The Doctor's Five Alphas (Steamy BBW Werewolf Pack Menage Romance) Read Free Page B

grabbing the knife from my bedside drawer. Summoning every ounce of courage that I had, I cautiously closed the distance between us in the room, watching his body in the shadows for even the slightest movement.
     
    “Water…” he suddenly spoke, still slumped in the chair. He didn’t move a muscle.
     
    “What are you doing here? Who are you?”
     
    “…Water, please…” he repeated breathlessly. His voice was hoarse, his body clearly drained of energy. I could see now that he was pale and sweating profusely – but it was too dark to determine if he was wounded or merely ill.
     
    Realizing that he wasn’t going anywhere, I angrily stomped out of the door, taking the oil lantern with me. I walked around behind the hut and hung it from the hook of the covered well, then pushed the bucket over the side. After a few seconds, I heard the telltale splash, then began to pull the thick rope as I lifted the filled bucket back up.
     
    I kept looking over my shoulder, half expecting someone – maybe even my sickly intruder – to come flying after me. I wondered what had even provoked me into coming all the way out here, to a country I’d barely heard of and some village in the middle of nowhere.
     
    The mental image of the Chairman’s smiling face pierced the night, and I grumbled to myself. Holiday pay . Pfft.
     
    Detaching the bucket after it reached the top of the well, I lugged it and the oil lantern back into the hut. Stopping to cast light into the room, I noticed that he was still slumped over in the chair. He hadn’t moved a muscle in the several minutes that I had been gone.
     
    “Alright, you…” I murmured to myself, bringing everything inside. I scooped some water with a clay bowl, then dropped to my knees beside the midnight bother and pressed the lip to his mouth.
     
    “Drink,” I commanded.
     
    He weakly parted his lips, lifting his head just enough to accept the rim of the bowl. I slowly, gradually poured a small amount of water into his mouth, and he turned away after a few sips. I tilted the bowl back, but some of it still spilled onto his chest.
     
    “What are you doing in my hut? Who are you?” I demanded to know. Even with the emotional investment of my profession, I was still wary of a stranger who quietly let himself into my temporary home in the middle of the night…and if he was sick, there was no telling what he had, or how contagious it might be.
     
    “I’m…sorry, doctor,” the man weakly answered. “Wanted to meet you…in the morning…too ill to wait…couldn’t last the night…”
     
    The obviousness dawned on me instantly.
     
    “Dane…” I murmured. “You’re Harold Chairman’s friend, the reason why I’m here. You are, aren’t you ?”
     
    “Guilty as charged,” the shirtless man answered. “Could I have more…?”
     
    I lifted the bowl again, letting him sip another mouthful of water before cutting him off. He gratefully wiped his lip with his wrist, his head sinking back into the chair.
     
    “How did you know I was here?” I asked.
     
    “Watched you come in, by the road…”
     
    “I didn’t see very many people out there,” I replied, setting the bowl down by his foot. “And a couple of wolves, or at least I thought so. Must have missed you.”
     
    “Right…” Dane replied weakly, barely pulling himself into a more comfortable seated position. “Don’t worry…what I have, you’re not gonna catch. Very specific kind of problem…”
     
    “You seriously want to talk about this now? You could use some rest, by the look of you.” Despite his intrusion, I couldn’t ignore that he did need me, by the looks of things…and I guess it made things a little better that he was the reason I was even in the country.
     
    “You’re right,” he conceded. “It’s late…need light to…examine properly. Won’t last…too many more nights…full moon, soon.”
     
    I nodded, listening. He wasn’t making much sense at the end there,