“Any discoloration around the mouth?” Paul asked her.
“A little pale, then darkened, then he seemed to turn it around as his color appeared to return to one closer to normal. Despite his demeanor, I think he’s still struggling to force air in and out.”
The elevator quickly made it to the lower level where the hospital lay. Paul efficiently took over and Doctor Waverly was there peering through some notes. “Lisa. You suspect poisoning?”
“I don’t know what else could have such an effect on a were, and the poisons I know of shouldn’t have done this. The experimental ones Alex spoke of in the trial, well, he’s already recovering, so that doesn’t make sense either.”
“I’ll go see what I can find. He’s not a Wahpawhat?”
“No, he’s here under Nolan’s protection.”
“Ah.”
The doctor didn’t say anymore than that, but he didn’t have to. Lisa knew too well that as an Elite Guard, she could be held responsible for his injuries. In the were world that didn’t mean some money lawsuit.
“His wife is here. Her and Lance are moving the car then will need someone to show them down here.”
“Sherona can do it,” the doctor said before moving to Marty’s bedside where Paul had already inserted an IV into his arm and started fluids.
That startled her. “Sherona’s here?” Curiosity filled her. Why was the queen of the werejaguars at the hospital? “Trouble with the cats?”
“No.” The doctor didn’t elaborate, and his demeanor forced her to back off. She may have been relatively new to the were-world, but she wasn’t new to back-off signals.
Lisa paced the small waiting area, fighting the fear that threatened to swamp her mind and cause her to lose control. Her hands began to shake, for it affected not only her, but the entire pack. Marty’s pack ulfric technically had a right to know one of his own was injured, but Marty was seeking political asylum. She rubbed her forehead, wishing she could rub the thoughts out as well, then heard the elevator doors open and turned. Lance stepped out and walked toward her. His arms opened, and she flung herself into them.
“Thank you for driving us,” she said into his shirt, taking comfort in his scent as she spoke.
“Of course,” he replied and stepped back. Elizabeth wasn’t his only elevator companion. Sherona, Nolan, and Alex were there as well.
Lisa went before him, bowed her head, and held out her hand, the formal submissive pose when not being confronted. Tears threatened. She couldn’t bear the thought of being kicked out of the pack, or worse, but she’d failed at her duties.
“Lisa,” Alex said and touched her arm. Lisa looked up at her, but Alex’s face had turned to Nolan.
“Lisa,” Nolan echoed. “We will find out what has happened. You are not, nor will you be, banished for this.”
Sherona snorted, and Lisa wondered at her merriment. Lance stiffened next to her, and his grip on her shoulder was almost painful, but she welcomed it. It showed he cared.
“Ah, Ulfric, you might try a new tactic. She’s more scared now than before.”
Lisa jerked her face toward Sherona. How in the hell did the jaguar queen know that? For if she wasn’t being banished, that meant—her hands flew to her throat, and she didn’t even allow the thought to finish.
Nolan and Alex both stared at her then Alex enveloped her in a hug. “No, honey. We know something bad happened, and it wasn’t your fault. Nolan made some phone calls, and the security camera footage is being held for Kamiakin, whom we sent there instead of here. He’ll see what happened. You won’t be exiled, but neither will you be killed.”
Lisa began to shake then turned and clung to Lance in relief. He rubbed her back a few times before letting go. Sherona moved into the room with the doctor, and she spotted Elizabeth standing in the middle of the room holding the glasses as if she were a mannequin.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Elizabeth,” she said as she rushed over and took the glasses from the distraught woman.
To her surprise, both Doctor Waverly and Sherona popped out of the hospital room. Sherona first, the doctor right on her heels. Lisa just stood and stared at them, a little in awe as they barreled down on her. Lance stepped between her and them, and they both stopped in their tracks.
“Sorry, Lance,” Sherona’s amused tone danced in the air.
“We mean no harm to your mate,” Waverly said.
Behind Lance, Lisa scowled. How in the hell does Waverly know? I’ve barely found out.
“She is holding the glasses Marty may have drank out of,” Nolan said calmly when Lance didn’t budge.
“I know,” Lance said. “But how do they?”
Silence dropped like a ton of bricks in the room. “I can’t explain it,” Waverly said. “However, the sooner you allow me to have the contents in those glasses, the sooner I can be sure we are giving the patient the proper treatment. Right now, I’m flooding his system with saline in an attempt to dilute whatever it is. Of course, Paul took a blood sample first.”
Lance turned to her, grabbed the glasses out of her hands, and handed them to the doctor. “Do what you must.”
Sherona gave him a smile, and the doctor nodded before they went back into the room. “So,” Lisa began to cut through the tension building in the room, “anyone know why Sherona is here?”
***
Lance didn’t know what to think. Something weird was happening, but the ulfric had trusted his mate to this doctor, and Lance had trusted his to the ulfric. Still, he felt defensive. His mate had been much too close to the poison. He told himself that’s all it was, even as the small space full of steel objects felt as if it were closing in on him.
“Lance?” Alex looked at him funny. Man, sometimes, she could be creepy. A smile flitted across her face, and it didn’t help his nerves.
“Lance!” Nolan’s sharp voice pierced the panic that had began to thread its way through his body like crabgrass roots through dirt now that the imminent threat to Lisa had lifted.
“What?” he said dully while forcing his body not to jump up and down in an attempt to get out of the room full of torture instruments.
“Get. Out. Take Lisa, get upstairs, and get some air. Now.”
Lance had begun to move to the elevators before Nolan finished giving his orders. Panic? Yes, that was part of it, he had to admit, but mostly it was the tone. You did not disobey an alpha when he or she used that tone. Lisa trotted beside him. Her hand snaked out to grab his and clenched it tight as the elevator doors closed.
As soon as they opened again, Lance swiftly strode through the oversized foyer to the double front doors. He barely noticed the out-of-place opulence as he pushed through them and into the fresh air of the night. Taking deep breaths, he calmed himself.
When would he ever get over Roxy’s damage? All those instruments, meant to heal and help, Roxy had turned into a playground of bloody delights for her, and a torture chamber of hellish design for him.
Lisa had somehow managed to not only keep up, but retain ahold of his hand. Not knowing where he headed, he started walking through the yard that seemed to have no end. Lisa never stopped gripping his hand. Using methods he’d perfected over the years, he calmed his breathing and his heart rate. His companion kept silent, yet he felt no pressure from her. He didn’t know how long they walked in silence. The cold night breeze brought the smell of snow off Mt. Adams and whispered of freedom to him.
“Lance,” Lisa said quietly.
He turned toward her. Silently, he watched the play of shadows from the waning moon and the lights from the house as they seemed to move like a living thing across her face. The hairs on his back bristled as he waited for her to speak but listened with more than his hearing.
“I’m a midwife, more than a general healer, and I’m definitely not a psychologist. My experience is that if you share what’s on your mind with someone you trust, it can help the healing process move faster. I feel your pain. It’s calling to me in a fashion I’ve y
et to acclimatize to, and don’t know if I can or will.”
Her words pierced him. So long ago, when he’d carried her to Nolan’s, he’d yearned for a moment like this. Tenderly, he leaned down and stopped a breath away from her lips. “You, here with me, is calling to me.” He kissed her as if kissing her could eradicate all the demons of hell spawn yapping at his feet as he sought to free himself of Roxy’s curse.
Her hand guided his behind her back, and it humbled him. He put his other hand to the rear of her head and gently held her there as he continued his rapturous feast on her lips. Years of holding in, years of training himself to feel nothing, fell away for an instant. It gave him a brief glimpse of heaven. Bright, penetrating light slashed through the darkness in his soul.
The light waned, but it left behind a piece of itself. He slowly pulled back from the kiss and searched her eyes—no recriminations, no rebuke, just acceptance, hope, and love.
“Don’t look at me like that. Not if you don’t mean it,” he said, fighting the urge to run.
“Like what?” her voice, still soft, caressed his body and fear hounded him.
“Like I matter,” he admitted.
“You saved me. I’ve never faced what happened, but that doesn’t change the facts. Without you, I would have died in that trap.”
“Without you, I would have lost all hope.”
They kissed again, her lips soft under his as they melded together—a kiss of promise, of dreams, of beginning. A kiss he’d never thought to experience, and then it hit him. He’d shared a beautiful moment with Lisa.
Elation blossomed within him, and he suddenly lifted his head, laughed, and spun her around. He had a chance at love, at happiness. Her smile as she laughed at his silliness only made things better. As the spin slowed, he kissed her again, a quick hard kiss. They pulled apart and looked at each other.
“Ahem.”
They both jumped apart, and Lance pushed her behind him as he turned to face the voice. His stance relaxed as his brain recognized Nolan.
“How’s Marty,” Lisa jumped in anxiously.
“He’ll live. Whatever he had may have hurt a human, but barely affected him.”
“But it did affect him,” Lance said softly. After his years of hanging out with Roxy, he knew a little about what weres could and could not take.
“And that’s a grave matter for the pack. We’ll have to call another special meeting and ask that none of you eat out in non-were restaurants at all for a few weeks. But that’s not why I’m out here.”
Lance waited. In the end, it was Lisa who spoke. With a mumbled “men” for his hearing only, she moved to under the cradle of his arms and asked, “Can we inquire as to why you came out to see us?”
A small smile tugged at the side of his mouth that was next to her cheek. Her humor came as a bit of a surprise to him.
Nolan stared at them both, and Lance had a suspicion he also tried not to grin. “I’m here to tell you that neither one of you have faced the past, and it’s time for you to do so. Joseph has been taken to the healer’s old cabin. Together, you need to face him. Not only for what he’s done to you, but for what he hasn’t.”
“But—” Lisa began.
Lance touched her arm, shook his head, and she backed down. “It’s normally against the rules to speak to one in exile, but you want us to face this together, don’t you? I don’t know why, but that is immaterial. I’ll be happy to stand with her as she faces the one who betrayed her.”
“He will also have to face the both of you. At heart, despite being a strong fighter, he’s a coward. He only likes to fight when he thinks he can win. Whatever you do, don’t let him think that. Now go. Travel to the mountain holding of Heather George, and deal with the man whose grip on your past has been strangling you both.”
Lance shook so hard, he was afraid he’d be unable to grasp Nolan’s outstretched hand, but he managed it. “We’ll go up there tonight.”
“Fine. One thing, try to get Joseph to tell you who else in the pack helped him. I know he hasn’t been working alone. Too many other things have been going on for too long. Or maybe Roxy had more than one dog on a leash.”
Lance thought back to all the times he’d seen Joseph. “Someone else did come with him before. I caught a glimpse of them once or twice.”
“Would you recognize them?”
“I don’t think so. I haven’t seen them recently.”
“Okay. Any information you find out can help us clear Lisa. I think they never meant to kill Marty. I think it’s supposed to discredit me and possibly her, our only midwife. Alex, though a healer, isn’t as directly involved with the pregnant weres that died. Someone here under my protection? This could cause a pack war, one that other packs would come in to support Justin over. You two stay low after talking to Joseph. Take some time for each other.”
“What about Elizabeth?” Lisa interjected.
“Let me know where you’re going to be so I can contact you. I have a bad feeling about this, and I need the two of you kept safe and out of the spotlight. Lance and you are mated, and now everyone either knows or will know. I need Alex’s testimony in case of a human trial, but...” Nolan stopped and looked toward the moon.
“Alex worked on genetics in school and independently from Roxy after she came home. She and a couple of healers from packs back east are testing to see if we can determine lineage.”
Lance ignored Lisa’s gasp, and if Nolan heard it, he didn’t show any sign. This was huge.
“And I don’t just mean like if someone’s family has a history of werewolves. We’re very close to being able to prove Joseph made you an aswan.”
Lance bristled at the implied insult and Lisa’s whimper of emotional pain drew out a growl.
“Lance!” Nolan gave him the look.
Lance swallowed.
“Lisa, I didn’t take you in all those years ago, make you our midwife, fill-in healer, and an Elite Guard because I thought you were a liar,” he chided softly. “But if there’s trouble between the packs, I may need the absolute proof of it for other packs. There’s something going on, something beyond our packs’ fighting. It’s about more than the Lupins and Wahpawhats. It’s subtle, and until I can at least get a handle on who the real enemy is, I’d like you guys to stay low.”
Lance spent long moments trying to read Nolan, but he remained impassive. “You mean there’s someone out there gunning for us as bad as Roxy?” Lisa’s hand gripped his hard as he asked the question.
“I think,” Nolan said, staring at the moon again. “There’s something out there that’s evil on a scale we can’t understand. I can’t get a handle on where it’s coming from or who’s responsible, but I sense it.”
Lance wanted to deny Nolan’s words. Instinct. He still fought against his memories of Roxy’s torture. “I think...” he started, but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I think you’re right,” he said.
Chapter Ten
Nolan strode back into the hospital mansion and sought out his wife. Not for the first time, he wished he had a better handle on politics. There were too many threads for him to follow. Give him a good old-fashioned murder any time over the lies and back stabbing and false courtesies of political ranks.
“I resent that, wolf,” Sherona said into his mind. “I’m very political. Cats have to be as they are slyer than most wolves would dream of being. Doesn’t make me awful, and quit broadcasting so loud. You never know who might be listening.”
Nolan cringed at the deserved rebuke as the elevator made its way to the basement. “Sorry. I just want to protect the pack. Someone at the pack meeting was thinking about Justin. I’d initially dismissed the possibility of it being outside the pack. After what just happened, I’m not so sure. My father is way better at this political stuff.”
“Then there must be a reason he stepped down and let you be in charge. Looking into the why of things will be more productive than complaining that you’re not good e
nough.”
“She’s right you know, Nolan,” Alex interjected. “You berate yourself too much. You don’t see how important you are to the whole pack, not just as ulfric. When looking into the murders, even though you saw that power played into it, you couldn’t see it was your power they wanted to mitigate. Stop selling yourself short, my love.”
“Fine,” he said exasperated. “You two gang up on me, and I don’t stand a chance.”
A deep rumble filled his mind. “Get used to it, Ulfric,” Doctor Waverly said. “When women stick together, men don’t have a chance.”
The women laughed out loud, echoing in the small room as Sherona and the Doctor entered the waiting area. “Marty looks great,” the doctor said. “Between Lisa’s quick thinking and the fact he didn’t imbibe much from what he said, the damage was mitigated.”
“Get me those test results as soon as you can. Have Marty sign whatever he needs to sign,” Nolan added when the doctor looked hesitant.
“He’s already begged me to do that. I’m fairly certain it’s a mild version of what Alex had though,” he added.
Alex sucked in her breath, and Nolan knew it hurt to hear it. He took hold of her hand and drew her in close, laying it on his arm and covering it again with his own hand.
“Without the test results, what makes you say that?” he asked.
“The coloring around the mouth for one.”
Nolan was confused. “What coloring?”
“Alex had similar coloring. A fact you hadn’t asked me about. I assume you didn’t notice because she bled so profusely before you got here. Or maybe you attributed it to that.” He shrugged. “Either way, I believe it was a symptom directly related to the poison. The other is, he’s still bleeding from us pricking his arm to get the blood draw.”
“I see.” And he did see. It would stretch coincidence a little far to have someone come up with a serum that did the same damage to weres so closely to Roxy’s scheme.
“Nolan.” Alex’s voice broke, and he felt the anger against her mother flow in him again. She didn’t want to believe her mother capable, but he’d seen the pages with his own eyes.
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