by A. D. Ryan
Nick rested a hand on my thigh after pulling out onto the street and navigating the city. “Take a breath. Whatever they find, we’ll face it. Does having a bunch of humans poking around our business complicate things? Absolutely. But it’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last. All we can do is try to find a way to navigate the situation and turn it around without letting them know we exist.”
“What if they found the pit?”
Nick shook his head. “If they found it, we’d all be in cuffs. You already know that. You’re just letting your paranoia get the best of you.”
As a cop, I knew he was right. If I’d been investigating a case and stumbled across a hidden room like the pit, I’d haul each and every occupant of the house into the station and interrogate them until I was blue in the face.
My stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I hadn’t really eaten anything since the day before. I’d been too preoccupied with everything that had been going on to remember.
“I’ll go through a drive-thru before we head out of town. I’m getting hungry too.”
“Thanks,” I responded with a smile. “I didn’t realize how long it had been since I’d eaten.”
True to his word, Nick pulled into a drive-thru. I was instantly too hungry to really care that it wasn’t nutritional or that it tried to pass itself off as “real food.” Nick ordered me three burgers and an order of fries.
Sadly, even that didn’t satisfy my hunger, and I also ate one of his five burgers. I wasn’t proud of it, but it quelled my hunger pangs for the most part.
When we arrived back at Vince and Layla’s house, it felt like a missing person’s headquarters. Voices buzzing, people running around talking about strategies to find Cordelia. The pressure was on, and a part of me felt guilty—like I was abandoning them in their time of need. Like I was abandoning Cordelia.
Granted, none of them felt like this was the case; they all understood the pressure I was under and the importance of my leaving. They even understood when I asked Jackson and Roxanne to go with me.
Seeing us, Jackson ambled over. “Our bags are packed and in the car. Tickets are purchased,” he said. “We’re just waiting on you.”
I smiled. “I’ll go throw a few things in a carry-on, and we can take off shortly.” Pausing, I looked up at him with genuine sincerity. “Thank you so much for agreeing to come with me. It means a lot to me.”
Jackson rested a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Any time, kid. Go pack. We leave in a half hour.”
Nick followed me to the living room where I gathered my things. I could feel his unease as I zipped the bag, and I turned to him. “I’ll only be gone a few days. I’ll have my phone on me the whole time.”
He enveloped me in his arms, breathing me in as though he were afraid to lose me again. “I know. It’s just…I hate that I’m not going with you.”
I laughed lightly. “Nick, I survived seven years without you. Three days will seem like nothing in comparison.” I wasn’t going to say it out loud, but the idea of leaving him behind worried me—not because I felt he was incapable of taking care of things here, but because I was afraid of losing control of the wolf again.
“You’re tense,” he murmured, picking up on my worries. “We should go for a run before you leave. I don’t want you to get overwhelmed.”
I shook my head. “There’s no time,” I told him. I want to check in with the Pack to make sure there’s a game plan in place for retrieving Cordelia.”
Nick looked ready to argue, but one look from me and he backed down.
“It’s only a few hours until we’re in Scottsdale. I’ll run when I get the chance.”
“And I’ll make sure of it,” Roxanne interjected, coming up behind me. “Everyone is waiting for you, Brooke.”
Pressure started to build, piling up on my shoulders. I knew I shouldn’t feel this way—no one was judging me on my abilities to lead this pack so early on—but I still worried I would mess it all up.
We all convened in the kitchen where I explained that I would be back in three days. “I want you all to proceed with caution. Listen to Nick and don’t move in on the coven unless he says so.” I looked pointedly at both Colby and Corbin. “We all want revenge for what happened back home, but to act without a solid plan could—no, will get you all killed. You watch. That’s all. Only act when Nick thinks it’s time. Are we understood? We can’t let our bloodlust consume us. It’s not how we’re going to win this war.”
Corbin looked ready to argue, but something stopped him. And he didn’t look happy about it as he dropped his eyes from mine. I immediately recognized it as his submission to me as his Alpha. It was an empowering feeling, and my wolf side thrived on it. She liked feeling this powerful. I liked it.
Once I had everyone’s word that they wouldn’t proceed without orders, I left with Jackson and Roxanne. Nick walked me out to the car, wrapping me in his arms and whispering how much he loved me and how much he was going to worry.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured him, looking up into his eyes as he cradled my face in his hands. His thumbs moved over my cheeks, soothing me.
“You’ll keep me updated on what you find out? I worry about them, too.”
Nodding, I promised to call before standing on my toes and pressing my lips to his. The kiss slowly escalated, our mutual fear needing to be extinguished by whatever means necessary. Jackson clearing his throat was what pulled us apart, and with one last, chaste kiss, Nick opened my car door for me.
“I’ll see you in a few days,” he said, and my head bobbed in agreement before he closed the car door.
I felt the physical pull between us stretching thin with each mile that was put between us, and I wondered just how far I could get before it snapped. It scared me to think that was even a possibility.
I forced myself to focus on other things to keep my mind off it; I texted O’Malley to let him know I would be there later in the day, I tried calling my parents again, but I got put straight through to voicemail. My gut instincts told me this was more than just deciding to extend their vacation, but I couldn’t be sure what exactly happened until I met with O’Malley and got a rundown. Maybe there was evidence at their home that could help, evidence that only I would be able to make sense of.
This felt deeply personal, and that worried me more than anything.
Roxanne, Jackson, and I made it through security without any problems, and our plane was only delayed by a half hour due to weather conditions. Flying had always made me a little anxious. I knew the risks were low, but that did little to assuage my fears.
I sat in the middle seat with Roxanne by the window, sleeping, and Jackson taking the aisle seat. Even though I was securely seated between the two people I brought along to help protect me, I wasn’t feeling calm. I was tense, every muscle in my body tight and rigid. My palms were sweaty, and my stomach was queasy. I couldn’t seem to control the shake in my hands as my anxiety steadily climbed. The plane seemed to be shrinking, closing in around me, and breathing became difficult.
“You okay?” Jackson said, nudging me lightly with his elbow.
I jumped, startled, and turned to him. “Uh, yeah. Flying just makes me nervous.” I tilted my head to the right, cracking my neck in hopes it would relieve the tension. It didn’t. It only invited a fever I wasn’t expecting, and I fought to hide the need to shift in my seat as my spine readied itself to crack.
The stress of the last twenty-four hours coupled with the anxiety from flying was instigating the change. I was on a plane full of people, and I was about to shift into a gigantic wolf. What was worse, if I tried to fight it, I could black out and hurt everybody on here.
“Brooke?” Jackson said, eyes wide with alarm. “You’re sweating.”
I couldn’t tell him what was wrong. Not out in the open like this. No, I could get a handle on this; I’d done it before. “It feels a little warm in here. I’m just going to go splash some cold water on my face,” I told him, my voice shak
ing as I unbuckled my safety belt and stood up. The space was narrow, so I had to shimmy sideways to get to the aisle. I’d made it about a half step when the first break made me double over.
Jackson’s hands came up to grab me around the waist. “Dammit, Brooke,” he hissed.
“I’m fine,” I growled, clenching my eyes shut and taking a deep breath. “Just dizzy.”
I managed to make it to the washrooms without another incident, only to find they were both occupied. I could feel another surge of pain building, and Jackson’s eyes were still solely on me. I forced a smile and gave a gentle knock, silently willing whoever was inside to hurry the hell up. Within seconds, the door flew open and a woman appeared, shocked to see me waiting.
Okay, so maybe she wasn’t shocked to see me, but more so at the general state I was in. She quickly moved out of the way, maybe thinking I was going to be sick, and I flew inside, sliding the lock into place. I turned the cold water on immediately and leaned forward on the tiny counter, clenching my eyes shut and rocking from one foot to the other.
When I finally felt like the fever might break, I looked up and into the mirror. The green in my eyes had been completely overtaken by the yellow. Not the best sign of me avoiding a total loss of control.
I had just placed my hands beneath the cold water when my back cracked and shifted again, only this time more extreme. I cried out in pain unexpectedly, throwing my hands out to the side and bracing myself against the walls of the tiny bathroom stall.
I didn’t have much longer before the transition was complete and I was wreaking havoc on a plane full of innocents…30,000 feet above the ground.
Chapter24 | missing
Clenching my eyes shut, I tried counting. I hoped it would help put me in a calm frame of mind. It didn’t. All it did was quiet my mind enough that I could hear the heartbeats of the passengers just beyond the flimsy washroom door.
My fingers curled against the sink, nails scratching the stainless steel and creating a sound that my sensitive ears didn’t approve of. I cringed, but couldn’t stop my hands from tightening up. I could feel the bones in my hands shifting, then returning to normal as I fought the change.
Saliva pooled in my mouth, and my canines started to grow. My back arched up then down as my spine tried to realign itself for my transformation. I tried to keep it at bay while remaining conscious and not letting the wolf win. She was panicking, and her strength was otherworldly. It was unlike anything I’d experienced from her in the past, and I fought to maintain control.
A knock on the door startled me, and I opened my eyes to find them still yellow. Still glowing. My forehead was sweaty, my disheveled hair sticking to it. I looked like death. Actually, I looked worse than death. And I felt like it too. Another knock prompted me to reply, but I couldn’t open the door when I was so close to my feral side; I was lucid enough to know that much.
“There’s someone in here,” I said aloud, trying really hard to keep my voice steady.
“Sir,” a woman’s voice said from the other side of the door. “Sir, the washroom is occupied.”
There was a growl beyond the thin metal door before a low voice registered with me. “I’m just checking on her.” Jackson was the one on the other side of the door, and I worried what he might think if he knew what was going on in here.
Another knock, this time louder.
“Sir, if you don’t go back to your seat, I’m going to have to get the air marshal.”
“Then go get him. She’s not feeling well, and I’m not going to let her suffer alone. Brooke? Open the door.”
I knew that if I didn’t listen, there was a high probability he’d force his way inside, and that would definitely get us kicked off the plane and put on a no-fly list. Wouldn’t that be just my luck? I glanced down at my gnarled-looking fingers and focused on them enough that my claws started to retract. It was painful, but soon my hands looked almost normal and I was able to pull the latch.
I opened the door a crack, looking up into Jackson’s eyes. “I’m fine. Just a little sick.”
His eyes were wide upon locking with mine, and I could taste his fear on the tip of my tongue when I breathed roughly through my mouth. He took a step forward, even though the flight attendant told him he couldn’t. I turned my head toward her, and she balked, taking a step back as though she could sense my predatory nature. I watched as her carotid pulsed more quickly, licking my dry lips like it appealed to me.
Because it did…and that thought alone horrified me.
Jackson cursed under his breath and ushered me inside before locking the door again. If I thought the washroom was tight on space before, add Jackson’s hulking six-foot-whatever frame and his muscular build, and we had maybe a couple of inches to maneuver our bodies around.
My backside was pressed against the stainless steel countertop while Jackson stood before me, his back against the opposite wall. There was about three inches between us, and I grew increasingly claustrophobic.
“I said I’m fine,” I repeated, my voice hoarse.
“Bullshit,” he shot back aggressively, reaching out and placing his hand against my sticky neck. He felt cool in comparison to my own temperature, and I leaned into his touch. His thumb moved along my jaw before tugging my upper lip away from my teeth. My gums were sensitive as my canines continued to descend. “I can smell the change happening. That stewardess out there?”
“Flight attendant,” I corrected unnecessarily, even through the fog in my brain. What he chose to call the airplane staff should really be the least of my concerns.
Jackson dismissed my interruption. “She could sense you were a threat.”
“She probably just thought I was going to throw up on her.”
I sensed his annoyance. “Stop,” he ordered, challenging my new Alpha nature. The hair on the back of my neck bristled, and I felt the wolf come to the surface again without actually ripping free entirely. Jackson didn’t seem too threatened by this. I sensed his struggle with his obedience to me, but he fought it valiantly.
The human side of me respected him for it, even though it pissed the wolf off.
“Nick was worried this might happen,” Jackson muttered, reaching into his pocket for something. I recognized the lid on the vial before he’d removed it entirely. Silver nitrate.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned menacingly.
Jackson sighed, but unscrewed the lid anyway. “If I don’t, you’ll change, exposing us all. You know that can’t happen. You could black out and kill innocent people. Do you want that on your conscience?” He had a point; the mere thought of hurting anyone made my stomach roll.
I nodded my acquiescence and he removed the vial’s lid entirely. The smell hit me almost immediately, singeing my nostrils and my throat…and also suppressing the increasing tension I was feeling.
“I need to place it beneath your tongue for the fastest absorption rate.” I opened my mouth, hesitant, and kept my wary eyes on him. His eyes reflected his remorse as he placed several drops under my tongue. Blinded by the pain that seared beneath my tongue and shot through my veins, I closed my eyes and bit back a feral cry as I lifted a leg and kicked the wall across from me, right next to Jackson’s hip.
Eventually the burning faded to an uncomfortable tingle, allowing me to open my eyes. Jackson watched me carefully, breathing a sigh of relief when I looked into his eyes. Curious, I turned around and looked in the mirror to find the amber had recessed and the green was more prominent again.
Sadly, I still looked like shit; my skin was ashen and sweaty, my hair disheveled and plastered to my head, and the rings under my eyes made me look just as exhausted as I felt. I turned the cold water on again and splashed my face and neck before grabbing some paper towels and drying off.
“You won’t be able to shift for at least a day,” Jackson said, forcing my focus to his reflection. “I hated the idea of dosing you, but Nick made me promise to if it became too much.”
Confused,
I turned around. “He knew this might happen?”
“He mentioned you weren’t particularly fond of flying, and knowing how the wolf can get sometimes when cooped up and no chance to get outside…” He shrugged. “Yeah, he suspected this might be a possibility.”
I removed the hair elastic from around my wrist and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. With each minute that passed, I was starting to look a little more presentable. My skin tone was still way off, and I could sense the wolf was just below the surface, bound and unable to break free for now. I suspected she’d be pissed when the silver nitrate wore off, and I was going to have to fight to maintain some control so as not to black out when I shifted next.
The pounding in my head slowly faded, and I could no longer hear the heartbeats of all the other passengers unless I focused on them. Everything was returning to normal, and I was more than a little relieved.
Still a little embarrassed, I turned to face Jackson. “Thanks. I should have been honest from the beginning, I just…”
Jackson shook his head. “No need to apologize, kid. I get it. You’re hardly the first to try to manage this on your own. And you won’t be the last.” His tone was indicative of something I couldn’t recognize in my hazy state, and before I could ask, there was another loud knock on the door.
Jackson yanked it open with a shit-eating grin on his face that I suspected would only get us into trouble. There was only one reason a man and a woman went into an airplane washroom together, and the disapproving look on the flight attendant and plain-clothes-wearing air marshal’s faces indicated what they really thought. He was a portly man, maybe three inches taller than me with almost-black hair that was thinning out on top.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” I spoke up, trying to look as pathetic as possible in hopes they would both just let this slide. “I know what this must look like, but let me assure you that wasn’t the case.” Glancing up at Jackson, I saw him looking bored. “I’m not the best flier, and my friend knew this and came to check on me. When he saw how sick I was, he disregarded what our flight attendant told him about the airline’s policy and came in to make sure I was okay.”
