Chernobyl Werewolf, Team Greywolf Series, Book 2

by Eva Gordon

  “I have no desire to tell anyone.” Who would believe her without a shitload of evidence anyway? When they left the Himalayan cavern, Lev got rid of all signs of werewolves. He also said the rogue pack would retrieve their dead. No pack left kin behind. Perhaps to bury on their private island.

  Rachel leafed through the contract. “Not even by accident. Such as being drunk or getting mad at you because of your strict rules.”

  “Correct,” said Rylee.

  “Is there a mind erase option?”

  “Even if we trusted those memories could not be retrieved, you are in such danger I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  Rachel bit her lower lip. “It says here I must live with a chosen pack or within 100 miles of a pack unless given written permission by the alpha.”

  Selene nodded. “If you wish to go on a vacation or a business trip, you can, as long as your home base is near us. That’s how your father kept a home in Oregon. He had my…and Rylee’s permission, and in fact, was given an extended leave of absence to take care of you.”

  Selene’s permission? She was not an alpha or the leader of the pack. Could Howard really be hers? A pet on a tight leash?

  “A warden would be assigned to you for check in,” said Rylee.

  “Sounds like a game warden.”

  “A warden keeps tabs on lone wolves and marked human allies in his or her territory.”

  Rachel signed each line. “Not that I want to be rude, but it might be best if I live around humans, but nearby.” Her goal for today was to see her father. Later, she would worry where to live. And if Lev would choose to join her. How far was their reach if she left? Apparently, far, since Lev found her on the other side of the globe.

  “Once we stop the werewolves hunting you, that’s certainly an option. Until then, you will learn our ways with your handler and obey your alpha.”

  Obey just doesn’t sit well with me. Yet, no one questioned Rylee’s orders, no matter what. Rachel finished the last signature and looked up. “Handler? A human or a werewolf?”

  “Mia, a human like you, would be perfect. Unfortunately, Dominic her mate is not permitting her out of his sight.”

  How does Mia feel about that? “Is that typical of women who became a lycan’s mate?”

  Jesper took the contract and passed it to Trevor who looked over each signature before passing it to Selene.

  Rylee snorted. “Not necessarily, but Mia shares your DNA. She also happens to be mated to the alpha enforcer and is pregnant.”

  By a werewolf? “Lev mentioned such a hybrid would be born human.”

  “Yes, but their child will have the ability to shift and never suffer the change.”

  Rachel was curious to learn more about the change. The transformation seemed so far out from the realm of science and reason.

  Selene handed the contract binder to Rylee. “Done.”

  “Good. Take Rachel to see her father.”

  Selene bowed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Once you have a visit, you’ll be taken to your quarters.”

  Chapter 17

  Fresh cold mountain air cleared Lev’s mind as he raced across the snow in wolf form. The smell of fresh fir trees and the silent sound of winter in his familiar pack territory calmed him. Rachel was safe. Most likely confused, concerned and curious. The contract probably scared the shit out of her. He wished he could have been with her. What was Rylee thinking? She knew he had claimed her as his. No use hiding nearly invisible bites along her sweet nape and lingering scent. Everyone knew. Everyone, except Rachel. How would he tell her? How would he tell Howard, the man who saved his life?

  Lev trotted to the ridge, far from headquarters, and glared at the forest below. Had Rylee disapproved of making Rachel his? A valuable female with Stallo’s DNA mated to an alpha many pack leaders didn’t trust. The super strong mutant who might taint pack blood rather than improve it. The king and the council may have a different idea who should claim Rachel. His hackles rose. Let them try to take her from me.

  Lev turned to the sound of paws sloshing through snow. Slade had kept up with him, but quit racing up the alpine mountains. Slade’s first priority was making sure nothing happened to his mate, Cricket. The attractive runt was the slowest member of the pack. Adorable and petite as she was, Cricket had earned status beta for her intelligence and kick ass attitude. With or without her overprotective alpha mate. Lev understood the passion Slade had for Cricket. The passion that made him give up his royal crown to mate a lower status she-wolf. A runt. The passion that now boiled in Lev’s core when he thought of Rachel.

  Cricket out of breath ran to the top as Slade trotted beside her. He pawed her to the ground and licked her throat and belly. On her back, she wagged her tail, slapping it against the fresh snow. Pawing him and yipping like a puppy.

  Lev shot them a wolfish grin. He spoke in wolf. “What do we call wolfish public display of affection?”

  Slade stopped his romp and shook his white fur. “Love.”

  Cricket stood, shook her coyote sized frame and nuzzled against him. “Lupine lust works, too.”

  The hot couple sizzled in human form as well, but it was endearing to see their desire and deep adoring affection for one another in wolf form. He, a massive white wolf and she, such a dainty coyote-sized wolf. If Rachel chose him as a mate, assuming she would be allowed to do so, playing and hunting together as wolves would be something they could never share. “That I understand,” said Lev.

  Cricket cocked her head. “I’m sure Rachel does, too.”

  Slade narrowed his eyes at her, then turned to Lev. “Does she know you claimed her?”

  “No. I don’t know if my bond even counts. She is human and Rylee says she has the right to choose.”

  “Your claim counts, at least for you, buddy,” said Slade.

  “We all know she is your pet, does she?” asked Cricket.

  “No. She’ll be offended.”

  “Or she will think it’s hot, like Mia did,” Cricket quipped.

  “Not to mention how Dr. Becker will feel when he learns I claimed his daughter, after I told him I wouldn’t.”

  “You are the alpha, listen to your nature. Don’t blow it like I almost did,” said Slade.

  Cricket smirked at her mate. “I knew you’d come around.”

  “Rachel may decide not to stay.” Humans who signed the non-disclosure contract didn’t necessarily have to live within a pack as long as they kept silent and checked in with the local warden. She had to agree to be his pet at least in the interim, while staying in pack territory.

  “Bond or no bond, do you love her?” asked Cricket.

  Love? “I don’t know her well enough. Or was it her blood?”

  “Okay, did her scent turn you on?” asked Cricket.

  Lev stared down at the snow glistening on the trees. His attraction had been more than biological. “The minute she opened the door. I saw her for the first time, there was a connection.” He snorted. “You would not have recognized her. Rachel stood at the door wearing baggy pajamas, pale, thin; she looked like a waif at death’s door.”

  “Recovering from Ebola must have knocked every ounce of energy from her.”

  Cricket survived a bio-engineered disease and if anyone could understand what Rachel had gone through it would be Cricket. “Yet, despite her sickly appearance, Rachel was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”

  “Humans say love is blind, and in the case of us lycans, it’s so true,” said Cricket.

  “I have to admit her blood aroused me like no other.”

  Cricket sat by Lev’s side. “Personally, that sounds like love at first sight and secondarily, first scent.”

  “She is sexually aroused by me, but I’m not sure I’m her type.”

  “Look how opposite Dominic and Mia were. He, a fierce alpha enforcer and she, a human on the run from the mob.”

  Lev chuckled. “Yes, I know. He enjoys bondage, and she is more than happy to be his submissive. Rac
hel is stubborn and would never be so compliant.” Damn, the more time they spent together, the less mind control influence he had on her. Something he didn’t care to share with his fellow team members. Yet, his lack of control over her had more to do with not wanting to squelch her enchanting independence.

  Cricket snarled. “Wait a minute, just because Mia likes the kink doesn’t mean she’s a pushover. I hate to say it but I know who wears the real fur in that household.”

  “Like you, my love,” said Slade to Cricket.

  Lev understood how they acted amongst their close friends and behind closed doors, but among their pack and the other packs, Cricket acted properly submissive around the other alphas. Slade behaved as the proper dominant alpha around the pack, but Cricket understood. Rachel would never understand, or even if she did, her resentment may strain their relationship. “Rylee doesn’t want me to be her handler.”

  “Of course, she doesn’t. That would be a big conflict of interest,” said Cricket.

  “Why?” Lev regretted being a lone wolf. Joining a pack, late in life, he hadn’t completely understood lycan law or at least all its nuances. He’d been taken from his ancestral home in the Red Forest after Chernobyl’s meltdown and lived in Siberia, until finally moving to Moscow. His father being the only werewolf he had shared a hunt with.

  “A handler must be impartial.”

  “I can be fair.”

  “Not when her blood drives you mad with desire,” said Slade.

  “Exactly,” said Cricket. “What’s to stop you from pressuring her into staying with the pack?”

  Lev repressed a growl. “As long as her handler is not male.”

  “Rylee thought Mia would be perfect since she is human and had to learn pack law, but now that’s she with child, Mia is no longer considered a candidate,” said Cricket.

  Lev narrowed his eyes at the beta. “What about her father?”

  Cricket shook her head. “He’s still recovering. And because she is his daughter, he too might have a hard time being objective. Maybe even convincing her not to live amongst our kind.”

  Howard would definitely talk her out of staying; at least once the danger was over. He must know being a Stallo woman would make her vulnerable to all rogue werewolves. Yet, he must be opposed to a mutant son in-law. “Good point. I wonder who Rylee will choose?”

  “Not that I’m supposed to blab about it, but she assigned me. Rylee figured since I had to babysit a mad alpha prince I have the experience.”

  Slade kicked snow at her. “Very funny.”

  Cricket shook the snow off. “Hey, watch the coat, your royal highness.”

  Lev sighed. “Brilliant.” Cricket, being born a runt, was in many ways more human than lycan. Her upbringing had been difficult and she’d understand Rachel’s trepidation about being a lower status.

  “My mate can be a naughty influence at times, but yeah, she’ll be a good little wolf,” Slade quipped.

  Cricket nipped him on the flank and ran off.

  “Oww!” Slade licked his hip and growled. “See what I mean.” Slade gave chase as she tried to hide in a thicket of trees.

  Lev followed. Not to play but to tell them, he’d head back. He should meet with the sketch artist and then check on Rachel. She’d been with the contract witnesses since this morning. He hoped she’d finally had a chance to see her father. And what would she say about him, her so called-stalker? One thing Dr. Becker understood above all else, no one could protect his beloved daughter better than Lev.

  Selene had taken Rachel to the lycan hospital to visit her father. On the way, she took a quick tour of the facility. The hospital had sleek glass architecture and modern equipment. The medical facility turned out to be a perfect marriage between a state of the art veterinary and human hospital. The OR had equipment for humans and wolves. Each patient’s room had a normal bed and canine bed. The only difference was this hospital had less staff and few, if any, patients. At the rate Lev’s wounds healed, not surprising. “I’m impressed. I’ve visited hospitals around the world and this one is definitely top of the line.”

  Selene smiled. “Thanks to your father and previous human doctors and veterinarians who have helped us over the years.”

  “So are there other human doctors here?”

  “Only your father, currently, but we do have a veterinarian who lives nearby. She normally works on our livestock.”

  “Do lycans need to pay for services?”

  “No. Unlike American medical care, lycan pack members are only required a paw print as insurance.”

  “Wow. Universal health care for all werewolves.”

  Selene approached a young doctor with a thatch of brown hair and stocky build. “Dr. Mark, this is Dr. Rachel Becker, Howard’s daughter.”

  Rather than the sniff greeting, he put out his hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

  He acted human, but Selene said her father was the only human doctor. Rachel shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Mark.” Werewolves can learn to shake. She smiled. “For a minute, I thought you were human.”

  “I’m a beta, but prefer to act human around humans. Call me Darius. We werewolves prefer using our first names.” He snickered. “Probably the only non-formal thing we do.”

  Selene turned to her. “Darius is Howard’s doctor and the one who saved his life.”

  “Thank you,” said Rachel.

  “After all the weres he saved over the years, I’m happy he survived near lethal wounds.”

  Who knew? Howard deemed a hero in the twilight world of combat werewolves. “I would love to see my father’s medical chart.”

  Darius smiled. “Come to my office and I’ll let you look over his records before you see him.”

  “I’ll meet you back in Howard’s room and make sure he’s awake,” said Selene.

  “Okay,” said Rachel.

  They walked to Darius’ large office. His shelves included all the usual medical texts, along with texts about lycan medicine. Getting a look at those would be worth working at this hospital. Above his desk hung a large painting of what looked like a half-man half-wolf wizard conjuring smoke from a caldron. The piece reminded her of fantasy art work. “Is that…Stallo?”

  “Yes, Stallo the Wolf Wizard, our creator. The painting has been in our family pack for several centuries.”

  “Cool.”

  He handed her the tablet. “Here you go.”

  Rachel looked over her father’s medical chart. The bullets had hit vital organs and barely missed his heart. The surgical procedure was impressive. Yet, what brought her back to the reality of falling into the rabbit hole was the mention of his healing bite taking its course. Like Lev’s bite brought her back from the brink of death. She smiled at him. “Brilliant surgery.”

  “I learned gunshot surgery from your father.”

  She glanced back at Howard’s chart. Not sure about the biting a patient bedside manner, but kept an open mind. “Your bite helped.”

  “Only alphas have the healing bite.” He grinned, baring long canines. “Rylee, our pack alpha, did the honors.”

  Okay, really creepy. Rachel shivered. “When did you go to medical school?”

  “Never. Your father trained me on human medicine.”

  “You didn’t go to medical school?” She regretted asking, since they probably had their own training not recognized by any medical board.

  “Actually, veterinary school, but after that I specialized in lycan and human medicine.”

  Rachel regarded him, but then averted her gaze, remembering pack rules. She handed him back the chart. “How many humans live amongst your kind?”

  “In this pack, just your father and you. Team Greywolf works with human contacts in the field, but the majority of humans who live within packs are few. I’m the doctor they normally see. Mia, a few months pregnant, will deliver her baby here. Luna is an excellent midwife, but it will be nice to have another human doctor such as yourself to help if things
get complicated.”

  “I’m an epidemiologist, but I’ve delivered plenty of babies.” Just not pups. But delivering a lycan human hybrid was not her area of expertise. By the sound of it, it wasn’t Dr. Mark’s either.

  “We don’t have an OBGYN on staff since our kind have offspring in wolf form. Our midwife has some experience delivering human babies, but most of the time she helps she-wolves deliver.”

  Poor Mia. It was scary enough to have a first baby, but expecting a human/lycan baby must be disconcerting. “I’ll definitely help when the time comes.” That is if she decided to work at the lycan hospital until Mia’s last trimester. If, Mia’s baby grew for nine months. Or would her gestation period be more akin to a wolf’s? She furrowed her brow. “Are there other women on record to get an idea of gestation period and other issues?”

  “Historically, Stallo women have normal nine-month gestation period, with a normal range of baby weights. Svetlana had one hybrid son with a criminal alpha who had a normal werewolf son from his first mate.”

  Her heart drummed. “Lev said she was evil.”

  “That’s an understatement. Svetlana and her lycan mate, Anton were head of the Chess Piece Russian Mob. They murdered, ran guns, drugs and operated a prostitution slave ring. They were experts at hiding from the lycan council.”

  Rachel nodded. “Anton murdered Lev’s father.”

  “Yes. Years ago. Lev helped destroy the gang. The thugs almost killed him. Your dad saved his life and for that, Lev owes him a life debt.”

  Lev had told her not to mention their bond to her father. As if Howard had any right to not approve of Lev as her mate. Did he fear his mutations might cause birth defects of any future children? If she even wanted children. Then again, did she really have anything in common with Lev, besides great sex? Was her longing for him infatuation rather than love? Couldn’t Lev just erase Howard’s memory of such a promise? Or maybe this was his out. Did he tell all his lovers he had claimed them? Jealousy clouded her happiness on seeing her father.

  Darius’ phone buzzed and he read the text. “Selene says you can visit your father.”