by Lacey Thorn
“Here.” Cody placed a pile of printed pages in front of her.
“Thank you.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek, not thinking about her action until Derrick rumbled behind her. Mated. She was mated. She walked over and gave him a chaste kiss, as well. “Go. Please. I need to work, and I can’t do that with you hovering around.”
“I don’t hover,” Derrick growled while Cody snickered.
“Well, you’re doing a good job of it now. I need to concentrate. Cody and I need to work. You being here, growling and snarling, won’t help.”
“Keep eyeing her legs, and I’m going to punch you out.” Derrick threw out to Cody.
“Go get her some clothes then,” Cody groused. “Or did you think your scent would keep me from looking?”
She ignored them and did what she did best. Lost herself in the work. There were answers to be found. An anomaly waited for her to dive in and discover it. And she would. She’d finally found her wolves. She’d do everything she could to help them. Everything.
Chapter Ten
Cody watched Jess work and felt his heart fall at her feet. Damn! He had it bad. He needed to keep reminding himself she was taken. Mated. To his best friend, who’d turned and walked out, leaving Cody alone with her. She was dressed in only Derrick’s shirt, and the other wolf’s scent on her was doing nothing to hinder the desire boiling inside him.
Distraction. He definitely needed it. The worst place to be right now was inside his head.
“You said you’d seen something like this before? When you were working in the labs.”
She nodded, without looking up from her work. “I’ve been working with blood tests for the last few years. Doing trials with animal blood.”
“Yes, trying to find cures for human illnesses. Interesting work you chose. What made you choose research?”
“I worked in the zoos for years, but I don’t like seeing wolves in cages,” she offered. “Wild and free. My father always said wolves should be wild and free. So I moved to working with them in the wild. Studying them as they were meant to be. I was…restless when the offer came in from Dr. Driven to work with him in research and development. I decided a change might be good. I liked Driven. Admired his work ethic. The lab he headed was doing some cutting-edge research in the field. I was thrilled to be a part of it.”
Cody snorted. “Scientists have been researching with animal blood for a long time. What exactly was cutting-edge?”
“I was able to look at altering the DNA on a genetic level. Mixing it with human DNA in a controlled setting.”
Cody swallowed. “Are you talking splicing wolf and human DNA? That’s illegal, Jess.”
“I wasn’t creating a new species,” she countered.
“Christ, Jess! Who knew you were doing this research?” What he wanted to ask was if she was sure she hadn’t been working for a lab run by hunters. She’d been working to create shifter DNA. That was something hunters would definitely fund research on.
“I didn’t work for hunters, Cody,” she admonished, hurt in her gaze.
“Maybe not, but what you were doing would be right up their alley.”
She shook her head. “Despite what you’re thinking, I wasn’t creating shifter DNA. I may have believed you existed in my heart, but until I saw Derrick, I had no physical proof. What I worked with was creating mixtures that could be used to target certain diseases. It’s exciting to be involved in cutting edge research like that. It’s important to me.”
He wasn’t sure if she had something in mind, someone in mind she wanted to save. He didn’t get an impression from her either way, so he didn’t ask.
“Why wolf’s blood?” he asked instead.
“I’ve been in love with wolves since I was a little girl. I remember telling my dad once that I wanted to be a wolf when I grew up.”
“What did he say to that?” Cody asked softly, not wanting to break the spell she seemed to be under.
“We ran around the yard, howling at the moon. My dad, my mom, and I.” There was no missing the sad catch to her voice. “It was the best year of my life… Until it wasn’t.”
More than sadness now. Pain.
“What happened?”
“We had an early winter that year. Mom was in town. An ice storm came out of nowhere. There was a patch of black ice. They think she overcompensated in the slide. She was gone before help arrived.”
Cody didn’t say anything. He merely watched her, noting the emotions crossing her face as she recounted her mother’s death.
“That was the year we moved. Dad and me. He took his first sabbatical. We spent the next year exploring Ireland, and I fell in love with a wolfhound named Padraig.”
“Finding wolves everywhere, huh?” Cody teased, drawing a slight smile from her.
“I’ve always loved wolves. I learned about them from my mother. My dad and I continued exploring and learning more after we lost her.” She glanced up at him. “She would have loved you. All of you. And asked you a hundred questions I’m sure.”
“I’m sure the feeling would have been mutual.”
At her questioning glance, he continued. “What’s not to love about a woman who loves wolves?”
He drew a laugh from her with that.
“How long were you in Ireland?”
“Eighteen months before we headed back to the States and Dad went back to teaching. He loves being a professor, and he’s so good at it. People are drawn to him. He has such an inquisitive mind and never discounts anyone’s idea. Even if everyone else is telling you it’s impossible, he’ll be the one telling you to make it possible.”
“He sounds like an amazing dad.” It was easy to see Jess thought her father hung the moon. It would be interesting to meet the other man.
“The best. You know what he said when I told him I wanted to be a wolf some day?”
“What?”
“That if anyone could figure out how, it would be me.”
Yeah, he definitely sounded like a fantastic dad.
“Every time I heard a story about wolf shifters, he’d plan an adventure for us. We’d track the story and talk to people. He never laughed. Never told me to stop with the nonsense. He always charged right in and made everything an adventure.”
“What does he teach?” Cody asked, wondering if he shared similar degrees to his daughter.
“Anthropology and Cultural Studies though he also has a PhD in biology. I grew up as at home in the lab with him as I was in our actual house.”
“Ah, that would explain your love of research.”
She nodded. “Several of our trips abroad were for archeological digs Dad was a part of.”
“Wouldn’t that require a degree in archeology?” Cody thought it would.
Jess shrugged. “He minored in it when he was in college. Said he liked uncovering remnants of the past and seeing what they could tell us about the culture of the people who’d used them.”
“He sounds like an interesting man.”
“He is. God, he’s the best, Cody. There’s nothing he can’t figure out when he puts his mind to it. If I could reach out to him, tell him what’s going on here, what we’re dealing with, I know Dad would have ideas, things to check or try. He knows things. His mind is…always mulling things over. He has these information stores in his brain. I can’t explain it.”
Cody was already shaking his head before she finished talking. “We can’t tell anyone else, Jess. The more people who are aware, the more risk is involved for all of us. This is our lives, Jess. Yours included. And trust doesn’t come easy or without risk.”
“He’s my father,” she snapped. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect me.”
“Would he disappear for you? Give up the job and life he’s come to love? Would he die for you? Because those are things that could be demanded of him if the wrong people learn about your connection.”
“What do you mean?”
“People want to kill us, Jess. Hunters. O
ther shifters. We have large targets on our backs. Joining us…” He paused and swallowed. “Mating Derrick. That put a target on you, as well. On your father. These people will use whatever and whoever they can to get to us, to hurt us. You. Getting to you. It would destroy…all of us.”
“If that’s true, then my father is at risk, whether he knows or doesn’t. I won’t leave him blind. You can’t ask me to!” Her chest heaved with the anxiety pouring off her.
Cody shook his head. “Derrick will—”
She cut him off as she moved across the room. “My father will be worrying now. We talk to each other almost daily. We both get involved in our work sometimes, lose track of time. But the most we’ve gone without calling is three days. If he can’t reach me, he’ll be on the first plane here. God, I don’t even know what day it is. He could already be here, searching for me. I need to call him. Do you think Derrick really broke my phone?”
Cody nodded. “Yes.”
That answer definitely ignited her anger. Her cheeks flushed with color as her lips flattened into a thin line.
“Then I guess he’ll be giving me his. I’ll be back. Keep an eye on the tests I’ve got running.”
She headed out of the room before he could respond, and Cody envied Derrick the whirlwind about to descend on him. He took his phone from his pocket to give Derrick a heads up. It was the least he could do, since his conversation with her had put her in her current mood.
He sent a quick text then watched his phone, expecting a scathing remark to fly back. Instead, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Derrick.
“Be ready, buddy,” Cody warned, in lieu of a greeting. “She’s not happy you broke her phone. I’d play nice if I were you.”
“Well, you’re not me, and I’m not upstairs for her to find at the moment.” Derrick gave a weary sigh.
“Where the hell are you?” Cody demanded, all joking aside.
“Just heading back with the rest of Jess’ stuff. Looks like Alisha and her group have vanished for now. And Jess’ Jeep is gone. I called the local wrecker and had it towed.”
“What happened to only going out in pairs? You can’t mate Jess then run off by yourself! Damn it, Derrick. You should have waited for me or asked Adrian to go with you,” Cody scolded.
“You need to be in the lab with Jess. Adrian needs to be with Michael. It was a quick in and out. I wouldn’t intentionally put myself in any danger.”
“Intentionally,” Cody repeated. “But we don’t always know what’s expected. All we have to do is look at Michael to remember that. Not to mention, we both know Alisha wouldn’t have left without whatever she came here for.” He left it unsaid that he was certain she’d come for Derrick. It didn’t seem to matter to her that Derrick hadn’t been interested. Not before and definitely not now.
Derrick sighed, and Cody knew he’d gotten across his point. “I’m on my way back now. Everything good?”
“Jess is something else in the lab. She’s reconfigured my machines and is running new tests. God, help me, but she blows my mind with how her brain works.”
“Sounds like exactly what we need. I know she’s who I need.”
Cody knew it, too. It still didn’t explain why he, Adrian, and Michael all seemed to be struggling with their own pull toward her. Despite the fact Derrick had mated her. It was unusual. Normally, the mark of another male wolf on a female warned all other males away.
“She’s upset over the phone, too. She’s worried her father will head this way if he doesn’t hear from her. They’re very close, Derrick. She won’t take it well if she’s kept from him.”
“Shit,” Derrick grunted.
“Yeah. I’d wish you luck, but honestly, I don’t think you stand a chance against her.”
Derrick snorted. “She’s my mate. She’ll do what she’s told to when it comes to her safety.”
Cody laughed aloud. “You keep trying to tell yourself that, but we both know better. Guess I’ll be here to step in when she kills you.”
“Very funny,” Derrick scoffed, but Cody heard the worry in his best friend’s tone. Neither of them thought Jess would calmly comply with an order to not see her dad. If anything, she might put herself in danger while trying to reach her father.
“How’s Michael?” Derrick asked.
“He’s out cold. Adrian still has him tied down. But…shit.”
“But?”
“Finding out what they hit him with is only the first step. Then we have to figure out what the hell we can give him to counteract it. If there’s anything we can give. It’s a fucking shit show.”
Cody was their doctor, the one with all the answers when it came to their health. Not knowing was tearing him apart at his very core.
“We’ll figure it out,” Derrick tried to reassure him. “We won’t lose Michael.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” Cody muttered.
Christ, losing Michael would decimate them. Their enemies couldn’t have chosen a better way to dismantle them from the inside. Cody would be damned if they won.
“I’m twenty minutes out,” Derrick informed him. “I’ll find my mate when I get there. Then I’ll come see you.”
“Stay aware,” Cody warned, and Derrick disconnected without replying.
Alisha lurking somewhere worried Cody on several levels. He wanted to know what she had to do with the attack on Michael. Her words left no doubt she was part of the wolf purists.
What worried Cody most was her obsession with Derrick. He doubted she’d walk away and leave without the wolf she wanted. The one she’d planned to mate, who was now mated to another woman. What would she do when she realized that? And how the hell was he supposed to heal Michael and protect both Jess and Derrick with only Adrian to help him?
Chapter Eleven
Jess wrecked Derrick’s room and felt absolutely no remorse over it. He had to have a phone in his room somewhere. Or at worst, her broken phone. Instead, she came up with nothing. Moving across the hall, she discovered Cody’s room. No phone there either, but since he was leaner than Derrick, she was able to snag a pair of his boxer briefs and roll the waistband so they somewhat fit her as shorts.
She hit the jackpot in the third room. Going by scent—and wasn’t that something that rocked her—she knew it was Michael’s room. His phone was on a charger by the bed. She almost felt guilty grabbing it, but if anyone could help her come up with answers, it was her father.
She pounced on Michael’s bed, grabbed the cell and counted her blessings when there was no screen lock engaged. He had several missed messages and phone calls, which she ignored as she dialed the number she knew by heart.
“Professor Mueller.”
Hearing his voice had her blinking back tears. “Dad, it’s me.”
“Jessara! What number are you calling from, honey? Did you misplace your phone again? I’ve been worried out of my mind.”
“Sorry, Dad. Mine’s broken, so I’m using a friend’s.”
“I can order you a replacement and have it overnighted to the cabin for you,” he offered.
As she wasn’t sure how far she was from the cabin, she didn’t want him to send a phone there. She’d have to figure things out and make Derrick or one of the others pick up a new phone for her.
“That’s okay. You can reach me on this one for now. I’m not currently staying at the cabin. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. I hear excitement in your voice. Who’s this friend? Am I going to meet him?”
“Them. And yes, you will. Eventually.” Whether Derrick approved or not. This was her father, which meant if they accepted her into their pack, then they’d have to accept her father, too. “I’m doing some research with them. I could use your help with something.”
“What type of research?” She knew his entire attention was focused on her. She heard it in his voice.
“I’m doing some work on a fight or flight anomaly, and I wanted to get your take on it.”
“What’s the a
nomaly?”
“Say someone or something was given a synthetic drug that kept them or it locked in that state. But it’s not showing up in regular testing.”
“Not showing up.” She could practically see him pushing his glasses to the top of his head while he mulled the concept over. “Look for other factors. Things that would increase in relation to a surge of adrenaline. What signs are being exhibited?”
“Accelerated heart rate. Pale skin. Muscle tension. Dilated pupils. Inability to rest. Degraded communication.”
“And it’s not showing up on blood tests?”
“No.” At least, none she’d ran so far.
“You’re sure it’s a fight or flight?”
“I…” Was she sure?
“Gut instinct, Jess,” her father told her. “What’s yours telling you?”
“It’s fight or flight,” she agreed. “And he’s showing no signs of coming out of it.”
“That would be a death sentence,” her father interrupted. “The human body can’t physically maintain that for extended lengths of time. It’ll begin to break down. In an animal, I can’t imagine it would be any different. The hormones serve a purpose. Readying the body for either a fight for survival or to take flight from danger. The dump of adrenaline floods the system, preparing it to act. If that dump was unending… Are you in trouble, Jess?”
“No, I’m fine, Dad. Promise.”
“And your friend?”
“What if the option of fight or flight isn’t available?” she asked instead.
“A synthetic, you said?”
“I believe so.”
“I’ll want to see the bloodwork you’ve done. Synthetics can mimic, but they can’t hide completely. It’s there somewhere. Follow your instincts, though. I’ve never known yours to steer you wrong. If I move around some things on my schedule, I could leave tomorrow. Be at your cabin by tomorrow evening.”
“I could use your help, but I think it’d be better if you stayed there for now. You know your equipment is better than what I travel with.”