Somehow she could feel his
emotions. That was definitely new. As a matter of fact, she had never
remembered being able to smell this well, even though her increased senses
didn’t feel odd to her.
“I’m
sorry,” Harper said, closing her eyes. “I just think I'm going crazy.”
“Harp-”
Her mom started.
The
Doctor interrupted, “That’s enough for today. Harper, you're not going crazy,
but it'll take a while to process everything. Try to get some rest and we’ll
see how you’re feeling tomorrow.” She gave Harper’s two visitors a stern glance
before leaving the room.
As
soon as the door shut, Harper knew that her mom was going to start talking
non-stop, and her words would not help the situation. Before the flood, she turned
and demanded, "Mom. Please, just give me a minute to think.”
Her
mother’s mouth had been poised for speech, but it snapped shut at her
daughter’s request. Axel still sat brooding in the corner with an unreadable
expression, and Harper could somehow feel the anger and distress pulsing from
him. She had to focus. She had to remember what she could.
She
had gone to Canyon high after moving here at 14, and her high school life had
been rough. She hadn’t quite fit in with the normal crowd, and there were a few
bullying incidents. After a while, Harper had grown to accept it. She had been ditched
by her dance date freshman year as a joke and had cried half the night. It had
all been some funny joke the ‘popular kids’ played, and Harper had known
better; no boy that cool would have honestly asked her to a dance.
Harper
remembered losing the national history competition her senior year because she
couldn’t remember the last king of Egypt’s third dynasty. Who the hell knew
that? She had studied all the potential subjects from past tests, and they had
never asked questions about Egypt before.
The
competition was in the spring, two months before her high school graduation,
but Harper didn’t remember graduating. The last memory she had was studying for
finals.
Back
in the present, Harper shut her eyes to remove her mom’s pitying face and Axel’s
distressed form from view.
“You
know, Sterling, you shouldn’t show weakness like that in public. It isn’t
becoming,” Harper’s mom said. Apparently she just couldn’t keep quiet.
Axel
growled. Harper opened her eyes in shock. He had just growled at her
mom. Harper could feel her wolf respond to Axel’s anger. Wait a minute. Her
wolf? Did she just think about being a wolf? What the hell was going on?
Harper
fought her warring emotions for a minute before finally giving in to defeat.
She didn’t know anything anymore. She didn’t even know who she was or what she
was. What had happened to her boyfriend? Harper had been dating Daniel and
things had been going great, so why did they break up?
Those
thoughts brought her eyes to Axel. Now would probably not be a good time to ask
about Danial. Axel looked pretty unstable right now, and she didn’t want to be
the one to push him over the edge. He stood up and, ignoring Gene’s comment,
strode to Harper’s side, apparently coming to a decision. Dang, this man was a
looker. Harper wondered again how she had ended up with him.
He
briefly touched her cheek and murmured, “I’ll be here when you call.”
Axel
left the hospital room, and her mom seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Faintly,
she heard murmuring something outside. After a moment, a large man walked in to
stand by the door.
Harper
took a container of water from her mom and drank deeply before asking the new
guy, “Who are you? I’m sorry if I can’t remember…” Harper trailed off lamely.
“I
am Conner, the pack’s beta.” His voice was deep and clipped, like a sergeant.
Did he just say pack? Hopefully that wasn’t connected to her ‘wolf’. Yep, her
head was definitely rewiring his words. Somehow on the
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