by Lauren Dane
“Nina, I’ve never felt that way before either. That was... I don’t even have the words to describe what it felt like to make love to you just now. The way our wolves touched and reacted... I love you, beautiful.”
More tears came then. Resigned, Lex accepted it because women always seemed to do the opposite of what he expected. They cried at the oddest moments, but he knew these tears were a gift from her heart. That she trusted him with her barest emotions.
“It wasn’t like this for you with all the wolves that you’ve been with?”
“No. Even so close to a full moon, my wolf has never surfaced like that. When I awoke and saw you there I just wanted to look at you for hours. When I was inside you, when I was tasting you—it was everything. It was all I ever wanted. You fulfill me in a way I never even knew I needed.”
She smiled up at him and had reached to pull him back to her when his phone began to ring.
She groaned and he growled but moved to pick it up anyway. He still had a job to do but if it wasn’t life or death, he’d kill whoever it was calling him.
Nina watched him and heard the caller on the other end. She got up and quickly headed into the shower and was moving out of the way by the time he walked in.
“You heard?” His face was grim as he stood under the spray and she toweled off quickly.
“Yes. Lex, what does this mean?”
“I don’t know but I’m afraid it doesn’t bode well for us. Stoner is involved now and we’ll have to talk to him about the situation. He’s going to meet me at the hospital in an hour.”
“Okay, I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs.”
“Nina, it’s too close to the full moon. Stay here.” He stepped out of the shower and clenched his teeth when he saw that she’d already left the room.
She was downstairs waiting near the doors to the garage when he came down some short minutes later.
“Nina, it’s too close...”
“Don’t waste your breath, Scooby. I’m coming. I already spoke to Cade, he said I won’t be in danger of changing until at least eight tonight. As it’s just now nine in the morning, I’m just fine.”
Lex spun and saw his brother leaning against the doorway to the living room.
“What? She asked! I didn’t know she was trying to make some end run around you until she said, ‘Ha!’ and stomped in here to wait for you.”
“Don’t look so pleased, Cade. You are so going to get yours when your mate comes around.”
“Shut up and be thankful. Now go on and give me a full report when you get it.”
Lex inclined his head for a moment and looked to Nina. “You see, when I tell him he needs to stay here he does. He’s an Alpha. You don’t have that excuse and you don’t listen worth a damn.”
Nina rolled her eyes. “Are you done Professor McLecture? Because time’s a wastin’ while you’re going all stern on me.” She turned and walked out. Lex sent a one fingered salute to his brother over his shoulder as he followed in her wake.
He gave the signal to two of his men to keep an eye on the house, and Megan hopped into the backseat to ride to the hospital with them.
* * *
Once they parked, Lex did a quick visual sweep and opened the door, holding down the locks on Nina’s side until he’d taken a quick but deep scent of the air around the car. No other wolves had been there and other than the cops, there was no scent of gun oil, metal from weapons or gunpowder. He nodded at Megan and released the locks and Nina got out.
She walked to his side and he was relieved to see how aware she was of her surroundings and how close she stayed to him. Far enough from his right arm for him to be able to draw quickly but close enough to him to push her wherever he needed to if he had to keep her safe.
“I’ll do the talking.”
“Okay. I’ll just stand in the background and look pretty, shall I?” She arched a brow at him.
“Must you always be so argumentative?”
“Must you be a furry fascist? Jeez. I’m not a moron. I’ve been tap-dancing around cops for a very long time, thank you very much. Now shut up and pull that stick out of your ass, why don’t you?”
Megan studiously looked at the entrance doors.
“You know, you seriously try my patience. When you talk to me like that in front of my men, it’s bad for morale.”
“Lex, she’s your sister. She knows you’re a control freak. I bet you were a control freak at six years old too. But she’d take a bullet for you in a heartbeat. That’s morale. Now, shall we continue to argue or go in and talk to Stoner?” She did make a mental note to cut back on being sassy to him in front of the non-family members of the Pack, though. He was right that it would be bad for morale if she did it.
He heaved a sigh and growled his assent. She grinned in triumph and he shook his head as they walked inside together.
The special unit for humans infected by the lycanthropy virus was on the top floor of the hospital and had special secured entrances. Lex was familiar with the unit as he was the Pack’s liaison to the human authorities if and when a human was infected, whether intentionally or not.
He turned to explain it to Nina and saw the tightness of her lips. “Do you want to wait outside? Nothing is going to hurt you in here, the security is really first-rate and I’m with you.”
“I know what it’s like in here.”
It struck him then that she’d been there when Gabriel had been infected some years before by a member of Cascadia Pack. He wondered for a brief moment why he hadn’t seen her, but if she’d been wearing that schoolmarm disguise and he’d been there on Pack business, he probably looked right past her.
He squeezed her hand and kissed her fingertips and she gave him a small smile.
They saw Detective Stoner standing in the hallway near the nurses’ station. He looked tired.
“Mr. Warden. Ms. Reyes.” He nodded at them and then at Megan. He held out a hand to point them down the hall. “He’s in a room down here. One of your doctors is with him now with a human doctor.”
Lex gave a short nod and they walked down the quiet hallway to the last room on the right and entered.
The memories of Gabriel’s near-death experience there flooded Nina and her heart squeezed in her chest as she saw the man in the bed. But this man had no visible bandages. His face was slightly bruised but it was fading.
Dr. Molinari looked up and inclined her head to them both in much the same way Lex had done to Cade earlier.
She shook her head and they all walked into the room next door and closed it behind them.
“The man has no external scratches or bites. He has two needle marks on his inner arm. He tests positive for the lycanthropy virus.” The other doctor, Nina assumed the human doctor, told them.
Lex looked to Dr. Molinari, who nodded surreptitiously.
“You want to tell me how this could be?” Detective Stoner asked. “I thought the victim had to be bitten. That there was something in the saliva and the adrenaline that created the right environment for the virus to take hold. We’ve been told that humans, even if stuck with a needle that had been in a werewolf or had werewolf blood on it, wouldn’t change. Are you telling me they lied to us? That you lied to us?”
Lex sighed. “No. Not exactly. If you went into that room and the doctor took blood from him and injected it straight into you, you wouldn’t be infected. The virus has to have the right circumstances to grow and infect the DNA of a human host.
“But late last year our scientists were able to manipulate the virus. This was to create a vaccine or antibody so that if a human was infected without his or her permission they could receive the treatment and halt the transformation.
“In order to do this, they created a live virus that could, if injected directly, infect the host without a
bite or saliva or adrenaline. Up until now, it was theoretical that it would work.”
“Are you telling me that this man was experimented on? Does the human government know about this?” Stoner thundered.
Lex’s eyes flashed angrily. “No! We would not do such a thing. Has he been questioned? What happened?”
“He’s been dosed with a very heavy narcotic. He appears to have been a street person. He hasn’t regained consciousness for very long. There are issues of malnourishment and some exposure-related problems. He was quite bruised up when we found him late last night. He said wolves got him, which is why we brought him here and tested him. But the bruises have been healing and we can’t find any trauma sites that are consistent with an attack. I suppose now we know why. I’m guessing that the reasons the needle marks haven’t healed as quick as the other trauma stems from the interaction of the virus,” the human doctor stated.
“Tonight is the full moon. Someone from the Pack will be here to help him but he’ll need to stay here for another few days,” Dr. Molinari assured Stoner.
“I thought you did that?” Stoner looked to Lex.
“Normally I would. Two of my men will be here in my stead with our Third. Tonight is also the first time Nina will change. As her mate, I will be with her.”
Stoner looked quickly at Nina and then covered his surprise. “I didn’t know you were a werewolf too, Ms. Reyes.”
“It’s a recent thing, Detective Stoner.” Nina didn’t elaborate further. What could she tell him without getting the Pack into trouble?
He gave her a long look that she knew was taking her measure, putting things together and trying to work out just what was happening. She also felt, instinctively, that Detective Ben Stoner was a man that could be trusted to do the right thing. And Nina truly believed that the Pack needed to talk straight with Stoner regarding the whole virus thing. But she wasn’t on her own anymore and she didn’t have the right to say anything until she’d spoken to Lex.
It should have chafed more, she’d been on her own for a very long time. Instead, it felt okay, comfortable even, that she had other people to consider. It wasn’t the weight of dependency like it had been with Gabriel. Rather, the cooperative nature of the Pack. She felt a part of it instead of responsible for it. It dawned on her then, that she was accepting both her wolf and the fact that she was a part of the Pack. It still hurt, but it was something she was making room in her life for.
Lex watched her out of the corner of his eye. He could tell she wanted to elaborate and steeled himself, but she stayed quiet after answering Stoner’s question very simply. Will wonders never cease? He stifled a smile at her nature and focused on the conversation again.
“So, you have any idea how this virus ended up in the guy in the next room?”
Lex had debated this with Cade earlier and with himself over and over. The way this information was dealt with was crucial to them as a Pack and also to interspecies relations with the humans for years to come. Some things couldn’t be hidden and now that a human had been involved he was going to have to take a leap of faith.
Nina squeezed his arm and nodded ever-so slightly and he exhaled. “Can you come out to the house, Detective? There are some things we’d like to show you.”
Stoner looked at him carefully for several long moments and finally nodded. “Let’s go. I can’t wait to hear this one.”
Lex nodded and looked toward Dr. Molinari. “I’m going to order two men be stationed here and I’ll send Eric over immediately. We’ll usher him in and offer him a place in the Pack if he wants one. If he wakes up please tell him that I’ll be in to speak with him tomorrow and that his presence is welcome with Cascadia.”
Dr. Molinari inclined her head and left the room with one last nod to Nina. “I’ll see you this evening, Nina.”
Nina nodded, surprised.
“I know where the house is, Mr. Warden. I’ll be there within the hour,” Stoner said shortly. “This had better be worth my while.”
“I hope so too, Detective.”
Stoner left with the human doctor and Lex grabbed the phone and made arrangements for Pack members to come and help with the newly changed werewolf.
On the ride back home Nina looked over at his face, which had tense lines etched into it.
“He can be trusted.”
“I hope so, Nina. If he can’t, I’ve just thrown the Pack into chaos and made it dangerous for us all.”
“You have to tell him. You’ve involved humans in this whole thing and more than just with one crazy Pack member getting into a bar fight. This is essentially terrorism against them. If you don’t deal with the human authorities you’re going to turn them all against you.”
“Against us,” Megan said from the backseat.
“Uh, yeah. About that, Molinari says she’s going to see me later tonight? Just what does this thing entail?”
“It’s a ceremony. Most of the Pack will be there to welcome your wolf.”
Nina stiffened and shut up. She didn’t want the rest of the Pack there. She wasn’t sure she even liked the rest of the Pack.
“Nina?”
“Not now. We’re here and you need to deal with Stoner.” Her body language was sending him the message not to mess with her and he warred with himself for several moments.
“Will you accompany me when I brief him? You have some information that we need to share with him and you can explain it better than I can.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight? I’m trying to include you.”
Megan heaved a sigh from the backseat. Lex pulled into the garage and jammed the car into Park. He turned to face his sister and Nina scrambled out of the car and into the house. “Do you have something to add?” he demanded of Megan.
“Lex, you are one of the smartest people I know. You’re compassionate and generous but you are so stupid when it comes to women!”
“What does that mean? Why are you all so damned mysterious?”
“We aren’t! You’re dense, Lex. Nina is really intuitive. Haven’t you noticed that? She doesn’t just blather on like so many people. She watches and listens even as she disarms people and keeps them off balance with her sharp comments. But she’s very observant. I bet you she can tell you what everyone in that hospital corridor was wearing, whether someone was walking with a limp or not, if someone was hiding something.”
“I know that. That’s why I asked her to be there when I briefed Stoner. I thought she’d be pleased I was including her.”
“Lex, the voice you used was tense and you were annoyed as you said it. Have you not noticed that despite her tough exterior, Nina is a bit insecure?”
“I was annoyed because she wasn’t telling me something. And she’s not insecure, she’s defensive. I never know where I stand with her.”
Megan shook her head at him. “Did you notice the way she reacted to the news that the whole Pack would be there tonight? Lex, the Pack stood there while someone tried to kill her. No one helped her. While you’ve explained it and she has accepted the Pack way for the most part, she can’t have the warmest of feelings for us all because of it. Oh and hello? She’s going to transform into a wolf for the first time in a few hours. That may be just a teeny bit stressful.”
She got out as he did and put her arm around his waist as they walked toward the door. “And you do know where you stand with her. She adores you, Lex. I’ve never seen you this happy, even your agitation is happy. She’s your equal and she’s not afraid of you like those other females were. You’re not insecure or you wouldn’t pop off to each other the way you do.”
He rolled his eyes as he opened the door. “Damn it, Meg, you’re the smart one.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He chuckled and headed in to deal with
his mate.
* * *
When he walked into his office he saw her there, back to him, staring out the window. He crossed and stood behind her, his body barely touching hers. He bent and kissed her neck and she sighed sweetly.
“I do really want you to be here when I talk to Stoner. You’d be helping me,” he murmured into her ear.
She turned into him and put her head on his chest. His arms closed about her body. “How much do you want me to say?”
“Just follow my lead. Cade will be here as well.”
She tried to move back but he pulled her tighter against him and kissed her forehead before letting her go.
* * *
Ben Stoner approached the house with a casual air but it was clear he was taking in every detail. Lex appreciated that about the man. He was observant without being outwardly judgmental.
Dave led him into the office, where they’d set out some beverages at the table rather than have Lex sit behind his desk. Now was not the time to make anyone feel like they were trying to outrank anyone.
Cade, Lex and Nina all stood and Stoner snorted and waved them all down. “Let’s cut the shit, shall we? Get to the point.”
Lex smiled and they all sat while he laid out the basic story about Carter, the gambling debts and the now-missing vaccine.
“We have our own problems with crime, Detective Stoner. He’s absconded and has given something very important to less than trustworthy elements in our society. Nina has gone through his computers and we’ve got a basic idea of what happened, but where we are right now is finding out who’s got the remaining vials of the virus and getting them back before anything else happens.”
“I can’t believe you have organized crime.” Stoner’s voice was laced with disbelief.
Cade shrugged. “You have your criminal element, we have ours. It’s not something we like to advertise. I hope you understand that our telling you all of this entails a great deal of risk and trust on our part. We do it to protect weres and humans too.”