52 The roar

Behind the door was an extensive hospital ward. Along each wall, there were two beds with white curtains separating them. All but one were free.

Greg and Frank stopped, taking only a step forward, not knowing what to do next. There was real mayhem in the room.

Nicki was chained to the hospital bed, on which he squirmed and growled as if a demon had possessed him. You could recognize him now only by scraps of clothing and the general silhouette. Most of the wounds had ceased to bleed and were covered with a crust, which did not at all make it look more pleasant to the eyes. Besides, huge fangs immediately stood out on the mutilated face, and the jaw itself did not look human.

"Jesus F...!" - barely audible cursed Frank, expressing a general opinion, - "What the hell is that?"

"I wouldn't call Nickolas "that" if I were you," - Kiki turned to Franky. The big man stood beside them and just watched the scene unfold.

"Lana and Vicky are not in the best mood right now. It is unlikely that they will be thrilled to hear that." - He said reproachfully, nodding in the direction of the two girls near the bed.

They stood, embracing each other as if only this support could keep them afloat. Vicky was trembling, sobbing, and Lana quietly whispered something in her ear, stroking her back, but didn't look away from her son thrashing in chains. From her expression, it was evident that she was holding on only for the sake of the children.

Additionally, there were now two more people in the room. One man in a white coat, the one that made this flight across the corridor, and another in a blue uniform, probably his assistant. And judging by the tools in their hands, they were doctors. But their patient today was not very obedient. They circled around the hospital bed cautiously, at a time trying to press Nicky down and then inject something, or fix the bone. At the same time, trying to dodge boy's attacks. A few times Nicky managed to snap his teeth in a centimeter from the outstretched arm or brush with claws near a carelessly approached doctor's face.

All this didn't look very effective.

Seeing all this, Greg could not stand still.

"Can't they just put him to sleep?" - He snapped.

Four pairs of eyes instantly stared at him. There was a reproach in Frank's eyes - "What the hell are you saying?!"

In the eyes of Kiki and Vicky,he saw a shock and insult.

But the way Lana looked at him made his heart squeeze. As if he had betrayed her with these words.

" I meant anesthesia!" - Greg began to make excuses. But Lana has already turned away.

"Almost the same for shifters," - Kiki said suddenly, without turning around.

"Shifters?" - Could not resist asking Frank. Kiki only squinted at him, but after a long pause, still answered.

"Shifters, changelings, wolf-man, werewolves,, lycanthropes. They have many names, but I think you grasped the meaning. They prefer to call themselves shifters. Not a very well-studied species, as you can guess. Therefore, medical intervention is usually a trial and error. Their metabolism and the body's structure is very different from people. Although fairy tales about their regeneration are partly correct, drugs, anesthesia, and alcohol affect them in a somewhat unusual way. A standard, human dose of an anesthetic may act as it should, it may not work at all, or it may even make a shifter go wild. And those who are weaker can also die."

Nasty goosebumps began to crawl along Greg's spine. All this didn't fit well in his head. As if it was just a bad dream. How can the people in front of him be some kind of horror story's monsters?

Greg glanced at Lana. She never looked at him again. The nose, broken by the blow from Nicky, has already healed, leaving behind only blood stains. She was the same Lana if it were not for the impressive canines sticking out, with which she had bitten her lower lip raw, and the animal eyes with a vertical pupil, which anxiously followed her son's movements. Even the tips of the girl's ears sharpened and nervously quivered at every cry.

"You said regeneration is true. Then what is going on now? Why is he screaming like that?" - Greg finally asked. This time, something like approval appeared in Kiki's eyes.

"When the injury is too severe, fast regeneration may not work out exactly like it should ... This is called Shifter's fever. For a human, the temperature rises when the immune system actively fights against all sorts of damage or viruses. During a bad fever, a person can't usually think straight, so as werewolves can be delirious. Only for them, it is more dangerous. As you can see, some are becoming very aggressive, Nicky is now in a lot of pain, and his instincts tell him to defend himself, to fight using his last strength. At the same time, he doesn't understand at all where he is and who is near him. And makes it worse with every movement. The doctor only manages to correct the bone and ..."

In confirmation of his words, Niki again arched in chains and tried to reach the assistant nearby. At the same time, the right leg, which the doctor just fixed with a special metal cast, unnaturally arched and a crunch sounded, made everyone grimace.

"In such a situation could help either the Alpha of the Pack or his father. But they have neither the one nor the other. We can only wait. He will either be able to turn by himself or die from a painful shock."- Already quieter added Kiki. But apparently not quite enough.

Vicky suddenly froze in her mother's arms, then swayed, and letting out a wild cry full of anguish, fell to her knees, dragging her mother with her. Lana tried to pacify her daughter. But she was shaking, too. The face was contorted with a grimace of horror.

Greg again felt this strange connection between them. Only now, instead of heat from that piece of heart inside him, that belonged to Lana - wild cold, despair, and pain emanated. Every cry of Nicky stuck Lana's heart like a knife, and Greg felt it too.

"Why father or this Alpha? What can they do?" - Frank whispered next. Powerless anger played on his face. This scene for Frank was like acid on a barely healed wound. Once they were in a similar situation. Only then they had a choice, there was an opportunity to help. They took advantage of it and made a mistake ...

"Alpha, and sometimes the father or an older man with authority for this wolf, can force a younger or weaker shifter turn, even when he is in such a state. It is a kind of influence directly on the beast inside a person. In this case, it's a direct order to the beast. Lana has already tried, but she is a mother - a soft and loving woman. And they have no one else." - meanwhile spoke Kiki.

For some reason, this statement terribly angered Greg. A sharp wave of rage as if led him out of some kind of stupor. He suddenly saw the whole picture.

To hell with fangs and claws!

In front of him, was a woman whom he called HIS in his heart, sitting on her knees in horror and panic. And on the bed was suffering her son, the boy who rode his shoulders as a child, the boy with whom they had become so close over the past few days, and who pushed them with Lana from under the wheels of the car rushing on them.

And he could die just because there was no one in the room with balls big enough to order him to turn ?!

Well, then fu.. this logic!

Not waiting anymore, Greg crossed the room with a confident step. It seems that someone was trying to stop him, but he didn't care.

As soon as he approached, Nicky's face, which now looked more like a rough face of a beast, turned in his direction. Predatory blue eyes focused on him. There was not a drop of the human mind in them. Only fear, pain and rage. But for some reason, they seemed familiar. Suddenly a picture stood in front of his eyes.

A forest, two huge wolves, attacking him, Tony and Martin. And the three defenders, those wolves that rescued them then.

Any doubts ceased to exist.

Greg pounced, pressing the werewolf with his whole body to the bed, taking his muzzle to the side with his forearm and turning it, so the ear was by Greg's face. Sucked a breath of air into the lungs, he barked with all his might.

"Nicholas! Enough! You have to turn! Now!"

The werewolf struggled under him, trying to throw Greg off. He did not expect such a force but was holding on.

Suddenly, Greg felt a sharp flash of pain in his side. Nicky managed to twist out and slashed Greg with his claws. But Greg did not give up. Suddenly a strange idea came to his mind. Overcoming the pain, he again leaned over Nicky's ear and roared, putting all his anger into it.

And he had a lot of anger. Life took away from him a lot, and this time he would not allow this boy to be stolen from him and from Lana.

Nicholas jerked under him and froze. Then he arched and whined. Greg felt something change under him. His whole body was cramping, the bones began to move.

A moment later, Greg suddenly realized that he was no longer lying on a human. Standing up, he glanced at the black wolf prostrated beneath him. The beast raised its tired eyes at him, whined and licked Greg in the face, put it's muzzle back on the pillow.

A second later, his eyes closed and his breathing evened out. Nicky fell asleep!

There was silence in the room. Greg stroking Nicky on his head looked up. Everyone was staring at him in amazement. Even Vicky stopped crying and looked at him with huge, full of admiration eyes. It became somehow uncomfortable.

"What?" - embarrassed said Greg.

"Jesus F***!" - expressed the general idea Kiki.