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“No, that’s all right.” She’d polished it off quickly and reached for the roll. “I feel awkward asking you this, but what should I be doing while all this happens with Annie?”
Lori smiled again. She had a motherly way about her, though she couldn’t have been much older than Stephanie. “You can be right there with us if you want.”
“Really?”
“She’s your daughter.” Lori stood and flicked the hem of her shirt. “She’s going to need you. Take care of yourself and get freshened up. Come on out when you’re ready. Nothing will happen until you’re there.” With yet another sweet smile, Lori left the room.
Sticking the roll in her mouth, Stephanie set the tray on the dresser and headed into the bathroom. Desperate to return to her daughter, she hardly wanted to take the time to shower until she saw herself in the mirror. Her clothes were crusted with blood, and several smears of it had dried on her face and neck. Loops of hair had worked their way loose from her braid, and she looked like hell. The spacious walk-in shower was calling to her.
She washed away as much of the terror and trauma of the day as she could, thrilled to find a large pump bottle of citrus body lotion on the counter and several face products in the cabinet. Only when you found yourself in dire situations did you truly appreciate the smallest things in life, like hot water and a fluffy towel. Lori had guessed her size well. As soon as she was dressed and her hair was again tamed into a damp braid, Stephanie peered into the hallway.
Her room was only a short walk down the hall from the dining-turned-operating room. She found Annie still on the table, asleep but with some of the color returned to her face. Lori, Dawn, and Joan were all there again, and a couple of other women had joined them.
“Stephanie.” Lori came to her side as soon as she saw her. “I’d like you to meet Angela and Robin. We asked them to come in and help because they can understand Annie’s situation better than anyone.”
Robin, a curvy woman with strawberry blonde hair that just reached her jawline, took Stephanie’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. I know the circumstances are odd, and I can’t say this is how I would normally introduce myself, but I used to be human.”
“Same here,” Angela said with a little wave. “It’s a lot to take in when it’s happening, but it’s going to be okay.”
“Is it?” Stephanie stepped up to her daughter’s side, carefully brushing a strand of hair from Annie’s face.
Dawn nodded. “Yes. I have every confidence in that. She'll be doing great once we get her through this first shift.”
“Where’s Bennett?”
“He had some other things to take care of, and I told him to shoo,” Lori replied. “I don’t know your daughter, but it can be a bit awkward and embarrassing when you’re learning how to be who you are. We all decided that, since the circumstances allowed, it would be best if she was just with other women for now.”
Stephanie nodded, surprised at how good it felt to be there amongst people who were so considerate of one another. They didn’t even know Annie, yet they rallied around her as one of their own. Stephanie supposed her daughter technically was now, but it still touched her to know these women were so eager to help. Stephanie had worried she might not be allowed to stay since she was a human, but they’d gone out of their way to make her feel comfortable and welcome. She even felt safe.
Did that mean Bennett’s parents had had something against her personally?
“Mom?” Annie stirred, her breathing awkward and her brow wrinkling. “Is that you?”
“I’m right here, baby. You’re all fixed up now. You’re going to be okay.” Her heart lifted at hearing her daughter’s voice, but her stomach dropped. She knew there was still a lot to go over. “Bennett brought you to some people who knew how to help.”
“But the wolves,” Annie insisted, her voice tired and cracking. “Was that real?”
“Yes, honey.”
Annie pulled in a deep breath and winced. “It hurts.”
“Where do you hurt, dear?” Dawn asked.
“Everywhere.”
“Probably bumps and bruises,” Dawn replied. “I didn’t find any evidence of other major damage.”
Stephanie wondered how she would know, but there was much she didn’t understand when it came to Dawn’s mystical talents. “There’s a lot we have to tell you, sweetie. Some of it won’t really make sense.”
Annie blinked and pressed her hand to her forehead. She stretched and then stopped, her eyes wide. “My leg fucking kills!”
“A wolf bite will do that to you,” Dawn replied calmly. “Let’s get you into the living room. Right now, I think the couch will be more comfortable than this table. There you go. Just put your arm around me like that, but don’t try to put any weight on your right leg. I’ve got you. Good job.”
Stephanie walked on the other side of Annie as they escorted her to a better spot. The dogs had reappeared from the kitchen now that Annie was awake, and they followed along to complete her entourage. Penelope and Sherlock were content enough to settle in at her feet, but Jacques always had his own ideas. He hopped in her lap and curled into a tiny ball, his big brown eyes peeking out from the shelter of his skinny tail and watching the room.
Annie stroked his back and gave her mom a troubled look. “I think I might be crazy, Mom.”
She knew that feeling very well. “Because of some of the things you’ve seen?”
