Moonlight Medicine: Epidemic (The Moonlight Medicine Trilogy Book 2)

by Jen Haeger

  “That’s O.K. I can get them back…later.”

  Evelyn glanced at David and swallowed. She truthfully wasn’t sure if they would get the chance to see Kim before the next full moon. David noticed her glance and took the hint to discuss their next meeting.

  “You have both our cell phone and land line numbers. We should keep in touch in the next few weeks, so that we can have a plan in place for the next full moon.”

  Kim’s eyes took on a slightly glazed look as the conversation hinted towards her new Wolfkinism. “Right.”

  “And if you need anything, or have any questions, please call, anytime.”

  David rose with some difficulty and Evelyn followed his lead. Kim winced as she stood and led then to the front door. Before she opened it, she turned and looked at them.

  “I just want to thank you both again for saving my life, and for helping me with…everything else.”

  Kim hugged Evelyn and then David. Evelyn didn’t know what to say, but David spoke up.

  “You’re very welcome, Kim. And remember, if you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  Kim nodded, her eyes glistening.

  *

  “I don’t like leaving her alone like this,” David scowled as he drove.

  “I don’t either, but we can’t just move in with her to keep an eye on her. No, I think giving her some time to sort things out on her own is actually the best plan. She may benefit from a little distance.”

  As the familiar Tennessee-to-Michigan scenery passed by, Evelyn wasn’t sure if she really meant what she said about Kim, or if she was projecting from when she had first become a Wolfkin. Her stomach clenched as she imagined Kim having a breakdown of some kind or going to the police or something now that she was back in civilization, but it was true that they couldn’t keep her under lock and key. Evelyn did feel a lot of sympathy for the poor woman, but it also concerned her that Kim knew a whole lot about them, including the location of the lab, and they really didn’t know much of anything about her. Evelyn guessed that she and David would just have to cross their fingers and hope for the best, so she changed the subject to something else that was worrying her.

  “It’s weird that I haven’t heard back from our Council contact yet.”

  “Maybe he’s discussing everything with other Council members?”

  Evelyn tugged at her lower lip. “Maybe.”

  Their benefactor and contact from the Wolfkin Council normally answered Evelyn’s e-mails within hours of her sending them and she had actually resent the e-mail to make sure it had gone through. Evelyn sighed. The progress in the lab excited her, so it was frustrating to be heading back to Michigan. At least we don’t have to worry about Kim for a little while, she thought. Kim was an additional complication that Evelyn hadn’t been expecting and really didn’t need to deal with right now.

  *

  When they finally reached Evelyn’s apartment it was after ten and Evelyn had David come up with her while she checked her messages. There was one message from Caroline that had been left on Thursday morning, and Evelyn put it on speakerphone so that both she and David could hear it together.

  “Evelyn. We have found Clem. We should talk. Call me as soon as possible.”

  Evelyn looked at David and her lip quivered ever so slightly. Caroline had not said that Clem was alright or if he was even alive. David looked grim, but motioned to the phone.

  “Call her.”

  Evelyn dialed Caroline’s number. It took several rings for her to pick up and before Caroline even said hello, Evelyn began talking.

  “Where is he? Is he O.K.? What happened?” she demanded.

  “Evelyn, calm yourself, Clem…will be fine. I cannot discuss things now. I can see you tomorrow afternoon at the casino. Can you be there by four?” Caroline said sleepily.

  “Yes, but-“

  “Fine.” Caroline hung up on her.

  Evelyn nearly threw her cell phone. That bitch!

  “What’d she say?”

  Evelyn unclenched her gritted teeth and sighed. “She hardly said anything, but they found Clem. I don’t know if he’s hurt or what, but she said that he’ll be fine, whatever that means.”

  “Well, at least we know that he’s safe now.”

  “Yeah, I guess, but…what happened to him?”

  “Are we meeting with Caroline tomorrow?”

  Evelyn bobbed her head wearily.

  “I guess we’ll find out then.”

  28

  Evelyn barely slept that night and work was excruciating. She tried to be friendly and act normal, but all she really wanted to do was go talk to Caroline. Her records were terse and sloppy, but Evelyn, for once, didn’t care. She rushed home to change and meet David and they sped north to the casino. Evelyn fell asleep from pure exhaustion in the car, but felt wide awake as they strode into the casino. Caroline was waiting for them in the lobby. She looked awful and the dark circles under her eyes attested to a lack of sleep. As David and Evelyn approached, Caroline held up her hand before Evelyn could speak.

  “Not here,” she said sternly.

  They followed her towards Marcus’s office, only when they arrived it was Zachary and not Marcus who sat at the desk. Evelyn eyed Caroline who would not meet her gaze.

  “Where’s Marcus?”

  Caroline didn’t answer, but instead said, “David, Evelyn, I think that you have previously met Zachary. He is the new Alpha of the Wahya pack.”

  David’s jaw dropped open.

  Evelyn was afraid to ask, but she had to know.

  “What happened to Marcus?”

  Zachary spoke to them for the first time. “Please sit down.”

  Evelyn got a sick feeling in her stomach, but she sat, as did David.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Marcus Sundance Shaw was killed Wednesday night in our attempt to rescue Clem,” said Zachary slowly.

  Evelyn was stunned. For a moment she couldn’t speak. She and Marcus had never been close, but he had been at least rational and had supported them and saved their lives, more than once. She couldn’t believe he was gone.

  “What?” David exclaimed gruffly. “How?”

  “There was an explosion,” Zachary began.

  “I don’t understand,” interrupted Evelyn finding her voice. “Rescue Clem from whom?”

  Zachary motioned to Caroline and she came and stood next to him at the desk.

  “From werewolf hunters. They used Clem as bait to try to trap us. Several of the rescue party members were injured and Marcus and another member were killed,” explained Caroline.

  “But Clem is O.K.?” asked David.

  “Where is he?” added Evelyn.

  “Clem was very seriously injured, but we expect him to recover. He is currently convalescing at his sister’s home in Sault Ste Marie,” said Caroline flatly.

  “Werewolf hunters?” David repeated. “Those actually exist?”

  Caroline shrugged. “We have come across them in the past, but most are very confused individuals and few are serious. These men were very serious, but they suffered heavy casualties and I do not believe that they will bother us again for a long while. Nevertheless, I wanted to let you know that you should be especially careful until we are sure that they won’t return.”

  Evelyn was still in shock. “Return?”

  “Yes, we have reason to believe that they were not from this country.”

  “And what country do you believe them to be from?” said Evelyn.

  Caroline gave a sidelong glance at Zachary. “We think that they were possibly from Russia.”

  Evelyn’s expression darkened. “Russian werewolf hunters in the States? Hmmm…I wonder what would have brought them over here?”

  Zachary intervened. “Now, we have no proof that they were from Russia or that anything at all brought them over here. Your antagonism of the Vulke is well known and we cannot go accusing anyone of anything without proof. So let us worry about these peo
ple. We just wanted to let you know, so that you were careful.” He leaned back in his chair.

  Caroline piped up again. “There have also been some other incidents that you should know about if you don’t already. There have been more deaths reported due to animal attacks this past lunar cycle. They are coming out of multiple states and Canada as well. We suspect there may be more strays out there, but just don’t have the resources right now to fight werewolf hunters and investigate every possible stray, but we are doing our best. If you see any strays please report them to us immediately so that we can take action.”

  Evelyn gave David a warning look and said, “What will you do with them? What does the Council say about all of these strays?”

  “The Council has not commented to our knowledge, and we haven’t been able to reach any members recently. It seems there was an incident at the manor house, but no one knows if any current Council members were present at the time.”

  Caroline did not sound overly concerned, but Evelyn couldn’t believe what Caroline was telling her.

  “What kind of incident?”

  “We aren’t sure. The reports from overseas are sketchy at best. It may have just been a temporary breakdown in communications.”

  “And the strays?” Evelyn said, her mouth going dry.

  “We will try to recruit them when we can, but it is risky when they don’t know what is happening to them and when they did not choose to be Wolfkin. Some individuals just cannot handle it. We may have to put some down if they are irrational or dangerous.” Evelyn was going to speak, but then Caroline cleared her throat and continued. “For now, our most important task is the settling and strengthening of the Wahya pack. Zachary has offered to take up the mantel of Alpha, I will remain Beta, and Clem will be the new Gamma once he is recovered. We will let you know if there is anything more that you can do to help, and I’m sure that Clem will be in contact with you when he is able.”

  Evelyn was flabbergasted. “Wait, there are suddenly all of these strays running around, Russian werewolf hunters kidnapping and killing Wahya members, the Council is mysteriously unavailable for comment, and you feel that the most important task is to get everyone comfortable with the new Wahya pecking order?!” she shouted, jumping to her feet. “People are dying out there! Something big and terrible is going on! What are we going to do about it? We have to figure out what’s happening!”

  Caroline took a step forward. “Yes, Evelyn, people are dying. Marcus is dead. The Wahya pack has suffered a terrible loss. Our resources are stretched thin, and now is not the time to get hysterical and go charging off on some sort of rampage against some imagined conspiracy. We will hear from the Council, we will find out why there are so many strays and how to best handle them, but it will take time and rational thinking. Go home, get control of yourself, and I will let you know if you can be helpful,” she said coldly.

  Evelyn was mad enough to spit, but David rose and took her arm.

  “We’ve all had a long couple of weeks, Evie. Why don’t we go home and you can call Karen to see how Clem’s doing. Maybe we can visit him in a couple of days. Caroline is right, getting upset isn’t going to help anybody right now.”

  Evelyn stood her ground momentarily, staring at first Zachary then Caroline before she let David lead her from Marcus’s former office. She clenched her teeth and tore her arm away from David once they had entered the main casino area. She increased her pace and walked out ahead of him, not wanting to even look at him. Reaching the car well before him, she had to wait to get in because he had the keys. David eventually arrived at the car and unlocked the door for her. They both got inside and David turned to Evelyn who was staring out the window in anger.

  “You think the Vulke are behind it all,” he said carefully.

  Evelyn wanted to scream at him that of course the Vulke were behind it all, but forced herself to remain silent. She nodded without looking at him.

  “I think you may be right, but you know Caroline. She won’t listen unless we have proof…and I get the feeling Zachary doesn’t like us very much, so I don’t think it will help to appeal to him.”

  Evelyn didn’t speak so David put the car in gear and headed back out to Lansing.

  After a time she finally answered him. “But we don’t even really know what’s going on, how can we get proof when we don’t know what we are trying to get proof of?”

  David appeared lost in thought for a while. A light rain began to fall and he switched on the windshield wipers.

  “Well, how could the Vulke be responsible for the strays?”

  Evelyn chewed on her bottom lip and turned her head back to the window thinking.

  “Well, I guess if one of the Vulke was the original mutant or they found the original person with the mutation, they could have come over here and started infecting people directly or maybe contaminated something to start infecting people all over the world…but it just isn’t very likely that they would’ve realized that there had been a mutation to take advantage of it.”

  David had nothing to say to that, and they drove on in silence. Evelyn closed her eyes and tried to think rationally as the exasperation from their meeting with Caroline faded. She sat in quiet thought listening to the muffled rumble of the car’s engine. Twenty minutes later, Evelyn opened her eyes and turned to David.

  “I should call Karen.”

  David nodded and Evelyn pulled out her cell phone and pulled up Karen’s number from the directory. Her finger poised over the ‘call’ button, Evelyn hesitated. She wanted to know how Clem was doing and extend her support, but she was also afraid of what Karen might say. She touched the screen and it displayed the word ‘calling’. Four rings later, Karen answered.

  “Hello?”

  The poor woman sounded exhausted.

  “Karen, it’s Evie. How is he?”

  “Oh, Evie-“

  Evelyn’s face contorted in empathy as she heard the other woman’s voice catch in a stifled sob.

  “-They were so cruel. He…they promised me that he’d heal completely over time, but…I don’t know if he’ll ever be the same again.”

  Even though Karen couldn’t see her, Evelyn put on a brave face. “Clem’s strong, he’ll get through this, and so will you.”

  “Thanks Evie.”

  “Can I…is he able to…”

  Karen sniffled. “He can’t speak yet. I know he’d like to hear your voice, but he’s resting now and I don’t want to disturb him.”

  “That’s O.K., he needs his rest. Maybe in a few days?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll call you when…when he’s ready.”

  “And I’m coming to see him as soon as you say it’s O.K.”

  Karen let out a breath. “I’ll tell him.”

  Evelyn then heard a toddler, little Hank she presumed, crying in the background. It was time to let Karen go tend to her son.

  “Thanks Karen. Take care.”

  “You too Evie.”

  “Bye.”

  “Bye now.”

  Evelyn hung up the phone and mulled the facts over in her mind. She started from the very first event that had been unusual. It had been a stray or some other foreign Wolfkin showing up unexpectedly in the Tennessee woods near the lab. But then she stopped herself and considered more carefully. That had been the first unusual event that she and David had noticed, but maybe there had been unusual events going on that they were not aware of prior to that. She would have to hit the internet when they got back to see if she could find evidence of any other strange events. Until she knew otherwise, the first event had been running into the werewolf in Tennessee, the next had been the Wahya pack finding Katie, followed closely by Clem being abducted by werewolf hunters, Russian werewolf hunters. Evelyn had to assume that a group of Russian werewolf hunters wouldn’t randomly come over to the United States, so therefore they must have followed some Vulke overseas. There was definitely a correlation there between a presumed group of Vulke coming over and a sudden influx of
strays.

  Evelyn rubbed her temples. Even if the Vulke had discovered an individual with a mutated virus that made the virus easier to spread, what good would it do them exactly? It was certainly stretching the resources of the Wahya pack and taking up a lot of their time, and Evelyn had no reason to believe that it was any different with any of the other packs who were suddenly finding strays in their territories. The strays worked as a fine distraction, but a distraction from what? Well, it might be drawing attention away from events like the “incident” at the Council manor, but I don’t think that’s all there is to it. She was also still stuck on the part about there just happening to be a mutant Wolfkin that the Vulke just happened to come across.

  *

  They arrived back at Evelyn’s apartment and David got out of the car with her and scanned the parking lot before following her inside. He was getting more and more nervous at the prospect of the Vulke being active in the U.S. The last time they were active here, they had almost succeeded in murdering Evelyn. He locked the door behind them and followed Evelyn into the apartment.

  “What’s our next move?”

  Evelyn kicked off her shoes and headed over to where her laptop sat on the kitchen table. She flipped it open as she pulled out a chair.

  “I want to do some web surfing to see if I can find any possible odd occurrences that happened prior to our run in with that first stray in Tennessee.” Evelyn paused, brow furrowed. “Do you think that was Kim?”

  David came over next to her and shrugged. “It could have been. Actually, I really hope it was, otherwise there’s another stray running loose in Tennessee.”

  Evelyn looked up at him. “Or a Vulke.”

  David didn’t want to start down that road of discussion again, so instead he pulled one of the chairs around so that he could see the laptop screen too.

  “What do you think you’re going to find?” he asked gesturing to the screen.

  “I don’t know, but we’ve been assuming that strange things have been happening only since we’ve noticed them, when they could’ve been going on a lot longer than that.”