And then there was Julie. Could her body fight off a toxin meant to kill a shapeshifter? It would. It had to. He wouldn’t consider the alternative.
“You can’t stay in the house with those samples.” Even the amount in the air must have been enough to make her sick.
“I can, Dalton. And I will. I’m not going to get sick just from being in the building with it.”
He knew that she was right. Arsenic could be airborne, but that usually required the particles to be blown through the air and then inhaled. It wasn’t light enough to become airborne downstairs in her lab, where there was no wind. But….
“If it hasn’t become airborne in your lab, how were you exposed?”
She looked puzzled for a moment, then stiffened. “I know how Walt was exposed.”
He said nothing, recognizing the look of concentration on her face that meant she was still gathering her thoughts.
“If you wanted to poison shifters and only shifters … without breaking into their houses… if you could poison a place.…”
He’d been looking for a connection. The connection wasn’t what they ate, or where they ate. It was what they were. The shifters who were poisoned all went to the same place to shift and run… the park where Walt was a ranger.
“The cave in the park where everyone stores their clothes when they shift. The symptoms all started around the full moon, except for Walt, who got sick first.…
“Because he’s in the cave all the time. I was analyzing a sample from the water bottles y’all have stored there, and I spilled a couple drops on my shirt.”
If she’d been exposed to the poison, he couldn’t do anything to help her. He could only wait to see if she would get better or worse.
She looked like she’d lost 20 pounds that her lithe frame hadn’t had to lose in the first place. He wasn’t sure she could get much worse. He pulled her into his arms allowing them to be closer than they had been in years.
He hadn’t allowed himself to so much as touch her since the night all those years ago when he’d realized that they could never be together, that her being close to him could be too dangerous. He hadn’t held her since the night he’d realized that he loved her.
He could handle not being able to be with her. It hurt, almost constantly, but he could handle it. But a world without her in it? He couldn’t bear the thought of it.
He allowed himself an all too brief moment to hold her, but he was painfully aware of the shape of her body molded to his. When her arms slipped around him to return the embrace, he almost came undone. He pulled away gently before he let himself do something they would both regret one day. He reverently kissed her hair, then eased her back onto the couch.
“Julie, this is,” A nightmare. Exactly the reason I’ve been afraid to let you too far into my life… “This is dangerous. Someone poisoned that water, and if that someone knows much of anything about this town, they know that you’re probably the one who’s analyzing samples looking for the source. Either you’re leaving here, or I’m staying, but you can’t be alone right now. Hell, you’re too sick to be alone right now anyway.”
He saw the moment the truth hit her. “So, this wasn’t an accidental exposure? Someone actually wanted to poison them? Why would anyone want to do that?”
He briefly outlined what had happened in Mississippi for her, concluding with, they weren’t targeted because someone thinks they deserve it. I believe this is the same toxin, only more potent. Donald Hampton was poisoned over the course of months.
Walt and the others have only been exposed once, or a few times at most, and they’re as sick as he was after many more exposures. I think they took the information they gained from poisoning him and refined the poison’s formula, then decided it was time for a larger scale test.”
“What on earth would they want this poison for though?”
“I’m honestly not sure. I think it might be one of the more militant human rights groups, but…” But why had a shifter helped them in Mississippi? Money? There were too many things about this that didn’t add up. And he was a damn fine doctor, but he was no detective. That didn’t matter. If he didn’t want anyone else poisoned, he would have to become a good enough detective to sort this out.
Whoever had done it had known the shifter community well enough to know where they went to hunt under the full moon. They’d known the area well enough to traverse the difficult terrain to get to the cave.
The suspect pool was still significant, but it was a hell of a lot smaller than it had been an hour ago. He borrowed Julie’s key so that he could lock her door behind him and went home to grab his still packed suitcase from his trip.
Julie promised to call and cancel the tests she’d requested on the samples she’d collected—there was no way they wanted this information getting out—and that she wouldn’t unlock the door for anyone before he returned. He was a bit surprised—relieved, but surprised—that Julie had agreed to him staying there without a fight.
He’d think she was scared of an attack, but in his experience, nothing could rattle her. Maybe, he thought with a pained smile, she’d been just as affected by his closeness as he had by hers. It wouldn’t change anything. She was still better off without him. She needed to settle down with a man whose existence wasn’t as dangerous as his own. A man who wasn’t also a wolf.
No, it wouldn’t change anything. But somehow Dalton couldn’t help hoping for it anyway.
Chapter 5
Friday morning found Dalton in Julie’s lab. She seemed a little better today. Whether it was because her body was fighting off the poison or because she wasn’t starved and dehydrated, he wasn’t sure. Probably it was both, but either way, it was a welcome change.
Dalton was running more tests on the water sample, trying to figure out what had made this next batch so much more potent than what he’d encountered in Mississippi. Julie was in a recliner he’d carried down from her living room, explaining how to run the equipment and looking like she wanted to climb out of the chair at the thought of anyone touching her precious equipment besides herself.
“Here, it would be faster to show you than to explain—”
“Stay right where you are.” Julie halted her efforts to get up but glared at him. He feigned a wounded expression, but his heart sang at the sight of her well enough to have some of her usual fiery independence. Tuesday and Wednesday had been touch and go, but she’d finally started to rally.
Jordan had been worth her weight in gold. She’d worked night and day to take care of the shifters, who all had finally rallied and were feeling better. Walt was planning to hike up there as soon as he was able, to remove the water from the cave and find a place where no one could find it. Disposing of it wasn’t an option, not with how potently toxic it was, and Dalton wanted to keep some anyway in case he needed to run more tests. Just as troubling as it was potent enough to kill a human in a single dose and a shifter in a few, if the way a single drink had affected them was any indication, the fact was that not a single one of them had smelled anything off about the water.
Whoever was developing the poison had managed to make it several times more potent and render it virtually undetectable in a matter of months. This thing needed to be shut down before the poison became the perfect superweapon to use against shifters everywhere.
“I can handle the equipment if you explain it to me, and if a drop of this stuff spills on my skin, I’ll be fine. I could drink it, and I’d be okay in a matter of weeks. If you touch even another drop of it in your weakened state, it could….”
The words dried to ash on his tongue. He couldn’t even think it, much less say it aloud. His worst fear had almost become a reality, and his emotions still felt raw and jagged at the thought of how close he’d come to losing Julie. He knew that he’d lose her someday. She was a beautiful woman, and she would find the right man to settle down with one day.
When the time came, he would step back enough that their friendship wouldn’t put a s
train on her relationship. But she would still be out there, okay and happy and alive. She wouldn’t be truly gone. She muttered something under her breath about pigheaded men before explaining how to run the test he’d asked about. He smiled and got to work, following her directions down to the letter. A few moments later the smile slipped from his face. The particles where there, and he knew that when they were analyzed, the result would be arsenic and silver. But they were so small that they were barely detectable.
Maybe they’d quit using arsenic, started using something more potent? How was such a small amount of silver having such a negative effect on the shifters? And one question—one that would never be answered by a machine in a lab—was even more critical. Who was behind these attacks?
This afternoon he would put out the word to other packs and start looking for someone with the right qualifications to answer that question. For now, he was all they had. He probably couldn’t figure out who was behind the entire operation, but maybe he could figure out who was spreading the poison throughout his hometown. Hopefully, he could do that much.
“Julie, is there a way I can print this image for you? I need you to see if you notice something I don’t.”
She instructed him on how to print the image, but not before complaining that viewing it in person would be more effective. A puzzled look came over her face as she looked it over.
“I have a friend from college who works for the CDC, and I trust her to be discreet if we send her a sample. Would that be okay?”
“I don’t like it, but we don’t have a lot of options at this point. We’ve got to figure out exactly what they’re using, and fast.”
Julie was fastidious about how to package the sample, but soon Dalton had it packaged and headed to the post office to send it off.
Chapter 6
“...so, when I called Barbara about the sample, she told me… she told me there were two clusters of men and women, previously unusually healthy, getting sick and dying in small towns in Florida. They all had traces of silver in their systems but no sign of any toxin. She feels like what we’re dealing with here is probably connected.”
“She knows what we’re dealing with?”
“Actually, the reports just came in yesterday afternoon. As far as she knows yours will be the first samples in their laboratory.”
Dalton’s reply was wooden and made her heart clench in her chest. “So… they don’t know what we’re dealing with, and it could be widespread already?”
“I’m afraid you’re right, on both counts. For now, the plan we already have is probably the best we’re going to get.”
“No,” he replied as he swung into a parking spot in front of the local diner, “The best plan would have been for you just to agree to use a damn wheelchair. You’re exhausting yourself and for what?”
The morning had been exhausting, even with Dalton driving everywhere instead of walking and helping her to and from people’s houses. Not that she’d ever admit that to him.
“Exercise is good for my recovery.” Julie tried for a light, airy response, but the effort of getting out of the car, and into a standing position fast enough so Dalton couldn’t come around the car to help her out like she was some sort of invalid, had left her a bit winded.
“Funny, I could have sworn your doctor prescribed rest.”
There was no ire in his voice, and Julie smiled at the comment. Dalton’s efforts to keep the beast inside him under control often left him polite yet formal with those around him. This back and forth, teasing each other, was precious. It was something that only happened with the few people he’d become truly comfortable around. It was comforting, familiar and… a gift.
“Yes, well, I decided to consult with myself for a second opinion.”
His hands were comforting as they supported her, and the sun was warm on her shoulders. She might feel worse than she had in years, but Dalton rarely doted. He was doting on her right now, and she was going to enjoy every second of it. Experience told her that every time he admitted there was an attraction between them, he would retreat. She imagined he’d be running like hell the second she was well enough to take care of herself, so she needed to soak this in while it lasted. Maybe, she thought, this might be the thing to make him change his mind.
“Well. Don’t tell me you invited me here to tell me you’ve started dating humans?”
Ugh. Melanie. Julie had been enjoying Dalton so much that she’d almost forgotten they were here to meet with his ex. They should have scheduled it for after lunch because this bitch was sure to give her indigestion.
Julie smiled sweetly, intent on telling her just that, but Dalton answered in a cold, expressionless voice.
“You know why we’re here, Melanie. Let’s just try to get this done quickly and civilly.”
Melanie’s eyes hardened as they took in Dalton’s hand on Julie’s waist, but her voice when she answered was smooth and warm. “You could call me Mel, Dalton. You always used to.”
She laughed lightly when he chose to ignore her and headed toward the door of the diner without reply.
“She’s saying they were all poisoned.” Melanie’s voice was filled with disbelief, and the look on her face as she stared at Julie was clearly an accusation.
“Actually, I’m saying they were all poisoned. I looked at the samples myself.”
“Well, I’m sure you know your way around a microscope,” her voice was sincere now; any doubts she’d had when she thought the theory was Julie’s was now forgotten. “I’m not sure how you think I can help though.”
“We’re talking to all the shifters in town. We don’t have any leads so far, but we feel like someone has to have noticed something out of the ordinary.”
“Oh. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. Should I call you later if I think of anything?”
“Yes, please call me if you do.”
Melanie left the restaurant, wiggling her ass on the way out a little more than Julie thought was strictly necessary. The way she chased after Dalton was ridiculous, considering that she’d been the one to break things off with him last spring. Unfortunately for Melanie, Dalton’s attention left her the moment she left the table. A shame, really. All that hip wiggling for nothing. Julie couldn’t hold back her sneer.
“She’s not evil, Julie. She broke up with me because she knew I wasn’t really emotionally involved in the relationship. Judging by how well I took her leaving, I’d say she was probably right.”
“I know,” Julie replied. She could admit, if only to herself, that her feelings toward Melanie—and Melanie’s towards her, she was pretty sure—had more to do with jealousy than with protectiveness of Dalton. He’d dated casually before, of course. She had, too.
But Melanie had been a shifter. And she knew that Dalton wouldn’t settle down with someone who wasn’t a shifter. He felt that it was too dangerous. Julie didn’t agree—as far as she could tell, the shifters in their community were volatile, but fiercely protective. The protectiveness far outweighed the volatile when it came to safety, she figured. Dalton had made his mind up though, and the man could be so damn stubborn.
When they were in high school, she’d been crazy about Dalton. She’d been so sure that he felt the same, that it would just take a little nudge to make him realize what they could be to each other. And so, with all the wisdom (or lack thereof) of youth, she’d decided to go on a date to make him jealous. She’d chosen another shifter—to show him that she was open to the possibility of dating one—but things hadn’t gone as planned. They’d gone on the date at an old drive-in movie theater that had somehow survived in a world where air-conditioned movie theaters were much more commonplace.
Dalton had been there like she’d known he would. She’d thought everything was going perfectly, right up to the point that Mike, her date for the evening, had gotten angry when she insisted that she had to be home by curfew. Dalton had heard and lost his temper. He had beaten Mike so badly that he had charges pressed
against him.
When Julie had tearfully apologized later and admitted that she’d only done it to make him jealous, he’d pulled her into his arms, given her a kiss that no other had compared to, even to this day, and told her that it didn’t matter why she went on the date. He cared for her and always would. But, he had explained, if she brought out the beast in him that easily, if a few tears could push him to lose his control, there was no way they could ever be together.
His reaction had been over the top, but at an age when hormones often ruled common sense that was hardly a surprise. What teenage boy hadn’t been in a fight over a girl at some point? She’d pointed this out, but he’d remained steadfast in his decision.
What would have happened, she wondered, if instead of scheming to get him she had just been honest? Would they be married? Have children? Had their childish mistakes on that one evening altered the course of their entire lives?
“You’re right,” she agreed quietly, pushing yesterday’s regrets aside for the thousandth time, “I’m being too hard on her. Hopefully, later she will call you back with a lead.”
Hopefully, she added in her mind, Melanie went mute, and every cell phone tower in a hundred-mile radius went up in flames. Hopefully, Dalton would come to his senses and realize that he’d never lost control of his temper again after that night, and it was time to stop punishing them both for her childish mistake.
Chapter 7
Dalton’s cell phone vibrated, pulling him from sleep.
“Hello?” He listened for the sound of Julie in the next room as he waited to find out who was calling him. His keen ears easily picked up the sound of her breath and her heartbeat.
The Baby Shift- Alabama Page 2
