Page 6 of The Night Wolf
“Goddamn it,” Gareth berated himself. He rushed to Franklin and stroked the side of his face. “I am so very sorry, Frank. My wolf is riding me hard lately whenever it comes to our guest. He’s apparently a lot closer to the surface than I thought. I hope you can forgive me.”
Franklin’s eyes narrowed. “Your wolf is…. But you never lose control.”
“It seems to be the time for surprises, huh?” Gareth said with a chuckle. “Since my wolf sensed him in the woods, he’s been very proprietary. When you touched him, the wolf went nuts and clawed to get to you. I had to explain to him repeatedly that you were a doctor and that you were helping. He settled, but not as much as I’d hoped.”
“Intriguing,” Franklin muttered as he stared at Gareth. “Would you mind if I examined you?”
“Me? I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Gareth reminded him.
“No, of course not. But your wolf is reacting to my patient for a reason, and I’m curious to know what it is. Tell me, did you help him shift?”
Gareth gave a sharp nod. “I passed some of my energy to him. He soaked it up like a sponge. When I touched him, I could tell his reserves were drained. It seemed as though he was a dried-out husk.”
“I need to see your eyes. Is it okay if I look at them?”
Gareth nodded. To look into the eyes of an Alpha could be considered a challenge to his authority, but he was aware Franklin was no threat. Franklin led him to a chair and bade him to sit, then pulled out a light he shined into Gareth’s eyes.
“Amazing,” Franklin whispered as he flicked the light back and forth.
“What?” Gareth demanded, struggling to tamp down the annoyance.
“The iris of your eye has changed,” the doctor said. “It’s tinged with violet now, just like our friend.”
“Impossible!” Gareth snorted, pushing up and out of the chair. He stalked to the mirror and pulled his eyelid up. His eyesweredifferent. The blue had become deeper, almost a violet. He turned back to Franklin.
“What the hell is going on?” The words came out raw, angry.
Franklin held up his hands. “I’m only telling you what I saw. When you gave him energy, did you feel weakened at all?”
“No,” Gareth answered honestly. Considering how much he’d given, it should have left him nearly drained. He would have needed a lot of food and sleep to get it back.
“Simply fascinating.” Franklin scribbled down notes on a pad of paper that lay on the counter nearby. He kept glancing at Gareth, muttering a few words, and adding to his growing list.
“If you don’t stop talking to yourself, I may be forced to kill you,” Gareth growled.
“My apologies. Can you do me a favor?” Franklin held out his hand. “Take my hand and give me some of your energy.”
“Franklin, what is this about?”
“I’m not sure yet. Just a theory I want to test.”
Gareth gripped the doctor’s hand and let a fraction of his energy slide along their joined hands.
“Fuck!” Franklin shouted, pulling away.
“What happened?”
“You didn’t feel that?” Franklin asked.
“I didn’t feel anything. Why? What was it?”
Franklin went to the sink and scrubbed his hands before he pulled on yet another set of the limitless supply of gloves the clinic seemed to have. He returned to Gareth, reached out, and gently probed his fingertips. “When you gave me your energy, it felt like I’d stuck my hand into a socket. It was all I could do to pull away. I honestly was surprised by the fact that it didn’t knock me across the room.”
“What would do that?” Gareth asked, pulling away from his friend and staring at his hand.
“It never happened before,” Franklin muttered as he jotted down more notes. “It’s like you’ve been supercharged. Did you notice anything unusual when you touched—did he say what his name was?”
Gareth shook his head. “We never got to that point. I told him to sleep, and he did.”
