Hayden’s Haven

by Cohen, Julie K.

  Tess opened the linen closet again and pulled out a second blanket for Mila. “When were you attacked?”

  “Yesterday morning.”

  “And your wolf hasn’t healed you yet?” Tess’s eyes widened. She knew!

  “Please, don’t tell anyone. I’ll have enough trouble fitting in. I really just want to focus on finding a vaccine and then returning to my pack.” Or going somewhere since they probably didn’t want someone like her here, not given what Tess had said about the weak shifters. Mila would go anywhere, but home.

  Though, if there was indeed a fix that would give shifters back their ability to shift, she was obligated to return and cure them. Damn hypocritic oath extended to shifters even if the U.S. Government didn’t consider them citizens, or on par with humans. As far as she was concerned, her oath as a doctor applied to shifters as well as humans.

  “You said there’s a fix. What is it? How does it work?”

  “You’ll have to ask Anna. She devised it. She’ll tell you everything you need to know to treat your pack and others. We’re not trying to keep the remedy a secret, but Damien’s trying to find a way to spread the word quietly, without leading the WSSO back to us. The WSSO doesn’t know we returned here, and we want to keep it that way. And then there’s the issue of what desperate shifters will do. Damien will help anyone, up to a point. We can’t, won’t, risk Anna.”

  “Because she’s the only genetic engineer working on this?”

  “That too, but mainly because she’s one of us.”

  Mila laughed. A pack that could accept a human as their own could probably accept Mila, too. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to getting to know the shifters around her. Hayden’s strong face with thick black hair and deep dark eyes that a girl could lose herself in—had lost herself in, foolishly so—flashed into her head. He was the strongest shifter she had ever seen, maybe even stronger than Truman and Vance. No wonder he wanted nothing to do with her. Well, that was his loss. Mila wouldn’t let it stop her from making friends here. She already felt relaxed around Tess, as if they’d become good friends in time.

  “I’m glad to hear the shifters here are welcoming of a human. You can’t imagine what it’s like not being able to shift, hear, see, or heal like the shifters who didn’t contract the virus.”

  “I can imagine. I had the virus too. Twice.”

  “Twice. Wow! Your innate and adaptive immunity must be superb. I’ll definitely be taking your blood samples, if you don’t mind.”

  Tess winced.

  “What did I say?”

  “Sorry, I’m kind of tired of being a pin cushion. I’ve seen more needles than most drug addicts. Alex felt entitled to stick me when and as often as he liked. Fortunately, he left all his research so maybe that will cut down on the need to stick me.”

  “You were the only one in your pack to get sick?”

  “The virus hasn’t swept through here, exactly. I’m a carrier, at least that’s what Alex said.”

  “Carrier?” Hell, she hadn’t considered the virus could remain dormant in shifters like chickenpox in humans and re-emerge at some point, either in the same form or mutated. It could explain part of the mutations she had seen.

  “The virus destroyed my bridge enough that I couldn’t access my wolf,” Tess said with a casual wave of her hand as if it was no big deal. “Healing, sight, scent, shifting. Everything gone. I was as human as Anna, though not mentally prepared to live with that loss. I tried. I really did. It was tough acclimating, and then Anna came in and, well, she can tell you the rest.” Tess handed Mila the pile of bedding and led her up the stairs to the bedroom.

  “The shifters in my pack will be thrilled to hear about this.”

  “And not you?”

  “Of course,” Mila ground out with a forced smile. “I was assessing the shifters, trying to stop the spread. I ran out of gloves and masks.” Vance burned them in one of his fits. “That’s how I contracted the virus.”

  “Luckily, you survived. Though not all survivors see it that way. They’re too caught up in the loss of their shifter abilities. It’s scary, but I’ll say this much, Mila. Once your bridge is repaired and you can access your wolf again, you’ll appreciate what it is to be a strong shifter. You’ll be thankful you’re no longer weak.”

  Silently, Mila followed behind Tess. Getting the treatment wasn’t going to help Mila. She had been lucky enough to survive the virus, but whatever Anna’s treatment was, it wasn’t going to make her a strong shifter.

  Chapter Five

  HAYDEN

  Hayden watched Mila go from the cookhouse to the storage unit, what Anna referred to as The Lab. That place needed an upgrade. The pack’s two most valuable resources, Anna and Mila, were working in a damn shed that someone had hooked up with a generator so Anna could run her lab equipment and refrigerate samples. The floor heaters weren’t keeping the place warm either, which he knew because Blade had been rather vocal on the matter. Certainly, the pack could do better for them for the doctors tasked with saving wolf shifters from the deadly SEV-2.

  Without knocking, Hayden entered the storage unit. Mila was sitting at the long table that she shared with Anna, pulled away from the microscope and looked to see who had entered.

  “Hayden?”

  Three days since they’d arrived. The bruises on her cheek and neck were yellow purple. They should be gone. His hands fisted at his side as his eyes moved to her wrists. The gauze around her wrists was gone; angry red scars having taken their place. Those scars, that reminder of what she had been through, shouldn’t be there. Her wolf had been overtaxed and instead of resting, Mila was in a freezing cold hut working long hours.

  “May I speak with you, Doctor?”

  Anna looked up from the pipette—at least that’s what he thinks she had called it the last time he had helped carry in a load of supplies for her. Curly blonde hair swung behind her as her head swiveled from him to Mila. It still amazed him how much the human looked like Reina, even had the same sky blue eyes.

  “Good timing, actually,” Anna said, rising. His presence still made her nervous, understandably so. No matter how much he tried to get to know her—to let her get to know him—she still saw Drake when she looked at him. That’s what Hayden guessed was her issue with him. He had asked Blade once, but Blade had politely asked him not to talk about Drake, to either of them. Blade didn’t blame him for how brutal Drake and his pack had been to Anna, but Hayden’s and Blade’s relationship had changed afterward. Blade looked at Hayden almost as if he no longer trusted him. Hayden understood it too. Blade had a blood-bonded mate. He’d feel her distress through the bond. When it came to a choice between a brother and a mate, the mate always won out. As it should be. There was little Hayden could do about his relationship with Blade, other than try to make Anna feel comfortable around him.

  “You don’t need to leave on my account, Anna. I’ll only be a moment,” Hayden said.

  She patted her baby bump. “Junior’s hungry.”

  He raised a brow. “Junior?”

  “Just a temporary name. For my little Blade.”

  “What if it’s a girl? Like we’re all hoping for.”

  “Everyone’s hoping for a girl?” she said, her confusion clear.

  “Well, maybe just me.”

  “Why?” she asked with all seriousness, even some trepidation. He sighed. It seems everything he said got wrapped up in suspicion these days.

  “Because I don’t think the pack can handle the antics of another male like Blade. You, however, are calm and get along with everyone.”

  Anna didn’t say anything for a moment. When had he lost his gift for talking to shifters—and humans—without setting them off? Finally, Anna flashed a nervous smile. “I can see your point, but a girl will still have Blade’s genes. Our baby’s antics could rival Blade’s in time.”

  “Then perhaps it’s good you’re a geneticist.”

  A flicker of horror crossed her
face and then eased. “Oh, a joke. I thought you meant I should alter the baby’s gender.”

  He looked to Mila, who was silently watching the exchange. Her smile was tenuous, too. “Perhaps I should go.”

  “No,” Anna said as she tore off her latex gloves and dug out a pair of fur mittens from the coat she was already wearing. Blade was right. The storage unit was too cold for the women. “You stay, I’ll go. Shall I bring you anything, Mila?”

  “No need,” Hayden answered instead. “I’ll take care of her.”

  Mila raised her brow, then turned to Anna and smiled. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

  Anna shot out the door. The moment the door clicked shut behind Anna, Mila rose.

  “What do you want, Hayden? I’m busy.” She turned her attention back to her microscope.

  “It’s my job as Damien’s second to check in on new shifters. To make sure everyone’s acclimating and getting what they need.”

  “I have everything I need. Thank you. You can go.”

  His back straightened. This wasn’t the reception he had been hoping for. “I didn’t mean to ignore you the past few days. I meant to speak with you earlier, but you’ve been holed up in here, and then at Aloe’s.”

  “Oh, were you looking for me? I didn’t notice. I’ve been knee-deep in notes from Alex.”

  “You can’t work twenty-four seven, Mila. It’s a sure-fire way of burning out.”

  “I’m fine. Doctors get used to long hours in medical school and during residency,” she said as she removed the slide from the microscope, placed it on a tray in a special metal box, and retrieved another slide from the same case. “I can stay glued to this seat for weeks and come out as fresh and bright-eyed as when I entered.”

  “You’re not healing.”

  She dropped the slide she was about to put under the microscope. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up the slide and focused the lenses. “I’m definitely healing.”

  “You should be fully healed by now.”

  Calmly, slowly, Mila rose and faced him. “Maybe I should have brought my degree along because you don’t seem to believe me when I say I’m a doctor. I can certainly assess whether I’m healing or not.”

  “Maybe you should stop trying to hide the truth from me and tell me why you’re not healing.”

  “How is it any of your business how fast I’m healing or if I’m healing at all?”

  Hayden ran his hand through his hair. The way she was staring at him, hands on hips and green eyes flaring told him he had hit a nerve. That hadn’t been his intent when he had entered. He simply wanted to see her. He hadn’t been sleeping well and he’d been distracted 24-7. He’d spent the last three days puttering around the compound, finding odd jobs that would keep him close to Mila. The only time she left Aloe’s was to eat in the cookhouse or go to work, here, in this run-down shed with barely any heat.

  “I’m going to see what we can do about finding a better workspace for you and Anna.”

  “Fine. You do that. Now let me get back to work.”

  Her tone, her body language, everything about her said he wasn’t wanted there. He never should have listened to Damien and gotten his hopes up.

  Hayden slipped out of the storage unit, making sure he shut the door tight to keep out the cold and the wind. Something wasn’t right with Mila, and it was more than the fact that she was healing so slowly. As Damien’s second, Hayden had every right to investigate every new shifter who entered camp. Maybe once he dug deep enough, he would find out how exactly he had offended her. She had turned cold to him. Even back in the bakery, when he had held her against her will until they realized she was the one they’d come to escort, she hadn’t been dismissive of him. She had lobbed insults, but that was because she had been scared.

  He thrust the door open again, unable to leave with this awkwardness between them. He must have startled her for she jumped from her chair and spun around, her face suddenly pale. She had the longest eyelashes that provided a stunning contrast to her eyes.

  Mila backed up and bumped the worktable. The rattling glass beakers and test rubes brought him out of his daze. He had frightened her somehow. She had seen Drake, whom he looked like, tear shifters to shreds years ago and Hayden had nearly done the same to the shifter who’d attacked her. No wonder she had ended the kiss, that kiss that had seared a place in his soul. She saw the violence in his blood, the wolf inside who maimed and killed all too easily.

  “Mila,” he said, using his gentlest tone. It was the one he used when he first approached a female he was interested in dating and the one that should hopefully put her at ease.

  “Yes, Hayden?” Her tone had softened as well.

  “There’s a Running of the Moon tomorrow night. The whole pack is expected to run, except those on patrol or babysitting duty.”

  “I’m not part of your pack.”

  He thrust his hand through his hair again. No one had ever refused running before, except Tess, and even she had joined them despite her inability to shift at the time. “Then consider this an invitation.”

  “Thank you for including me, but no. I’m here to work, not run.”

  His frustration was building, but he couldn’t let her see how she was affecting him. Then she’d think he cared, which he didn’t. Not really. “Even doctors need exercise, don’t they?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I’ll see you there.”

  “I prefer other forms of exercise.”

  “I can help you with that,” Hayden said, before he realized what he was saying. Her eyes widened. Those beautiful green eyes of hers held a sadness he didn’t understand, but he wanted so desperately to erase. She had a gorgeous smile, though he’d only seen it once, when she was laughing with Kate and Tess at dinner yesterday.

  “I need some air,” she said, pushing past him and rushing outside.

  He followed her out, delayed when the door wouldn’t latch. The damn place wasn’t secure in the least. One swift wind and all of their equipment and research would be compromised. When he adjusted the bent doorjamb so the door would catch, he looked around the compound. The place was bustling with activity, and Mila was nowhere in sight.

  He headed in the direction of the cookhouse, thinking she might be heading to grab a bite with Anna. He found her scent in the wind. Lilac. She had taken a sharp left, down toward the maintenance area. She had no business down there, which in and of itself compelled him to follow her.

  Mila was talking with Finley, the pack’s best mechanic. He fixed everything from their one vehicle—now two given that Hayden had stolen one to help them flee Wyoming—to their generators. Hayden never really cared for the shifter, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. The women all seemed to like him. They called him the Norse God, which made sense given his blond hair and light blue eyes, but the male was a weak shifter, not someone a strong female like Mila would be interested in.

  He couldn’t hear what they were saying precisely, not with the heavy clanking of chains and the backfire of the truck’s muffler in the workshop. Mila’s hand covered her mouth and her laughter, light as a feather, managed to pierce the veil of heavy machinery. Finley grinned ear-to-ear and his hand. . . The shifter had his damn hand on Mila’s forearm. A light touch, one she wasn’t pulling away from.

  Jealousy cut through Hayden, white-hot.

  Finley glanced Hayden’s way as he approached from behind the two. Mila spun around. What had clearly been a wide smile slipped from her face, leaving behind a serious, dour look. Hayden had killed the moment for them. Finley and Mila’s moment.

  “I just wanted. . .” What could he possibly say? “I thought you were lost. I saw you headed in the wrong direction.”

  “She knew exactly where she was going, Novak,” Finley said.

  Last name. Cold tone. For such a weak shifter, he was risking a lot showing such disrespect. Then again, Hayden was the outsider here, both with him and Mila and the whole damn pack. Unfortunately, Finley hadn�
�t given him true cause to pound him into the ground like Hayden was itching to do.

  “You should go,” Mila said. Her voice and cold stare were enough for Hayden to get the message. She was done with him.

  * * *

  MILA

  As Hayden race up the trail, away from the maintenance area, away from her, Mila felt nauseous. She hadn’t meant to hurt him when she had come down here and found Finley. She had met Finley yesterday when he had come by to fix the generator that had ground to a halt mid-day. He had shown her how to find him again, if she ever needed anything fixed, and he had been the first one she thought about when she needed to put space between her and Hayden.

  By no means was she attracted to Finley, though he certainly was a good looking shifter. She knew she’d be welcome among Finley and the other weak shifters who work maintenance. On a whole, they weren’t aggressive or territorial like strong shifters.

  She had needed a safe place to run when Hayden had entered the lab unexpectedly. His clean spring scent and broad shoulders had nearly taken her breath away. Concentrating with him standing there watching her was impossible. She had intentionally turned her back on him and stared into the microscope hoping he’d leave. Except the shifter was too focused on the fact that she hadn’t healed yet. Strong shifters healed fast. Her wounds, mere bruises and cuts, should have healed fully by the morning after the attack. That was four days ago.

  She’d been avoiding telling him the truth because she wasn’t sure she could handle seeing the disappointment in his eyes. Hayden was as powerful a shifter as she had ever seen, the type that should be alpha, not a second. Alphas were a dangerous group, though. Piss off an alpha and there was nothing that would save you. Truman was like that, though she wasn’t quite sure about Damien yet. If he had a temper, he seemed to hold it in check, or perhaps Tess did. Her mom had always said the right female could make a male stronger with nothing but her support. Then again, her mom had been talking about how she’d be a good match to any of the weak shifters in the pack, that setting her sights on a strong shifter was unrealistic. They wouldn’t want her.