by Mary Abshire
“Will I change into…” She swallowed. “One of them?” The throb in her head grew stronger.
The old man rose.
“No, it doesn’t work like that,” Marcel said. “Werewolves and shifters are born that way. They can’t bite someone or share their blood to change them.”
A trickle of relief eased her concern, but not the ache in her head.
“Thank God. No offense, but I like being human,” she said.
Marcel grinned. “No offense, but I kind of like you the way you are, too.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyelids, hoping the pain in her head and leg would lessen.
“How do you feel?” the older man asked. He sounded as if he were approaching.
“My head and leg are ready to explode.” She opened her eyes.
“I can give you something for the pain and to help you relax,” he said stopping near the bedpost.
“No, I need to get up. I’ve rested enough.” She braced her hands on the bed and pushed the top half of her body up.
Marcel bent closer and gently ushered her back with his hands on her shoulders again. “You need to stay in bed and rest.”
“I already have. How long was I out?”
“A couple of hours, which means your body needs more time to recover,” Marcel said, still hovering above her.
“I was out a couple of hours?” She turned to the windows. The open curtains with sheers in front of the windows showed darkness outside.
“It’s still early. The sun hasn’t risen yet,” Marcel said as he straightened.
If it was in the morning, then she had enough time to get things done. She had a wedding she had to get to in a few days. First, her car needed fixing. Actually, that was second. First item was to get her car out of the ditch and towed to Marcel’s home. If he couldn’t repair it, she needed to find a quick way to Montreal. Then she needed to find a red dress. On top of all that, she needed to share with Marcel the information she’d discovered in the library. But before that, she needed to clean up the room and locate the book where she’d found the information. The naked man had tossed books off the table and shelves, leaving the room in a complete mess. With so much to do, she needed to get up and get to work. Oh, and she had to contact Connie to update her.
Lynn sighed heavily. “I have to get up. I have things I need to do.”
“Tell me what you need to do and I’ll take care of it,” Marcel said.
“My car…”
“I’m going to take care of it.”
“Is it here?”
“Not yet. I’m working on it.”
She slid her legs off the bed. “The library, it’s a mess from—”
Marcel quickly caught her knees and then lifted them back to the bed. “I’ll clean it up. Don’t worry about it.”
“But I found something in a book. I need to find it and show you.” She groaned.
“You can show me later.” He tucked her left leg under the covers.
She sat up. “I found bloodlines from dragons who came here…” The pain in her head magnified, clouding her thoughts. Her ears rang and teeth ached. Holding a hand to the side of her face, she laid back on the bed.
“You need to rest. Everything else can wait,” Marcel said.
The old man stopped next to Marcel and whispered something into his ear. Marcel nodded, and then the man walked away.
Marcel took hold of her hand. “Please don’t make me tie you to the bedposts. I’ll do it if I have to.”
She grinned. “If only I didn’t feel like crap…”
He bent over her and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’ll take care of everything, including you.”
Lynn believed him. He was a godsend. Although she’d known him for a short time, she felt connected to him. Leaving would not be easy.
The older man appeared beside Marcel again. He held something in his hand. Marcel looked at him, and then stepped aside. When the older man moved closer, she saw the syringe.
“What is that for?” she asked.
“To help you rest,” the old man said as he placed his cool hand on her arm.
“Don’t, please—“
He jabbed the needle into her skin.
The throb in her head pounded. If it would go away, she could probably hobble around and take care of the things she needed to work on. Twenty to thirty minutes of rest would probably take care of her headache.
The old man removed the needle, and then walked away.
Marcel returned to her side. He ran his warm fingers from her forehead to her chin. “Get some sleep. You need it to get better.”
“I need to call Connie and update her—“
“I’ll call her,” Marcel said.
Her thoughts began to cloud and her eyelids became heavy. She didn’t want to sleep when she had so much to do.
“Stay with me?” she asked.
He took hold of her hand. “I’m not leaving you.”
She fought the pull to drift off, but she was losing. On the bright side, the hammer in her head had weakened.
“Thank you,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open. “For saving me. Again.”
He bent closer to her. “I’ll always protect you.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Sleep. I’ll be here.”
His words soothed her soul. The fact she hadn’t known him long didn’t matter. He spoke and acted from his heart. With him, she knew she’d always be safe and cared for.
She closed her eyelids. Unable to stay awake, she floated away in a state of peace.
Chapter Sixteen
Pages from books lay scattered on the floor near the shelves. Marcel picked up the books first. He stacked them on the shelves. He’d cleaned the area around the rectangular table first before tackling the mess near the wall. The werewolf leader had truly put the room in a state of disarray.
After he set a big pile of books on one of the shelves he inhaled a deep breath. Lynn had said she tried to stall the leader. She’d gone so far as to bargain with him by offering to be a girlfriend. Although her tactics were smart, she’d put her life in great danger. What if he hadn’t been able to arrive in time to save her?
He shook his head. He didn’t want to think such grim thoughts. Lynn was a survivor and she did what she could to delay the leader. She would’ve fought him to the end. Of that, Marcel had no doubt.
Squatting, he gathered loose pages from the floor. He had no idea which books they needed to go with. He’d have to spend time later trying to put them with the right book. For now, he set them on the shelf below the stacked books.
A yawn escaped him as he turned to gather more papers scattered about. Gazing out the windows, he saw the clouds were breaking up to reveal the blue sky. Sunlight shined into the room. Soon, he’d have to take a break to check on his sleeping beauty. With help from the shot the doctor had given her, she’d been sleeping for several hours. Marcel had no idea when the drugs would wear off, but he expected she could wake soon.
The images of Lynn bleeding on his countertop in the kitchen returned. He’d taken her there to tend to her injury until the doctor arrived. She’d lost so much blood that he’d feared an artery had been torn. He’d felt so scared he’d lose her. Fortunately, the doctor had arrived quickly and examined her wound. He told Marcel it had looked clean, but only an x-ray would show if the bone had been nicked. He’d stitched her up and checked her other injury on the side of her abdomen. Amazingly, it seemed to be healing quickly. Even the scratches had faded. Marcel hoped her leg would heal just as fast.
A knock from the front door drew Marcel from his thoughts. He stepped around the remaining books and papers on the floor to head for the open doors. One of them hung at angle. The hole in the wood frame at the top had been ripped open, proof she’d locked the doors and the leader had broken into the room. He hated to think about how terrified she must have been.
Barefoot, Marcel strode through the house.
“Hello?” Shepherd called ou
t.
“I’m coming,” Marcel said as he reached the hall.
“Did you know your doorframe’s busted?”
Marcel found Shepherd standing near the door, studying the area of the frame where the locks would slide into place. The young man wore khaki shorts and a white t-shirt.
“Yeah, I’ll have to fix it,” Marcel said as he came to stand near him.
“What happened?”
“Remember how I told you earlier about the feral werewolves that had forced Lynn off the road?”
“Yeah.”
“They showed up here looking for her last night. And thanks for giving me the doctor’s telephone number. I hated to wake you at such a late hour, but it was an emergency.”
“Yeah, no problem. So what happened?” His tone revealed his curiosity.
“I wasn’t here when the werewolves arrived. I was out with Demetri trying to get her car towed back. Fortunately, she was able to send me a message. The leader broke into the house to get to her. I arrived as he was dragging her outside.”
Shepherd’s eyes grew big. “Is she okay?”
Marcel nodded. “One of them bit her leg. She lost a lot of blood, but it appears that’s it. She’s upstairs resting.”
Shepherd ran a hand through his short hair. “Oh man, that’s terrible, but I’m glad to hear she’ll be okay. What happened to the werewolves?”
Marcel grinned. “One became a snack. Three are now ashes in my back yard. The leader’s carcass is near the woods.”
“Oh, wow. Did you get all of them, then?”
“Yeah, that was all. I counted five the night I saved Lynn the first time.”
Shepherd narrowed his gaze at him. “How did they find her here?”
“There are only two dragons living on the reserve. The other one lives pretty far from here. They probably guessed she was staying with me.”
“Wow.”
Marcel crossed his arms. “Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of nights for her. I don’t want to leave her alone.”
“I totally understand.”
“That’s why I called to see if you wouldn’t mind going to get her car and tow it back. I can pay you.”
“Oh yeah, sure, it’s no trouble at all.” He gave a light wave of his hand. “I brought a couple friends with me to help out. We weren’t doing anything.”
Marcel spun to see if his keys were on the table in the hall. They weren’t, but his phone lay near the empty dish. In a flash, he recalled Demetri had shown up and had saved Lynn from the leader. Demetri must have checked in his house to make sure it was clear, and then left the phone. Marcel had left it on the table after he’d called Shepherd.
“What are you looking for?” Shepherd asked.
Marcel opened the door wider and then stepped past him to reach the porch. Shepherd had parked his red truck several feet away. Two young men sat in the front. Marcel’s Jeep faced the front of the barn. He’d been so occupied with Lynn that he’d completely forgotten about his vehicle and Demetri. Since the vamp’s car was gone, Marcel assumed he’d returned to get it and had driven back to his home.
“Take my Jeep. The keys should be in it. If not, let me know and I’ll look for the spare set.”
Shepherd stepped onto the porch and stopped next to him “I don’t mind using my truck.”
“Well, you’ll need a crowbar, tires, and rope. I’ve got everything loaded in the back of the Jeep. Fortunately, I still had tires left from my mom’s sedan. They should work on Lynn’s car. You’ll need to change the two tires on her passenger side before you can tow her car.”
“Oh, right. Forgot about that part. I knew there was another reason why I’d asked Derek and Jacob to help out.” Shepherd grinned.
Marcel put his hand on Shepherd’s shoulder. “I need her car brought back here to see if I can fix it. She’s trying to get to a wedding in a couple of days.”
“What if you can’t fix it?”
“Then I drive her to Montreal or find a nearby airport and we fly to Montreal.”
“Are you going with her?”
“Well, I’d like to, but we’ll see what happens after she wakes up. I’ll pay you for your time for helping me.”
“Don’t worry about it, Marcel,” Shepherd said with a shake of his head. “We can handle this.” He started to walk away and then stopped. He twisted to face Marcel. “Oh, by the way, I asked a couple of elders and they said there are property owner records. They’re held at the central station in a vault. I guess you have to go in person if you want to look at them.”
The news sounded similar to the message he’d received from Lynn before the wolves had arrived.
“That’s great. I’ll have to stop by there sometime soon,” Marcel.
“Is it okay if I leave my truck parked here?” Shepherd pointed to it as he took a step down.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Shepherd strode down the remaining steps, heading to his truck. “Hey guys, change of plans. We’re taking his Jeep.”
Marcel returned inside. With one big chore out of the way, he could return to cleaning the library.
Yawning, he headed down the hallway, but paused near the table where his phone lay. He hadn’t slept in a couple of days and weariness was catching up with him. But he had things to do, and one involved calling Lynn’s friend. Since he estimated it would take less time to talk to her than clean the library, he lifted the phone. When he was done updating her friend, he could cross that item off the list of items to complete.
Holding the cell, he scrolled through the recent calls and found the one Lynn had made yesterday. He tapped the screen and within seconds, the line trilled. He lifted the phone to his ear and waited. What was her name again? Oh right, Connie.
“Hello?” a young woman asked.
“Yes, may I speak with Connie?”
“Speaking. Who is this?”
“My name is Marcel Bouton. Lynn is staying with me while we figure out the damage to her car.”
“Why are you calling me? Where’s Lynn?” Her demanding tone reflected her concern.
“Lynn hurt her leg last night. She’s upstairs resting.”
“Then take the phone upstairs to her. Let me talk to her.”
Connie seemed agitated. He’d have to choose his words carefully.
“She’s sleeping right now,” he said.
“Then wake her up.”
“I’m not waking her up. She needs to rest,” he said, sounding snippy instead of calm. Oops.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing. I promise you, I didn’t do anything to her. I would never hurt her.”
“Uh-huh. Are you kidnapping her?”
“What? No!”
“Put her on the phone.”
“No, she’s sleeping.”
“So wake her up. I want to hear her voice.”
He scoffed. “I’m sorry, but I’m not waking her up. She’s exhausted and needs to rest. I told her I’d call you and let you know what’s going on.” He turned and headed up the hallway.
“And just what is going on?”
“She hurt her leg. I had a doctor check it out and she’ll be fine, but she needs to stay off it and rest. He gave her something for the pain.”
“You drugged her?”
“No!” He stopped at the end of the hall.
“You just said—“
“She got a shot for pain. That’s all. She should be up in a little bit.”
She sighed heavily over the phone line. “Look, I don’t know you. You could be a murderer for all I know.”
“I’m not. I would never hurt Lynn,” he said in a calm tone. “What can I tell you to ease your concern?”
“Your social security number, credit card information, bank account number and name, Facebook password…”
“Are, are you serious?”
“Yeah, buddy. I am.”
This friend of Lynn’s was either a psychopath or deeply concerned for Lynn and was wil
ling to take extreme measures to ensure Lynn’s safety. Not a bad friend to have.
“How about I give you my address for now and promise she’ll call you within twenty-four hours?” he asked.
She sighed again. “I guess that will have to do, but if she doesn’t, I’m sending the cops to your house.”
“That’s fair enough. I agree to those terms. My address is 51461 Pinnawakee Drive and it’s on the reserve, Faunique La Tremblant.”
“Got it. And just so you know, if you hurt one hair on her body, I will find you and make you pay.”
He couldn’t stop from grinning. “Okay, that’s fair.”
Her threat meant she cared deeply about Lynn. He admired Connie for bluntness and eagerness to inflict harm for her friend.
“Twenty-four hours. No more,” she said.
“She’ll be in touch. I promise.”
The line became silent. He lowered the phone and the screen changed.
Yawning again, he headed up the staircase to check on his sleeping beauty with his phone in hand. He hoped Lynn would be pleased to hear he’d called Connie. He hadn’t updated her since all she wanted to do was make accusations and threaten him, but at least he’d contacted her. Seeing Lynn happy was all he wanted. Well, most of it. He wanted other things, but her happiness played a huge role. He’d get her car towed and would see if he could fix it. If not, he’d find a way to get her to Montreal for the wedding. Whatever she needed, he’d try to provide and take care of. Even if she wanted her memories changed.
He stopped at the top of the stairs and paused. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about what she wanted since she’d been in pain, too concerned about getting to the wedding, and wanting to share information she’d found in the library. Had she been delirious? She’d seemed calm for the most part, maybe a bit anxious.
He shook his head as he headed for the bedroom. He couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. She’d been through a lot in the last two days. He’d find out soon enough if she wanted to forget about him and everything that had happened.
Chapter Seventeen
Lynn tried to turn onto her side. Shifting her right leg, she felt something slide off near her ankle. She couldn’t recall putting anything heavy on her leg. As she moved it, a slight pain shot to her ankle. She halted her movement and the discomfort went away.
