She groaned at his joke. “Putting aside your corny joke, are you going to tell me what happened?”
“Just a second.”
Sy maneuvered the unconscious wolf into the car, his wonderful muscles bunching and flexing with the effort, just as someone else opened the trunk and she heard something tossed inside. With Kevin strapped in, Sy allowed a male in cougar form to jump into the backseat. No doubt, to act as a guard on the off chance Kevin woke up.
The rear door slammed closed, and a second later, Sy opened the driver’s side door and slid in. Not caring about the cougar watching them in the backseat, he took hold of her neck and pulled her close for a gentle kiss. Then he said, “Now I can talk.”
She gave him a playful pat and reluctantly, he moved away to start the car. As he pulled out onto the street, she said, “So?”
“Well, there wasn’t any bottle with ‘Antidote’ written on it, but we did take his laptop, cell phone, briefcase, and a few files we found in his apartment.” He glanced at Kaya. “I was thinking, once we switch cars, we could take it all back to GreyFire and assign a team to help look through everything. That would speed up the process. What do you think?”
The question was asking her permission. Her wolf wanted to lick his face in gratitude for all but handing power back into her hands.
Aware of their audience in the backseat, however, she cleared her throat and said, “That’s exactly what I would’ve done. I can set things in motion on the drive up, if you don’t mind driving?”
Sy’s eyes were back on the road, but she saw the smile on his face. She could tell he was itching to tease her, but true to his word, he didn’t embarrass her, even if it was his clan member and not hers in the back seat. “No. But how would you feel about letting Matt back there, along with Ginnie, the redhead from earlier, take Howard up in a separate car? I’d rather divide up and lessen the risk of an attack if for some reason someone decides to track Howard’s cell phone or computer.”
And he left unsaid the other big reason—to prevent anyone from seeing how sick she would become.
She wasn’t used to someone looking out for her, and it felt...nice. She didn’t doubt for a second that Sy would take care of her once her fever showed up.
Focus, Kaya. She wasn’t about to worry if she’d ever wake up or not once that happened. She was awake now, and she had things to do. She said, “I can give your team the location of a remote sentry shelter at the edge of GreyFire’s land. That way, if someone is tracking the bastard, they’ll see Kevin’s on GreyFire’s land, but they won’t find the heart of my den.” She turned to look into Matt’s blue cougar eyes. “Provided, first, that Matt doesn’t mind working with the wolves. Shake your head if you don’t mind doing so.”
The cougar tilted his head in the feline way for a second to study her, but while his blue gaze was strong, she was stronger. Eventually, he blinked and then he shook his head.
Kaya smiled. “Good.” She turned back toward Sy. “Let me call Kian and double-check that it’s okay to borrow his clan members for a spell.”
As she took out her phone and started dialing, Sy reached out and gave her thigh a squeeze. She looked over at him. His eyes were full of approval and something tender, and the sight made her heart skip a beat.
He is ours, her wolf said inside her head. And yes, Kaya agreed. Sylas Murray was theirs, and no matter how sick she became, she was going to fight her damnedest to get well again so she could tell him that. Then, to make up for too many years apart, she would ask him to fuck her until she couldn’t stand, and she knew he would do it, too. With Sy, she’d never have to worry about someone only wanting her because of her position, let alone worry about a man treating her as a fragile thing about to break. Despite the fact they’d only reconnected less than a week ago, he knew her better than just about anyone else.
She was falling for him again.
Kian’s voice came over the phone and she reluctantly broke her gaze to concentrate on what the other clan leader was saying. She needed to get everything going in both the GreyFire and DarkStalker clans while she still had the ability to do so.
Chapter Fifteen
For the hundredth time, Sy resisted the urge to pull over the car, move Kaya into his lap, and try to soothe her. She’d fallen asleep about an hour ago, and ever since, she had been moving and twitching in her seat, as if she were fighting off a nightmare.
He’d tried talking to her, switching on relaxing music, and even caressing her with his free hand, but none of that had worked. He was pretty confident he knew why.
The virus was starting to attack Kaya with full force.
His inner cat growled. He wanted something tangible to fight off to protect their wolf-shifter. The animal-half of him didn’t understand this invisible enemy. Of course, his human-half did, and it scared the living shit out of him.
Kaya could die.
Sy gripped the steering wheel tighter, and tried to calm down his inner cougar. If the cat didn’t get his irritation under control, Sy wouldn’t be able to use his brain as effectively to take care of the wolves and, more importantly, Kaya.
He had made the final turn onto GreyFire’s land a few minutes ago, which meant they’d be at the den in about twenty minutes. The sooner he could get Kaya to her people, the sooner they could see if they could make her comfortable. He only hoped they were making progress on the cure.
His phone rang. Sy saw it was his brother, so he clicked the receive button on his ear piece, grateful for the distraction. “Yeah, Kian? What’s up?”
“I had one of our people, Rivera, keep an eye on GreyFire’s place in Seattle and someone came to do more than pay a call—they broke into the apartment.”
Good thing they’d searched and stripped the place first. “Tell me the rest.”
“Rivera tailed the middle-aged man back to Markgen, but the man has yet to come back out again.”
“Did Rivera get a picture of this guy?”
“Yeah. It’s a bit grainy, but I’ve sent it to your phone. Can you get Kaya to look at it right now and see if she recognizes him?”
Sy glanced over at the wolf-shifter, who was currently whimpering softly in her seat. He decided his brother had a right to know what was going on. Especially since some of DarkStalker’s people were involved with helping the wolves. “Are you alone right now, Kian?”
Something in Sy’s voice must’ve given away that something wrong because Kian’s voice became concerned. “Yes, it’s just me in my office. What’s up little brother?”
He decided he didn’t have the spirit to argue with his twin brother about him being older by a few minutes. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, “I think Kaya caught the virus.”
Kian’s line went quiet for a second before he replied. “How did it happen? Wasn’t she clean when she left GreyFire?”
“Yes, but somehow a Dr. John Smith at Markgen found a way to infect not just her, but her two researchers as well. We think it was either in the air or the drinks they had while waiting for him.”
“How bad is she?”
Only because Sy was driving did he keep his eyes on the road instead of pulling Kaya into his lap to hold close. “Her fever started a little over an hour ago and she’s now unconscious. I think she’s having nightmares since she keeps whimpering and moving around.” He glanced quickly at Kaya and then back to the road again. “She might die, Kian, and I’m not sure I can save her.”
“That’s the bitch of loving someone, brother—sometimes things are out of your hands and there’s nothing you can do to save them.”
Sy didn’t even try to deny he loved Kaya. Instead, he decided he needed to tell his brother the whole truth. “There’s something else you should know, Kian, before I get to GreyFire and try to contain the situation.”
“Hm?”
“Kaya declared a power share with me.”
Kian was quiet for a few seconds before he said, “You’re full of surprises today, Sylas. You know t
hat once you step on GreyFire’s land and accept the power share that you forfeit your guardian position, as well as you clan membership, with DarkStalker. Are you sure that’s what you want?”
If he accepted the power share on GreyFire’s land, it was final. Per tradition, he’d be kicked out of DarkStalker, maybe for good.
Kaya cried out in the seat beside him. He reached out a hand to rub her leg, and this time she did quiet down a little. Even so, each small cry of pain felt like a knife stabbing into his heart.
As he rubbed his wolf-shifter’s thigh, he knew he couldn’t let her down. Kaya had trusted him enough to declare the power share, and he would see it through if it killed him.
Considering Kaya had an incurable virus, death was a real possibility if her clan ended up blaming Sy for her death.
Don’t think about that. There was still time to try to save his wolf’s life.
Gripping the steering wheel tight, he said, “Kaya entrusted me with her clan, and I’m not about to screw that up. No matter what it takes, I won’t let her down this time.”
“I think I’m about to shed a tear. My little brother has finally become a man.”
He growled. “Will you ever stop lording those five minutes over me, asshole?”
“Never, my twin.” Sy heard a knock on the other end of the line and Kian’s voice was muted, as if he’d put the phone down. A second later Kian’s voice came back on the line. “Find someone in GreyFire who can identify the picture I sent you as soon as possible and then have someone call me back if you can’t do it.”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Kian.”
“No problem, brother. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need help. Even though you’ll reek of wolf from now on, I’ll still find a way to love you.”
Sy almost smiled. Before he could say anything, his sister-in-law’s voice came on the line. “Kian has something he needs to attend to, and I wanted to talk to you before you get so busy that you can’t spare two seconds for me.”
He resisted a sigh and steeled himself for his sister-in-law’s meddling. “What did you want to tell me, Trin?”
“Just take care of Kaya. I like her.”
He growled without thinking. “Of course I’m going to take care of her. I’m not sure why you would think I wouldn’t. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
“Well, I was going to tell you something useful about blood donors for transfusions. Did you want to hear it or are you just going to growl at me again?”
“Make it quick, Trin. I’m nearly at GreyFire’s secret back entrance.”
“Okay, Mr. Cheerful. I’ve made a list of all the cougar-shifters who’ve had contact with the infected but who don’t have any symptoms and are healthy. If you need any more blood transfusions from them, just ask. You may be GreyFire now, but you’ll always be my brother-in-law. I have faith in you to set this right.”
“How did you know I was GreyFire now? Kian said he was alone.”
“Don’t worry; your brother didn’t lie to you about being alone. It was obvious to me how you and Kaya fit together. It was only a matter of time until we lost you.”
“Trin...”
“Neither of us has time for sentimental bullshit. Take care of your female, Sy, and let Kian and I know if you need our help.”
“Thanks, Trin. Talk to you soon, I promise.”
“Bye, Sylas.”
The phone clicked off and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have Kian as his brother and Trinity as his sister-in-law. They barely blinked an eye at his changing clans and loving a wolf-shifter.
Things were a lot different than they’d been ten years ago, and not just because of him and Kaya being ten years older. No, for the first time, he actually believed the different shifter clans could be close allies.
He approached the last few turns to his destination and pushed those thoughts away. He didn’t want to miss a turn and get lost.
He had never driven to GreyFire’s hidden entrance and he was relying entirely on the directions he’d received earlier from Kaya. He needed to concentrate. Every second he spent getting lost would be a second less of time for Kaya to get help from one of her clan healers or her clan researchers.
But as soon as one of GreyFire’s vehicles came into view, he knew he’d arrived at the right place.
He pulled next to the other vehicle and just as he exited the car, Erika Washington strode out of the door from the den. “Sylas. Where’s Kaya?”
He moved toward the passenger’s side of the car. “I overheard her talking to you on our way here, so you know what’s going on.” He didn’t say it, but Erika nodded in understanding about Kaya being sick. He leaned close to Erika and said, “Is there a way to get inside without everyone seeing?”
Erika stilled a second at his proximity, no doubt her wolf trying to figure out if he was a threat or not. Kaya’s second didn’t have any symptoms—yet. Their best guess as to why was due to the fact that Erika’s grandfather had been human, which was rare among the shifters of the Cascade Mountains. But the slightly different DNA could be protecting her.
She nodded. “Get back into the car and give me a few minutes. I’ll bring two of our most trusted doctors out as well.”
Sy didn’t like waiting, but he knew they needed to avoid a panic. A sick, unconscious, and restless Kaya would start a surge of worry and maybe even hysteria. During his tours in Iraq, he’d seen firsthand the effects a death or sickness of a leader could have on a population or family. He wasn’t about to start that here.
He nodded and headed back to the driver’s side. Once he was in his seat, he turned toward Kaya and cupped her cheeks. Her skin was burning to the touch, but he kept his hold and started to strum his thumb back and forth against her skin. This might be the only chance they had alone for quite a while, so he said, “Fight for me, Kaya-love. There’s so much we could do together. And besides, I want you awake when I tell you that I love you.” He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her warm lips. “Don’t die on me, Kaya Geraldine Alexie. I’m not sure I can survive being without you again.”
~~~
Kaya stood in the middle of GreyFire’s main hall. The only light came from the main hall’s entrance on the far side of the room, and the smell of death permeated the air. At first, she could barely make out more than vague shapes in the dark, but then the lights flickered on and Kaya stopped breathing.
Erika lay on her back with her eyes closed and her throat slashed open. Turning the other way, she saw Jonathan was chained up in wolf-form, his eyes glowing an eerie purple. A few feet away from him, a couple held their dead child in their arms, crying and wailing the way only a parent could when they had lost their baby.
Despite the tightness in her chest, she forced herself to keep looking around the room. As she slowly turned and surveyed the surroundings, the situation was the same everywhere. Clan members were dying, dead, grieving, or chained up with glowing purple eyes.
She couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore, and shock, denial, anger, sadness, and a bevy of other feelings coursed through her. Her clan was dying and she didn’t know how to save them.
She’d failed them.
She tried calling Sy’s name, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Had he abandoned her? Or was he also dead? She didn’t like either option, but she hoped it wasn’t the former because it would only highlight how she’d come to trust him too soon. Also, it meant he’d deserted her when she needed him most.
Again.
She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t change.
First things first, she needed to reach her office and see if she could call Kian to ask for his help. Provided, of course, he hadn’t also abandoned her. Without the cougars, her clan’s chances of rebuilding or survival were nearly zero.
Kaya tried to move toward the corridor to go to her office, but after walking just a few feet, flames started sprouting up all around her. She tried moving her legs t
o get away, but they wouldn’t budge. She was stuck in place.
The flames licked her skin, burning her with each caress, and she battled a scream. Then the flames engulfed her completely and all she could feel was pain, so much pain. She had no words to describe it.
Her last thought as the flames consumed her was how she’d failed her clan. GreyFire was no more.
Kaya’s eyes opened on the tail end of a scream. The room was bright, but there weren’t any flames. And yet her skin was still burning.
Where the hell was she?
Sy’s face came into her vision and she felt some relief. He was here. He hadn’t abandoned her.
He touched her forehead and worry flickered in his eyes. “Kaya?”
She tried to sit up, but her body felt heavy. Maybe if she could cool down, she could make her body work. She would ask for Sy’s help. “Hot. Sy, I’m so hot. I want to be cool.”
He caressed her cheek, his voice a little unstable. “I know, baby. Wait here. I’ll get you a cool cloth.”
He moved, leaving her alone. She tried to kick off the covers, but she could barely move her toes, let alone her legs. Terror filled her at the thought she was dying, but then she pushed it back. Even with a fever and her inability to move much, Kaya’s stubbornness would never disappear.
Sy came back, laid something cool and wet on her forehead, and she let out a sigh.
Somehow, despite the fuzziness and the burning, her mind started to function a little. She remembered Sy driving her to her clan’s land, but she must’ve fallen unconscious at some point because the room she lay in was familiar. This was one of the sick rooms inside GreyFire’s den.
She looked into Sy’s eyes and she found strength in his tender, warm gaze. Sylas Murray had stayed by her side and taken care of her. She couldn’t give in to her sickness. She needed to be strong, for him and their future.
Reclaiming the Wolf (Cascade Shifters Book 1) Page 13