by Rhian Cahill
Whispering Springs came into view and Rowan sucked in a breath. Quinn turned to find her eyes sparkling with tears. He reached for her hand and entwining their fingers, he brought it to his mouth and kissed her palm.
“Welcome home,” he said.
“I’ve missed so much. There are new buildings everywhere.” Rowan sniffled between words.
“Not that many but a lot have had facelifts and last summer saw most of the pack out slapping new paint on anything that stood still long enough,” Quinn joked.
“We took a big hit the winter before. Four bad blizzards in a row did major damage to most of the older buildings. While we rebuilt those, we spruced up the rest,” Brogan added.
“And Doc got a state of the art clinic to work in.” Quinn let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “We’re heading there first.”
She snuggled into his side, her head resting on his chest. He caught Brogan’s look of concern and tried to reassure him with a smile. Rowan would be fine. Coming home had to be an emotional roller-coaster for her and she was bound to have some shaky moments.
William took the street leading to the back of the clinic. With any luck no one would see them unloading the bodies and they could keep the strays a secret from the rest of the pack until they knew where they’d come from and why they were wandering around in the forest. Brogan pulled in behind William, the back door of the clinic opened and Gordie stepped out. She shook hands with the councilman as they got out of the truck, then she turned to greet them.
“Morning, Brogan, Quinn…” Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Rowan?”
“Hi Gordie.” Rowan stepped around him.
“Oh my God. It really is you.” Gordie leaped forward, enveloping Rowan in a hug.
Quinn gave them some privacy and went to help the others with the coyotes. He didn’t like tears, even happy ones.
Rowan held on tight. The familiar scent and feel of Gordie soaked in and welcomed her home a little bit more. Memories bombarded her. Times when things were simple and life stretched before her without a worry teased Rowan, her innocence and naïveté had cost her dearly. In one violent act, her world had been destroyed by someone she thought she could trust. She would not let it happen again.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Gordie’s voice was choked with tears.
“It’s me. And you have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Rowan spoke over the lump in her throat.
They pulled apart. Rowan took in the woman Gordie had become. Other than the tears on her cheeks, she looked every bit the professional doctor. From her white coat, open to reveal the tailored slacks and cream blouse beneath, the stethoscope draped around her neck to dangle against her chest to the glasses perched on her nose, her attire screamed “trust me”. The heavy snow boots on her feet the only contradiction but she even managed to make them look good.
“Gosh, Gordie, you’re as beautiful as ever.”
A light flush filled her friend’s face. “Stop it. Have you looked in the mirror at all? You’d get a dead man’s pulse racing.”
“Speaking of dead men.” Rowan turned to watch the men take the second coyote into the clinic. “Let’s get inside so you can hear what happened.”
The smile left Gordie’s face and she wiped the moisture from her cheeks. “Come on, we can talk after this is over.”
Arm in arm, they followed the men into the clinic. Rowan waited for Gordie to secure the door before they walked down the hall and into an examination room. She took in the tables, cupboards and equipment and realized they were standing in a morgue. The two coyotes were laid out on steel trolleys and Gordie flicked a switch on the wall beside them. Lights suspended above each table blazed to life, eliminating the bodies.
“So, what have we got?” Gordie slid into doctor mode. She scrubbed her hands and pulled on gloves before she moved toward the closest corpse.
“They’re newly turned and not from around here,” Quinn said.
Gordie’s gaze lifted and met briefly with William’s before she turned to face Quinn. “Where’d you find them?”
“I didn’t. They found me. Tried their best to take me down but Rowan fired the single shot that killed that one.” He indicated the coyote Gordie stood next to. “The other one took a bullet to the shoulder and a slice to the neck before running off. He bled out before Brogan got to him.”
“Where was this?” Gordie began examining the animal.
“In the forest behind the house.”
“Any strange behavior before they attacked?” She peeled back the coyote’s lips to reveal his teeth.
“We didn’t see them until they attacked.”
Again, Gordie glanced at William. There was something going on and Rowan wanted to know what.
“Why do you two keep looking at each other like that? What aren’t you telling us?” she asked.
William gave a slight nod and Gordie turned to Brogan. “These aren’t the first coyotes to be found. Last month I found one beside the road up near Steve’s place. He’d been hit by a car and left for dead. I called William, who met me here, but there wasn’t anything I could do, his internal injuries were too great and he’d lost a lot of blood. He died on the operating table.”
“Why wasn’t I told about this?” Brogan looked to William.
“Because we still don’t know where he came from or who turned him. I didn’t want to start any unnecessary panic by informing the council,” William explained.
“I would have kept your confidence, William.” He turned back to Gordie. “Can you see if these two are connected to the other one?”
“Yes, I’ll do a DNA profile but I’ll tell you now I don’t expect to find any more than I did last time. I can pin down the genetic line but not the direct link.”
“You know what line?” Quinn asked.
“Yes.”
“Who?” Brogan spoke through gritted teeth.
“Connelly.” William said.
“What?” Brogan roared. “I’ll kill him.”
“That’s the exact reason I didn’t tell you before now. We have no proof that Marcus is involved and until we have hard evidence our hands are tied. You know the council will never exile him unless there are irrefutable facts linking him to any of his crimes.”
“Fuck!” Brogan paced, his frustration clear.
Rowan looked at Quinn, the tension thrumming in the room could be cut with one of Gordie’s scalpels. Seconds passed without a word. Gordie broke the silence by moving over to the second coyote. She snapped on a new set of gloves and got to work examining the animal. Rowan stood out of the way and watched as hair, organs and tissue samples were taken for testing. Not being squeamish around blood had its advantages.
Quinn and Brogan were talking in hushed tones with William on the other side of the room. She wanted to know what they were discussing but the body being dissected reminded her she’d killed. She’d hunted before but in coyote form, and only small vermin. Even though she’d had no choice, she should have shot to maim, not kill. The deaths of these two strangers would stay with her for life and though she had to come to terms with it, she refused to feel guilty for saving Quinn.
Gordie moved with precision and skill, and Rowan stared in awe at her childhood friend. The age difference had never worried either of them. They’d clicked on a deeper level than most teenage friends but the strain Gordie had been under after the accident made it hard to keep the friendship together. Rowan had cherished any time spent with her but had known things would be harder once Gordie left for college. The brief visits had been few and far between and even then she hadn’t gotten more than a glimpse of Gordie. Distance and time had eventually seen them drift apart.
Now, with them both back in Whispering Springs, they could reestablish their bond as mature adults. She couldn’t wait to hear all about Gordie’s time living among humans, not that she would have found it as hard as Rowan had at first. Gordie had the advantage of being born hum
an, Rowan only had the stories her friend told her to go on when she’d left town. Without those, she was sure someone would have found out what she really was. She wanted to tell Gordie all about El and Australia. The places she’d been and people she’d met. After the meeting with the council she would invite Gordie over for dinner.
“It’ll take a while for the results but as soon as I know something I’ll ring you.”
Gordie’s words snapped Rowan out of her thoughts. The men had moved to stand around the table and were listening to Gordie talk about similarities between these coyotes and the one from last month. If someone was turning humans and leaving them to fend for themselves they had bigger problems than rocks through windows and cut brake lines. Those misdeeds could hurt someone but turning humans and abandoning them could hurt the entire pack.
“This is worse than rocks through windows and cut brake lines, isn’t it?” Rowan couldn’t help voice her concern.
Quinn walked over and cradled her jaw in his hand. “If this isn’t an isolated case we definitely have a bigger problem. But we’ll find out who’s responsible and stop them. I promise.” He bent down and brushed his lips across hers. “For now, it’s time to go meet with the council.”
Rowan noticed William had left and Brogan waited at the door for her and Quinn. “Will you still be here after I’ve met with the council, Gordie?”
“I’m here until five. Come back after your meeting and have coffee with me. I don’t have anyone booked but I can’t guarantee I won’t get a walk in.”
Rowan smiled. “That would be great. See you in a while.” She led the way outside, the heavy silence behind her spoke of how serious their troubles were.
Quinn admired the way Rowan worked the room. She had each of the council members eating out of the palm of her hand and didn’t even know it. With concise explanations, she told them why she’d left and stayed away for so long. Her honesty and lack of hesitation in answering any question they threw at her won their respect and convinced them she only did what was right for her safety.
There were still a couple of the older men who refused to believe Marcus would do such a thing but they accepted her recount of the events and overlooked his involvement. If Quinn didn’t know better he’d say Marcus was a cat shifter, the bastard certainly had nine lives. He continued to get away with every horrible thing he did. Unless they caught him red-handed there was little hope of the council voting to exile him from the pack.
He and Brogan sat quietly while Rowan and the council talked. Once they accepted her return, William opened the meeting to discuss the recent events and the turned strays that had shown up. The meeting went from calm to chaotic in seconds. Everyone had their own opinion of who could be responsible and no one could agree on how to handle the dilemma. With things going nowhere fast, William told each person in the room to go home and think seriously about what would be the best way to deal with the problem.
Quinn, Brogan and Rowan waited as the council members filed out. William remained seated and Quinn suddenly realized how old he was. Their coyote genes allowed them to live longer than non shifters but they still aged. William had to be around one hundred. He didn’t look older than fifty by human standards, but the last few years of instability had taken their toll on a number of the elder pack members. He knew Doc had put Vincent on bed rest the other month because of exhaustion and with their quick-healing genes it was a worry.
“Brogan, you need to find out who’s behind this and stop them.” William shoved his chair back and stood. “I don’t care how. I don’t want to know how, but you and Quinn need to eliminate the problem. Now.”
“Are you telling me to…” Brogan didn’t bother to continue. The look William gave him before leaving the room was enough.
“Did he just tell us to do whatever it takes?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Brogan looked as stunned as Quinn felt.
As sovereign and regal they were supposed to be beyond reproach. One step out of line and the council would remove them and vote in another coyote. He didn’t think William would set them up for a fall but they still weren’t sure where everyone’s loyalties lay and couldn’t risk putting themselves in the firing line. They would need to be careful and watch their backs to be sure they weren’t being set up to fail. Not that he really thought William would do that to them.
Rowan had remained quiet but he could tell by the look on her face she had something to say. “Out with it. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t think you should step out of line like William suggested. I know I don’t have any recent experience with the pack or the council but I’m telling you both now, crossing the line would destroy everything you’ve done in the last year.”
“I have no intention of crossing the line, Rowan. I’m concerned that William would even suggest it. Either he knows more than he’s saying or he’s afraid we’ll be exposed if humans continue to be turned,” Brogan said.
“So what do we do? We could ask Doc what she thinks. She’s been doing that genetic study of coyotes. She’s bound to have a theory.” Quinn slipped his arm around Rowan’s waist and led her out of the room.
“We can grab some coffee from the diner and head over there now. She’s expecting me anyway,” Rowan said.
They left the lodge and walked along the footpath. It was a quiet afternoon, the snowfall the night before kept most people at home but those who were out stared as they went past. Rowan grew tenser with every step and he tried to comfort her by tucking her tighter to his side.
“It’s okay. They’ll stop once word gets out but for now it’s a shock to see me.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll be fodder for the town gossip for a while yet.”
They reached the clinic just as it started to snow again. Light flurries fell from clouds that threatened a heavier fall. “Go in and sit with Doc while we go grab the coffee.” He steered Rowan toward the door.
“Okay, but I don’t think we should stay in town too long. Those clouds look ominous.”
He waited until she was safely inside out of the cold and snow. Steve McKenna called out to Brogan and Quinn left the two of them talking to duck across the road to the diner. He just stepped off the curb when an engine roared and tires squealed. A shout from behind came a second too late. He turned to jump clear but his boot slipped on a patch of ice and he couldn’t get enough grip to move quickly. The screech of tires and burning rubber filled the air and Quinn knew that only a miracle would save him from being hit.
The vehicle clipped his thigh and spun him around as it lifted him into the air. The weightless motion of flying rolled his stomach. He landed with a thud, the impact jarred every bone and rattled his head. Pain lanced his chest and shoulder. His vision blurred as his mind whirled. Shouts faded into the background as the agony rolled over him. One voice stood out among the others and he tried to hold onto it but his body couldn’t take anymore and he slipped into the blackness creeping in.
Chapter Eleven
Rowan and Gordie ran from the clinic at the first screech of tires. They burst through the door and onto the footpath in time to see Quinn be catapulted into the air as the old truck connected with his side.
“Quinn!”
Her stomach dropped to her toes and her heart lodged in her throat as she raced the short distance to his inert body. Ignoring the shouts of warning and squealing of tires, Rowan fell to her knees next to him. He was twisted in an awkward position but she didn’t dare risk moving him yet. She reached out and placed her fingers on his neck, his pulse beat steady beneath his skin. Eyes closed, he remained motionless.
“Rowan, get out of the way.” Brogan’s shout barely heard over the engine roar, rubber skidding on pavement and yelling.
She glanced over her shoulder for Gordie. The car speeding down the road chilled her blood and froze her limbs. Staring in horror, she watched it draw closer. The man behind the wheel stared back, an evil smile on his face as he aimed the vehicle straight at them. A huge black
SUV sped past her and headed for the truck. With a crunch of metal, the two cars collided in a bone rattling crash. Glass exploded and showered the road around them. Rowan ducked her head and covered Quinn’s face with her body.
Rowan’s ears rang. The creak and groan of metal coming to rest made a strange symphony with the tinkle of glass on concrete. Her hands stung like hundreds of pins were stabbed into the back of them. Carefully, she lowered them from around her head and brought them down to look at. Tiny slivers of glass peppered her skin and the arms of her jacket. So small they sparkled like fairy dust. Drops of blood began to form around some of the larger pieces.
Feet pounded across the ground, shoes crunched on debris as people began to move. Voices yelled for others to help and sirens could be heard coming closer. Mercifully the snow had stopped falling at some point but it wouldn’t be long before it started again. Brogan scrambled over to her side.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so. But Quinn hasn’t woken yet. Where’s Gordie?”
“Checking on the drivers.” He looked past her at the mangled wreckage. “Steve’s all right, he’s climbing out now but the other guy doesn’t look good. His head is at a weird angle.”
“Steve was driving?” Rowan cleared an area next to Quinn and sat.
“He used his truck to stop the other guy from mowing you both down.”
“Not soon enough for Quinn.”
“How is he?” Gordie crouched down and started to check for injuries.
“He hasn’t come to at all.” Rowan brushed some hair from his face.
“God, Rowan, let me see those hands.”
“They’re okay, a few scratches, some glass still imbedded but nothing life threatening. Tend to Quinn first.”
