Page 1 of Fangs and Family
Chapter 1
I’d hoped it was just indigestion, but my gut feeling told me I should have called in sick today.
It must be something I ate.I tried to convince myself, but this heaviness inside, the one every seasoned nurse gets when she knows the night will be difficult, refused to subside, souring my mood. Who knows, perhaps my friend Sara, the “Oracle of Gdansk,” as I’d started calling her, had exposed me to her mojo. I could do with her special insight, but it was probably just because I knew working nights during an election campaign meant raised passions and more raised fists.
The fights that broke out over prime poster placement or open spaces for the soapbox orators never failed to send their victims through the doors of not only all emergency departments in the city but also our special hospital.
‘Nina, we need you; there’s another batch.’ The triage nurse had poked her head out of her bay. Her slightly wild-eyed, frazzled look sent me an instant warning. I looked past her, taking in the half-drunk but fully enraged group of men fighting over whose politician was best, each of them sporting bruises, cut faces or bleeding noses.
‘Quiet!’ I shouted, marching through the door.
My expression was one of thunder and outrage as I faced down the imbeciles when they stumbled to a confused halt.
Our hospital, beautiful as it was, had been an engagement gift for my best friend from her Forest God-turned-mob boss and now slightly reformed, doting husband. As with any gift, expensive and shiny, it soon stopped being fit for purpose.
At first, it was intended to be a small hospital where both humans and the Elder Races could be treated, no questions asked, but soon, humans, ever eager to bypass a waiting list, became our main clientele. We were such opportunistic creatures that it didn’t surprise me the Elder Races preferred the Nether to this world. There, they were able to heal any injury without the indignity of prying human eyes.
‘How may I help you, gentlemen? Before we start, if you’re thinking of continuing your brawl, I want to make you aware of our security. Those two kind souls will ensure you will leave much faster than you entered.’ I informed them, pointing toward the massive shifters that had entered the room, waiting for my signal to intervene.
‘No, no … we’re good, Sister,’ one of the drunkards mumbled. He briefly glanced towards the imposing duo, who acknowledged my introduction with two very wolfish grins before all the patients promptly sat on the chairs.Sister, how I hated that outdated term; its origins from the time when nurses were mainly nuns. I heard it so often that sometimes I wanted to roll up my nursing diploma and shove it where the sun didn’t shine.
I nodded at the twins working the security shift today. I liked them. They were men of few words but very effective in calming the crowd. It still baffled me how so many creatures of the Nether could hide in plain sight, Shifters especially. They looked like ordinary humans, perhaps with overly built bodies and grumpy manners, until they transformed. However, since Sara’s husband had purchased half of the Kashubian Forest from the government and gifted it to the Tricity pack, there was never any danger they would be seen when they ran and hunted.
The Nether itself was a marvel only a few chosen humans were aware of. A world, or rather a sphere of existence, between the physical realm and the afterlife. The land of gods and monsters, as Sara used to call it.
Most of Earth’s magic went into maintaining the Nether, with only a tiny amount left behind for the survival of the fantastical creations of the gods and their descendants. There were entrances to the Nether sprinkled all over the material world, which were commonly known as “Gates.” They were guarded by powerful entities who sacrificed their power to sustain their existence. Tricity was lucky to host three Gates, one of which was in the Dockland district.
I looked at the waiting room. None of its current residents had any idea they were sitting in a place run and financed by literal monsters, and I bit my lip to hold in the chuckle.
‘So, who’s first?’ I asked, and the man with a bleeding nose stepped forward.
‘Can you sort this out, Sister? Or should I go to the proper place and see a doctor?’ He asked, and I rolled my eyes. My newest patient had barely opened his mouth and had already annoyed me twice.
‘My name is Nina Zalewska, and I’m not your “Sister”. You may call me Nurse, Matron, or by my surname. Also, this is a “proper”hospital, and the doctor will be with you shortly. In the meantime, our triage nurse will assess you,’ I said, pointing to the doors of the open bay.
Maybe I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on him, but Sara was late for her shift, and lately, any minor inconvenience was setting me on edge.
Well, not lately, but exactly two weeks to the day, which was the first time I’d seen Adam since throwing him out of my life two years ago. Physically, he hadn’t changed. He was the same sinfully handsome man with a prideful look on his face, but there was something different about him. The arrogance that so pissed me off was… well, not gone, but dimmer, and the question of why was stuck in my mind like an intrusive thought playing on repeat.
When he’d approached, there had been an intensity in his gaze, a focus I hadn’t seen before. I was petrified. Did he want to confront me about what I said two years ago? Now? In the middle of Sara’s party? The last thing I wanted was to cause a scene, so I turned away, focusing on entertaining the patrons of the hospital. What confused me the most was Adam’s gaze, which darkened with each passing hour until he stormed away. I’d avoided a catastrophic scene, but I hadn’t been able to stop thinking of him ever since.
Now, I was frustrated because it felt like the last two years of working to forget about him were for nothing, and I was stuck in a perpetual Stockholm Syndrome.
My conflicting emotions must have been painted all over my face because the gathered crowd quietened, eying me warily. The first patient meekly followed the nurse to her bay while I headed back to my office, with its supply reports and recent attendance documents piled up on my desk.
Half an hour later, Sara ran in, her honey-gold locks in glorious disarray. ‘I’m sorry, Leszek came home late, and I had to…’ she started, but I waved her off.
‘You had to wait until he gave you a lift to work because your “Horned and Horny” has to give you a goodbye kiss.’ I said with a soft chuckle.
Sara blushed cherry red at my nickname for her husband, but since she’d told me about him suddenly sprouting antlers during their first intimate encounter, I couldn’t help myself. Of course, I never said it to his face.
‘He has a name, you know,’ she grumbled, but I could see the smile teasing her lips. ‘Anyway, enough of my man’s special extras. What’s on the menu today?’
‘Another pre-election night. You already have a probable broken nose accompanied by a rowdy bunch of idiots with bruising and lacerations. Thankfully, our wolf duo nicely subdued them with their unyielding glare.’
‘Ugh, I hate this time of year,’ Sara complained with a sigh. ‘Yesterday, Leszek went to meet with his preferred candidate to tell him about the Nether and put him under a geas1. Normally, it goes flawlessly. They might fret or panic a little, but when their predecessor reassures them it’s all true, they accept it. Then you can tell them about the agreement and offer your help with the election, but not this time. This guy was a moron. He tried to push Leszek out of the door, claiming that “This shit isn’t real” even when Leszek transformed into his stag avatar.’ She said, dressing in scrubs, and I shook my head.
Sara had been seeing shadows since childhood, so accepting the Nether came as easily as breathing. For myself and the rest of our little found family, a pack of misfits Sara had gathered around her. Well… we just followed her lead. It was easier to accept something so monumental when the sister of your heart was an integral part of it.
