by Kelex
“Marshall?”
Lane’s head turned as he saw the nurse at the open doorway, calling in his papa.
They all got up in unison. Lane followed his parents in.
Just as they were ushered in, the outer door opened and a shifter raced in, peeling off his coat. He sat beside the human and the relief on the man’s face was palpable.
Good. Lane caught one last glimpse before the inner office door closed.
“The gang’s all here today,” the nurse said cheerily.
“Yes—our son Lane wanted to ask the doctor some questions, if that’s okay?” his dad asked.
“Of course,” the nurse said before asking his papa up onto the scale.
Lane stood back and watched.
“You’ve gained two pounds,” the nurse said before adding information to the tablet he held. “That’s wonderful.”
“First time in my life I’ve been happy to gain weight,” Papa said with a smile before stepping down off the scale with Father’s help.
“It’s a good sign,” the nurse said, grinning. “You all can follow me.”
They were soon shoved into a small exam room. His papa was helped onto the table and Dad helped him disrobe down to his boxers and tank before draping the warm blanket they’d brought from home around him.
His papa leaned into his dad, looking so small and weak. It nearly broke his heart.
The nurse stayed to check blood pressure and draw some blood. He worked quickly before exiting with a promise the doctor wouldn’t be long. Fortunately, they didn’t wait long, all caged in as they were. The doctor—one Lane didn’t recognize—waltzed in with a smile.
“Full house today.”
Papa smiled. “My son—Lane—is curious about my treatment. He has some questions.”
“Dr. Amile Hajou.” The horse shifter turned to Lane and offered a hand. After they shook, he added, “Ask away.”
“You’re not from Bear Mountain, obviously. What are your credentials?”
“I attended Harvard Medical School and graduated at the top of my class in 1978. I practiced oncology for over three decades in the human world—but people began to notice that my lack of aging was profound. I needed to find a way out. We heard whispers of an underground war in our shifter community. Project Zed. A battle to save shifters—and that there was a need for those with medical backgrounds. I needed to disappear. They needed doctors. It made sense.”
“And you’re staying?”
“There are a lot of humans here in the valley—even more now that other shifters have moved here, bringing their families. Myself and another oncologist who came to help decided to open a practice here at the alpha’s behest.”
“Declan?” Lane asked.
“He said the human population needed to be better cared for with specialized medicine geared toward them—especially as the valley grew.”
Lane nodded. Declan again saved the day. “As far as this drug. Any potential side effects?”
“We can only go off the data the humans kept. They had an alternative use for the drug—they wanted super soldiers. From what we see in the research, there were no lethal side effects. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t give them quite the strength they wanted. For us, we’re hoping it will give Marshall the strength he needs to let the other drugs do what they need to do.”
Lane looked to his papa before looking back. “No lethal side effects? But there were side effects?”
“Complaints of headaches. Jitters. A racing heart. All things we’ve warned your parents about so they can watch out for them.” The doctor turned to his papa. “Did you experience any of these?”
Papa shook his head. “Perhaps a slight headache right after the injection, but I was also quite tired. Nothing since.”
“Okay—we’ll need to be vigilante and keep a close eye. I don’t need you suffering in silence again. If something is wrong, you speak up. I can’t fix something I don’t know about.”
Papa nodded. “I promise. I won’t stay quiet.”
The doctor turned to Lane. “Any other questions?”
Lane shook his head. “As long as this is what he wants and you’re confident this is the best course of action—I’m good.”
The doctor smiled. “Then I’ll get on with my examination.”
Lane stood back and watched as the doctor carefully checked all of his papa’s vitals and asked good questions about his diet, sleep, and energy levels. The man was thorough and had a good bedside manner. Declan had been smart to keep him, it seemed.
The doctor typed a few things into his tablet before reading over something. “Okay—the initial analysis of your blood looks wonderful. Your cell count is up from last time and this looks promising. I’m greenlighting a second dose. Are you on board?” the doctor asked his fathers.
“Yes, please,” his papa said. “I haven’t felt this good in weeks.”
The doctor smiled. “I’ll have the nurse come back in to give you the injection in a moment.” He cast a look around. “Any other questions?”
“Can he go back on chemo?” his father asked.
“Not yet. He’s still a little weak, but I’m hopeful that he might be ready in a couple more weeks.”
“The other meds aren’t as powerful,” his father said.
“No, but they’re keeping the cancer from growing while we build up his strength. The cure can’t cause more harm than good. We wait until he’s ready to do battle,” the doctor said. “And not a minute before.”
Lane smiled. A man who easily stood up to his father. The doctor earned points there. And it was the right answer.
“Anything else before I go?” the doctor asked.
“No,” his dad said. “I think we’re good for now.”
“Then I will see you back here next week for a follow-up. If there are any concerns before then, I want an immediate call. No hedging. It’s best to be safe rather than sorry.”
“Absolutely,” Lane’s dad said.
The doctor opened the door slightly. “I bid you all a wonderful day, and I’ll see you soon. Just wait here for the nurse.”
Lane slid out behind the doctor and listened to him as he instructed the nurse to get an injection ready.
“Dr. Hajou?”
The man turned with a smile. “Yes?”
“What are his chances?”
The man smiled wryly. “His cancer is one of the most aggressive ones I’ve fought, and this case is a tough one. This drug is probably the only thing keeping him alive right now. And if I can keep him alive long enough to eradicate the cancer inside him—then we just might get somewhere.”
“Can you keep him alive long enough?”
“I can’t make any promises—but I’m doing everything in my power. And after seeing his bloodwork, things are looking good. Very good.”
Lane smiled. It would have to be enough for now.
“Look—my papa died of cancer when I was fifteen,” the doctor said. “I made it my life’s work to make sure other men didn’t have to watch their papas die. I haven’t always been successful—but I will go to my grave trying to save all I can.”
Lane felt a sting at the backs of his eyes. “Thank you. For everything you’re doing.”
The doctor clapped his shoulder. “Tell me that when he’s cancer free, okay?”
Lane smiled. “Will do.”
* * * *
Later that afternoon…
“So, Kai’s uncle is blackmailing you… unless you tell them the truth yourself.”
Turi nodded.
“And you’ve been avoiding them since sex in the cabin?” Dr. Banyon asked.
“I have,” Turi answered.
“Intimacy has been an issue for you… I’m a bit surprised you made that choice.”
Turi was a bit, too. “I knew it might be my only chance to have their hands on me… that I could still end things and force them to leave. I had to know what it felt like to be in their bed. To be loved by them. Even if it w
as for only one night.”
“But then things changed?”
“It only made me want them even more. To think that maybe there is a chance.”
“There is. You know what you have to do to get it, right?”
Turi did. “I need to tell them.”
Dr. Banyon nodded. “It’s not going to be easy. It’ll likely be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done. I can facilitate a meeting here, if that might make it easier for you?”
“No,” Turi answered. “I appreciate that, but I think it needs to be just us.”
The doctor was quiet. “I have faith in you that you can do this.”
Turi wasn’t so sure he agreed. He was terrified of their reaction. Terrified they might still refuse him.
The therapist looked at his watch. “I’m afraid our time is up… we went over a little, and I have another appointment waiting. But if you need anything—I want you to call me. No matter the hour, okay?”
“Thanks, Doc,” he said, rising. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me so far. Even when I wasn’t being very cooperative.”
“You just needed time,” Dr. Banyon said with a smile. He rose and escorted Turi to the door, opening it.
As it slid open, Turi caught sight of a man and cub sitting just outside, in the waiting area.
A scent hit his nose.
Panic hit. He froze, the world spinning.
The man began to rise, a look of understanding coming across his face. His eyes shone with a brilliant light…
Just as they had that day…
Turi looked to the boy, and he couldn’t breathe. The boy began to frown, as if he sensed something.
“Turi? Turi? Are you okay?”
Turi barely heard the doctor’s voice over the beating of his heart. Knees weak, he ran from the office. Just outside, he stopped at the edge of the building and vomited, his stomach clenching.
Barely able to stand, he heard the doctor screaming his name from the doorway, but he kept running. He heard the screams of the animals within him, all of them raging. Their screams threatened to send him over the edge.
I have to… have to… quiet them.
Stumbling to the clinic, he went to the desk and demanded to see his doctors. The nurse looked at him oddly, but picked up the phone and called someone. Soon, he was ushered back to his doctor, Finn.
Finn got him seated.
“I need my serum… the voices.” He lifted a hand to his head.
“Dr. Banyon just called us. We’re aware there’s been an incident. I need you to stay here. Remain calm. We’re going to help you. Okay?” Finn asked, digging through a drawer. “Damn it,” he mumbled. “I need to go grab something.”
“I need the drugs!”
Finn lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Okay… okay… I’ll just go get them. Stay here.”
The doctor left for a moment, and Turi turned his head—clear minded enough to realize the medicine in the locked refrigerator sat there in the room with him. He rose up and crossed the room. If they weren’t going to give him the drug, he’d just have to take it. Using his elbow, he slammed it through the glass of the refrigerator, slicing his arm up. He reached in and took all the vials before shoving them into the pockets of his jacket.
Before he left, he grabbed some clean needles and shoved them in his pockets, too. He slipped from the room and down the hallway. As he neared the sliding door, he thought he heard his name called.
Turi raced back to the hotel and saw two sheriff’s deputies out front. He snuck in through the loading dock, instead, and made his way up to his room. Filling one of the needles, he struggled, hearing the voices within.
Not just the animals, but the fear and loathing of his human side.
He’d been ready to fess up. Tell his mates everything and then fate had sat that child right in front of him.
A child grown within him.
And the man who’d helped father it.
He could never escape his past in Bear Mountain.
And he’d never be worthy enough to be Kai and Lane’s. Benny had been right. He was used up. He jabbed the needle into his leg, cringing in pain at the stick. Within seconds, the voices quieted some. The need to go to Kai and Lane reemerged, to seek solace in their arms, but he couldn’t.
He couldn’t face them.
He didn’t have the strength to tell them his truth.
After packing a bag, he tossed the vials and needles inside and gave the room one last look.
Before he disappeared.
* * * *
A sense of panic slammed into Kai as he was driving Lane back from his visit with his fathers.
“Something’s wrong,” Lane murmured.
They didn’t need words. It was Turi.
Kai hit the gas pedal, but there was only so fast he could go around the mountain curves. Lane’s family lived deep to the south, miles away from the city, and through dangerous terrain. It had also snowed along the ridge the night before, making it even more treacherous.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up before the hotel.
Kai stopped the SUV just behind the two sheriff’s cruisers, the panic mounting. He and Lane exited and as they approached, he asked Hank why they were there.
“One of them looney Zed monsters went haywire and they’re hunting him down,” Hank said. “We’re waiting to see if he comes back to his room.”
Kai growled at the officer before they raced into the hotel and up to his room. When Turi didn’t answer the door, he and Lane kicked it in.
A cold breeze blew through the open sliding door to the balcony.
The room was in chaos.
A spent needle on the floor.
“He’s gone,” Lane said, panic in his eyes.
“Then we find him and we bring him home,” Kai said.
Hours later, in the dead of night, they still came up empty. It was as if Turi had simply disappeared.
No scent. No trail.
No emotions.
It was as if he was just… gone.
But that wouldn’t stop their search, as fruitless as it was.
Neither Kai nor Lane would stop.
Chapter Eighteen
Several weeks later…
Turi leaned up against the brick wall of the dark alley, exhaustion creeping into his bones. He pulled his hoodie over his head as a light rain began to fall and pulled his small bag closer on his shoulder. Shivering, he searched the street before he walked out. He saw a couple of humans walking along the sidewalk and waited back in the shadows for them to pass before he moved.
Once clear, he moved down the sidewalk, trying to remain in the shadows. As more pedestrians headed his way, he dipped into another alley and traveled into the depths.
After living amongst the city’s homeless for the last few weeks, he’d gotten tired of their grimaces and pointed stares in his direction. It was better to travel in darkness and remain out of sight.
Avoiding the larger rain puddles, he made his way through a pass to another alleyway—only to almost run into two humans.
One pointing a gun in the other’s face.
“Back off,” the guy with the gun cried before turning the gun on Turi.
He’d had a particularly bad day. Hell, he’d had a bad month. Starving, cold, now wet—he was not ready to add dead to the list.
At least not yet.
“Bad decision,” Turi said. He let a growl rise up his throat before lunging at the guy.
The gun went off, and he felt a searing pain slice across his bicep. He roared—letting the beast out—before he shoved the shooter against the brick wall behind them. When he let go, the shooter slid to the ground, lying face down in a puddle.
He lifted a shaking hand and pushed back his hood, looking down to the ground. Lowering, he rolled the guy over.
Turi gasped and rose to his full height. He took a step back.
The shooter was dead.
He hadn’t meant to kill the guy. Even if the
dude had been willing to off him, Turi was no killer.
I need more serum.
His supply was finite. He’d been using the smallest amount he could, trying to stretch it as far as possible. He had no idea how much longer he had…
And then what?
“Thanks, man.”
Turi turned. He’d almost forgotten the other man was there.
“You really saved my ass.”
Turi nodded, still not over the shock of what he’d done.
“You live out here, man?”
Turi nodded, pulling his thin hoodie a little closer around him and tightening his grip on his bag.
“My boss is always looking for some strong guys.” The guy smiled. “Come with me and I’ll get you a hot meal and an introduction. Maybe a job.”
Food. And the possibility of work so he could get a clean room and keep eating? “I don’t have ID.”
“You illegal?”
“I don’t think so,” Turi answered.
The man chuckled. “No worries. My boss pays in cash, so we don’t need to see your ID or your birth certificate. Come with me.”
Turi nodded and then followed the man out of the alley and into a waiting car. It was warm and dry inside. Turi sighed in relief at both.
“Where you from?”
Turi looked out the window as the car began to move. “Far from here.”
“Oh?”
A million miles away.
The guy began to gab on about some football game or basketball or maybe both. Turi was only half listening. Exhausted, cold, and wet, he didn’t have the strength to focus on the human’s words over the whispers of the animal spirits in his mind.
They didn’t go too far. They stopped in front of a seedy looking bar.
“We’re here,” the man said with a grin.
After a quick rush through the rain, they entered the bar and the man instructed him to sit in one of the booth’s. It was dark. The music loud. There was a nearly naked human female on stage dancing with money sticking out of what little clothing she had on. Human males hung at the edge of the stage, calling her over with more money in their hands.