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“You know better than to get involved with a human. It never ends well, Stone.” He growled under his breath, anger riding his face. “There is something odd about the woman’s scent and my instinct tells me that you’ve begun to mate with her.”
“What? Not a chance. I’ve tasted… her… before. We are just… friends.” Every word was agonizing to say. As he handed me the drink, I realized my hand was shaking. My thoughts drifted to all the years before, the strong connection we’d shared. “That’s not possible.”
Max exhaled, shaking his head. “Evidently the fates think otherwise.”
“You mean them or the devil himself,” I croaked, struggling to take a sip. As a man who’d come within an internship of becoming a doctor, I knew the symptoms I was experiencing weren’t positive, but they also shouldn’t be occurring because of two clean bullet holes. My system was attempting to shut down. Damn it, there had to be some kind of poison flowing through my system. Nothing else could cause this kind of agony.
“I can smell her all over you, brother,” Max hissed.
“Then why didn’t I know earlier? Not possible, Max.”
He lifted his eyebrows, shrugging. “That I do not know. However, there is no denying who and what she is. And she is human.”
“As is Kathleen, or she was until you turned her against the rules.”
“Kathleen is none of your concern. You are well aware what she means to me as I suspect this woman does to you. That doesn’t answer the question of why you turned.” He dropped to his knees in front of me, narrowing his eyes as he studied the wounds. “The wounds are already swollen. Clean shots but I could swear they’re getting infected. Tell me as much as you can about what happened.”
“Listen to me. I turned because Vanessa’s life was and still is in danger. While some damn thugs accosted her in the bar, one of them was much more.” As I took a breath, I wheezed, coughing several times. “The asshole was another wolf.”
He lifted his eyebrows, his upper lip curling. “One of ours?”
I shook my head. “Another pack and not one I know of. A black wolf with a white stripe?”
Max tipped his head toward the fire, slamming his drink on the table. “I would have heard of such a wolf from my father. He knew every breed. I’ll search his things. Fuck. Why the hell would humans work with a wolf?”
Blackhawk Cordero had been dead for only a few months, but his death had affected Max greatly. The Cherokee had been a true believer in the old ways, concerned the disease would return, wiping out our very humanity. He was a powerful leader, a man I’d learn to hate until recently.
“Maybe they didn’t know initially. I also couldn’t gather the creature’s scent. What I am certain of is that the wolf was hunting, Vanessa the target.”
“You need to hear me, brother. I don’t like the sound of what you’re telling me. If we have some rogue wolf out there pretending they’re one of us, they need to be dealt with. There’s still a significant amount of animosity from the last bullshit.”
“Yeah, I know that,” I huffed, forced to sit back against the couch. My arm wasn’t strong enough to lift the damn glass. Something was terribly wrong, my body not responding like it should to a typical gunshot.
“Fuck. What the hell is happening to you? We need to get you some goddamn professional help.”
“I’m beginning to go into shock from a wound where the bullets went through. I’m going to guess the bullets were covered with a substance of some kind.”
Max huffed. “Why in the fuck go to all that trouble? Where are the weapons?”
“I have no idea, but I’m going to guess that all three of the men had guns with them.” I took a deep breath, further evaluating my condition. “My temperature is way above the normal range for human and my heartrate is spiking. In other words, I could be going into septic shock. I’m a fucking doctor, remember?” I retorted, wincing.
“Not tonight.” He moved to a standing position, yanking out his phone.
“This can’t… get around, Max. You know that.” I almost dropped the glass in my effort to take another gulp. I finally gave up, sliding the drink across the table before leaning back and staring at the ceiling.
“And I’m not going to allow you to die.” He shook his head, turning his attention to the call. “Yeah, it’s Max, Doc. I need you at my cabin.” He studied me, narrowing his eyes. “Just bring your bag. We have an issue and do not tell anyone where you’re going.” He ended the call. “Are you able to talk?” He grabbed his drink once again, pacing the floor.
“I don’t know what the hell you want me to tell you. There were three males, only one a wolf and I was unable to detect him initially. I was close enough to smell his liquored-up breath, yet I had no idea he was a wolf. Only after the humans could no longer fight did the wolf take his true form. The beast and I fought before we were forced to run given the arrival of the police. Later, I noticed him on Wolfen property and damn close to your cabin.”
“Which one of them shot you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. The man was forever a cop first. “One of the humans. Does that mean they are aware of their companion’s… abilities?”
Max tilted his head, huffing. “We can’t rule that out.”
“My gut tells me the wolf will go after her again. You could tell by the look in his eyes, the burning desire that filled him.” As I began to cough again, I pressed my fist against my mouth. The moment I pulled it away, I noticed blood. What in God’s name was happening to me? I could tell Max had noticed my hand, the sound of his heart hammering against his chest echoing into mine.
The grip around his glass became crushing. He issued a slight snarl before closing his eyes in order to calm his rage. “We need to find this beast and annihilate the danger. We have peace finally, rumors abating. We can’t have some rogue creature walking our streets.”
