Secrets Of Sanctuary Hospital Nightmare Of The Dark Shadows (32 page)

“No, but if you tell me what is needed I’m
sure that we could get something along those lines together in the
next few days. Is there any possibility that you know of for the
children to begin transforming before the night of the first full
moon?”

“I have never seen anyone, even those who
were bitten, change before the first full moon, nor has there been
any stories which I came across which would indicate that
possibility. Could you show me the cabin so that I can get an idea
of what is there and tell you what we may need?”

Andrew kisses my cheek. “I’ll show Jeff. It
will be quicker if we go alone. Let Eva know that no patients
should go beyond the recreation building today. We have a lot to
accomplish and will be faster on foot if we don’t have to worry
about who may see us.” He asks Jeff. “Would you mind going on
foot?”

“Are you kidding, I love to run.”

Grant interjects. “Would you mind if I come
with you?”

“Are you kidding, any help you could provide
would be invaluable.” Andrew puts his hand on Grant’s shoulder just
before the three of them are off.

I turn to Sarah. “It was nice meeting you. If
there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call extension
twelve and we can get you anything you need. I have to go and
ensure the patients don’t go into the woods today.” Her facial
expression changes and she is staring at me.

“Sarah, is something wrong?”

Her voice turns cold. “No, it’s just nice to
put a face to the name finally. I heard you and Jeff speaking on
the porch and Jeff telling your son he knew your family in medical
school, it finally clicked as to who you are.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“You’re Mia Angelis. You’re the one Jeff fell
in love with in medical school.” Her tone is full of disdain.

“He knew my whole family. We were friends.
That’s all.” Her face turns harder and I wonder what Jeff really
told her, but I don’t have time to inquire or fix her
misapprehension. The patients are going to be out soon and I can’t
have our plans hindered or their seeing creatures which they have
come to associate with destroying their lives. “I really have to
go. It was nice meeting you. I’m very glad you came.”

Walking away, I hear her mumble. “I bet you
are.” Although I would like to stop it, I have no time to deal with
this blooming issue right now.

I let Eva know and then check on the children
who I find playing in the recreation building. It is nice to see
them smiling.

Andrew returns and we lead the children over
to the kitchen for lunch. “Where are Grant and Jeff?”

“They went back to check on Amelia and Sarah
and then talk.”

“Were they any help as far as the cabin was
concerned?”

“Yes, Gabriel is going into town with Ryan
and Jason to secure some metal reinforcements for the windows and a
stronger door to make the cabin more secure.”

When the children finish, Jacob asks if they
could show the others the lake and cabin, so we walk up there. As
they play hide and seek in the trees, Andrew hugs me. “Mia, can I
ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Was Jeff the friend you told me about that
you needed but who had moved on, all of a sudden, when you couldn’t
move forward?”

His remembering this story catches me off
guard. “He was, but that was so long ago, what made you think of
that now?”

“I was thinking about what he said about
hanging around with you, Katrina and David and then it clicked as
to who he was.” Sadness flicks across his features and his voice
turns soft. “It’s my fault that he moved on and you didn’t stay in
touch. That night outside of your window, after our little scuffle,
I warned him to stay away from you. I was trying to keep you from
our kind and from being part of this existence. I didn’t realize
that wolves could have normal families like his. I thought he was
going to drag you in, I thought he would change you and ...”

As frustration wells within him, I place my
fingertips up to his mouth. “Andrew, stop. It was a long time ago
and you didn’t do anything wrong. You were trying to protect me.
Besides, I would have never moved on with him that way. I told you,
my heart was always searching for you after Lake Anna and I’m so
grateful that I found you and for our family.”

He hugs me tighter. “But if I hadn’t
interfered, maybe he could have helped you when you needed it.
Maybe you wouldn’t have ...”

I stretch and kiss him before he can work
himself up any more. “I thought we agreed you would try not feeling
so guilty about everything all the time. Really, Andrew everything
is fine. I’m just glad that I’m with you and that he is here now,
because I remember what a decent soul he is. I think he and Grant
can help us.”

“You are right about his soul, his aura is
very bright, even brighter than Grant’s, but Sarah is jealous of
you and is angry that Jeff wants to stay and help. She had no idea
that you were here and Martina says she’s pretty upset knowing you
are involved.”

“How can she be jealous of me? She’s married
to Jeff and has a wonderful family. Couldn’t she see how much I
love you and my own wonderful family?”

“She is Jeff’s second wife. He was married to
her best friend. Charlie is not hers and Jeff and his first wife
are friends now, but I guess she married him when he was still
struggling with some issues and he cheated on her with Sarah.”

“How did you get all of this? It was going
through her mind when Martina came to track me down because Gabriel
couldn’t reach me. I let my cell die again.”

I laugh. For as meticulous as Andrew is about
everything, he is forever allowing his phone to die. Leaning into
his chest, he hugs me tightly. “Maybe I should talk to her? Let her
know that I’m not trying to cause any trouble for them. All I want
to do is get answers to help Nicholas and Kayla. Maybe I should
just take Grant.”

“Mia, you are going to need them both during
that first transformation.”

“Why, what did they tell you?”

“When the children first transform their
animal instincts are going to tell them to hunt because they will
be ravenous. We are reinforcing the walls, window and door, but I
don’t want to put them in a cage or prison type environment. After
what they have gone through, it may cause even more problems. This
will be traumatic enough for them and we are unsure how it would
register in their subconscious if we place them in a barred room
the way the wolves usually handle a transformation until they can
learn to control themselves. In our case having them more agitated
and wanting to run from their surroundings may be a recipe for
disaster. I know Grant said they may not remember, but we are
crossing lines, the children are not just human, they have other
powers and that may affect their memory, so I don’t want to take
any chances, but if they do break free, they will be too strong and
too fast for you. You are going to need Grant and Jeff both in case
the children split.”

“Are you sure that I couldn’t keep up with
them?”

“Grant told me he is not even sure if they
could keep up with them because young wolves are much faster than
matured ones, but he says they are not as silent so they could
track them if they get away. Mia, I think you and I should do this
together. I’m sure that I could heal, even if they did bite me and
I don’t like the idea of you trying to handle this on your own, too
much can go wrong.” His tone is laced with worry and fear.

Withdrawing from his embrace, my voice is
louder than I wanted. “Absolutely not! You need to stay with Nicole
and Jacob. You saw what happened to him last night. He needs to
have at least one of us with him because you know that the
nightmares aren’t over. They will probably get worse as he thinks
about Nicholas and Kayla changing. That is going to be frightening
enough for him and then to worry about you, it’s too much. Besides,
you are not sure if you could heal. Andrew please, you can’t take
that risk and you have to be here to protect Nicole and Jacob in
case something goes terribly wrong. For everyone’s sake, you have
to stay here and you know it.”

After what feels like an eternity, I hear his
resigned sigh. “I just don’t like you out there exposed.”

“I’ll be fine and maybe because of my
connection to them, they will be calmer.”

He appears skeptical. “From Reginald’s
account, they may not recognize you when they first transform, they
may even try to attack you. You need to prepare yourself for
that.”

“I don’t mean connect with them after they
have changed. I’m talking about during the transformation. Jacob
felt me when he got caught for the second time.”

Andrew’s features register his shock. “I
thought you could only feel them, but that they couldn’t even sense
you.”

“I thought so too, but when Jacob became
really frightened, he felt me. Maybe I can make the same connection
to Nicholas and Kayla. If I could somehow communicate with them
while they were transforming on another level, they wouldn’t have
to be so alone and maybe they wouldn’t be out of control. I’m
hoping that I can help them.”

“Mia, you know how much that drains you. If
you fail and something went wrong, you would be vulnerable.”

“That’s why I thought I would take these few
days to try it. If I can’t do it, then I would still have a few
days before the full moon, but if I could do it, then maybe it
would make it easier for them, less traumatic, and less
dangerous.”

“When do you want to try?”

“I thought I would try tonight as they are
falling asleep. Their minds will be more open then. If it works,
then we could try again tomorrow when they are more awake.”

That afternoon, Andrew meets with Gabriel and
the others to work on reinforcing the cabin.

I’m surprised to see Jeff coming toward me
alone.

“I’m sorry about Sarah’s behavior earlier. I
hope she wasn’t too unpleasant.”

“She wasn’t unpleasant at all. I should be
apologizing to you. I hope I didn’t do or say anything to upset
her.”

“No, it’s not you at all. She gets jealous
sometimes. It’s my fault. I have been really stupid sometimes and
haven’t made her feel secure in our relationship, but I really do
love her.” He shakes his head and changes the subject. “I’m glad to
see that you’re doing well. Although I do have to say I am
surprised to see you with Andrew. The night I met him, he seemed so
determined to keep everything from our world away from you. He
practically bit my head off swearing you would have a normal life
and nothing from our world would ever touch you.”

“Sometimes life takes a very strange turn of
events and things you never expected happen.”

“Yes, I would have never pegged you for a
witch, but Grant tells me he thinks that you are one of the most
powerful ones he has ever come across, especially after what you
did to David.”

“I must have just caught him off guard.”
Disbelief that anyone could really think I’m strong resonates in my
tone.

“No. Trust me nothing ever caught him off
guard. It had to be something you did.”

“Jeff, not to change the subject, but in the
short time I have known your father, I know he feels very bad about
what passed between you and feels he failed you by not being there
for you when your mother and brother passed. He feels very guilty
that his inability to deal with the situation and loss caused you
to be left to grieve on your own. I hope that your coming here can
be a new start for you two and that you can both begin to heal. I
know how difficult it can be to lose someone. I wish I had known
about your mom, you could have talked to me.”

“Mia, I couldn’t talk to anyone then. How
would I be able to tell anyone that vampires killed my werewolf
mother and brother?” He shakes his head. “If I tried to talk about
it but hide what really happened that would have only made me
angrier and more frustrated than I already was. Besides, you were
dealing with a bad issue of your own.” Sorrow once again flickers
across his features and my stomach is queasy as I realize now what
he is referring to. “In fact seeing the way you shut down, despite
how close we had become is what first led me to realize what was
going on with Grant. Watching you close yourself off, isolate
yourself from everyone, even me after...” He ceases suddenly when I
involuntarily shudder. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I run off at the
mouth. It’s just that watching you helped me realize that everyone
deals with bad situations differently. My father shut down and
tried desperately to hold on to my mother’s memory, while I got
angry and had to run, but you can’t run from yourself can you?”

“No, you can’t. However, sometimes we do try,
don’t we?” I say hoping to lighten my now darkened mood.

“I tried running from myself and ran directly
into my first wife. I should have realized though that I wasn’t
really ready or stable enough to know myself, let alone share a
life with another person. We are friends now and I wouldn’t trade
Charlie for anything, but I really put her through hell.”

“Charlie looks just like you.”

“Almost, he has his mother’s green eyes and
thankfully her temperament.” We both laugh. “I can’t believe how
much Nicholas looks like David. Is that how you learned about
Andrew? I heard that you were in the accident with your sister, was
he close by when it occurred?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mia, the night he was out your window was
not the only time I saw him watching you. After our encounter, he
was not the only one who was observing you. I knew what he said,
but for a while, I still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t hunting
you. It was only after I began to watch him that I came to realize
he was a watcher, a guardian. I had heard of it, but never saw one
before him.”