by Eva Gordon
Lev ran a hand through his hair. “Possibly.” He released a slow anguished breath. “I don’t know.”
His pained expression explained why he’d avoided her. When Cricket suggested she see the doctor, she’d been in denial Lev’s bite might have caused her illness. “Let’s go then.” It wouldn’t hurt, and why risk not diagnosing some underlying unknown lycan disease?
They returned to the doctor’s office from the lab where, after a physical, Dr. Darius Mark ran some blood tests. Lev paced in the waiting room while Darius talked to her. The sound proof walls didn’t prevent him from hearing their conversation. He resented Rachel preferred a private consultation with the doctor. By right, he should have insisted. Darius would have understood. Yet, the last thing he wanted to do was bully his way into her heart.
“Dehydration and stress could be the cause,” said Rachel.
“Just to be safe, I’m ordering an MRI. We must rule out tumors.”
Lev stiffened. Tumors?
“Is it possible something in Lev’s fluids might have caused a tumor?”
Darius lowered his voice as if that would do any good. “Your father deemed Lev’s fluids not radioactive. Nonetheless, I’m not sure we can rule it out, since his physiology appears to change. His DNA is like no other. First, let’s wait for the blood panel results and if anything shows up on the MRI.”
Lev scowled. If he’d hurt her, he’d never forgive himself. He’d bitten other werewolves either in battle, play or during sex. Nothing had happened to them. Yet, Rachel was a vulnerable human and important to their society as a Stallo woman. If he caused her suffering, he’d give her up. Her health and life meant more than his life. He must leave as soon as possible. She’d be safe at LIA headquarters. His inner wolf growled, Wait for the evidence. Lev squeezed his hands into tight fists.
Rachel agreed. “Might as well get the MRI now.”
“Let me notify our tech.”
“Good.”
Darius talked to his tech. “An hour is perfect. We’ll see you after lunch.”
Lev’s mobile buzzed. A text from Rylee. Emergency meeting in the ready room in ten. He texted back. Roger. He swallowed and knocked on the door.
Darius opened the door. “Come in.” He turned to Rachel. “If you wish, Lev can accompany you to the MRI room. Afterward, we should have the blood results.”
“Unfortunately, Rylee wants me in a few minutes.”
Rachel nodded. “That’s cool. I don’t need hand holding.”
Lev’s heart clenched. My job is to hold your hand. Yet, did I not decide to let her go? “Let Cricket know what is going on.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “Later. I’m sure she has better things to do.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Not better than watching her charge.”
“If you say so, Mr. Alpha.”
Lev kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll talk later.” If the results concluded he had poisoned her, it would be to say goodbye. He took an elevator directly to LIA headquarters and arrived at Rylee’s office.
The alpha smiled at him. “Lev, please sit. We have some developments.”
“News about the rogue pack?”
“No. But thanks to our forensic artist, we have an identity for the human with the gray beard who had followed Rachel to Nepal and shot at you. Manny and Jesper put the drawing in the facial recognition data bank.” Rylee flicked on the big screen. “Look familiar?”
Lev furrowed his brow. There were two pictures of the same man. One a younger version with a full head of brown hair and the other the way he looked now, bald and a trimmed gray beard. Perhaps in his late fifties. Tall and more muscular than his first picture. Though human, he was almost as big as a lycan. Probably on steroids. Whatever pack he belonged to, he must have been given beta status. “Da.”
She flicked back to a screenshot of the younger man. “Andrew Joki, born in Detroit, Michigan, sixty-five years ago, but he disappeared thirty years ago after being a person of interest in college student Tammy Warren’s disappearance.”
Lev frowned. “Did she have the Stallo women blood type?”
“Yep, but we don’t know if she had the Stallo gene marker. Joki’s father died in a car accident when he was five years old and his mother never remarried. But get this, his grandfather, Conrad Joki, vanished from the face of the earth when Andrew was in middle school. About the time two teenage girls went missing in the woods.”
“Did Conrad keep in contact with his grandson?” asked Lev.
“We believe so, although they probably met in secret because Conrad Joki was never seen in public. Conrad and later his grandson, who had a degree in anthropology, were involved in occultist communities. Drawn to magic, we think Conrad may have joined a rogue pack and then recruited his grandson.”
“Humans to do their bidding.” Lev had heard of humans who believed being with a pack gave them power over other humans. Once they tried to use such influence over humans, they were quickly eliminated. Unless, the pack happened to be oath breakers like the one they were pursuing.
“Stallo wannabees,” scoffed Rylee. “Not the first time an occultist or so called warlock or witch thought they could gain the power of the wolf.”
“That might explain the attempt to steal Stallo’s bones.”
“We are holding a lycan council meeting at King Conan’s castle. Apparently, Lunara, Chandra and her archaeologist pet, James Clayworth uncovered information that might shed light on our case. They’re flying in and should arrive tonight.”
Lunara, the wolf shaman priestess, communed with the departed. Why else call her? “Does Lunara suspect Svetlana is dead?”
“We’ll soon find out. After what Kat said, she could be. Knowing Svetlana, she’d attempt escape.”
Lev scoffed. “A pack of oath breakers? Svetlana would be more than happy and quite useful in whatever schemes they have. The dirtier the better.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Rylee turned off the screen.
Svetlana most likely plotted revenge against him. She must have negotiated a deal with them. Bring him in so she could torture him to death. “When do we leave?”
“Now.”
“Understood.”
They boarded Rylee’s helicopter for the king’s castle and arrived in the late afternoon. Lev settled into his guest quarters. Rachel was probably at home with Cricket. He smiled. Perhaps doing yoga. He should call to find out the results of her medical tests. He had his mobile on mute and noticed a text from Howard.
He stiffened as he read the message over and over.
Rage, regret and remorse flushed through his core. His phone glowed with heat and he dropped it, before his touch melted it. The words, “You almost killed her” and “Stay away from Rachel” tore at his heart.
Rachel blinked. Where am I? Her memory of what happened floated on wisps of clouds. She’d had the MRI. As her awareness returned, she heard the thumping of the rapid pulses from the scan in her head. Odd. She focused. The lights stung her eyes, and the sound of the monitors jarred her nerves. Rachel moved her arm and her skin pinched from an IV hooked to her vein. Her blood pressure monitor showed normal. She must have passed out. Did she have another explosive headache? A blood clot? At least, she wasn’t on oxygen. In fact, she felt refreshed, like she did after Lev bit her.
Her memory continued to filter in. After the MRI, she recalled Howard’s angry voice outside the scanning room. He argued with Darius. Something about her tests and how Lev had damaged her. She rushed outside and insisted on seeing her results. The last thing she remembered was being handed the tablet and then blackness. The same void she’d visited while feverish and fighting Ebola. Rachel glanced at the digital clock. Nighttime already. Almost 9 p.m. The MRI had scanned her after lunch. She pressed the button for the nurse. That is, if werewolf protocol ran like a normal human hospital.
The door opened. No nurse. Just Howard and Darius. Her father dashed to her side. “How are you feeling?”
&
nbsp; “Good. I think. What happened?”
“You passed out.”
“Is it a tumor?”
Darius spoke, “No. You do have unusual brain activity.” He eyed Howard. “Your tissue and blood tests were unusual.”
Rachel sat up. “How unusual?”
“Your physiology has changed. Your muscle cells have more mitochondria and more red blood cells. The sudden overload caused your blood pressure to drop. I’m sure the effect will wear off over the next few days.”
“As if I’m an Olympic athlete. One doped on endurance enhancing drugs.”
Howard’s tone turned grave. “Whatever it was, it nearly killed you.”
She gave her father a guarded look. “You blame Lev?”
Howard sighed. “Yes. His bite poisoned you.”
“How can that be? His bite brought me back from death after my heart stopped when I almost died of hypothermia. Then when he bit me later, my cuts healed.”
Darius shook his head. “More likely enhanced rather than poisoned, but your human system couldn’t handle it.”
“Rachel, how many times has Lev bitten you?” Howard’s face creased with worry.
She flushed. It felt like he asked her how many times they had sex. Too damn personal. “I don’t know. Three times.” Should she count the playful hickeys? She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m his mate.”
“Not anymore,” blurted Howard.
Darius intervened and turned to her father. “You know as well as anyone, once an alpha makes the claim, he or she can’t reverse the bond.”
“Rachel is human, she need not accept. Not when her physiology is compromised.”
“Wait, I have a say in this.” She frowned.
Darius pulled up a chair next to her. “I know you are fond of Lev. He saved your life. However, you need to understand, his mutated DNA is different from other lycans. Even his scent is different. Despite his high alpha rank and desirable looks, our females only see him as a date never mate material.”
Poor Lev. “Who says I want children or pups anyway?”
“Rachel, if we hadn’t treated you with a cocktail of drugs, whatever mutated in your body would have killed you,” said Howard.
“Okay, so biting is out.”
Howard paced. “I am still studying Lev’s physiology. Who knows what other body fluids have mutagenic factors.”
“Let’s not go there.”
“What your father is trying to say is you can never be around Lev again.”
“What?” She yanked out the IV tubes. “Are you saying we should break up, because we haven’t even gone out for pizza yet?” Not to mention all the first dates couples went on before calling it quits.
“You need to rest, Rachel,” said Howard.
“I feel fine.”
Darius nodded. “Your most recent tests are good, but just to make sure you don’t have a setback, stay until the morning.”
“Has Lev come by to check on me?” He had been on his way to meet with Rylee. She couldn’t imagine how worried he must have been that she nearly died. And because of his bite.
Howard straightened and his tone turned sad. “I told Lev he nearly killed you. I insisted as your father, he stay away.”
“You can’t say goodbye to Lev for me. That’s my—our decision.”
“Rylee agreed and offered him an assignment in Eastern Europe.”
“What if he says no?”
“Lev agreed. After he hunts down the rogue werewolves who tried to kidnap you, he’ll quit Team Greywolf.”
Her eyes moistened. “No.”
“Rachel, you will always be his mate, but knowing he nearly killed you is enough to make him leave you forever.”
“Where is he? I want to at least say goodbye.”
“He and Rylee flew to the king’s castle for a meeting,” said Darius.
Rachel stood. “I’m going back to my den.”
Darius sniffed her. “I don’t think that’s a problem. Come by tomorrow afternoon for a check-up.”
Howard checked her vitals and sighed. “Your body appears to be back to normal. I’ll tell Cricket to come get you.”
“She must be chilling with her prince. I can find my way back.”
Too late, Howard had reached her on the phone. “Rachel wants to go back to her den. Meet us here in twenty minutes.” He nodded. “Yes, a close call, but she’s in good health.”
Better if my mitochondria and red blood cell count is up. Or at least, heading back to normal.
Chapter 22
After King Conan and the council met with Rylee privately, the king treated all guests to a huge banquet. Lev barely touched his steak dinner. How could he after almost killing his mate? He nursed his vodka as the others caught up with pack news. His mood must have radiated like a grim mushroom cloud because no one talked to him. More than likely, he’d bite off anyone’s head if they mentioned his love life. When Rylee first heard of Rachel’s collapse, she agreed with Howard. Lev had poisoned her with his mutant bite and best he never see her again. Dr. Darius Mark texted him a couple hours ago. Rachel appeared on the mend with all her vitals back to normal and resting. Naturally, Rachel too would never want to see him again. No matter, my Goldilocks, I’ll kill the pack that threatens you. He envisioned ripping her abductors to shreds.
Lev’s skin prickled as fur threatened to emerge. The room temperature rose. How could they not notice the heat? Lev glanced at Rylee who sat to the left of the king. She gaped at him, and mouthed, “What the fuck”? The others stared at him as well.
Rylee excused herself and walked over to Lev. “Let’s talk.”
All conversations ceased as if the entire gathering held their breath, waiting for him to blow up. “Yes, ma’am.” Lev stood and followed her into a private LIA office she kept in the castle.
Rylee closed the doors. “How many vodkas have you had?”
“Only two. Why?”
“Because your eyes are glowing and your skin is a shade redder. Like you are about to have a meltdown.”
“I’m not drunk or radioactive, just frustrated.”
“Understood.” Rylee poured him a glass of water from a pitcher. She pointed to a seat and he sat. “I’m sorry all this shit is going down.”
“Rogue werewolf shit or me almost killing Rachel shit?”
Rylee snorted. “All of the above.”
Lev drained the glass, then took the pitcher and drained it as well, cooling him to his normal body temperature. If he even had a normal body temperature. “Much better.”
“I can’t fault you for claiming her, but we all agree it’s for her own good you leave her. You are like a son to me. I hope leaving her won’t destroy you.”
“I will survive.” He stared at the wall. “I survived radiation, the death of my pack and my father’s murder.”
“Please reconsider staying with Team Greywolf. We have an excellent station in Greenland or you can continue doing field work for us in Eastern Europe.”
“Why? Because I’m a valuable asset or because you fear I’m dangerous?”
“To be honest, both.”
Better to monitor me. Lev snickered. “Don’t worry. I won’t meltdown. I only promise to clean up this rogue pack threatening Rachel and other Stallo women.”
“I’m no scientist, but who knows, maybe Dr. Becker and Selene can find a cure to whatever you do to Rachel.”
“No. I will not allow my mate to be a guinea pig.”
Rylee poured a glass of brandy. “Spoken like a superior alpha who puts the needs of his mate above his own.”
“I would die rather than lose my beloved.” His eyes stung. When his family and father had died, he howled and mourned, but never shed a tear. Until now. For the mate he could never have. Letting her go was his noble duty.
Rylee tilted her head. “To be honest, it might have been the lingering poison in your system from the unknown lycan’s bite. The one you said smelled rotten.”
If the unusual poison
caused her illness, there may be hope he could still be with her. Yet, the toxin had left his system long before he bit Rachel on their last night together. “The werewolf that bit me had the scent of a cadaver.”
Rylee nodded. “Darius thinks the toxin might be lethal to normal werewolves. Who knows what it would do to a human?”
Lev shook his head. “Darius found no trace of it in my system.” The truth is I’m a mutant freak. I hurt Rachel.
“Let’s focus on protecting her. I met with the council and discussed what I know about the rogue pack’s objectives to kidnap Stallo women for their twisted purpose of breeding hybrids. They gave me the green light to do whatever it takes to seek and execute.”
“Did you tell them I poisoned Rachel?”
“No. I still think we need more data.”
Rylee wasn’t just trying to make him feel better. She never dispensed unsubstantiated theories without all the facts. Lev glanced at his watch. Almost 9 p.m. “Lunara should be here by now.” The wolf shaman along with Chandra and James had information about Andrew Joki, the man involved with the notorious pack. To guarantee Rachel’s safety, the pack must be found and destroyed. He would leave her alone, but a day would not go by he would not monitor her. A loving stalker. Would another alpha dare court a Stallo woman that belonged to another? He could tolerate her with a human male, but never another alpha.
Rylee reached for her mobile. “Let me find out.” She punched a number. “It’s me, Rylee.” She held the phone to her ear and nodded at Lev. “Good. Excellent.” Rylee put her phone away. “Lunara just arrived. She is going to the sanctuary to enter the world beyond.”
“For how long?”
“All night. We’ll reconvene in the auditorium in the morning to learn if Svetlana is dead or still living.”
Rachel slipped into her pajamas and then met Cricket in the kitchen. “Really, I’m okay. Go home.” She said this after sobbing in front of her handler. Not cool. She’d never been this emotional. The gift of a lovely, warm, but light hooded jacket from Cricket had surprised her and for whatever reason made her collapse into a pathetic crybaby.
