by Mac Flynn
“Can the Sickness actually kill someone? I mean, not with the sick person doing the killing,” I asked him.
He nodded. “If the illness progresses far enough, it could kill the person who’s infected.”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “You know, this place is starting to make a live broadcast from Detroit look safe.” I glanced out the window and watched as we left town and headed up the hill toward the Blessing Tree. “Where exactly are we going, anyway? Not to an on-site interview, I hope.”
Orion shook his head as we rounded the corner and passed the road to the tree. “Nope, just to the scene of the crime. We’ll soon find out if it was our mysterious friend who attacked Orso, or if we have a new problem.”
Orion drove for two miles before he pulled off the side of the road onto a squishy dirt spot. We stepped out and he nodded at a pair of ruts like those that led to the tree. “That’s where we need to go.”
I squinted at the faint road. All the snow was melted, but the water hadn’t soaked into the ground, leaving a mess of marshland and puddles. The trees of the forest stood thick on either side, and the brush was even thicker. The darkening of day stretched their shadows over the road and created a cavernous effect that made chills run down my spine.
A snort escaped my lips. “Of course it is.”
Orion led the way down the road. We walked for a mile before we reached a small, circular meadow. The trees parted and on either side were small fire pits made from large stones.
I gestured at the pits. “Don’t tell me. This is where everyone convenes with nature.”
Orion smiled and shook his head. “Not quite.” He knelt on the ground and brushed his hand over the road. “More than the chief has been here. There are four recent sets of tire prints on the road.”
I knelt beside him and looked over the imprints. “Damn. And me without my camera.”
He lifted his smiling eyes to me and tapped the side of his nose. “No need for that. Just use your nose.”
I sniffed the air and wrinkled my nose. “Smells like pine needles.” I raised my hand and stuck out my tongue. “And dead wet chicken.”
“Here, let me smell that.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand under his nose. I blushed as his skin brushed against mine.
He closed his eyes and released me. A grin curled onto his lips as he stood. “Sometimes I don’t know if you want to kiss me or kick me in the balls.”
I stood and glared at him. “Maybe a little of both.”
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me against his chest. “Let’s try the first one.”
Orion leaned down and captured my lips in a searing kiss. Lustful heat traveled up and down my body. I pressed my hands against his chest and pushed us to arm’s length.
“I-I think we need to focus on the tire tracks,” I told him. Orion looked down at me with eyes tinged with more yellow than was normal. I furrowed my brow and stepped away from him. “Are you okay?”
His chest moved up and down in faster and faster heartbeats. Fur sprouted over his face and his clothes stretched to make room for his bulging muscles. His face elongated into a thick snout and his hands at his sides flexed into long claws.
“What’s going on? Why are you changing?” I asked him.
A lecherous grin slid onto his lips. My pulse quickened as I recognized the same lunatic look in his eyes as in the others afflicted with the Sickness.
I backed up and held up my hands. “Orion, listen to me. We can work things out. We can get you some help.” He snarled at me. “Okay, so we’ll skip the help, but you still don’t have to eat me.”
He trudged onward and I trudged backward until my back hit the trunk of a thick tree. Orion leapt at me. I swung around the tree and stumbled through the wet, slick brush. Orion got down on all four paws and raced after me. He caught me five yards into the woods.
We crashed onto the wet ground. I rolled over onto my back and looked up into his wild face. He slammed his hands down on either side of my head and leaned towards me. I shut my eyes and turned my face away. He leaned forward and brushed his muzzle against my neck. His warm breath wafted over my trembling flesh.
I felt a prick of carnal desire slip into my mind. My body broke out in a sweat as one of his clawed hands glided down my side. My pulse and breath quickened. I bit my lips to keep back a groan as his hand slid beneath my coat and shirt. His warm fingers caressed my skin and ignited within me a fire that hungered for his touch.
But now was not the time for eating. I shook my head to clear the lust-fog and looked around for something to get me out of this mess. I gasped when Orion brushed his hips against mine. His bulging need pressed against my left leg.
Something he said came back to me. He pulled his face away from my neck and looked down at me with those feral eyes. I smiled and shrugged. “Sorry.”
I jerked up my knee. My kneecap connected with his swollen, sensitive balls. His eyes bulged and a high-pitched whimper escaped his lips. I grabbed his shoulders and slid him off me. He dropped to his side and curled into a tight ball.
I rolled around him so I faced his admirable butt. His fur covered most of the jeans, but I was able to see the back pockets. A bulge like a wallet pushed out the one on the right. I tried to slip my hand in, but his tight ass made that impossible. A low, dangerous growl told me he was recovering from my low-blow attack.
I grabbed the top of the pocket and pulled. The cloth tore downward, and out dropped a small leather wallet. A whiff of wolf’s bane hit my nose. I snatched up the wallet and stumbled back as Orion spun around. He crouched on his feet with his hands on the ground in front of him and curled his lips back in a nasty snarl.
My fingers fumbled in the wallet as I weakly smiled at him. “No hard feelings, right?”
His eyes narrowed and he stalked toward me on all fours. I wrapped my fingers around a dry weed-like substance and tossed it into his face. He yelped and stumbled back. His hands furiously pawed at his face. The scent of wolf’s bane invaded my nostrils. The world around me spun around. I fell back just as Orion, too, collapsed.
Then the world went black.
17
A faint beeping noise came to my ears. Bright lights pierced my eyelids. It was an effort to open them, and when I succeeded my vision was blurry. A white ceiling lay above me, and there was a tall blur on my right where I lay. I squinted and the world came into focus.
Orion sat beside me with a large window at his back that was covered by a thick curtain. On his left was a hospital machine with the red line bouncing up and down across the dark screen. Behind my head was a fluffy pillow, and draped over me was a clean sheet. The white walls finished off the depressingly sterile environment.
His eyes widened and he scooted his chair closer to my bed. I managed to give him a smile. “Hey,” I croaked.
He returned my smile with one of his own. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
I shifted atop the thin mattress sheet. “Weak.”
He nodded. “I’m not surprised. You took a pretty heavy dose of dried wolf’s bane.” I tried to sit up, but my arms wobbled beneath me. Orion jumped from his chair and wrapped his arms around me before I fell back. “Easy there. You were out for over half the day.”
I looked past him at the closed window. It was then I saw there was no light behind them. “What time. . .is it?” I choked out.
He propped me up on the pillow and sat back down. “About nine at night.” A mischievous smile slipped onto his lips. “The doctors didn’t think you’d wake up today, but I knew a good mystery couldn’t keep a good reporter down long.”
I snorted and shook my head. “A good reporter. . .wouldn’t have gotten herself into that kind of mess.”
He leaned forward and set his hand over mine. His eyes looked into mine and he winked. “For what it’s worth, I think you did a pretty good job of getting out of that mess. It’s not everybody who can face a crazed werewolf and get out unscathed.”
I frowned. “So it was the Si
ckness?”
He sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I probably got it from fighting too many infected people, and it took a few days to show up. I came to a few hours after you tossed the bane into my face and managed to get us both to the hospital.”
I furrowed my brow. “What kept you from changing sooner?”
Orion pulled the covers up to my waist and smiled at me. “Wolf’s bane is the main ingredient in the Sickness antidote. The doctor’s are guessing my natural immunity also warded off the Sickness, at least for a little while.”
I rolled my eyes. “Is there a werewolf survival guide I can get a hold of so I can know this stuff before I end up in the hospital?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Besides-” he leaned forward and wagged his eyebrows, “-I happen to admire your posterior in that gown.”
A hard blush came to my cheeks and I glared at him. “You perverted-” My tirade against his lecherous ways was interrupted by a knock on the door.
We both turned our eyes on the door. Orion frowned. “Come on.”
The door opened. The first to enter was a bouquet of roses followed by the person who held them. It was Mayor Darnell. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her. A smile lay on her lips as she strode over to the bed.
“I’m glad to see you’re well, Miss Lyal,” she commented. Her eyes fell on Orion. “And you, as well, Orion.”
Orion pursed his lips and stiffly returned the compliment. “Good evening, Mayor Darnell. What brings you here?”
She held up the bouquet. “I thought I would bring these for the newest member of our community.” Her eyes flashed and her voice tensed. “And a warning.”
Orion stood and stiffened. I noticed his hands flexed at his sides. “What kind of warning?”
She strode over to the table beside the bed and placed the bouquet in an empty vase. Her hands deftly arranged the flowers as a small smile curled onto her lips. “Your mate’s life was threatened because you chose to ignore our gentle hints.” She turned to us and her smile fell from her face. Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Please do not interfere with this investigation.”
Orion’s eyebrows crashed down. He balled his hands into fists and a growl rumbled from this throat. “So there is a cover-up.”
Darnell frowned. “It is merely a precautionary action. If the town was to know there was a strange among us they would understandably be concerned.” She nodded to me. “For proof you need only recall the last city council where your mate was introduced to them.”
Orion narrowed his eyes. “So this is for the greater good, is that it? You let some infected maniac run loose because you don’t want to deal with your own failure at catching them?”
“We have the situation under control,” she insisted.
He scoffed at her. “Like a chicken in a fox’s mouth. Whatever this thing is, it’s in an entirely different league from the police squad.”
Mayor Darnell sighed and shook her head. “I had hoped reason would persuade you, but I see I was mistaken.” She strode over to the door and grabbed the handle, but paused and looked over her shoulder at us. “I have given you several warnings. This is my last. Do not interfere, or I cannot be held responsible for the consequences.” She slipped out and shut the door behind her.
Orion curled his lips back and let loose a deep, reverberating growl. “That bitch. She’s willing to get everybody infected just so she can claim the credit of capturing that thing.”
I leaned forward and wrapped my hand around his arm. He looked to me and I gave him a smile. “Easy there. Mab’s nickname for you is starting to show.”
Orion’s shoulders slumped. He sighed and set his hand over mine. “Yeah, but I won’t let her win this fight. You and I are going to bring down both this monster and the mayor.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Brave words, but where do we even start?”
He smiled and tapped the side of his nose. “With this, and our eyes.”
I frowned. “We already tried those. That’s why I’m laying in this bed.”
He chuckled. “Now this is serious. Now the hunt is on.” He held his hand out to me and our gazes met. “I won’t let them beat us. Will you?”
I snorted and clapped my palm into his. “Hell no. But first-” I glanced down at myself, “-where the hell are my clothes?”
Orion pulled a paper bag from beneath his chair and presented it to me. “At your service, madam.”
I took the bag and pointed at the door. “Out.”
His face fell. “Is that any way to reward me for holding your clothes.”
I pushed him toward the door. “If you stay in here I’ll never get these clothes on, now out.”
He sighed and shuffled outside. A quick change and I felt like a new, and healthier gal. I opened the door and found Orion leaned against the wall on the right of the entrance to my room. The hall stretched to the left and right, and was filled with plain white doors. A small wide spot with a pair of elevators was situated a few yards to the right of my room.
I stepped in front of him and smiled. “All right, junior reporter, where do we start using our sniffers?”
He pushed off the wall and smiled. “So now I’m a junior reporter?”
I shrugged. “I thought I’d promote you. You’ve been mildly useful so far.”
He took my arm and looped it through his own as he led me down the hall. “I thought we’d start where they left off at the meadow.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why there? Wouldn’t the cops have gone over that place?”
He nodded. “Yes, and that’s exactly why we need to go back.”
I frowned. “Explain it to me, or I’m demoting you.”
Orion chuckled. “It’s elementary, my dear reporter. Their prey is smarter than them, otherwise they would have captured him a long time ago. That means that they’re the ones being hunted, and not the other way around.”
I furrowed my brow. “So that means that wherever they went, the werewolf followed behind them?”
He grinned and nodded. “Now you’re starting to think like a Hunter.”
We reached the elevators and took one from my third floor suite to the ground floor. To our right ran the long hall to the corner of the building, and to our left lay the front lobby with its sitting room and doors to freedom. On the left stood the front desk, and on the right were the fabled doors.
Orion and I strolled down the hallway and into the lobby. Behind the long, tall desk was a white-coated doctor and the front desk secretary. They both examined a clipboard.
The doctor looked up at our coming. “Orion! Miss Lyal!” He gave the clipboard to the secretary and hurried around the desk to cut off our hasty retreat. “Where are you going?”
Orion nodded at the front doors. “Out. We need some fresh air.”
The doctor shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t let either of you through. You need a few more days of observation to make sure neither of you are infected.”
Orion frowned. “Both of us? Even after I’ve been cured?”
The man nodded. “Yes. It’s a new precaution set up by emergency decry of the mayor.”
My eyes flickered to Orion. “That lady is thorough.”
Orion pursed his lips and nodded. “Very.”
The doctor gestured down the hall from where we came. “If you would both follow me I can take you to the isolation area.”
Orion shook his head. “I’m afraid not, doc. We really have to be going.”
Orion grabbed my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction of the doors. “Wait! Come back!” the doctor yelled.
“Is this a good idea?” I yelped as he dragged me at high-speed down the white corridor. In front of us was the end of the building and the right-turn around the corner.
“Do you have a better idea?” he countered.
He skidded to a stop as a pair of blue-uniformed officers rounded the corner. I bumped into him and frowned. “Yeah, like not getting caught.”
“Then do I have a plan for you,” he quipped as he dragged me into the room to our left.
The sole bed was occupied by a white-haired gentleman. He sat up at our coming and winced when the door slammed against the wall. “Orion, what are you two-”
“I’ll talk later, Mr. Aude!” Orion interrupted him as we raced past the foot of the bed.
On the wall opposite the doorway was a large window that looked out on the brown lawn that surrounded the hospital. My eyes widened as Orion tightened his grip on my hand and positioned himself in front of me. He leapt into the air, taking me with him. His shoulder crashed into the glass, shattering the window into a million twinkling pieces. We were showered with shards of glass and our feet crunched down on the broken pieces strewn over the lawn. That was one obstacle down, a few more to go to freedom.
18
We hit the ground running and took off across the lawn toward the parking lot that surrounded the grass. I glanced over my shoulder. The officers leapt through the hole in the window and raced after us. They were just a little faster.
“We have. . .a problem!” I gasped.
Orion looked over his shoulder and frowned. “I see what you mean.” He pulled me into his arms and picked up speed. The officers didn’t gain any more ground between us, but we weren’t losing them.
We sped across the black pavement and yellow lines, and into the depths of the town. Orion slid into the nearest alley and ran down the dirt path. He pulled something out of his pocket and dropped a leather bag into my lap. The top was closed with a thick mess of string.
“Open the string and toss the bag over my shoulder!” he ordered me.
I picked up the bag and fumbled with the drawstring. “Why do guys always have to make these things so tight!” I growled.
I finally got the string untied. The top opened and I was hit with a powerful blast of fishy smell. I clapped my hand over my nose and coughed. Never was I so happy to get rid of something as I was to throw that bag behind us.
My aim wasn’t great and the leather bag hit the exterior of a nearby garage door. The impact occurred even with the lead officer. The policeman skidded to a stop and raised his nose to the air. I could see his nostrils flare as he turned his head left and right. The others behind him stopped and did likewise. One of them whipped his head to the left where lay the bag. He lunged at the container just as his fellow officers figured out what they knew. They tackled him, and what ensued was a massive brawl for the bag.