Sometimes I knew who Keiko was, sometimes I didn't. But I was thankful that I had accepted this state. Otherwise, coming to in the bathtub with a strange woman shampooing my hair could have been a frightening moment. It was frustrating and often confusing, but at least she was a comforting presence. She would hum or sing songs softly. She never pulled on knots when brushing my hair and could braid my locks without making them too tight and knew the perfect temperature for a bath.

Ajax would help with the carrying as the room where I stayed was upstairs and the main living space was on the ground floor. For the most part, I became a vegetable in front of the television. When the little girl watched her shows it was even worse, like holding on to the tether of life was even more difficult when I didn't have something to focus on.

But today was different because the woman with the stethoscope was back and we were all gathered in the living room.

"Well, have you found anything?" Keiko prompted while stirring a mug of tea in front of me.

"It's complicated," the woman said, almost wincing as the words left her mouth.

"If any part of this has been straight-forward, I have yet to hear about it," Ajax groaned from his arm chair. Though he wasn't necessarily as involved as Keiko with the smaller things, he did to all of the lifting and had taken on the role of my movement and mobility.

"As you know, we have been using EEG tests to monitor her brain in the least invasive way possible. So far, it has been hit or miss. Somedays we can see more activity than others. Over the past two weeks, there hasn't been any signs of decreasing in the activity, so, for now, we think it has stabilized and isn't getting immediately worse."

"But we don't know for sure," Keiko added.

"No," the doctor replied honestly. "And if there is a delay, we have no way of knowing." She turned her focus to Ajax then. "Have you heard anything from her mate? I would like to ask him some questions about the initial signs and when he started noticing symptoms."

Ajax snorted then. "I can give you his number, but at this point, I'm pretty sure he has thrown his cellphone into a river."

"No other packs have reported him to be nearby?"

"No."

She sucked in a low breath. "You don't think he's trying to go feral, do you? Isolate himself as a wolf until the wolf completely takes over? I have heard of a few people taking that route."

A black wolf with red eyes stared at me.

"God, I hope not. But I can't say for sure. This is...something awful. No wolf should have to go through losing their mate, not like this, not when they are the cause," the man replied. Ajax. It was Ajax.

But I was slipping.

Another black wolf with eyes that shone like moonlight. Eyes that had been given to him as a blessing. I called out to him. He didn't turn to me.

"She's not exhibiting signs of stroke or epilepsy or other brain disorders. All of the human methods of medical treatments have come up flat so far. Our next line of action is through magic."

Yes! Magic. The purple woman had told me that it was magic. I knew that. But even if I could tell them that they were on the right track, would they believe me? How would I even begin to tell them about her, the beautiful woman with her small marbles and big plans?

"Do you know what kind of magic?" Ajax asked. "Sirens have powers from magic beyond ours, then there's fairies, vampires, witches. Is it possible that someone has put a curse on her?"

The doctor looked hesitant, but admitted, "A dear friend of mine, a high wizard, has confirmed that he has not seen an aliment like this. It doesn't mean that it's impossible, but it does rule out common witch curses and spells for the most part. Was she subjected to sirens or fairies before she arrived here?"

Keiko was the one who shook her head. I watched Ajax deflate ever so slightly as his wife spoke, "Ryder and her were working together. They were tasked with bringing us the girl that we originally wanted you to run tests on. Ryder said they didn't have contact with anyone else, didn't seem to have time to chat. And even if they did, there are no fairy or witch territories over there."'

"Magic is complicated and fickle. It is impossible to know for sure where this came from, but most signs are pointing to wolves, therefore, we will try our best to treat it through methods that oppose our nature."

"Can you think of anything to help reverse it? Is it even possible to reverse it?" Keiko asked.

"We are working on an elixir right now. I can't make any promises. We've never seen anything like this, but can at least try to help her through this."

Ajax opened his mouth to speak, but I couldn't fight it anymore.

"You left me," I accused.

My brother looked positively horrified. But when he opened his mouth to protest, nothing came out. What could he say anyway? It was true. He had run. I had stayed.

"I needed you. Mom and dad needed you!" I shrieked. The plaster ceiling in the intensive care facility seemed to quake with my shouts. Dust fell around me in a plume.

"You did just fine. You're a fighter, Georgia, you always have been," he reasoned, adjusting the cuff of his fine suit. But he was rattled, he always was when facing my thunder.

"I am tired," I admitted, but it still came out of my mouth like a whip. "I wanted someone to lean on. I needed someone to tell me that it was going to be alright. Where were you? I needed you!"

I was shaking him. I knew I was. Because it was all true. He left. He didn't look back. And seeing the result of it bothered him. But it was nothing but a fading blotch on his perfect world because he said, "I got on with my life, Georgia. Maybe if you had decided to do the same, you wouldn't be like this."

I could see myself then. Hunched over, growing a hump out of my back. Drool on my chin. Dead eyes.

I screamed but no sounds left my mouth.

"Where did you get that?" the raven-haired woman demanded.

Keiko. I was in her living room still, or maybe it was again. I couldn't tell.

"I have my ways," Ajax replied, coming into view with a plate in his hands.

"I haven't made cinnamon buns in years."

"I miss them," he replied.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you decided to make me a queen and a mother. I don't remember the last time I had time to bake something," she shot back.

"Such a little spitfire," Ajax purred, but his eyes were alight with something, like he adored the way she could snarl at him.

"Where did you get them?"

He stubbornly refused to answer, sitting himself down on the chair across from his mate. With a satisfied smirk, he shoved a forkful of warm, gooey cinnamon bun into his mouth.

I could almost taste it myself. I had loved those. I would sneak one from the café as often as I could.

Keiko let out a frustrated huff and eased my hair out of the braids she had put it in yesterday. Her cool fingers felt nice on my scalp and I liked the way my hair fell into nice little waves. I wanted to close my eyes and lean into her, but my body refused to move.

"My, you're a little warm today. Maybe we should have the doctor come take a look at you. Maybe Clementine brought home the flu with her," Keiko rambled on. "I'll have her look at Clem too, just to be sure. We don't want to get everyone sick." Her fingers stopped working. "Ajax?"

He made an awful choking noise, fingers clawing at his throat. They left red lines on his skin but didn't seem to bring any relief. She screamed and was on her feet, by his side in a second. She reached out, needing to help, but too terrified to touch, not knowing how to help. I watched in horror at first, but as each second passed, it was growing weaker. And I was getting warmer.

Ajax vomited all over the imported rug on the floor. Keiko screamed for someone's help.

And I slipped away into a heat that felt hot enough to burn flesh.