Secret Alpha Wolf (Shifter League Book 2)

by Leela Ash

“Well, I trust you to tell me as well as you’re able. How bad is it? Is there anything we can do for him or that will make him more comfortable?”

  “Oh, he’s fine. Neurologically, anyway. And as far as the tests show, he has everything in working order. The thing is…”

  The nurse trailed off and Veronica’s brow furrowed in concern.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s unclear whether he will ever walk again.”

  “What?!”

  The news made Veronica’s stomach drop. He might not walk again? Lester? Who hated all modes of lazy transportation and could be seen walking or biking just about anywhere, even in his old age? How could this have happened?

  “The thing about it is, there’s really no discernable reason why he isn’t able to walk. Some of the doctors are talking about referring him to a psychologist. They’re worried maybe he has some kind of mental illness and could be going catatonic. If that’s the case, it’s possible he didn’t get attacked at all and he simply had an episode that lasted until you found him.”

  “Lester is not crazy,” Ronnie said firmly. “You’re telling me that he just stopped being able to move?”

  “Right.”

  “Can he speak?”

  “Yes, but because of the medications he’s been on to help with any potential pain, he has been a little out of it this morning. But if you wanted to speak with him, we can have him ready by the end of the day.”

  “Every moment is crucial in an investigation,” Ronnie said, gripping her pen hard. Why couldn’t she just call Achilles and have him meet her at the hospital? What was she supposed to do? Wait on him to show up just in the nick of time?

  Well, time was ticking, and if they didn’t find out what the enemy knew, soon enough, it might as well stop ticking at all!

  “I understand, but you will have much better luck if he’s coherent. And while he’s in a state to receive visitors, it’s unlikely he would be able to summon any useful information until he’s got the drugs out of his system.”

  “So, he isn’t injured otherwise?”

  “Well, as I said, the doctor himself might be more able to address your questions and concerns, ma’am. But from what I know about his condition, there were some internal concerns, but they ended up not amounting to much. He does have a few stomach ulcers as well, but those are things his family doctor has known about for quite some time. It’s only now that he’s started to come to consciousness, so we can’t really question him on what happened.”

  “Please, refrain from asking him anything until I get there unless it pertains to where it hurts. I’ll ask why.”

  “He is quite a colorful fellow,” the nurse said conversationally. It was a far cry from the clinical tone she had just adopted a few moments beforehand. “I’d be curious to see what he comes up with.”

  “I’m telling you, he’s not crazy and I would really appreciate it if you didn’t suggest he was near me or even in his presence. He doesn’t need a psychologist, and he isn’t going into a catatonic state. Trust me. Just let me talk to him before you make any decisions like that. I won’t allow it.”

  “Of course, Sheriff Mitchell. Anything you say.”

  “Thank you. Give me a call when he’s ready to talk and I’ll be on my way.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Veronica hung up the phone and exhaled heavily. Why did everything feel so impossibly complicated all of a sudden? Now, she had to figure out a way to get in touch with Achilles without letting on to his friends that they knew each other. What a pain in the ass.

  ***

  Veronica Mitchell wasn’t the kind of woman to take things lying down. When she had a goal in mind, she stuck to it and saw it through to the end. So, when she found out that Lester was going to be able to speak soon and help them get the information they needed to continue their investigation, she couldn’t just sit on it and wait for Achilles. She went.

  She had never been to the bed and breakfast located on the outskirts of town, though she had heard nice things about it from relatives who came in from out of town and had chosen to stay there. It had received quite a nice renovation not long ago, and when she approached it, her breath was taken away by how beautiful the craftsmanship really was.

  She was wary now that she knew the shifters existed and how much power they had, but her main concerns were about Lester and making sure the world as they knew it wouldn’t come to an end. She had an important job to do and it was one that Achilles was just going to have to deal with this time. If she got him into trouble, then oh well.

  For the time being, though, she thought maybe she could be coy about it and step inside to inquire about the place. She could at least pretend she was interested in renting a room for a friend from out of town before blowing Achilles’ cover wide open.

  She stepped inside to the reception desk and was greeted by a friendly smile. There was a woman about her age running the counter, and a small, wildly energetic girl running around the lobby with an impressive toy airplane in one hand and a doll in the other.

  “Hi! My name is Quinn. Is there some way that I might be able to assist you today?”

  “Hello,” Veronica started nervously. “I was wondering if you could give me some information about a room.”

  She glanced around, hoping Achilles might just waltz around the corner and she would be saved from this painful and needless exchange. As much as she loved being a police officer, she hated lying and everything that came along with it. If she could have a job that allowed her to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth, then she would have been in seventh heaven. Unfortunately, police work tended to require a lot more than that.

  “Oh, sure! We have plenty of space here. When are you going to need a room, and for how long will you or your guest be staying?”

  “Um…” Veronica shifted uncomfortably as she wracked her brain for a good explanation. Well, not an explanation. A lie. She needed a good lie until she was able to ask to look around the place and then “accidentally” stumble upon Achilles so they could get to the hospital.

  “I think we were talking about next month. A room for next month. And a weeklong stay. However, it’s still a shaky plan. I was just wondering what kind of place this is and what services you might offer should I choose your business.”

  Quinn smiled again and nodded. “Of course. Well, we don’t have a daycare or anything like that, but there are some lovely gardens and we always serve a home-cooked breakfast. Much of the time, guests have the option of having fresh vegetables right from the garden and if they wanted to, they could even visit and take whatever looks good to them. We have a large yard area, the woods are very cozy, and we’ve got a few trails for guests to follow if they’re interested. A lot of people come out to our town because of the scenic landscape, so if they are willing to pay, we want to give them a premium experience.”

  Veronica nodded thoughtfully. “Do you happen to have a brochure? I might like to take a walk down one of those trails of yours, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure! We have maps as well. If you look behind you, to your left, you will find a shelf full of everything you or an upcoming tourist might need to know. And if you or your friend do decide to be a guest here, all you have to do is give us a call and we can get you all booked right over the phone!”

  “That sounds lovely, thank you so much.”

  Veronica managed to smile at Quinn, then turned away and headed to the shelf, where she grabbed a handful of pamphlets and made her way back outside.

  “Who are you having over for a week?” Achilles’ voice suddenly asked. It nearly startled Veronica out of her skin. How could she have been there so prepared to seek him out, then find him, only to be so jumpy when he finally showed up?

  “Nobody,” she said, her voice a hushed whisper. “I need to talk to you.”

  Achilles stared at her for a moment, then gave a nod.

  “Okay but not here.”

  “No kidding!”

/>   Achilles huffed and took off in the opposite direction. Ronnie rolled her eyes and nearly ran after him. But she had to maintain her composure. He knew she was there now. The best thing she could do for all of them was to get back in her car and leave. He would find her parked down the road. She wouldn’t go far. And she had a feeling it would be a hell of a lot easier for him to find her than it was for her to find him. Call it a hunch.

  She took off down the winding driveway of the bed and breakfast and parked about a quarter-mile away off to the side of the road. She exhaled heavily, her chest still tight from the interaction with Quinn. Why did she hate lying to people so much? She was terrified that Achilles would get caught. She didn’t want him to be in trouble with his friends because of her. Whatever reason he wanted everything to be a secret had to be a good one.

  Unless, of course, they were all actually the criminals in the town and he was just trying to keep her from sniffing out the truth.

  But she knew, deep down in her heart of hearts, this wasn’t the case. He had been trying to protect her all this time, so, of course, he was being sincere with her. Unfortunately, however, sneaking around was not something she enjoyed doing and it didn’t do much for her peace of mind.

  A tap on the driver’s side window finally snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up, startled to find that Achilles had snuck up on her once again.

  She rolled her window down, relieved that he was finally there. She was eager to get this over with.

  “What’s this about, Veronica?” he asked, looking at her with a twinge of mild annoyance. “You know I don’t want anyone to know we’re working together.”

  “I know, but it’s important,” Veronica said, her cheeks burning red as she held Achilles’ gaze. “Lester woke up and they said we can try to talk to him.”

  “Oh.”

  Achilles’ expression softened to surprise and he looked up to the sky, placing his hands on his hips as he seemed to consider her words. “That’s good news.”

  He was acting kind of funny, as if maybe he already knew this had happened or was going to happen. But if that were the case, why wouldn’t he have been in touch with her sooner?

  “You know every second counts in an investigation like this,” Veronica said impatiently. “So, if you could just get in the car and stop overthinking all of this, it would be really great, you know? We can get some real work done here.”

  “Right…”

  Achilles seemed to be moving with a deliberate slowness, and she couldn’t help but glare at him fiercely once he was finally in the passenger’s seat of her car. He looked over at her, arching his brow innocently.

  “What?”

  He genuinely didn’t seem to understand her hurry.

  “What? What do you mean ‘what’?” Veronica exclaimed. “Don’t you want to know what happened?”

  Achilles let out a low sigh as she pulled onto the road and began to speed toward the hospital.

  “You know this isn’t your cop car, right?” Achilles pointed out. “You don’t have a siren on this thing. You shouldn’t be speeding.”

  “Uh…” The words had caught her off guard, but he was right. She was using her personal vehicle like it was the sheriff’s car. But she had been careful not to drive her work vehicle, knowing that if anybody were to see Achilles in it, their chances of keeping their working relationship on the downlow would be over.

  “Sorry, you’re right,” Veronica finally admitted. “So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on? Why are you nervous about meeting with Lester today?”

  Achilles seemed surprised by the question and looked at her sharply.

  “Why do you think I am nervous about talking to Lester?”

  “Well,” Veronica stated, turning on her turn signal and waiting for oncoming traffic to pass, “if you were eager, you would have been in touch with me by now. Not only that, but if you’re not nervous, then it means you’re guilty about something, and I thought we had already concluded that you aren’t actually the bad guy here. But if you want to prove me wrong, then I guess now would be the time.”

  “Guilty about what?” Achilles asked, his face darkening. Veronica only glanced at it before looking back to the road, grateful that driving gave her a good excuse not to look directly at him while she went off on him.

  “I don’t know what you might be guilty or nervous about. That’s why I’m asking!”

  Achilles sighed heavily and leaned his head back against the seat. “Sure, I feel guilty. I feel guilty that he was hurt in the first place. I feel guilty that maybe, he will know more about what is going on than I do, when it is my job to help save the universe! What isn’t there to feel guilty about?”

  “Ah,” Veronica said quietly. She didn’t know what else to say.

  “And if you want to know the truth, yes, I am nervous. I’m terrified to find out that everything we have been working for is for nothing, and that Lester was able to give the enemy the missing pieces that we need most to stop the apocalypse from happening.”

  “Apocalypse seems like a pretty strong word, don’t you think?” Veronica mumbled, taking a left. They were finally nearing town. That damn bed and breakfast was so out of the way. But she supposed that was ideal for the type of secrecy Achilles and his friends were hoping to maintain.

  Why couldn’t she just trust them already? Why did everything have to be such a huge secret? What was so bad about having a human who could help them get along better in the town? Maybe Achilles was hiding something. Not just from her, but from his companions as well. It was the only thing that was starting to make sense.

  “Apocalypse is exactly the right size of word!” Achilles barked. “If the enemy knows how to access the serpent mound, there’s no telling how much time we have left to prepare for their attacks!”

  “I know,” Veronica said quietly. She didn’t like to be on the receiving end of his anger, and he seemed to realize this and backtracked quickly.

  “I’m sorry. I know that none of this is your fault. I shouldn’t be getting upset. It’s just that this is really important, and if we messed up, then we messed up bad. I have no idea what I will have to tell the others after this trip to the hospital.”

  Veronica nodded but remained quiet. She didn’t want to invoke any more of his tremendous temper, but she did want him to know she was there for him and understood, as much as she could, what he was going through and why he was angry. Hell, she was angry too. What kind of horrible creatures wanted to cause so much pain?

  Another image of the Warner tragedy flashed in her mind. She could almost smell it again. Why did things have to be so needlessly complicated and ugly? Why couldn’t everyone just respect one another and their right to exist? And that didn’t just go for aliens from another universe either. Why was it so easy for the people in her own town to ostracize and isolate people like Achilles and his friends just because they were new? Why hadn’t anyone thought to go out and greet them and give them a chance to get established in this place with a friendly face?

  People couldn’t be trusted not to be ugly, so maybe she was giving the supposedly intelligent race of alien creatures that wanted to invade Earth too much credit for being disappointed in them at all. Being disappointed in them implied that there was the possibility they were capable of being more intelligent than the human race and capable of more complex emotions and understanding and intellectual prowess. Now, that was unlikely. Apparently, everyone in the universe was dumb and hateful. She shouldn’t have let herself be surprised.

  “I’m really concerned for you and Earth,” Achilles said evenly. “But that isn’t even the whole story. I am also afraid for the people of my own home planet. People who may share blood with me whom I have never had the chance to meet, and if this happens, I will never have the opportunity. The portals will be usurped and their planet, if it isn’t already destroyed, will absolutely stand no chance against the onslaught. This is terrifying to me.”

  It was an
odd moment to realize that this man, who seemed so infallible and strong, and who always seemed to know what to do and just the right time to do it, except for getting in the damn car to visit Lester, might be afraid.

  He seemed to panic now that he had actually let the information slip and looked at her with fear in his deep brown eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that,” he amended, his voice returning to the stern no-nonsense tone it usually was in. “I just want you to understand why I am reluctant to talk to Lester.”

  “I understand now,” Veronica said, reaching over to touch his shoulder comfortingly. “As much as you are going to let me, anyway.” She could visibly see him relax in his seat from the peripheral of her gaze, and he glanced up at her, his handsome, chiseled features untrusting. He still wasn’t sure if it was okay to be vulnerable with her.

  “I want to be able to protect you,” he said finally. “That’s why I act the way I do. It isn’t because I don’t think you have tremendous strength. Because I really, really do.”

  “I understand,” she said again. Achilles sighed.

  “I’ve never met anyone quite like you,” he stated, his eyes boring into her meaningfully.

  Her heart did a flip-flop and she glanced at him briefly before realizing they had made it to the hospital. She parked quickly; a little disappointed the conversation was going to have to end there. But what else could she do? They both had very serious and real reasons for needing to speak with Lester. Whatever their feelings were about each other would have to wait. It was unfortunate but it was true.

  Besides, in comparison to everything that was going on, combined with her tendency to fall for the wrong type of guy, was it really in their best interests to even be considering anything more romantic right now? It seemed highly inappropriate, really. Who did she think she was? The safety of the town – and of the human race – should absolutely come before wanting to hear more about why Achilles thought he had never met a girl like her.

  Still, she couldn’t quell the happy little warm bubbles his words caused to rise in her chest whenever they floated back into her mind, and so, she did her very best to stare directly ahead of herself and walk with a purpose toward the hospital.