Just as I was about to shove my worries aside and join the conversation, I remembered Nate barreling out of our room, livid at himself for losing Isaiah’s address. A sick feeling began in the pit of my stomach as I realized the reason for Joe’s lie and why he had been so against our trip in the first place. It was him. He took the address. He had been in our cottage that morning. I smelled his scent, but hadn’t thought anything of it. He was our friend and stopped by with Lauren often. For some reason he didn’t want us to have the cure, so he took the paper from Nate’s pants and thought that that would be the end of it. However he didn’t know that I had memorized the addresses. No wonder he had been so shocked to see us when we arrived to the main house ready for the trip. It also explained his grouchy behavior once we had all climbed into the SUV.
I scanned the room once again and found Joe in the shadowed corner, away from the rest of the group. He was pulling something out from under his hoodie. It was shiny and metal and he was aiming it at our host. GUN!!! Without thought, I jumped into the air and dove in front of Isaiah a split second before a gunshot rang out. A sharp burning pain bit at my shoulder as I crashed to the floor.
“What the hell Joe?” Nate yelled, at his friend as he hovered over me.
Joe rushed toward us, staring down at me, his eyes washed with regret. The gun was still in his hand. “I’m so sorry Meg. I didn’t mean to shoot you.”
“You meant to shoot someone,” Adrian mumbled.
“Can you get some cloths and bandages?” Nate asked Isaiah as he shot a scowl toward his Irish friend.
As Isaiah rushed away, Sadie hunkered down on the floor next to me, taking my hand. “You’ll be fine. We just have to get the silver out.” Her words put me at ease, although, I already knew that or I wouldn’t have jumped in front of the bullet in the first place.
Nate was leaning down placing his hand on my chest, trying to stop the blood, but he was staring at Joe. “What’s going on?”
Before Joe could answer, I murmured, “He took the address and he was aiming for Isaiah.” My voice was so weak, I wasn’t sure anyone heard me until Nate stood up. I gazed up at him through my heavy eyelids that were threatening to close. I could feel Sadie move closer, placing her hand where Nate’s had once been.
“Is that true?” Nate asked his friend. Adrian approached Joe from the other side, as if blocking his escape.
After several seconds, Joe looked at Lauren, his eyes tortured. “Yes,” he whispered.
Lauren closed her eyes; her features distorting in pain.
Adrian reached out and removed the gun from Joe’s hand. Joe didn’t put up a fight.
Isaiah returned with the cloths and handed them to Sadie. Once she took them and laid them onto my chest he handed her something that looked like clamps.
Lauren joined Sadie, kneeling down toward me. “Are you okay?” she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. I tried to smile reassuringly, but I’m not sure if I accomplished that. “I’m okay.”
Nate glanced at Sadie, his eyebrows raised in question. She nodded and squeezed my hand.
Once he was reassured that I would be fine, Nate stepped closer to Joe, his face dark with fury. “How long have you known there was a cure?”
Joe winced at the question, his shoulders slumping. “Ten years.”
Lauren sucked in a shocked breath, while Nate continued to question him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because, for the first time in my whole life, I had a family.” He pointed to Nate. “You were my family, the one person I could count on. I have never had that, even when I was human. Charlotte was selfish and only thought of herself. My mother was so busy working, she was never home. My own father left when I was a baby. You were my brother and now that I found my mate and you’ve found yours, we’re a real family, a real pack!” He was starting to raise his voice, his eyes wild. “You can’t take that away from me. If you turn human, you’ll die and I’ll be alone.”
“What about me?” Lauren asked, anger and hurt laced in her words.
Joe’s face softened as he turned to the woman he loved. “Would you honestly stay a werewolf if Nate and Megan took the cure?” he asked. “Because, I have no interest in being human.”
Lauren squeezed my leg and stood up, stepping around Nate and Adrian until she stood in front of the man she loved. Her face just inches from his. “I am your mate. You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”
Intense emotions burned in Joe’s eyes as he leaned in to kiss her.
My eyes were getting heavier and the pain was spreading. My whole right side was turning numb. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t speak. My eyes closed and I managed a soft whimper before blackness slithered its way over my vision.
“I’m sorry baby, but this is going to hurt.” Nate’s voice was far away and it sounded muffled, like he was speaking with a mouthful of cotton. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. My eyelids were closed and my body felt heavy, like an elephant had decided I’d make a good pillow. I couldn’t move. I was about to fade back into darkness, wondering what he meant until something dug into my skin. The feeling of white-hot fire erupted in my shoulder and I screamed. A hand clamped over my mouth and the smell of guava mixed with the smell of mint chocolate entered my senses. “It’s okay, he’s almost done.” Lauren’s voice was right at my ear. Lauren and Adrian were right above me and it must have been Adrian that was holding my mouth. If I could move my arms, I would have punched him in the face.
“I’m so sorry Megan. But I have to leave.” Lauren’s voice was a ragged whisper and I felt tears fall onto my face. “You will be fine, I know that, or I wouldn’t be able to go.” I opened my eyes struggling to focus on her face. She was right above me, her face distorted in sorrow. I tried to speak, to ask her what she meant but no words would come. “You are my best friend. We’ve been through so much together. I don’t know what I will do without you in my life.”
Again I struggled to speak, but nothing came. “I will call you when I can. I love you.” She bent down and kissed my cheek and then Nate was digging into my skin.
It felt like he was using a hot wrought iron poker. It seemed to go on for hours, but it must have only been seconds and he was probably only using his fingers. Suddenly, the pain stopped, leaving only a dull burn.
“Lauren,” I whispered when the pain faded.
I felt Nate’s lips on my burning forehead. “She’s gone,” he whispered. My heart clenched at his words. What did he mean she was gone? Where did she go?
“Lift her up and bring her to the back. Her body needs to extract the silver,” Isaiah’s rough voice instructed, interrupting my thoughts of my best friend.
Now that most of the pain had disappeared, the foggy conversation with Lauren returned, only to fade once more as I felt my consciousness slipped away once again.
The sound of humming woke me. My shoulder still ached, but the burning was gone. I opened my eyes and saw Sadie relaxing in a blue plush chair next to my bed. Ear buds were plugged into her ears as she rested her head against the back of the chair, her eyes closed as she hummed a tune. Her phone lay on her jean clad leg. Her dark braid was slung over one shoulder.
We were in a room. Two walls were metal and the other two were the temporary dividers that were placed throughout the building. I was in a single bed, my shirt was gone, but my bra and a bandage covered the important parts. A plain white, thin blanket lay over me. If it wasn’t for the walls, I would have thought I was in the hospital. Night had fallen, leaving the only light in the room a small lamp next to the bed. I could smell some kind of medicine and laundry soap from the pillow case under my head.
I reached my shaky hand out to touch Sadie’s knee.
Her body jerked, her eyes snapping open. “Geesh, you scared me,” she gasped, her hand hovering over her heart and then yanking out the ear buds. They hung over her legs, dangling in the air.
I smiled weakly. “Where is everyone?” My throat
burned with thirst.
“Nate and Adrian are with Isaiah, mixing a batch of the cure.”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. This is what I wanted, but now that it was happening I was nervous. “And Joe?” I don’t know what I was asking, did I want him to be punished for what he had done. I know he never intended to shoot me, but he did want to hurt Isaiah, maybe even kill him. I couldn’t help but be angry at him for all he had done. It didn’t help that my shoulder still hurt.
She frowned, her eyes moving to focus on the hands in her lap. “He and Nate had a huge argument and he left.” She paused, her tortured eyes swinging to mine. “With Lauren.”
An ache formed in my chest as I remembered Lauren’s tearful good-bye. Her words sounded so final, despite her promise to call me. Would I ever see my best friend again? Just the thought made my eyes burn with the threat of tears. Lauren and even Joe were part of my family and I knew that after today nothing would be the same. How could it be after what he did? I swallowed the golf-ball-sized lump that suddenly formed in my throat.
When I remained silent she picked up an envelope from the nightstand. “She left you this letter.”
I spread the paper out in front of me and smiled at her loopy handwriting.
Meg, I’m writing you this, because I’m not sure if you will remember me saying good-bye. As much as I hate to leave you, I have to follow Joe. I know he has made mistakes and believe me I am just as angry at him for shooting you and attempting to shoot Isaiah as any of our group. He is just a man that created a cure and he didn’t deserve to die. Joe feels terrible for what he did, but I’m sure you’re not ready to hear that. But despite everything Joe has done, he is my mate and I love with all my heart.
Even though I have to leave you, Nate and my family, I won’t regret the choice I made, because I know I will see you all again, I’m just not sure when.
Before I met you, I had two great friends, but not a sister, that changed on that island and I will never forget what we’ve been through together. You are more than a friend, you are family and I will miss you the most. Don’t tell Nate I said that.
Tell everyone I love them,
Lauren
Tears flowed freely as her words sunk in. They weren’t just going home ahead of us. They were leaving and not coming back for a while. What would I do without her? She had become an important part in my life.
I folded the letter and placed it on the nightstand next to me. “They’re leaving for a while.”
Sadie smiled softly. “I know.”
Another tear fell down my cheek, as I looked at her. “Are you taking the cure?” I asked hoping to take my mind off of my friend’s departure.
She shook her head. “No. Adrian and I want to explore our relationship before we do it. We will someday.”
“Are you going to come back here? What if Isaiah is dead, he’s human.”
“He is giving us a few doses and if something happens to that, we’ll come back. I don’t think we’ll wait long.”
I grew silent as memories from before I passed out surfaced. “Do you think Nate will ever forgive Joe?” I asked after a brief silence.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s angry, but if he’s the same man I met fifty years ago, he will eventually.” She tapped the face of her phone, turning off the song that we could still hear from the ear buds. “I understand why Joe did it though.”
Anger for Joe, Sadie agreeing with him, and basically the whole situation spurred through my veins. “He lied to Nate for years over you, the cure and he tried to kill Isaiah. How could you say that?”
“I don’t agree with what he did, just the reason behind it.” She paused, flinging the braid off of her shoulder. “He did it to keep his family whole. The only family he knows. As an older werewolf, who has been alone for fifty years, I understand that when you find people you consider family, you hold on to them. We are meant to be with a pack, we were not supposed to be alone.”
I considered her words and thought about how Joe had been on his own for a lot of years after he left Charlotte. I could understand why he did it, but since I was laying here healing from a silver bullet in my shoulder, I wasn’t ready to forgive.
I could hear Nate and smelled his scent before he stepped around the privacy screen. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
I smiled, wider than I did with Sadie. Just the sight of him was the only medicine I needed. “Better. The burning is gone. I’m just sore now.”
Sadie glanced between us and stood up. “I’ll go see what Adrian is up to.” She leaned down, kissed my forehead and then she was gone.
Nate took the chair she vacated, reaching his hand out to take mine, his warmth spread into my hand and up my arm. “What were you thinking, jumping in front of a bullet?”
“I was thinking that Joe was going to kill an innocent man and I had to save him.”
His expression was stern for a long moment and then his lips turned up at the edges. His eyes were shining with love. “I’m proud of you. You saved his life.”
I shrugged and then winced when a sharp pain shot through my shoulder. “Ow.”
Nate frowned, his eyes sympathetic. He leaned forward and kissed my bare shoulder softly, his lips lingering over my heated, tender skin. When he pulled away, he eyed me intensely. “Better?”
I nodded, his deep stare giving me tingles.
When he sat back down, his face turned serious. “I’m not sure I want to take the cure anymore.”
I sat up and winced again as the pain throbbed through my arm. “What? Why?”
“If you were human, you wouldn’t be sitting here. You’d be in a hospital after a surgery with a long road of recovery ahead of you.”
“So! That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Being human will finally make you truly happy. I know you say you are, but as long as you’re a werewolf you will always regret your past and hate who you are.”
“And you want this?” he asked quietly.
I didn’t have to contemplate my answer. I had never wanted anything more, well besides Nate. “Yes, I do. You know I’ve never really accepted being this way. If I did, I would hunt animals.”
He nodded his head in agreement. “Okay, we’ll do it, as soon as you’re better.”
A grin spread over my lips as a thought sprang to my mind. “No. I want to do it next week. Do you think Isaiah will let us stay?”
“After you saved his life, I think he’d do anything you wanted.” He smirked. “But why?”
“I want to go for one more run.”
A smile crossed his face as he realized what I meant. The full moon was next week and what a way to end our werewolf life, on the beautiful, scenic, Appalachian Mountains.
Chapter Thirty-One
A New Beginning
I stood up on a moss covered mountain peak with my bare arms stretched out and my face tipped up toward the sky. The moon shone brightly above me, its glow lightly caressing my exposed skin, creating a tingling sensation all over my body. It was the last time the moon would call to the animal inside of me and my wolf was itching to come out. “Are you ready?” Nate’s deep voice called softly from behind me.
I turned to face the man I loved, the man that I had been through so much with. His light blond hair gleamed white under the moonlight. His face was shining with the excitement that bubbled inside me. We were about to take our last run as werewolves and if the cure worked, tomorrow we would be human again. The air between us sizzled with anticipation. I couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across my face as I nodded. He held out a hand to me and I placed mine into it. Tingles sparked into my palms, spreading to my fingers.
We were all out for our last run; even Isaiah was here. Like he said, he still felt the call of the moon and he craved the forest at night, the sounds of the animals roaming through the trees. This was the first time he’d spend the full moon with actual werewolves though. He had his ATV with him and had challenged us to a race.
Na
te pulled me to a grouping of evergreen trees. Their minty smell permeated everything around us. The rest of our group were waiting. Adrian and Sadie were already in their wolf forms and I could hear Isaiah revving his machine, waiting impatiently for the rest of the pack. Our last run would be bittersweet without Lauren and Joe. I felt a little lost without them. They had been part of our lives for the last year. What would I do without them; without Lauren? I still hadn’t heard from her, but hopefully it was because I didn’t have cell range. When we returned to civilization I would make sure to contact her. I needed to know that she was okay, and to know where they were headed. I understood that she needed to be with Joe right now, but that didn’t ease any of the worry and sadness that festered when I thought of her.
I felt Nate brush my cheek lightly with a finger and then move to my chin as he lifted my head up to look me in the eyes. “Are you thinking about Lauren?” We had spoken very little about our absent friends since Joe’s betrayal and their sudden departure. It had taken me a few days to recover from the silver and then we made plans for taking the cure. We had even ventured out, exploring the mountain in our human and wolf forms. It was beautiful and I would miss it when we finally went home.
“Yes,” I answered softly, my voice barely audible.
“I miss them too.”
My eyes stung with unshed tears. Their absence created an ache I felt more now as I was about to become a wolf for the last time. We would never run as a full pack again, this night of farewell just wasn`t the same without them. “Will you ever forgive him?”
Nate took in a deep breath and pursed his lips as he thought over my question. “I hope so. He wasn’t the only one who considered us a family. He was the main constant in my life for the last fifty years. Family members came and went, dying of old age and he was always there. But, it’s hard to understand how he could keep such huge secrets from me. He knows how much I missed my humanity.”
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