Go Fetch!

by Shelly Laurenston

  He tore the bitch’s throat out and flipped it up and over his back.

  He was lucky. The whole Clan wasn’t there. With a full Clan, he’d have been dead. But there were still twelve left. The five he’d already killed were lying in the building. Another three were lying on the ground at his feet. He could only hope that Miki grabbed the SUV keys out of his discarded jeans and made it to the parking lot where he’d left it. He could only hope she would be safe. That was all he cared about now.

  Another set of jaws locked onto the back of his neck. Billy Dunwich tackled the hyena and ripped its leg off as he hit the ground. Conall faced another one and that’s when he smelled her. With her going into heat, it came to him a lot sooner.

  “Hi. Am I interrupting anything important?”

  They all turned to look at her. Conall gave a warning bark. She needed to move her ass. The hyenas wouldn’t be distracted for long. She just surprised them with her sudden appearance.

  But it was the look in her eye that caught his attention. And the fact she had her hands behind her back. Plus she was standing just a little too cutesy for the Miki Kendrick he knew. With one leg cocked slightly in toward her other leg, her head tilted. Like a little girl.

  Then it hit him. She was trying to look nonthreatening. But why? He decided not to wait to find out. He looked at the other wolves and, as one, they turned and ran.

  Miki had their attention and it was damn scary. Those cold animal eyes staring at her. Sizing her up. Wondering what bits to eat first. But she needed Conall and the Pack to move. Now. But if she warned them then the hyenas would know, too. She knew from Sara that shifters could understand everything. They thought, heard, and saw as if they were still human.

  Then, suddenly, Conall and the Pack hightailed it out of there. She didn’t know what clued him in, but she wasn’t going to worry about it. A few of the hyenas watched the Pack run. They weren’t a stupid breed. In fact, they were the exact opposite. They would know something was up, so she had to move now or lose her opportunity.

  She raised her two guns. The hyenas stared at her for a moment and then began…laughing? It took every ounce of inner strength she had not to curl up into the fetal position and start crying for her grandmother. But, her grandmother had been a strong, mean woman and she would have told Miki to get her shit together anyway.

  But Miki knew what they were laughing at. She didn’t have enough bullets in those two guns to take out all the Clan members in front of her. She may kill a few, but the rest would tear her apart.

  She already knew that.

  “Now!” The female wolf that Leucrotta had been sniffing stepped out of the shadows and tossed a mason jar, filled with the clear liquid Miki had created so many years ago, into the air. Miki raised one of the guns and fired. The jar exploded over the hyenas and, within seconds, flames covered their bodies.

  A chemical flame that as soon as it touched the fur on the first hyena spread over the entire body within seconds. As the hyena tried to shake it off, it got too close to another clan member and the flame spread. That was the beauty of her concoction, and one of the reasons her government had tried to get her to produce it for them. It wasn’t like regular fire. It almost took on a life of its own, jumping from victim to victim as long as they were in a ten-foot range. It only went after flesh, fur, or skin, too. The buildings, trees, even the grass would be largely unaffected except for a few burn marks she never could figure out how to get rid of before she stopped working on the experiments all together.

  The hyenas began to go up in flames as the wolf female tossed the other bottle on the opposite side and Miki shot that one as well. Then the female lobbed one to the right and left of the hyenas. Miki shot all of them without any problems. It was like skeet shooting. She only needed four bullets for that.

  A ring of fire surrounded the hyenas. A fire that wouldn’t spread out but in. Once again, a little extra “thing” about her concoction. By the time the fire department showed up, they’d find a pile of hyena ash and a fire that would go out in about five more minutes without water or a fire extinguisher.

  “Go!” The female took off running. Two hyenas, untouched by the flame, charged Miki. She fired both guns. One crumpled on impact. The other flipped head over tail.

  Miki ran. Two hyenas still on her ass. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been close enough to the fire to get hurt. If she stopped to shoot, they’d take her down. She saw Conridge pull up in a minivan. A typical mom car. Thankfully it had automated doors that slid open at her approach. Miki dove for it but hyena teeth grabbed onto her calf.

  She had on jeans but those strong jaws went right through to the flesh beneath. “Motherfucker!” Miki kicked with her free foot, but the hyena wouldn’t let go. It yanked and dragged her out of the van, flipping her to her back. That’s when she fired. She couldn’t get a clean head shot without shooting herself in the foot, so she shot it in the ass. It yelped and danced away. The second one came for her. She aimed the gun, her finger about to pull the trigger. Then suddenly the female who had been helping her shifted back to wolf in mid-flight and took the hyena down. She twisted its neck and snapped it.

  Miki struggled to stand, but strong hands grabbed her from behind and lifted her to her feet. She looked over her shoulder and frowned. She’d assumed it was Conall but it was another Pack member.

  “Where’s Conall?” He didn’t answer her, but lifted her and threw her into the van. The rest of the Pack, some human and some still wolf, followed in behind her. He slammed the door and Conridge moved. The woman drove like she taught. Dangerously.

  “Wait! We’re not leaving without Conall!” She had the guns and they all knew she’d use them in a heartbeat.

  “He’s back here.” One of the females motioned to her.

  Miki clamored over the seats and around the Pack members, doing her best to ignore the pain in her calf. She could hear sirens blaring as cops headed their way. They’d probably gotten out just in time.

  As she stumbled to the back, she found Conall in the rear boot. He was still wolf. His shoulder torn open. His struggle to breathe obvious.

  “It’s poison,” the female next to her explained. “We need to get him someplace safe.”

  Conridge spoke from the front, “You’ll come to Van Holtz territory. You’ll be safe there. And our doctor can help him.”

  Miki slid into the back with Conall. She petted his head.

  “Miki? Is that cool with you?” Miki looked up. The female, Patty was her name maybe, stared at her. Waiting for an answer. It took Miki a second to realize the Pack waited for her decision. When Zach and Sara weren’t around, Conall was in charge. With Conall down that meant the next strongest was in charge. She suddenly realized that was her.

  “Yeah. Yeah. That’s cool.”

  She focused back on Conall, running her hands over his flanks, avoiding the bloody wound on his shoulder.

  “Conall. Can you hear me?”

  He rubbed his snout against her arm. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She searched around her for something to wrap his wound. “Baby, can you shift back for me?”

  He whined and she took that as a no. At least not yet.

  “That’s okay, baby. That’s okay.” She grabbed a kid-sized bottle of water from a box lying next to Conall’s head and a small T-shirt she found. She tore the shirt into strips and drenched the strips in water.

  She wiped the wound with the wet cloth, sniffed it, but couldn’t recognize what they’d used on him.

  Taking him to a hospital was out. Taking him to the vet equally so. She could only hope the Van Holtz Pack would help.

  She leaned in close to him. “Conall, will you be able to hold on for a bit?” He licked her arm. “Okay. Good. We’re going some place safe.”

  He licked her face. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ve got ya, okay?” He made a soft sound and she rubbed the fur at the back of his neck. “I’ve got ya.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Conall forced
his eyes open, wincing at the pain in his head. He glanced around and realized he was in the back seat of some vehicle he didn’t recognize. He looked down. He was human. His shoulder hurt. The poison had taken hold and traveled around his system like a flame on gasoline. But his body fought it. He could feel the fever coming on. This would definitely get worse before it got better.

  But he didn’t care. Not really. He needed to know if Miki was safe. Was she alive? He heard doors opening and felt hands on his body. He tried to fight, but he didn’t have strength left. He heard grunts as they hoisted him up and then he was moving.

  Miki limped behind the wolves that had Conall. Her leg was killing her, but not from poison. If she’d been poisoned, she’d be dead by now. She wasn’t wolf and she would never be able to fight the effects. Conall was wolf. But whether he would live or not, well, no one could give her an answer on that.

  When they arrived at Van Holtz territory, she was surprised at the size of Conridge’s home. It was huge but extremely modest. She liked that it wasn’t fancy. She saw Conridge’s husband at the front door. He was even more gorgeous than his picture. A typical wolf, too. Tall, broad and devastatingly handsome. His relief at seeing his wife was blinding. He swept her into his arms and lifted the woman off her feet, hugging her close against his body.

  Miki thought about Conall and she felt that tightness around her heart again. The pain worse than the one in her leg. What if he dies? She stopped the thought. Of all the things she tortured herself with on a daily basis, this couldn’t be one of them. She’d never survive it.

  They carried Conall into the house and Conridge motioned for them to go up to the next floor. Miki went to follow, but Conridge grabbed her arm.

  “No, you don’t. I want to take a look at that leg.”

  “I’m not leaving him.”

  Conridge pulled her toward the back of the house. “Of course not. But the wolves have him now. Niles called in one of their own. He’s a physician. Give him some time with Conall. And while they do that, we’ll deal with you.”

  Miki allowed Conridge to drag her to their spotless kitchen. Funny, Sara’s kitchen was spotless because apparently none of them used it. Conridge’s kitchen was spotless because someone in her family was obsessive compulsive.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but drop your pants.” Miki would have laughed if she had it in her. But she didn’t. She dropped her pants and Conridge gently forced her into a chair.

  Conridge was on her knees, pulling Miki’s leg up to examine her wound when Niles Van Holtz walked into the kitchen. He took one look at his wife and raised an eyebrow.

  “Don’t go there,” Conridge warned without even looking at the man.

  “I didn’t say a word.” His gaze shifted to Miki. “Have you eaten?”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “So no it is.” He went to a row of cabinets and pulled out a pot, a sauté pan, and fresh pasta from the stainless-steel refrigerator.

  “He’s ignoring me.” Miki didn’t even recognize her own voice. There was no life in it. And until Conall recovered, if he recovered, she’d be dead inside.

  “Of course he’s ignoring you. He’s wolf. That’s what they do when they don’t like what they hear.” Conridge cleaned off the wound, wiped it down with mercurochrome, and wrapped it in a clean white bandage. “It’s going to hurt like hell, but it will heal.”

  “Thank you.”

  Conridge looked up into Miki’s face. She wasn’t sure what the woman saw but her face softened to the point were Miki barely recognized her. She actually looked kind of pretty. “I know you’re scared, Miki. But they’re doing all they can for Conall. He’s wolf, he’ll fight.”

  Miki nodded as Conridge got to her feet. “Let me get you some clothes.” She spoke to her husband. “And I’m stealing a few things from you for the rest of her Pack.” Miki didn’t bother telling them they weren’t her Pack. She was too emotionally drained.

  “I’ll be right back.” Conridge squeezed Miki’s shoulder and walked out.

  Miki watched Van Holtz at the stove. She was impressed. The man seemed to know what he was doing. And whatever he was creating did smell good.

  “You’ll be safe until morning. By then we’ll know if Víga-Feilan will…” He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder.

  “Survive?”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much. He looks…well, really strong. And the fever has already taken hold.”

  “Fever?”

  “It’s how our bodies fight. The fever can last up to twenty-four hours. And you never know what will happen when you’re going through it. Sometimes nothing. Sometimes you shift a thousand times in twenty minutes. And sometimes you start flipping out. It’s a crapshoot.”

  “I should be with him.”

  “After you eat.” Van Holtz dumped some sautéed pasta onto a dish, added some extra cheese, grabbed a fork, and plopped it down in front of Miki. “You have to eat it. I usually charge fifteen bucks for that dish in my restaurant.”

  It smelled great and her stomach suddenly roared to life. Taking a deep breath, she took the fork he held out to her and sampled the food. It tasted as good as it smelled.

  “Thank you.”

  He patted her on the shoulder then walked away. She ate while he cleaned up his kitchen. An obsessive-compulsive wolf. Odd.

  As Miki took the last bite she could manage, a girl walked into the kitchen in shorts and a T-shirt, a soccer ball under her arm. “I’m back from practice, Papa.”

  The girl reached up on tiptoe to kiss her father.

  “How did you do?” he asked.

  “Fine. But the rest of the team is holding me back.” The girl turned and looked at Miki. “Hello.”

  “Hi.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Miki.”

  “Kendrick?”

  Miki blinked. “Yeah.”

  “I read your dissertation.” Suddenly the girl looked just like her mother. “I found flaws.” The girl walked out of the room.

  Miki stared at Van Holtz and he shrugged in answer. “She takes after her mother.”

  Conridge pushed the kitchen door open, but she was yelling over her shoulder. “I said do your homework this minute, mister. And don’t you dare bare your fangs at me!” She came in with a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved tee. “Damn wolf children.”

  Conridge handed Miki the clothes. Without even thinking about the fact that Van Holtz stood right there, she changed into them.

  Just as she finished pulling the tee over her head, Billy Dunwich stuck his head in to the kitchen. “Miki, we need you.”

  Miki moved. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she followed after Dunwich who was now wearing only a pair of jeans. He took her up the stairs and to a door. She could hear snarling and snapping, so she pushed past him and threw the door open. Conall as wolf was out of control. She could see the whites of his eyes as he spun in a circle and snapped at anyone who got too close to him. The one she assumed was the Pack doctor had a needle out and stood behind several Van Holtz wolves. The other wolves seemed at a loss on what to do.

  She walked into the room. “Conall!” The wolf spun around at the sound of her voice. She sat down on the floor Indian style. “Come here, baby.” He ran to her. His shoulder had started bleeding again and he had a pronounced limp. He came to her and dropped in front of her, his head in her lap. He whined and then shuddered. “It’s okay, baby. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She petted his head and waited until he’d calmed down. She looked up at the doctor. “All right. Do it.”

  The doctor walked over, crouched down beside them, and quickly shot Conall up with whatever was in the needle. She glanced up at Dunwich. “Get him up on the bed.” Conall’s Pack lifted him up and placed him back on the bed.

  “Everybody out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She nodded at Dunwich’s question. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

  The wolves left. The doctor, the last to
go. “You’ll have to clean off that wound again, but that shot should keep him calm. He’ll probably wake up, though, while in the throes of the fever. I’ll be taking care of the other wolves who were injured tonight, so I’ll be here if you need me.”

  “Thanks.”

  The doctor walked out, closing the door behind him.

  Miki glanced around the room. It was a huge bedroom with an adjoining bathroom. She was thankful for that. She didn’t want to leave Conall at all. She never wanted to leave Conall. And that thought absolutely terrified her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Conall felt cold. Freezing cold. He pried his eyes open and looked around the room. He had no idea where he was. But even worse, he didn’t see Miki. Where was Miki? He needed to make sure she was okay.

  “Miki?” He tried to sit up but his head was pounding.

  “Hey. Hey. No, you don’t, Viking.” He felt her warm hands on his chest, pushing him back down on to the mattress. “You’re not going anywhere yet.”

  “Safe? Are you safe?”

  “We’re both safe, baby. Everything’s cool. Just sleep.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Stay with me, Mik.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He smiled, his eyes closing. “Promise?”

  She chuckled. “Yeah. I promise.”

  He settled back down into the bed, but he still wouldn’t release her hand.

  “You’re not going to let me go, are you, Viking?”

  “I’m never letting you go, Mik. Besides, I’m cold. I need you to warm me up.”

  She sighed and he felt the bed dip slightly as she got in next to him. “Okay. Okay. Come here.”

  She pulled him close, laying his head against her chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She kissed the top of his head as her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

  “You smell good,” he rasped. “You’re in heat.”

  She laughed softly. “Christ, Conall, get some sleep.”

  Knowing she was safe, he allowed himself to relax. She smelled so good and he felt incredibly soothed by the heat coming off her body. The last thing he remembered was her hands running through his hair.