AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As his doctor checked him over, the sedated shifter raised his head and gave me a single nod.
“Ridge,” Zander said, struggling to sit up. “What’s going on? What happened to me?”
“Take it easy, Zander,” I said softly as the anger dissipated from my body. The doctor and I helped him lie back down. “We’re trying to figure that out.”
“Did I hurt anyone?” he asked, barely above a whisper. “My dad, is he okay? I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t. I don’t know what’s happening to me. Please tell me if my dad’s okay?” Tears pooled in his eyes as he hiccupped.
“Your father’s going to be fine.” I did my best to keep my emotions in check. “Now, tell me what you remember.”
“Nothing.” He finally shed the tears he was holding back. “One minute, I was talking to my dad, and the next thing, I’m waking up here, feeling like a truck ran me over. What’s wrong with me, Ridge? Why can’t I remember anything? What happened to my dad? Did I attack him?”
“Zander, listen to me. Now.” I gripped his shoulder firmly. “Whatever’s happening to you, we’re going to figure it out. I promise.”
The doctor pulled me to the side. “Mayor, I called Dr. Kipling, and she said she was on her way. He has a temperature, and we’re keeping him monitored. We’ll know more once we get his blood tests back. We also have him scheduled for an MRI to check for anything abnormal.”
Zander lay in his bed, lost and frightened. We’d always had our conflicts in the past, but I wouldn’t have wished this on my worst enemy.
The door to the room swung open a moment later, and Tori walked in with a distressed Dr. Lola Kipling. Tori’s eyes lit up with relief at the sight of me. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Moving toward Tori, I pulled her against my side and kissed her cheek. My wolf settled, but we kept our body between her and Zander as a precaution. “How are you, my little wolf?”
“I’m okay, but I’m worried about Zander.” Tori glanced toward his bed. Lola and the other doctor spoke while she checked Zander over.
The tension in the room was palpable as Lola sat across from Zander, studying him intently. I was a little protective of him, which was not something I’d ever felt toward him, especially since he was capable of taking care of himself. At least, he used to be.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check if we can get a rush on the MRI.” The doctor rushed out of the room.
“Zander,” Lola said gently. “Can you tell me what happened today?”
Zander’s face remained blank, his eyes distant. It was like he was looking right through us, and it broke my heart to see him like this. He shook his head slowly. “I was with Dad at his house, we were talking, and then I woke up here.”
“What were you two talking about?” Lola asked.
“Um, I remember talking about people in town. Dad was trying to help me remember them because we ran into a couple of old ladies, and I had no idea who they were. So Dad tried to remind me of people I’d known forever. I’m tired of people’s sad looks every time I ask if I knew them or ask their names.” Zander’s face was pained, and his eyelids kept drooping as he lay back against the pillows. Sweat tracked down his forehead, and he looked like he was struggling against total exhaustion.
It hadn’t occurred to me that other people’s perceptions would concern him so much. Zander used to be the town drunk and had never seemed bothered about it before. His memory loss, the loss of his wolf, was truly affecting everything about him.
“It’s okay, Zander,” Lola said. “Rest your eyes. I’ll be here when you wake. Go to sleep.”
Tori’s beautiful face creased with worry. “I think we need to fill Lola in on the context here.” She glanced at me.
I grunted in agreement. Keeping Lola in the dark wasn’t a necessity anymore.
Lola was genuinely upset. The frown lines on her forehead were deep, and her lips were pursed. I had spent little time around the doctor, but after watching her with Zander and how she’d handled the whole shifter debacle, there was no denying she was a sweet and kind person who wouldn’t hurt a fly. And here I’d once suspected her of murdering Deputy Hill. There wasn’t a mean, vindictive, or harsh bone in Lola’s body, just as Tori had told me. Clearly, Tori was a much better judge of character than me.
My wolf growled. That was why she was perfect for us. We balanced each other out perfectly.
Tori took a deep breath. “Lola, there’s something you need to know about Zander. Something that might help you understand what’s happening to him.” She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, then waved Lola over to us. Lola joined us, and Tori whispered, “Before he lost his memories, Zander was a shifter like us.”
Lola’s mouth formed a perfectO. I watched her face as her mind worked furiously to process what Tori had told her. It wasn’t every day that a person found out supernatural creatures existed, and then found out all the people around her were said supernatural creatures.
“Zander was a shifter?” she whispered.
Tori nodded solemnly. “Yes, and not just any shifter. He was an alpha, like Ridge. He didn’t have a pack of his own to lead, but he was born alpha.” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “When he lost his memories, he also lost his inner wolf. It’s like it vanished.”
“Is that even possible?” Lola asked, her eyes filled with concern as she looked back at Zander. “I mean, I’ve heard of people losing their memories because of trauma or illness, but to lose an entire part of themselves? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Unfortunately, it is possible,” I confirmed grimly. “We think it has something to do with a so-called cure the hunters are researching. Right before you started seeing Zander, hunters captured me, Zander, and Diana Bogford. While we were imprisoned in their compound, they stripped away his shifter abilities, and his memories and inner wolf disappeared.”
