260
Peter
Matt looked up at the call. I frowned. A ripple of suspicion coursed through me. It was a fake name, but one that was familiar to me. I glanced at Vasil, who seemed frozen in place. He looked like he knew something that I needed to know.
I turned back to see the woman's expression soft with sympathy and concern.
"Oh, dear... You've been having a rough time of it, haven't you? Should I--"
"No," he said, his voice gravely and shaky. "Just... Just a check-up. If... If--"
"Dr. Mountainheart is available... Dr. Greenleaf should be getting through her most recent appointment soon."
"Mountainheart," he said stiffly. "If... I just..."
"I understand," she said softly. "I'll page him. If you'd just wait a moment."
Matt nodded and stepped back. His steps faltered as he retreated away from the main seating area.
"Matt?"He went still and turned towards me stiffly. His eyes were wide with terror, and then I could smell it: the scent of blood.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to find the source of the scent on his person, but there was no sign of injury that I could see. Still, his eyes seemed sunken and dark. His cheeks seemed hollow, and his skin seemed ashen. There was something wrong with him.
He looked like he'd rather do anything than run into me. His gaze darted aside, and Vasil stepped in his line of sight.
"I'm not going to harm you. I just want to talk."
Matt grimaced and ducked his head, but he let us corral him into the hallway leading to the vending machines.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," he said. "I'm just here for a check-up."
The scent grew stronger with every word. There was a warning bell going off in the back of my mind.
"Why not in Blue Moon?"
His lips twitched. "There aren't any magical hospitals in Blue Moon... This one is the closest."
"And your healer?"
He glanced up at me. "I'm pretty sure you already know that Tony and I aren't really seeing eye to eye with Oren, so cut the crap."
There was something in the way he said Oren's name that gave me pause, but I couldn't put my finger on it. He sniffled and scrubbed his nose. The scent of blood grew stronger, wet.
"A fake name, a hoodie--you're outright skulking and not giving me much confidence in your words...Why are you here?"
He shuffled his feet. "I told you. I'm here for a check-up, alright?"
"For what?"
His lips twitched, and his gaze darted from side to side.
"...an injury."
"Of what sort?"
"Are you a doctor?"
"I'm the alpha of this territory," I said. "And you and I both know I could have you kicked out with much provocation, so it would do you good not to--"
Then, his eyes went pink around the edges. Then, red and a single drop of blood, thick and fresh, slipped down his cheek. I couldn't say anything. Matt didn't even seem to notice that it was sliding down his cheek. Then, his nose started to run red.
"Matt..."The edge of my worry seeped into my voice. I moved closer, noting the way he winced as if trying to hide the extent of his discomfort.
He grew tense, pressing his arms closer to his body.
"It's nothing," he insisted, wiping away the blood with the back of his hand. But the crimson smear remained, a vivid contrast against his pale skin.
I eyed him warily. "That doesn't look like nothing."
"I didn't realize we were friends," Matt said. "Last I checked, you hated me and my brother. If you're going to kick me and Tony out, just do so."
"Mr. Ashgrave?" Someone called from behind me.
Our gazes met as more blood seemed to pool at the banks of his eyes.
"Are you going to let me go?" Matt asked.
I stepped aside as he scrubbed at his nose. My stomach churned as my mind raced. Contagious? A curse? Was he suffering much like I was?
He hurried away from me, wiping his face and following the nurse who had called him. I recognized her.
Arawen Greenleaf was one of the best nurses of Yellow Ridge's staff. She'd been employed here a long time alongside her sister. I met her gaze briefly as she led him down the hall. Soon, they disappeared into the bustle of the hospital, his condition leaving a trail of unanswered questions in its wake. Vasil, sensing my unease, shot me a knowing look.
"So, what do you make of that?" Vasil asked, his voice a low murmur as we stepped aside into a less crowded part of the hallway.
"I'll have an answer... sometime after you tell me why you seemed so spooked by the name he used."
"Eve Ashgrave was slated to be a great healer before..." He sighed. "We went to school together. She was going to be a healer partner to a liaison I know before her parents forced her to marry Oren."
I frowned. "Okay. So she was Oren's wife?"
"His second wife, and Matt and Tony's mother..."
"Why would her last name surprise you?"
Vasil looked at me. "You remember that you switched over to the supernatural registry?"
"OF course."
"The Council never changed the laws about what names could and couldn't be used." He fiddled with his tablet. "The only way Matt would be able to use her last name would be..."
My eyes widened.
Either he wasn't Oren's child, or he had inherited her magical ability.
Matt was a healer. And that was interesting and dangerous because it was clear that he was hiding it, even to his own detriment.
Why? He and his brother had always struck me as preternaturally close. Was there a crack in the twins' relationship that no one had noticed, or was it more like a hollow cavern, and the ground above it was just now starting to give way?
I frowned. "Check Tony's registration."
"Already done... And there's a lineage test on record for Matt, but not Tony..."
I took the tablet and looked at the test results and his registry entry. I was unsure if this was something I should or could use, but I felt compelled to do something. I had spooked Matt enough by approaching, and if he was as smart as I had always suspected he was, he would be expecting me to approach him again soon.
Matt, while younger and less interested in politics, had always struck me as the smarter, more cunning of the two. The better ally of the two if I had to pick one. The more I thought about it, the more this felt like a gift from the universe. Blue Moon was on the edge of careening into a blazing glory due to financial mismanagement. Oren wasn't smart enough to think to get it together.
Conqueror. Warrior. He'd start looking for territory and resources to take.
It would be best to be prepared for that.
"Keep it secret. Bury it somewhere that no one can find it. Find out how long he's been like this, and if he knows, pull his records from the hospital. I need to know..."
I paused. "There's something that doesn't add up... Get in contact with that old friend of yours who might be able to answer some questions. Eve Ashgrave... She was White Moon wolf?"
"Yes."
White Moon was the only pack that kept last names like that. Everyone else just chose one to move around in the human world.
"Look into Tony as well. I want to know how they've been in my territory without anyone knowing."
My mind was whirling. I needed to know everything I could about this, but thinking about Matt's words didn't make me think he was involved with Oren's theft.
No, this was something else.
Vasil crossed his arms, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Do you think it'll be a problem?"
"You're the expert... Which do you think it is?"
"Why do you assume which?"
I looked up at him. "Werewolf twins are... complicated. They always have been. They're identical."
"Are they?" Vasil asked. "Or do they just look identical?"
I narrowed my eyes and nodded towards the door. We left and got back in the car. Vasil drove away.
"What is it that you know?"
"Eve was a hell of a woman. Powerful, not just as a healer but as a witch as most gifted healers are."
"You think she what? Spelled them?"
He worried his lip. "I think it's a potential... and most importantly, I think it's likely."
He tightened his grip. "I'll get in touch with Trent."
"Trent? The Blood Moon liaison?"
Vasil nodded. "If there is anyone alive that knew Eve well enough, it's him."
I leaned back, turning over his words. "They were close... Romantically close?"
Vasil nodded. "Popped the question and all. Poor bastard was absolutely destroyed."
It would explain his hatred of the twins. I consider it. Perhaps an alliance with Blood Moon wouldn't be as difficult as I first thought.
"Let me know the moment you know something for certain."
"You've got it."
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