I could feel her resistance, fragile but determined, and I spoke soothingly to her…nonsensical words of reassurance, much as I would to a child…and finally she gave way.
As I moved the covers down and reached for the hem of her turtleneck sweater, I could feel the stiffness of her body, her chest barely rising and falling with shallow breaths, and I knew she was living on borrowed time and little enough of that.
Lifting the sweater, exposing the angry red skin of her trunk area, I took a deep breath as I uncovered her bra. It was a practical bra, no frills, no lace, and modest in appearance—so very much inline with my perception of Dawn—and as I grasped the top edge and inched it down, I inhaled sharply at the sight.
For a moment, the world seemed to spin and I sat back abruptly, releasing the bra while I gasped for breath.
It cannot be…but it is. Or is it…? Perhaps Cecil…? No, he had been human…of that I was certain. Could it be someone else? But I am the only one here…
Test it, a voice urged from deep inside of me.
Tentatively reaching over and grasping the top of the bra once more and pulling it down in order to expose part of Dawn’s left breast, I lay my hand over the four distinct claw marks and held it there.
And immediately it slammed into me with the force of a hurricane…every bit of pain that Dawn endured…and I was so stunned that I doubled over with the agony of it all.
Chapter 9
Dawn
The pain…where had it gone? I felt a weight on my chest, but it was almost pleasant, nothing like the agonizing burn that had been even worse than the frigid cold methodically killing my skin…the horrific burning sensation that had turned me into a mindless wounded animal.
Once more, I could think, even if not with perfect clarity, and I could hear.
My eyelids were still too heavy to lift, so I couldn’t quite figure out exactly what it was that I was hearing, but it sounded like someone gasping out a last few breaths.
Idly, I wondered if I was hearing myself, but then I felt a warm body slide under the covers with me and pull me close…a warm human body…the same human body from my dreams.
My cry at the pain resulting from the contact, died unheard just as all my others had, my throat allowing no sound to escape as a voice…a human voice…whispered hoarsely in my ear.
“Do…not…die…”
After that, blessed stillness…and warmth…and pain-free sleep…
Chapter 10
Jeanluc
Time blurred and all that existed was indescribable pain as, under my hand, my marks burned indelibly into Dawn’s already tortured skin. Even though I had suffered through something similar decades earlier with Jordan, I had to deal with all of Dawn’s pain, not just the pain of my marks. Even the pain I’d unintentionally inflicted upon her as I pulled her close transmitted itself from her body to mine, causing her only a moment’s discomfort as it passed directly on to me.
And it was so much worse than anything I could ever have imagined.
But even as I suffered…I hoped. I had no basis for my hope, but I felt certain that Dawn would not die while we were connected…not while her body and her blood recognized me as her future mate, even if she consciously could not.
After what seemed like days, but in reality was only a matter of hours, the pain departed leaving behind a tangled jumble of emotions.
On the one hand, after losing Jordan, followed by decades of searching, I had finally found my future mate and the joy almost overwhelmed me.
On the other hand, she could still die.
I had been a doctor of one sort or another for most of my hundred plus years, and a psychiatrist for the past five years, and I had extensive experience in dealing with many difficult situations within my pack, but nothing in all of those years had prepared me for the circumstances facing me.
Dawn was, for all intents and purposes, unconscious, but somehow we had managed to trigger the dormant part of her blood that recognized me as her future mate.
But how…?
There was only one trigger…and it was intense physical contact…physical contact…not mental contact…
Questions flooded my mind. Was it possible that my dreams had in reality been more than just dreams? Was it also possible that Dawn had experienced those same dreams in concert with me? Could that count?
So many unknowns…always so many unknowns…
How to proceed?
Even though Dawn’s blood had obviously recognized me as her future mate and her body bore my marks, unless she whole-heartedly accepted me in time to heal her, she would still most certainly die.
From her dangerously faint heartbeat as well as her raspy breaths, I calculated that she had only an hour or two at most.
Ripping the unused stethoscope from my neck, I flung it from me in frustration, the lonely metal clink as it connected with the wall of the plane only serving to remind me of my own isolation.
Questions tore through me, but I had no one with which to share my uncertainty…
Even though Blake, the Alpha, would be able to sense what I was feeling, especially if he happened to be in wolf form, that type of non-verbal communication would be of little use to me in my predicament.
Besides the fact that his first course of action would be to seek my medical opinion…
Unanswerable questions exploded through my brain.
Should I risk waking her? Would it even matter? She had to consciously accept me…there would be no shortcuts.
What if I could not rouse her? That was the one area where Blake could have been of monumental assistance, but as he was not available…
That one question sparked an idea—one that under any other circumstances I would never have considered—but desperate times…
While I realized the moral dilemma of the situation, I knew that the only chance I had of saving Dawn lie in our heads.
We would have to connect once more, but in a verbal way. Physical connections had instigated our linking, but in order to truly bond, we must talk and she must accept me completely…without reservation.
However, I was uncertain if verbal communication between us was even possible while in our dream state.
One thing I did know…I had to try…
What did I have to lose? If I tried and failed, she died. If I made no attempt, I failed by default and she still died.
I had no other viable option.
In order to have a chance at success, I decided it was necessary to mimic the other two times as closely as possible.
Which meant shifting once more…
Sighing heavily, I quickly shed my clothing, tossing them aside without bothering to fold them, and began the arduous task of transforming.
Chapter 11
Dawn
“Dawn…”
The deep male voice inside my head startled me.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“We do not have much time, Dawn…you are dying…”
“I know,” I whispered, “I have accepted my fate.”
“Dawn…” the voice sounded as if at a loss.
“You know my name,” I prompted gently, “may I know yours?”
“I do not know if you will remember me, but my name is Jeanluc…we met at your sister’s wedding.”
“I remember you,” I said uncertainly. “You’re Rod’s friend…the doctor. Is that why you’re here…? Because of Rod and Sunnie…?”
“I was visiting Rod when the plane went down and he asked me to accompany him in his search.”
“So you’re really here—I mean, physically in the plane with me—or am I just hallucinating again?”
“I am right next to you, Dawn,” Jeanluc said with an odd note in his voice. “What hallucinations…?”
“Well…” I began reluctantly, “it’s like right now, I know it can’t be, but it feels as if I’m…touching you…with my hands…and I can’t seem to stop…” I trailed off in emb
arrassment.
“And before…?” Jeanluc asked urgently.
“There was a wonderfully warm fur coat…at least I thought it was a fur coat, but it had a heartbeat, and then…”
“And then…what…?”
“I…um…I’d rather not say…
“Tell me, Dawn.”
“Then, I…well…I thought I was…with a man…and we were…it got…um…a bit…physical…”
“You experienced it, also,” Jeanluc said in amazement. “Our lovemaking actually happened, just as this is happening…our touching…our caressing…”
“You were there?” I asked in surprise. “You were the man in my dream…?
“It was not a dream, my sweet, but I do not have time to explain the details to you at this moment. Suffice it to say, as incredible as it seems, something amazing has occurred and you must make a decision that could possibly…”
“A decision…?” I broke in, “What decision?”
“But before you can make that decision, I am duty-bound to give you some information.”
“What decision? And what do you mean by ‘duty-bound’?”
“I can save you, my dear, keep you alive…”
“That isn’t possible,” I contradicted. “I’m a nurse and can read the signs. As you said earlier, I’m dying.”
“I can save you, Dawn, but you must agree to a few…stipulations.”
“What type of stipulations?”
“Suspend belief for a moment, and take everything I am about to tell you as the plain and unvarnished truth—which I assure you, it is—because only then will there be time to save you,” Jeanluc took a deep breath and plunged in. “I am a shape-shifter…a werewolf, if you will…and you are my future mate. However, as you are dying, we do not have the luxury of time in order to slowly acclimatize you to the facts. If we had that luxury, I would give you time to adjust and accept all of these things, but as it stands now, you have to make a decision immediately with only the following information at your disposal.”
“First,” he continued, “you have a choice. You can accept me unconditionally as your mate, which will allow me to heal you, but will also bind you to me for the rest of our lives…there would be no going back. Such would be our bond that, if I should die before you do, you would once again experience the same horrible pain upon your breast that you did earlier…that is, until you find a true human mate to take away the pain and make you whole once more.”
“Secondly, if you do accept me you will, by that acceptance, also be agreeing to subject yourself to the rules of the Alpha that govern our pack for the rest of your life as long as we both shall live, just as your sister has.”
“Alpha…? There’s an…wait…did you just say my sister…?” I repeated in shock. “Sunnie’s a shape-shifter…?”
“Rod is a shape-shifter, and Sunnie is his mate. I wish for your sake that we had more time, but we do not. You must make a decision now, my love, because I can feel your body fading even as we speak. Stay here with me or join Cecil in the afterlife…that is the decision you face.”
“You…you called me your love,” I whispered. “Do you love me?”
“You are my future mate and as such my love for you is unquestionable and irrevocable.”
“But I don’t love you. I don’t even know you.”
“I do not expect you to feel anything for me right away, but you will come to love me—of that I am certain—that is, if you decide to stay with me.”
“What will happen to you if I…choose otherwise…?”
“That is of no consequence, my sweet Dawn. Your desires are the only consideration…the only things that matter here. You must choose what is best for you. If I know that you are happy with your choice, then I shall be happy for you.”
“But…”
“It is time, Dawn…you must make a choice now before it is too late. Do not allow yourself to die by default…I could not live with the knowledge that you did not consciously choose your own fate.”
“I don’t want to die, but I’m not sure…”
“Do you remember how right it felt when we were together in our minds?”
“I do,” I murmured.
“And have you witnessed the extraordinary bond between your sister and her mate…?”
“Yes…”
“We can have that, my sweet Dawn,” Jeanluc said softly. “Sometime in the future, when you are ready, we could have that together.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I could waste time trying to convince you, time we do not have, but in the end it is your decision to believe or not. I can only assure you that I am one-hundred percent certain, and pray that you are able to accept that.”
“I don’t know what to think…”
“There is only one thing you need ponder, my dear…only one question you must answer. Do you want what we had in that dream that was so much more than a dream? Do you want that with me?”
“I want that,” I admitted with painful honesty.
“With me…?”
“Yes,” I whispered, “with you.”
“Thank you my darling.”
Suddenly, I felt something digging into my breast, painfully deeper and deeper toward my heart until I knew that I would die, that I could not survive that vital organ being ripped out of my body.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, everything turned to black and I experienced a type of peace that pervaded my being.
In relief, I let go…surrendering to the tranquility as well as to unconsciousness.
Chapter 12
Jeanluc
“Minsk!” an irate voice woke me from a sound sleep. “What the hell goes on?”
I recognized the voice, although not the angry tone.
Rod…easygoing Rod…the only son of my best friend…never called me anything but Doc—not in the three plus decades that I had known him, since the moment he could talk—but there was no mistaking the cold fury coloring every one of his words.
Forcing my eyes open, I realized why. Dawn lay sprawled across my chest, sweater still shoved up above her bra, and even though I had fallen asleep in my wolf form I, not surprisingly, once more found myself naked and furless. She seemed to have that effect on me.
No wonder her brother-in-law had murder in his eyes. Thankfully, her modest bra had moved back into place. I feared the sight of his sister-in-law’s uncovered breast would have been Rod’s undoing.
And I had no desire for him to be hurt, which was exactly what would happen if he chose to attack me. Alpha rules—rules that even as one of Blake’s most trusted Betas, I would be powerless to stop—would demand it.
I quickly pulled the covers over Dawn’s sleeping form and, for a moment, stared down lovingly into her face…a face no longer ravaged by frostbite…a face that glowed pink and healthy…a face that belonged to me.
“Minsk,” Rod growled, towering over me, “you have about five seconds to come up with some reasonable explanation as to why you’re feeling up my sister-in-law before I kill you.”
“I would strongly suggest you back away, Rod,” I said mildly, but with enough steel behind my words to show the power of a Beta, “or this confrontation may very well end in your injury by Alpha mandate or by my own hand.”
“She is family,” he said clenching and unclenching his fists, “and it’s my job to protect her.”
“I can assure you that I am more than capable of protecting my mate.”
“Your what?”
His eyes swiveled to Dawn and as he zeroed in on what little skin he could see around the wild blonde hair, I could see his astonishment growing at the change in her appearance.
Gently, I moved Dawn away from me—momentarily gratified by her moan of protest as she tried to cling to me—and stood. Although I experienced some weakness as I rose to my feet, no doubt from absorbing every one of Dawn’s injuries, I allowed none of that to show as I quickly began to dress. The weak
ness would soon dissipate.
“If you would be so kind as to keep the men outside occupied while I bundle her up for transport,” I requested softly, detecting heavy footsteps quickly approaching the plane, “I think we would both agree that none of the human men you brought with you would understand the healthy glow in her cheeks. Especially considering that fifteen hours ago, she lay at death’s door.”
“Hey Lafferty,” a voice called from outside, “what gives?”
“Yeah,” a different male voice joined the first. “Are you gonna let us in or what?”
“Keep your pants on,” Rod yelled back, eyes still locked on Dawn. “She’s alive and the Doc is getting her ready for transport.”
“Okay, but we don’t have a lot of daylight, and I want to get back before dark.”
“We will not be long,” I called, adding my authoritative voice to his.
“So it really works,” Rod said in wonder, “we can really heal our mates.”
“You had doubts?” I asked drily as I chose two of the warmest and driest of the blankets and tarps covering Dawn and spread them out on the floor.
“Well, no…or maybe yes…I mean…I don’t know,” he shoved back his woolen cap and scratched his head. “I guess I just figured it was some old wives tale. So, Dawn’s really your mate?”
“And now you know, firsthand, that it is not an old wives tale,” I said as I gently lifted Dawn and placed her on top of the blankets. “And yes, she is my mate. Did you bring a board?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Rod blinked and met my eyes for the first time.
It did not surprise me that he appeared to be shell-shocked.
“Would you mind retrieving it?”
“Right…I’ll just…uh…go get it,” he said as he stumbled to the door.
“After you and I have removed Dawn from the premises, the men may have access to the plane and…the body,” I said hesitating over the politically correct way in which to refer to Dawn’s deceased husband. “No one else is to be allowed close to Dawn…just the two of us. Understood?”
“Yeah, I get it,” Rod mumbled as he left the plane, “I’m shocked…not stupid.”
“I never thought you were, my friend,” I murmured softly as I lovingly cocooned my mate.
Chapter 13
Dawn
Although I could make out voices, I seemed to be having difficulty staying awake and alert. I couldn’t focus on anything for long. My whole body felt as if it had been put through a wringer, and I was as tired as I’d ever been in my entire life.