Sam and Maddie placed the woman on a pile of blankets next to the fire. Despite it being summer the early mornings were often chilly and today was no exception. Kneeling beside her Sam set about helping the new stranger. “Maddie, bring me a bowl of warm water, some towels and Glenis.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Maddie went to do as her mistress had ordered only there was no need to fetch Glenis. The older woman had once been a nurse and was often the one to care for sick or injured pack members while they healed. Despite their natural ability to heal no one knew when a werewolf would reach his or her limit and require the aid of modern medical technology. Word had already reached Glenis and she sat waiting on the other side of the still unconscious woman.
Together, Sam and Glenis removed the rest of her clothing and started bathing her body. Most of the blood came away and Glenis was able to see that most of the injuries had been superficial cuts and were already healing. Although, in her mind the young woman should have been completely healed by now. In her unconscious state she was unable to shift into animal form, which allowed for the fastest healing time, however the injuries were minor and should have long since healed.
Sam ran a warm, wet cloth over the young woman’s face and marveled that she had been able to survive something so brutal. Her face was black and blue and swollen; there was blood clotted in her thick black hair and it was while she was washing it away that she discovered a large lump on the back of her head. “Glenis, take a look at this.”
Sam moved over and allowed the woman some room. Glenis slipped her fingers into the woman’s hair and felt along her head. “She was either hit with something or fell and hit her head. I can’t be sure which but either way we need to get the swelling down.”
Sam could see by the look in the older woman’s eyes that she didn’t think that would be enough. ” Is there anyway to wake her up enough so that she can change?” Sam knew that with a head injury the best thing was for the animal to heal itself.
While Sam and the other women tried to figure out what to do, Nafarius stood questioning Roland. His second-in-command had yet to take his eyes of the injured woman. “Do you know her?”
Roland shook his head. “No, I found her in the northern hunting grounds. She was unconscious. I looked around before bringing her back but I didn’t see sighs of anyone else. Do you think she’ll be alright?”
Nafarius was puzzled by Roland’s reaction to the young woman. “Sam and Glenis will do all they can. With the two of them by her side she has the best chance. Both of those women are too stubborn to let someone die on them.” Nafarius was trying to lighten his friend’s mood but it was easily apparent that it hadn’t worked.
Roland gave Nafarius a small smile. “I know Sam will do her best. She doesn’t like harm to come to her people, unless she’s the one inflicting it.” It was true. Sam had shown herself to be fiercely protective of everyone in her pack. While at the same time she was quick to administer punishment whenever the need arose. She was swift but she was fair.
Nafarius was thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I think the best thing to do then is let Sam and Glenis do their work. Once the woman is awake we can question her as to who she is, where she’s from and what happened.”
Roland nodded and turned his attention back to where Sam and Glenis stood whispering. After a moment Sam turned and approached. “Nafarius, the young woman has a large bump on her head. We’re afraid that’s what is causing her unconsciousness. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do. There also appears to be some internal bleeding, which if she was in animal form would heal itself quickly. However, she can’t change and the healing is taking too long.”
“What are you saying?” Roland stood with his arms crossed looking down at his mistress. While she stood several inches over most of the women she was shorter than he. He never tried to use that height to intimidate her, knowing it would be useless. Today, however, he wanted straight answers. Something had happened to him when he found the woman beaten and unconscious in the woods. She’d seemed so lost and vulnerable and he found himself to be protective towards her. Roland wanted to insist that no more harm come to her and that Sam save her. Unfortunately, he knew that wasn’t possible.
“I’m saying we need her conscious so that she can change. Unfortunately, we’ve done all we can think of but she remains unconscious. Glenis is afraid that she may be comatose in which case we’ll never get her to change.” Sam took a deep breath. “There is one thing we thought of but there is no guarantee that it will work.”
“Do it.”
Sam glared at Roland. “Wouldn’t you like to know what it is first?”
“If you thought it would do more harm then good you wouldn’t have suggest it.” Roland had absolute faith in her.
“What did you have in mind?” Nafarius was the one to ask the question. He could see that Sam was uncomfortable and somewhat reluctant to broach the subject.
“Glenis pointed out that I had been able to prevent Gertrude from changing. She suggested that I might try doing just the opposite and instead try and assist the woman to change into animal form.” Sam wasn’t sure she wanted to do it, for several reasons. What if she failed? What if the young woman suffered from the invasion? What if she succeeded? There was no telling what would happen then.
Nafarius didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t think that is a good idea. We don’t know who this woman is, where she comes from or why she was beaten.”
“Are you suggesting it was her fault?” Roland’s voice held a distinct note of rage and his hands had become fists at his side.
“No; all I’m suggesting is that we think this through. I will not subject my mate or my pack to danger for some stranger.” Nafarius’ voice rang strong with warning. He was willing to take a lot from his second-in-command but there were limits to how much.
“Look,” Sam put a restraining hand on Nafarius’ chest, “I don’t think there is much danger here. If I am able to help this woman change, and that’s a big if, she most likely will remain unconscious even in animal form until she’s healed.”
“How can you be sure of that?” Nafarius asked. “What if you help her change and she emerges a conscious, injured animal. She’ll feel threatened and will likely attack even those trying to help her.”