Damien’s Dilemma

by Cohen, Julie K.

  She turned around and nearly slammed into Damien. “You don’t need to follow me around.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “I’m not going to fall apart.”

  “Maybe not, but I might.”

  That startled her. She hadn’t thought about what Damien might be going through. Damien hadn’t lost his wolf, but he had expected that they would blood-bond. He’d told her how his wolf was becoming harder to control, how only the blood-bond would stabilize him and his wolf. That wasn’t going to happen, now, at least not with her.

  “You’ll find another female shifter, a strong one that will settle your wolf.” Even as the words left her mouth, she felt a stabbing pain in her soul. She didn’t want to give Damien to another, but he couldn’t blood-bond Tess, now, or ever. Her wolf was dead.

  He grabbed her by her arm, none-too-gently either, and pulled her around to the side of the building where they’d have some measure of privacy. She hadn’t seen him this mad before, at least not with her. His brow furrowed, and his gray eyes sharpened with an intensity that almost made her shrink back, but this was Damien. He would never hurt her.

  “Do you seriously think I’d even consider taking another? I’ve told you this over and over, but I guess I’ll have to keep repeating myself. You. Are. Mine.”

  “You’re the alpha here, and the pack comes before me or any other individual, including you!”

  With a single jerk of her arm, she tore away and kept walking. The direction didn’t matter, as long as it was away from Damien. She had taken the path down toward the lodge, and then changed direction, again. The kids might be outside for recess, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to contain her frustration much longer.

  As Tess turned onto the path that led toward the maintenance area, she could feel Damien’s eyes on her. The alpha was stalking her like a wolf would its prey, which is exactly how she felt at the moment. She spun around, scanned the trees, not sure where Damien was exactly, but certain he was there, hiding in the shadows.

  “Leave me alone!” she yelled at the trees. The area was full of shifters socializing and working. They all stopped what they were doing and gawked at her. So, she turned her wrath on them next.

  “What the hell are you all looking at? Oh, that’s right, the outsider who you’re all convinced is human. Well, you got your wish. They killed my wolf, so I guess I’m as human as any other human on the planet. Go ahead, stone me, kick me, do your best, but I promise, I will take a few of you down with me.”

  They were all staring at her now, most with their mouths open.

  “What? No takers?” She turned in a circle, with her fists clenched at her sides, the desire to punch someone, anyone—but mostly Damien—was so tremendous that all she could do was scream. So, she did. And then she ran.

  The trees whizzed by at an alarming rate and for a few seconds she fell into her memories as a teen. The smell of pine filled her nose, and wind sifted through her hair, while leaves and branches crunched beneath her feet. Except she wasn’t experiencing these as a wolf, but as a human.

  In the distance, several tall, hulking shifters were talking by the main gate on the single road that connected Damien’s territory to the nearby state route. She headed straight for the gate, ignoring the stares from the guards. They weren’t going to stop her. She was finally giving them what they wanted. The human was leaving.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, two wolves, both brown with tan patches, leapt in front of the wooden gate. On either side, barbed wire topped the wooden fence which extended as far as she could see in both directions. Most male shifters and some adult females could easily clear the fence in wolf form, which meant this fence was designed to keep humans out.

  “Move,” she said as she approached the guards.

  “What are you doing, Tess?” It was Hayden’s voice behind her, not Damien’s. For some reason, that made her madder. She really wanted to punch Damien, to make sure he understood what an idiot he was to still want her. He had a pack to think about. She wasn’t in his future, and making her stay here was torture: a torture worse than what the humans and Ian had made her suffer.

  “I’m trying to leave, but they’re blocking me.”

  “There’s nothing out there for you. Your pack—”

  “They’re all dead. But there’s nothing here for me. I’m human, Hayden. No reason for me to stay.”

  “You’re one of us.”

  “You saw the videos, and I’ve known the truth for a long time. I just wasn’t able to accept it. I’m done lying to myself.”

  “What about Damien?”

  She didn’t want to talk about Damien. “He’s okay with this.”

  “No, I’m not,” Damien’s deep, almost stoic, voice said from behind her.

  She should have figured he was still following her. Despite every instinct in her body telling her to turn and hold on to him tight, she tried to push past the two wolves, both of whom bared their teeth at her.

  She whirled around. “This is my choice, and you don’t get a vote, Damien. Tell them to open the gate, or I’ll climb over it.” It didn’t matter that there was barbed wire at the top. A few more scars wouldn’t bother her at this point.

  Damien flashed his canines. He never bared his teeth at her like that before. His wolf was exerting more control over him than she realized.

  “Voting’s great for a democracy, but this is a pack, my pack.”

  “And I’m not part of it. I’ve pledged no oath to you. You have no right to hold me here.”

  “I can do whatever the hell I want, especially to anyone who’s a danger to us. And you are a danger, Tess.” He motioned to the two wolves guarding the fence. “Take her and lock her up. Zach’s house. Hell, you know where I mean.”

  “What the fuck, Damien!” she screamed as the wolves shifted and each guard took one of her arms.

  “Language,” Damien said, his lips curling into a grin.

  “Throwing my words into my face doesn’t change the situation.”

  “No, but it feels good. When you’re calm and ready to talk, tell your guards, and they’ll bring you to me.” And with that, Damien and Hayden walked away, while two hulking shifters escorted her to her next prison.

  Chapter Thirteen

  DAMIEN

  Damien paced his office. He and his wolf felt trapped right now, but he had to listen to Alex for Tess’s sake.

  “You can’t tell me that a woman who has that much fight in her has completely lost her wolf.”

  Dr. Alex Kerns, a shorter, brown-haired shifter who favored khakis and loafers, leaned forward in his chair. “Let’s start with what I do know. I found antigens in her blood that I can’t identify. She had a virus I haven’t seen before. And now Pryce says the WSSO injected her with an unknown substance, and she can no longer shift.”

  “All of her shifter abilities are gone,” Damien added.

  “How much do you know about the virus that created shifters in the first place?” Alex asked.

  Damien shrugged. “The usual.”

  Anthropologists had dug up some wolves from the ice in Antarctica two centuries back and shipped them off to various museums to be prepped for display. When the wolves were thawed, the taxidermists and other staff had been exposed to a virus that spread like wildfire.

  Thousands became sick and most died before doctors isolated the infected people and stopped the spread of the virus. Those who had survived the illness had started shifting. They were seen as monsters. Even in their human form, the first shifters had been hunted until they were killed or ran off. The wolves in them soon took over, driving them to form packs for survival. The packs had formed mainly in North America and Europe, where the virus had been widespread. The survivors of the virus were not human or wolves, but a new species.

  “That original virus is now referred to as SOV, Shifter Origination Virus. Do you know the biology behind what the virus did to create the first wolf shifters?”

  “Never
was good at biology,” Damien admitted. “Simplify for me.”

  “When the virus jumped species from wolf to human, it took a copy of the wolf’s genome. The virus spliced the wolf’s DNA with the human’s DNA, by creating a genetic bridge between the two. It’s this bridge that enables our bodies to shift from one form to the next. I believe the WSSO used a virus to destroy your female’s genetic bridge, thus destroying her ability to shift or access her wolf in any way, including her wolf’s abilities.”

  “Shit.” Damien had hoped Alex would give Tess good news, not a death sentence for her wolf.

  “You said the virus destroyed her bridge, not her wolf,” Hayden said.

  Alex nodded. Damien’s back straightened. Hayden seemed to have a better grasp of the biology.

  “So, her wolf is still there, but Tess can’t reach it,” Hayden said. “Can we reverse what the virus did? Rebuild this bridge in Tess?”

  “Without the original virus responsible for creating our race, probably not.”

  “They eradicated that virus two centuries ago!” Damien shouted.

  Alex sat up straighter in his chair. “I’m sorry that your female has to suffer, but you have bigger problems.”

  Damien growled. “She has a name. It’s Tess.” He wouldn’t have anyone talking as if she were a damn lab rat ever again.

  “No insult intended. Pryce told me you had claimed her.”

  “And that’s none of your business.”

  “I needed to know for when I reviewed your samples, nothing more, Alpha.”

  That appeased Damien, though he still didn’t like how Alex, or Pryce for that matter, had to know his and Tess’s personal business. “I haven’t claimed her yet. And what problems exactly? The WSSO has a virus that destroys our ability to shift. What can be worse than that?”

  “A virus that kills.”

  Hell. “Another virus?”

  “Only the one. There are signs of decay in Tess’s tissue samples.”

  The fear that welled in Damien came on suddenly and left him unable to move. He forced the words out. “Is Tess dying?”

  “The decay is minor and stagnant. No sign of progression. I think her immune system warded off the virus before it could kill her, which is likely what this virus was designed to do. Kill shifters. Not simply destroy our ability to shift or access our wolves.”

  “How can you know that?” Hayden asked.

  “Truly, a lot of this is supposition on my part. I would need to examine Tess and see any research you have on the virus. It’s possible the WSSO intended to create a virus that destroyed the bridge, in a twisted desire to turn all of us into humans. Pryce told me about the off smell of the dead shifters in their lab. And I don’t mean the distinct scent of decomposing flesh. I suspect those shifters were all intentionally infected with the virus, and that Tess was the only one who survived.”

  “Is she contagious?” Hayden asked.

  “There’s no sign of the virus still in her. But if she’s the only one who survived it, we have to face the very real possibility that the WSSO has a biological weapon that may be deadlier to shifters than Ebola is to humans.”

  * * *

  TESS

  Two guards each held one of Tess’s arms as the woman shifter whose house was being confiscated to be used as Tess’s prison scampered about removing knives, chemicals, and anything else Tess might use to escape or hurt herself. All of this fuss was on Damien’s order in a futile attempt to keep her from leaving. He could delay her, but eventually she’d escape.

  The female shifter was similar in build and height to Tess, but with soft-brown eyes and platinum blonde hair that swung a fraction of an inch above her ass. The contrast was striking, as was the smile she sent Tess’s way. The shifter averted her eyes several times, as a submissive wolf would, which diffused much of Tess’s anger. Tess didn’t want to be angry with this stranger. After all, the woman was giving up her house, so Tess would have a comfortable place to stay. Whatever supposed crime Damien had arrested her for, he had no intent on making her suffer.

  “Has the clothing been to your liking?” the shifter asked.

  Tess considered the blue crop top and beige, ankle-length capris she was wearing. “These are yours?”

  “I’m the closest in size to you. Blade went to Olivia for clothing first, but then Maggie saw you across the compound and said the jeans and bra were too small on you. Guys think we all wear the same size.”

  Tess couldn’t help but smile. “These are great, thank you. Even the first set of clothing was fabulous. It felt good to wear anything after… Well, I hadn’t been allowed to wear clothing for a while.”

  The woman lowered her eyes again. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “Oh, no, sorry. You’re not prying. It’s hard to talk about, that’s all. Can you tell Olivia that I appreciated the clothing? No one’s approached me, and, well I thought it would be wise to keep my distance, considering—”

  “You mean because everyone thinks you’re human?”

  Tess nodded. “I was a shifter, up until a few months ago.”

  “You’re either shifter or human. There’s no in-between.”

  “There is now.”

  The blonde scrunched her eyes together. “I guess I’m confused. As is the pack. There are a lot of conflicting stories going around, and Damien’s rather closed-mouthed when it comes to you. He’s very protective.”

  “You forgot stubborn, bull-headed, overconfident, arrogant—”

  “I see you know him very well then!” The shifter’s entire face lit.

  Tess laughed. Finally, in what felt like months, Tess released a long breath and let the weight of her experiences slide off her shoulders. “I’m glad it’s not just me being biased then.”

  “No, we know Damien’s strengths and his weaknesses, with communication being one of the latter. Then again, I’m usually the last to know anything around here.” She rolled her eyes. “Long story. Maybe when you break out of here, and if you have a few years, I can explain the nuances of this pack to you.”

  Tess smiled. Whoever this woman was, she was easy to talk to. “My pack wasn’t a simple one to figure out either. But it was my pack, and I knew everyone. Here, I’m isolated. And I don’t mean the fact that your bastard alpha’s locking me up in here.”

  When she saw the shifter frown, Tess realized what she had said. “I didn’t mean it that way. Your home is lovely, and I’m very happy to be staying here, and I’m sorry he’s kicking you out because of me. I just meant—”

  “That he’s isolating you further,” the shifter finished for her. “Relax. I know this isn’t your doing. And I’m happy to give up my home while you and Damien straighten things out.”

  “You talk as if we’re a couple. Far from it. By the way, I’m Tess,” she said, holding out her hand.

  “Aloe,” the blonde shifter said, taking Tess’s hand and smiling in return.

  “That’s an unusual name.”

  “My birth name is Vera, but my mate thought it would be funny to call me Aloe, after the plant, and it stuck. You need to watch what you say around here. These shifters have long memories and a bad sense of humor,” she said as she pointed to the score of aloe vera plants lining the window sills, the mantel over the fireplace, and the kitchen counter.

  “That’s so sweet!” Tess said as she took in the sight of over a dozen aloe plants spread throughout the house.

  “Once they accept you, you’ll never regret it. And you’ll never meet a more loyal pack.”

  “I’ve barely met any of them. Other than Damien and his friends, no one talks to me.”

  “You mean his top tier: Hayden, Callen, Frank, Blade, and Pryce? They’re like brothers to Damien, especially since he lost…” Aloe swallowed. “…since he lost his own brother. Damien trusts those five with his life and would die for any of them, but to say they’re friends… I’m not sure that word quite applies, except for Hayden. Damien is rather closed off to everyone except
Hayden.”

  “You seem to know Damien well enough.”

  “I should.” Aloe grinned. “Anyway, don’t you worry. The pack will come to know you. Be yourself and give them time.”

  Tess couldn’t wipe the smile off her face if she wanted to. She really liked Aloe. “What makes you think I’m going to break out of here?”

  “Alphas don’t like to be contained.”

  “I’m no alpha. I’m not even shifter anymore, at least I don’t think I am.”

  “Were you born a shifter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you’re a shifter. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  Aloe made it sound so simple. Perhaps it was. Tess had been raised shifter, after all, and she’d been trying to adapt to life without shifting or healing faster. Maybe she should focus on doing what she could and not worry about what she couldn’t.

  “Okay, shifter it is.” Somehow, saying those words felt good. “But on the alpha part, I have to object. Even if I hadn’t lost my wolf, I could never be thought of as an alpha.”

  “I heard you out there, yelling at everyone by the cookhouse. Again, I’m not quite sure what’s going on at this point, but I know an alpha when I hear one.”

  “Screaming at everyone because I can’t control my emotions hardly makes me alpha material.”

  Aloe laughed. “No, that proves you’re shifter. I mean standing up to everyone even when it seems as if the whole world is against you.”

  “Maybe some of Damien’s stubbornness is rubbing off on me. I was never like this at home.”

  Aloe placed her hand on Tess’s arm. Her touch was gentle, reassuring, like her.

  “Be patient with him. He can be domineering at times, but he’s a good alpha, a good shifter, Tess. Damien wants what’s best for his pack. He keeps order here and tries to treat everyone fairly. In addition to the usual wolf training, Damien makes sure the kids receive an education that’s current with U.S. curriculum. He wants to ensure that they can go out into the world and integrate with the human population if they choose, instead of feeling trapped here as so many shifters are in other packs. He even takes in a lot of lone wolves other packs won’t touch, good shifters who deserve a home. There’s no reason you can’t fit in here.”