When she didn’t elaborate, Anya asked, “Which medical center?”
“Rush will be here soon.” She said with a smile.
Anya realized that neither of them had a Scottish accent. Everyone she has met since being in the Highlands has had at least a slight accent. So why didn’t they have one?
“Are you comfortable?” Candi asked her. “Do you need anything?”
“Could I have some water please?” Anya didn’t know when she last had a drink, it was a miracle she was even able to speak, her throat and mouth were that dry.
Candi left the room, returning a moment later with a glass of water. She walked straight over to the bed and passed the glass to Anya.
“Thank you.” Anya took a couple of small sips, letting the water sit in her mouth before swallowing.
When she was finished, Candi took the glass and placed it on one of the empty shelves.
A man with short black hair and obsidian eyes followed Candi into the room and stood to one side. He was dressed in black trousers and a white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone.
“Hello, Anya. My name is Rush.” The man came in the room with Candi before moving towards the bed with his hand out to introduce himself. “You've already met Candi and Connor.”
So that's what his name is. Anya thought to herself as she looked over at him.
“Hi.” She said as she shook his offered hand. “Yes, I have.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He said with a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Can you tell me where I am?” She asked.
“For the time being, all I can tell you is that you are in medical.”
“Why can’t you tell me more?”
“To be honest, I am not prepared to disclose our location to someone we don’t know. We don’t know who you are or if you can be trusted with that information. Until we can be sure of your intentions here, it will stay that way.”
“The same could be said for you. I don’t know any of you either, yet you are basically asking me to trust you. Trust goes both ways. If you’re not willing to trust me, then why should I trust you? As far as I know you could be a bunch of murders and rapist.” She stated.
“Yes, I understand that, but you are only one person. I have to think about all the people I am protecting by not telling you. There are a lot of families here that I have to take into consideration. I am not doing this to be malicious. I am doing it to make certain that the people who rely on me to keep them safe, stay that way.”
“Well, can I at least use a phone to let my friend know that I’m okay?” Sasha must be out of her mind with worry when Anya didn’t return to the hotel last night, or this morning.
“I’m sorry, but there are no phones here.”
Of course, there weren’t. It was beginning to feel like she was being held prisoner, and she didn’t like it one bit.
“If you don’t mind, I have a couple of questions for you.”
Well, it wasn’t like she was going anywhere any time soon, so why they hell not have question time instead. “Shoot. What do you want to know?” If it meant that she could go home, or back to the hotel as the case may be, then she would answer as many questions as it took.
“How did you find your way into the cave where you were found?”
“I was hiking when I got caught out in the rain. I fell down a steep slope and when I reached the bottom I came across the cave entrance. I decided it was safer to take shelter there than to risk falling again.”
“Why didn’t you stay by the entrance?”
How did he know that she hadn’t stayed by the entrance? After all, that’s where they would have found her. Yes, technically it was a different entrance than the one she first used, but how did they know that?
Anya decided honesty was the best policy, so she told them the truth.
“I didn’t know how long I was going to be there, I had plenty of food to last me until today if I rationed but only a small amount of water, so I went in search for an underground stream or something.”
“Do you have a habit of carrying a weeks’ worth of food and only a days’ worth of water when you go on hikes?” the man sitting in the corner asked.
“What? No, I had enough food and water to last the day. I didn’t eat all of the packed lunch I got from the hotel, plus I had some energy bars as well that could last until I got back. Why would I carry a weeks’ worth of food for a day trip?”
“Well then, you didn’t have enough food to last until today.”
“Why?” she asked him.
“Because you’ve been here for five days.”
“What?”
If he was telling the truth, then it meant she’s been missing for nearly a week, and that was only if they found her the next morning. She could have been in the cave for longer than one night. She hoped Sasha wasn’t too worried about her, even though she knew she would be. Anya wondered if Sasha was still out looking for her, she couldn’t imagine Sasha returning to London without her.
Anya looked around the room at everyone. From the expression of pity on their faces she knew he was telling the truth.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Finding out that you’ve lost nearly a week must be hard. Connor couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The look on her face said it all.
“Please tell me you’re joking.” She said.
“I’m sorry, I wish I could.” Connor had barely left the room since she arrived, wanting to be there when she woke up so that she wasn’t alone in a strange place. If it hadn’t been him, then someone else would have sat with her. It wasn’t just so she wasn’t alone, but to also insure that she didn’t leave the room. They didn’t need her wondering around unattended.
There were plenty of other people that could have stayed with her instead, some had even come by to take over from him, but he didn’t want to leave her in anyone else’s care. Not that anyone here would cause her any harm.
He didn’t know what it was about her, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her for too long. A quick shower here and there, meals brought to him, and the odd trip outside for fresh air was what the last five days had consisted of for him. What little sleep he managed to get while sitting in this god-awful chair, was intermittent at best.
The only saving grace was the dream had finally changed. Now, instead of being in one of the hell realms, he was in the human realm. She was still in danger, but she wasn’t being ripped apart anymore.
He couldn’t pinpoint where the danger was coming from, but it was there, hovering in the background. At least he could see her clearly now, not that it would have made any difference. He still knew it was her.
“I have to go.” She said suddenly and started to get up.
“Whoa, hold on a sec.” Candi said as she rushed over to stop her.
“I can’t. My friend, she’s probably going out of her mind with worry. We should have been back home by now.”
“I’m sorry, Anya, but I can’t let you leave yet.” Rush told her.
“Why the fuck not!” she snapped.
“For one thing, you are in no fit state to be traveling that far.”
“Where have you taken me?” she asked. “Because I wasn’t that far from the hotel, all I had to do was walk down the bloody mountain.”
When none of them replied, she shook her head and said, “Just call me a taxi or something then, and I’ll make my own way back.”
“It’s not as easy as that.”
“Why not? Don’t tell me, you don’t have taxi’s here either.” She said sarcastically.
Connor could see she was slowly becoming more and more pissed off, and he didn’t blame her.
First, no one would tell her where she was. Then it was the matter of not having a phone, but they couldn’t exactly tell her why they didn’t have phones without letting on that she was in a different realm. The same thing with the taxi, they couldn’t tell her it was impossible to get a taxi to the human realm, not without fi
rst explaining where she was.
“That’s correct. The only way to get back to where you’re from is to go back the way you came, which means going through the cave again, and you are not up to that at the moment.”
“Fine.”
Connor understood her frustration, and sympathized with the situation she was in, but things like phones were irrelevant here since they could communicate telepathically, and it’s not that they didn’t have cars, they just didn’t have taxi’s. Most of the time they preferred to travel by foot anyway, whether that was in their animal or human form it didn’t matter. Even if they did have taxi’s, she still wouldn’t be able to get one to take her where she wanted to go.
The only way to leave this realm was to either have the ability to teleport, or to walk through one of the portals leading to the other realms, most of which were not easily traversed.
“Well, point me in the direction of the cave and I’ll find my own way.” She said.
He could see the determination in her. If they let her, she would be gone within minutes. But Rush was right, she wouldn’t make it very far in the state she was in, she could barely sit up on her own. And not only that, they needed to find the cause of these dreams.
“As I said before, you are not in any condition to make the journey. You have three cracked and one broken rib, which is why you are struggling to move. You also have a nasty bump on your head that could have caused a concussion. You have been out cold for days, so we would like you to rest and recover before going anywhere. When we are sure you are well enough to make the journey without any problems, then we will gladly take you home. But until then, it is in your best interest to stay here.” Rush said..
“So, what, I’ve got to stay in this room until then?”
“No, I will arrange suitable accommodation for you to stay in until you have recovered enough.” Rush assured her.
Connor could see that she was itching to argue about it, but she just said, “Fine.” And climbed back on the bed with the help of Candi.
“Connor, do you mind if I have a word?” Rush asked.
Connor nodded, and followed him out into the hallway.
Rush didn’t speak until the door was closed and he was sure Anya couldn’t overhear them. Not that they needed to bother leaving the room for her not to hear their conversation, as all shifters shared a telepathic link.
“I want her to stay with you.”
“What?” That was the last thing Connor thought Rush was going to say. “Don’t you think it would be better if she stayed with one of the female hunters? I could ask Myra if she wouldn’t mind having a visitor for a few days.”
“No. For some reason you are the one being plagued with dreams of her. I think if we are going to find out why, then it’ll be easier if she is with you. Get close to her, find out as much as you can about her, then we’ll figure out where to go from there. You never know, she might know why you’re dreaming of her, or she might have some insight as to what the danger is towards her.”
Connor didn’t want to get to know her, he was concerned about getting too close to her and not being able to let her go when the time came. The sooner they found out what was threatening her, the sooner they could deal with the problem and everything could go back to normal.
“You have a guest room in your house, don’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“Well, that’s settled then. She can stay with you, at least until we can get to the bottom of the dreams you’re having. Then when she capable of making the journey, she can go back to where she belongs.”
It still didn’t seem like a very good idea for her to stay with him. Connor held back from telling Rush about the attraction he felt towards her, because nothing good could come of him revealing how much he was affected by her mere presence.
There was something about her that drew him in, demanded his attention, and he didn’t like it one bit. He was concerned that if he did get to know her better, the attraction he felt for her would intensify to the point of no return. Since she wasn’t a wolf shifter, there could never be anything between them.
Even if he did agree with Rush’s logic, it didn’t make it any easier. It was going to be pure torture having her so close. Hopefully she will make a swift recovery, and they could get to the cause of the dreams quickly, then she could return to the human realm
“Okay.” He gave in.
At the end of the day, there was no point in refusing his Alpha. That would cause more trouble than it was worth. He was going to have his hands full enough, apparently.
“Good, that’s settled then. I’ll let you break the good news to her.” Rush said with a smirk.
“Thanks.” His Alpha could be a right pain in the arse at times.
“Good luck.” Rush said as a parting gift.
He definitely needed luck on his side. There was no doubt in his mind that she wasn’t going to be happy about staying at his place. It would have been easier if she could stay with one of the females, but if it meant he could get his life - and sleep - back sooner then he would just have to put up with her.
There was no point hanging around in the hallway by himself, he was only delaying the inevitable, so he returned to the room to break the news.
The room went silent as he entered and both females turned expectantly to him. Even with the door shut Candi would have been able to hear the conversation between himself and Rush, so she already knew that Anya was going to be staying at his house. From the looks of it she hasn’t told Anya, but she definitely found it amusing.
“Everything okay?” Candi asked, sweetly.
“Yeah.” He wasn’t sure how to delicately approach the subject of Anya staying with him, so he blurted it out. “You’re going to be staying at my house.”
The look on Anya’s face would have been comical if it hadn’t involved him, but as it was he didn’t find any of this funny. Candi however, was trying her damnedest not to burst out laughing. Luckily enough though, Anya couldn’t see Candi’s face at that moment.
“You can’t be serious.” Anya said incredulously.
“Afraid so.”
“Great.” She said, dragging the word out as she slumped back against the pillows and looked towards the ceiling.
“It’s not so bad, Anya. Connor will look after you. He has a lovely house and lives alone, so you’ll have plenty of peace and quiet to rest. Before you know it, you’ll be going home.” Candi assured her when she had finally composed herself enough to turn back around.
Anya didn’t look convinced, and he couldn’t blame her because he wasn’t either, but she didn’t argue or refuse.
“So, when are we going to your house?” She asked looking back at him.
“As soon as you’re ready we can leave. I don’t live that far away, so you should be able to walk there fine.”
“Just let me get dressed and then we can go.” Anya looked around for the clothes she had been wearing.
“They’ve been washed for you. When you arrived, you were covered in muck.” He told her.
“You’re not going anywhere until you’ve at least eaten something.” Candi said sternly.
“You haven’t eaten in days. I know it’s not too far to Connor’s house, but you still need something in you first.”
Anya’s stomach growled so loudly that Connor wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in the building heard it.
“Food sounds good.” Anya agreed. “A shower would be nice as well.”
Connor could stop the images flooding his brain of her in the shower. The water caressing her skin as it slid down her body, just like he wanted to do. He could picture her standing there ready and waiting for him to join her.
He knew exactly what she looked like under those blankets and night shirt, which didn’t help one bit. He wasn’t going to mention that he had been present for most of her bed baths, even helped when an extra pair of hands were needed. Connor didn’t think she would appreciate that bit of information, so
he kept silent. Luckily, Candi didn’t mention anything either.
He mentally slapped himself to clear his mind before his body gave away what he was imagining. She definitely wouldn’t want to stay with him if she could see some of the things he wanted to do to her.
“That can be arranged.” Candi said, snapping his attention back out the gutter. “Would you rather have one here before you leave, or do you want to wait until you get to Connor’s?”
“I think sooner would be better.” Anya said as she pulled a face.
“There’s a shower room across the hall. I’ll get you some towels and you can wash while I get you something to eat.”
“Sounds good to me.” Anya said as she started to get up again.
“I’ll be in reception.” He said before turning and leaving.
He didn’t need to be on the other side of the door listening to her shower, especially when he could already imagine it. So, it was best he moved further away and pulled himself back together before he had to deal with her in his house.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Even though Connor and Candi assured her that it wasn’t too far to Connor’s house, it still wasn’t close enough for Anya. She was trying not to show how much pain she was in, but it was becoming increasingly harder with each step she took.
Just taking a shower had zapped all the energy out of her. She didn’t think it was possible to be so tired this soon after the amount of sleep she’d had, but between the shower and the walk, she was exhausted and looking forward to going back to bed already.
Now she appreciated Connor’s offer of giving her a place to stay for a few days until she was better. She wouldn’t admit it to him, partly because she didn’t know him, but Rush had been right. She wouldn’t have made it very far through the cave, let alone back down the mountain on the other side as well.
It didn’t help that she had no idea how far away she was from the entrance on this side. She could be a lot further away for all she knew. It would help if she knew where she was to begin with, but since no one was prepared to tell her, she was going to have to wait until they were ready to show her the way back. After all, she didn’t want to get lost in a strange place.
Connor's New Wolf Page 7
