After a while, I gave up attempting to force my eyes open and just lay still…and listened.
The first voice I recognized, of course, was Jeanluc’s and I smiled. He’d saved me, just as he’d promised. Whether he was an actual werewolf or not…well…that remained to be seen.
And Sunnie…she’d certainly be getting an earful when I saw her. I couldn’t believe my own twin would keep something like that from me.
First I’d draw and quarter her, after that I’d hang her from the highest tree, then bread and water for a month, and the coup de grace…I’d yell at her until I was too hoarse to yell anymore.
Something nudged at my fuzzy brain informing me that the order of my list needed work, but my tired and worn out body refused to edit it.
As I felt myself lifted into the air for the first time in days, I realized that my horrid ordeal was finally over…and I’d survived. Hard on the heels of that thought came regret…regret that I’d never see Cecil alive again, hold his hand, smile into his eyes over a patient’s recovery or something amusing our daughter had said or done…and if I’d possessed any moisture in my body I would have cried an ocean of tears. As it was, all I could summon were dry, heaving sobs. And with that, I sobbed myself into a restless and nightmarish sleep where there were plane crashes and dead husbands and grown men playing fetch…
Chapter 14
Jeanluc
As I placed Dawn in the back of the snowmobile, I motioned to Rod. After issuing a few more orders to the large group of men that had accompanied him to the crash site, he joined me.
“Dawn will need a place to stay under the radar for a while.”
“I figured you could take her straight to our house in Washington,” Rod shrugged. “She’ll want to see Emily right away.”
“When you gathered that group of men,” I nodded towards the dozen or so men surrounding the shrouded body as it was loaded onto the back of another snowmobile, “what did you tell them about Dawn?”
“Just that she was my wife’s twin and we’d found her in bad shape…” he trailed off.
“And that she would likely expire…?” I suggested.
“Damn…”
“Indeed,” I concurred drily. “Any ideas…?”
“We could probably find a furnished house to rent in one of the larger towns a bit closer to Fairbanks,” he shrugged. “Some people make like geese in the winter.”
“That would be acceptable. You and I shall travel together—no one will think our immediate departure odd—then once we are well away from the plane, you will be able to shift and run ahead to secure a place.”
“Me shift?” Rod asked incredulously. “I’ve been shifting all over the place…I think it’s about time you took one for the team.”
“Two things…I am Beta and I am Dawn’s mate,” I raised an eyebrow, “need I say more?”
“Humph,” he grunted as he stalked off to inform his crew of the plan.
Chapter 15
Dawn
“Where are we?” I asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Approximately a hundred miles from the site of the plane in a rental that Rod secured for us,” Jeanluc replied from close beside me. “Are you hungry?”
“Actually, I’m starved,” I admitted stifling a yawn.
“Rod foraged a few groceries for us at the local market before he left,” he said as he rose from the bed. “I believe I could manage an omelet, if that sounds acceptable.”
“Hmmm…wonderful,” I replied fervently as I shoved back the blankets and swung my feet to the floor. “I’ll be right out…after a pit-stop. Odd…I could have sworn I had no fluid left in my body.”
“There will be very little,” Jeanluc called over his shoulder as he moved into the hallway.
“Just what I wanted to hear,” I muttered.
“Although I healed you, the healing did not extend to bodily fluid replacement,” he said as he reappeared in the doorway. “However, your body is attempting to return to normal…hence the urge. You will need to drink plenty of fluids over the next few days.”
He hadn’t been exaggerating…there was nothing…just the unpleasant sensation of urgency.
“Whoever thought up this whole ‘healing without replacing’ philosophy obviously needs to reconsider,” I grumbled as I cupped my hand under the running water from the bathroom sink faucet and sucked up as much liquid as I could manage. “They should have consulted an expert in the field before making that kind of decision…someone like me.”
I sighed in relief as I actually felt the water making its way down my throat and towards my stomach…much much better…
Somehow, I suspected I would be a dry sponge for quite a while.
It wasn’t hard to locate the kitchen as the place boasted only one bedroom and bath plus the huge common area that housed the kitchen, dining area, and the living room.
“I absorbed your injuries,” Jeanluc, standing in front of the stove, offered without turning around as I joined him.
“I’m sorry…what?”
“Technically, I misspoke when I said that I healed you,” he clarified. “I literally absorbed your injuries…therefore any fluid exchange would be impossible…at least by that method,” he turned towards me and I could see the laughter in his eyes.
“You heard me…?” I asked in amazement. “From in here…?”
“We are blessed…or cursed…with abnormally acute hearing.”
“So any muttering under my breath…?”
“Clear as a bell,” he smiled placing the omelet and a glass of orange juice on the table before seating me. “Would you like a piece of toast?”
“Just the omelet to start,” I said absently picking up the fork. “This is nice. How did Rod manage to find a place like this for rent in such a small town?”
“He sniffed around until he found what appeared to be an empty house…and yes, before you ask…our olfactory system is also abnormally acute” Jeanluc admitted in amusement. “After that it was simply a matter of asking around until he finally managed to locate the people charged with the upkeep of this place. Apparently, the owners flew south for the winter and Rod convinced the caretakers to allow us access…for the right price, of course.”
“When can I leave for Washington?”
“We shall need to remain here for at least a few days.”
“Why?”
“We must allow you time to recover.”
“I’m fine,” I protested. “That whole absorbing my injuries thing worked like a charm. I’m ready to pick up Emily and return to Fairbanks.”
“I realize that you are well on your way to full recovery, and I understand your desire to see your daughter, but therein lay the problem.”
“Problem…?”
“You should not be fine…in fact, you should be dead. We cannot have people questioning your miraculous recovery.”
“So the whole werewolf thing is a huge well-kept secret…?”
“One which you are now charged with keeping…”
“Is that why my sister—my twin sister and best friend in the whole wide world—never told me about Rod?”
“That would explain her silence on the matter…yes.”
“So you’re basically telling me that I won’t be able to tell anyone either…”
“You are physically incapable of revealing any of your knowledge of werewolves.”
“Really…?” I asked skeptically, “so if I were to decide to announce to the world over the loudspeaker at say, the airport, that you’re a werewolf…”
“Your throat would close up temporarily and you would faint.”
“Excuse me?” I exclaimed, choking on the last bite of omelet.
“I did inform you that by accepting our union you would be subjecting yourself to the Alpha’s rules,” he reminded me in amusement.
“So the Alpha can do that…?” I wheezed reaching for the glass of juice and taking a gulp
before continuing, “…he can choke me to death…?”
“Blake would never injure you. You would simply be unconscious for a short time.”
“Oh well,” I began sarcastically, “if that’s all…”
“My darling,” Jeanluc said gently taking my hands in his, “the Alpha is charged with the safety of the pack and that now includes you and Emily…not to mention your sister and her family. There are people who wish us dead…”
“Why?”
“That is a story for another time,” Jeanluc replied as he released my hands and picked up my plate and empty glass, carrying them to the sink.
Turning back towards me, our eyes met and I felt a fission of electricity shoot through me at the look in his.
“For now, you should rest. Although I absorbed your injuries, I could replenish neither your fluids nor your sleep and so I must prescribe plenty of bed rest and copious amounts of fluid.”
“Jeanluc…”
“We shall discuss our future when you no longer have those dark circles under your eyes. Now, would you prefer to walk to the bedroom or be carried…?”
Eyes wide, I realized he wasn’t joking and fled the room.
Chapter 16
Jeanluc
“Someone shot the plane out of the air…?” I repeated in surprise. “Are you certain?”
“One-hundred percent,” Rod replied firmly. “Either it was some sort of freak accident or somebody mistook them for a bird or somebody was using them for target practice or somebody wanted them dead. By the number of bullet holes in the tail, I’m betting on the last one.”
“Unlikely that it would be someone they knew…”
“Doubtful,” Rod agreed. “No way anyone could have known for sure that Cecil and Dawn would have to take a different route back because of the weather. The front moved in faster than predicted so everybody was caught off guard.”
“If it was indeed intentional—and I believe we must make that assumption—it would indicate a spur of the moment reaction rather than long-term planning.”
“No argument here.”
“That would suggest that Dawn or her husband unintentionally stumbled upon knowledge not intended for the public and someone became desperate to silence them.”
“If you’re right, that means she’s still in danger,” Rod said anxiously. “And we have no idea what or who we’re protecting her from.”
“I shall awaken her…”
Chapter 17
Dawn
“Someone tried to kill us? But why…?”
“We are hopeful that you can tell us,” Jeanluc said gently, taking my hand. “Did either of you have any enemies? Someone you had angered, perhaps…?”
“No! I can’t imagine anybody wanting to kill us!”
Rod and Jeanluc exchanged a quick look, and I could tell that hadn’t really been an option, but for some reason they felt they had to ask.
“Take me through that day…the day that you crashed,” Jeanluc suggested. “Tell me everything you can remember, and leave nothing out…no matter how trivial it may seem to you.”
Drawing in a ragged breath, I allowed the painful recollections of that fateful day to flood my memory.
“It was our last day,” I began as calmly as I could. “We’d spent the night in Cierra, a small town just about as far northwest as you can get in Alaska, with a middle-aged couple that we’d known for a few of years. They always put us up because they had extra room since all their children were grown and gone.”
“What did you do the morning you left?”
“We’d finished everything by eight the night before, so all we had left was to pack up and load the plane.”
“Did you see anything out of the ordinary…?” Jeanluc asked. “Anything that struck you as odd…? A stranger perhaps…?”
“It was all just like it always was…Mrs. South complaining of rheumatism, a couple of minor cases of frostbite,” I said with a shrug. “Kiska had a nasty cut on his paw that needed stitches and antibiotics, a few people with cavities, and one with a painful abscess…”
“You’re a vet and a dentist, too?” Rod asked in surprise.
“We could have refused to treat those things, but then who would?” I half-smiled. “After our first couple of trips, Cecil and I consulted a vet and a dentist who were more than willing to teach us a few basic things, and we learned enough to get by.”
“Wow,” he grinned, “I’d have paid money to see Cecil sticking his manicured fingers inside a dog’s mouth.”
“Cecil was careful with his hands for his patients’ sake,” I glared at Rod. “Would you want a doctor with filthy unkempt hands touching you?”
“Good point,” Rod chuckled. “Guess he would have made a great wolf doctor after all. Who’d have thunk it…?”
“Actually,” I began uncomfortably, “I usually treated the animals and Cecil took care of the dentistry.”
“So he wasn’t much of an animal lover,” Rod nodded. “That would probably explain why he and I didn’t get along too well. You, on the other hand, are taking all of this wolf stuff pretty well…almost too well.”
“What do you mean, almost too well…?” I asked suspiciously.
“Your sister freaked when she found out about me and my wolfie-ness…I mean, total melt down. I thought I’d have to put her in a straightjacket until she calmed down, but you…you seem to be taking this whole thing like it’s nothing…business as usual…”
“Yeah, well, my situation was surreal to begin with…a plane crash, Cecil’s death, almost dying myself, then this fur coat with a heartbeat shows up and on top of all that the dreams that weren’t really dreams…”
“That’s true…and you’ve always been more adventurous than Sunnie, so I guess I can see why you’d take the whole shape-shifter thing in stride,” Rod admitted then grinningly added. “That must have been one helluva dream you two had. What I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on that wall…”
“Enough,” Jeanluc interrupted, eyeing Rod irritably before turning back towards me with such a look of love that I felt a lump growing in my throat, “what happened after you left Cierra?”
“Cecil had done most of the flying up to that point…”
I glared over at Rod, knowing how he felt about Cecil’s tendency to control things, but he just shrugged innocently. More than once, I’d caught Rod pretending to cough into his hand as he muttered “Control freak” in front of Cecil.
Although I figured even Rod wouldn’t speak ill of the dead, I wasn’t about to leave him any openings.
It had taken me a while to convince Cecil that unless he allowed Rod to take Emily back to Washington with him for the weeks we had to be gone, I wasn’t accompanying him on any more medical trips, but in the end he’d finally capitulated. Rod hadn’t appreciated what he perceived as Cecil’s lack of trust.
For Cecil’s part, he simply hated for Emily to be out of his control—and I didn’t blame him—but he hated leaving me at home even more and so he’d eventually agreed.
Cecil’s motivations had become clear to me over the years and although some of his reasons were a bit less than altruistic, I could hardly fault his when mine weren’t exactly perfect. Of course, we loved spending time together, but Cecil needed to be in total control of the situation—which others frequently disliked—but I happily conceded since I craved adventure and excitement.
I loved Emily and loved being a mother, but I also loved my job…especially our flying medical trips.
Early on in our relationship, I’d recognized and accepted Cecil’s faults just as he’d recognized and accepted mine, but that didn’t mean I appreciated anyone else pointing them out.
Jeanluc’s narrowed eyes moved from me to Rod and back to me again.
“See…now you’ve got your mate all curious about…”
“Anyway,” I broke in firmly, “because of the weather, Cecil decided to take a different route back, so I flew
while he navigated.”
“The new route…had you ever flown that way before?” Jeanluc asked.
“Once, a little over a year ago,” I replied. “That detour was also weather-related.”
“Were there any obvious changes?” Jeanluc persisted. “Anything at all…?”
“Actually, we did see something that we’d either not noticed before or it was new,” I said thoughtfully. “We didn’t get a very good look at it, because we were too far away, but it appeared to be a camp of some sort way out in the middle of nowhere.”
“A camp…?” Rod asked. “Like a bunch of tents or what?”
“There were white tents that we could barely make out and a building or two I think—it was hard to know for sure with the white roofs blending in with the ice and snow—but the thing we really noticed were the trucks and tanks. Even though they were camouflaged, too—covered with a white tarp—we could tell what they were because we were so far away we could see in from the side and…”
“Tanks!” Rod exclaimed. “Damn it to hell!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked in alarm.
“You don’t see anything wrong with tanks?”
“It was a military thing…right?” I asked hopefully. “Like a military base or something…?”
“Maybe,” Rod said doubtfully as he stood ready to leave, “but I don’t think so. I’ll get it checked out right away. Where was it, exactly…do you remember?”
“It was about an hour’s flying time south and west from Cierra. We flew behind the line of storms and hugged the coast as much as we could. The camp was probably somewhere between twenty-five and fifty miles inland. I’m not good with judging distances from a plane.”
“That’ll help a lot,” Rod said.
“Rod,” I rose from the couch where I’d been sitting with Jeanluc and placed a hand on his arm, “you’re going to let someone know about the camp and then stay out of it…aren’t you…?”
“I’ve got it under control, Dawn,” he dismissed my fears before turning to Jeanluc. “I’ll either be back or send somebody else to keep you informed.”
“Rod,” I tightened my grip, which of course wasn’t saying too much as I hadn’t gotten my strength back yet, “promise me you won’t do anything dangerous. If anything happened to you…”