“His eyes were wintry blue. I didn’t remember until now, but we stared at each other for a moment before he shot me and I shot back. But they were icy blue.”
“Okay, I’ll let Paul know. And he can contact the police. In the photo, Otis was too far away and turned to the side a bit, so I couldn’t really see his eyes.”
“Me, either.” She stretched out in the passenger’s seat, pulled the blanket under her chin, and yawned. “Are you sure this isn’t going to be too much of an imposition?”
He’d already learned what she’d like to eat, so he had stocked the pantry and fridge at his cabin with her favorites. He’d asked her if he could pack her things and haul them to his place, but she had wanted to return home and pack for herself.
“No, not at all.” As much as he’d like to see this as a way to get to know her better, he knew things would change between them in a heartbeat as soon as she knew what she had become. It was his fault for not moving her so she wouldn’t see Tara change. Not getting there sooner so she wouldn’t have been shot in the first place. Not treating her wound fast enough. If Allan had confronted the shooter first, he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill the bastard and not waited for him to fire a round first.
“When do we start back on the case?” Debbie asked, as if she hadn’t just dealt with a life-threatening trauma of her own.
“When the doctor okays you going back to work.” He wasn’t sure how that was going to work out now. She’d have to take a leave of absence. He could just see her in a skintight wet suit trying to shift into a wolf. That would be a sight.
“She said you’ve been hanging around the hospital the whole time I’ve been there. Thank you.”
“I had to know you were going to be okay. Early on, you were sleeping nearly every time I came in.”
“Allan, you know none of this was your fault. I know you, and I know you blame yourself. I should have waited for backup. I’m so sorry. They said Tara went home today. She was going to be all right too. What…happened to the wolf? Did you save it? Everything was such a blur. I…I thought they were one and the same.” She laughed a little.
“Rowdy’s rubbing off on me with all his paranormal musings. And I watch too many paranormal shows. Anyway, I don’t know how I didn’t see Tara and how injured she was. Only the wolf. I wish I could have helped you more by assisting her and providing a better description of the shooter, but I guess I was fading fast. They say you saved both of us. When I asked about the wolf, they said they hadn’t seen it. So it must have been okay and run off.”
Nobody had told a lie. They’d seen Tara, but not in her wolf form. He really didn’t want to discuss this with Debbie right now. He could talk to her about everything at his place—with the cabin locked tight in case she tried to bolt.
“I was busy with Tara and you at that point,” he said again, not really lying.
“What about the red Camaro?”
“It was impounded at the scene. The serial number had been removed. License plates had been stolen from another vehicle.”
“Wow, okay. I called Rowdy’s office. What happened on that?”
Thankfully, Rowdy had been in the middle of another homicide case and wasn’t called until after Tara and Debbie arrived at the clinic. He’d dropped in a few times to see Debbie, but she’d been so out of it, he hadn’t learned anything from her. One of the nurses had always been present. At least Rowdy hadn’t let on that he figured anything was amiss. He had talked to the doctor and learned the seriousness of Debbie’s injuries.
“He came to visit you several times, whenever he could. I’m sure he’s still looking to date you. He sent roses.”
She smiled. “That was sweet of him.”
Debbie continued to chat away in a lighthearted and cheerful way, while Allan was feeling the onerous duty of speaking about all of this to her later and was in gloomy spirits.
When they reached her duplex, she waited for him to get the car door for her.
“Are you still tired?” he asked, concerned that she might have needed to stay longer at the clinic.
“I felt so good for a bit.” She sighed. “Maybe because I could leave the clinic. But yeah, I’m exhausted. I feel I need to sleep for a week to get over feeling this way.”
“Do you want me to pack for you?” He offered his hand to help her up. She relied on his strength, which worried him all the more.
“No, as long as you don’t mind me taking a while. I want to shower too. If you don’t mind, could you fix us something to eat? I’ve got an ice chest that we can fill with some of the food.”
He didn’t want to tell her they would be moving her completely out of her duplex. For right now, they’d left everything as it was. But once she was settled in with him or someone else who she trusted in the pack, they’d move everything that was hers. She might not want to stay with him once she learned about what she’d become, but she was going to have to stay with someone in the pack. No way could she live on her own until she had her shifting under control.
“Sure, I can do that,” Allan said.
“The ice chest is in the garage. Plenty of ice in the freezer. Oh, what happened to my car?”
He hadn’t expected that question. Catherine had taken it to an outer barn for safekeeping until Debbie was ready to drive it again. But he didn’t want to tell her that and make her suspicious. “It’s parked in your garage.”
“Oh. Good.”
He unlocked the door for her, and she headed inside. “Is there anything in particular that you want me to fix for lunch?”
“Maybe chicken à la king? I’ve got noodles to go with it. Anything you don’t mind making.”
“Okay, I’ll let you know when it’s ready.” Paul and Lori had already told the duplex manager about Debbie’s injuries and that she was going to be staying with family for several months and would need to move out. Thankfully, the duplex came furnished, so they didn’t need to move any of the furniture.
He just hoped Debbie didn’t learn about it until after they were settled at his place and he told her the truth.
He was glad she was feeling so good, but he could tell she was still tired. He was afraid she wouldn’t take the news well when he told her the truth tonight, and he would have to deal with the mess. For now, he had to play along—feed her, help her pack. When they reached his mountain cabin, that was another story. He’d had security alarms put in so that if she managed to somehow get through a lock on a window or door, an alarm would go off. He didn’t think she would be able to, but he wanted to be prepared.
He had to even put a lock on his wolf door.
He opened the cabinet and pulled out a can of chicken à la king and a bag of egg noodles, dreading taking her home and what would happen as soon as the full moon reached its zenith. It was one thing to deal with an angry human. Another to deal with a wild and angry wolf. Especially one that would have no idea what her strengths and capabilities were.
* * *
Debbie had never taken acting classes, but she sure hoped she had snowed Allan over. And the rest of those associated with him. Sure, she was half out of it when the wolf had turned into a woman. Yes, she had seen Allan giving the wolf CPR. And she hadn’t seen any sign of Tara. Then suddenly, Tara was there and the wolf was gone. Even so, Debbie still hadn’t believed they were one and the same. Not until she overheard the doctor and nurse talking in another room. What had scared her the most was that she now knew the real reason the doctor said she had to be with someone for some time—not because of health issues, but that they were afraid she’d tell someone what she had seen.
Not that anyone would believe her. But the werewolf pack must have been worried enough that they didn’t trust her on her own. If she’d had family or a friend, she could have suggested staying with them, but she was afraid the werewolves wouldn’t have allowed that either.
She wasn’t without resources. She locked the bedroom door, then looked for her cell phone. No purse, no phone. Figured. She hurried to change out of her clothes, packed a small bag, turned on the shower, and went straight to the bedroom window. She didn’t know what to think about all of them, but she felt like she was in a horror flick where everyone was an alien and she was the only human. Now that she had discovered they were aliens, she had to flee. She planned to get in touch with Rowdy, but what if all his talk about werewolves wasn’t just in good humor, but because he was one too? She had no idea how big the pack was or who all was in it.
She didn’t know where she would go or what she was going to do. If she fled the state, would they come after her? Kill her? For now, they were just keeping an eye on her, being extra polite and really nice to her. But if she told on them, then what?
They thought she hadn’t heard them, but one time she overheard the nurse say that Tara didn’t want to shift into her wolf ever again after she’d nearly died. If Debbie hadn’t heard their conversation when they thought she was still under, she would have believed she had imagined the whole nightmare.
Then the business with the guy who shot the woman with silver rounds? A naked woman, just like Tara? Debbie heard them say these rounds were silver too. But since Allan and his pack mates hadn’t known who Sarah was initially—Debbie just couldn’t wrap her mind around it—she must not have been with their werewolf pack.
Debbie was afraid someone would bite her and change her into one of them. So she was really trying to keep her wits about her, act cheerful like she didn’t think she had anything to worry about, and then run—before they knew what she intended to do.
She grabbed some spare cash she had in a sock in a drawer, then climbed out the window and headed to the garage. This was going to be tricky. She was afraid that as soon as she opened the garage, Allan would hear it and stop her. Or try to stop her.
Here she had thought he was one of the nicest, sexiest, and most caring men she’d ever met. Until he gave mouth-to-nose resuscitation to a wolf who happened to be a werewolf and a friend of his. She suspected all of his extended family were werewolves too. No wonder they were such a close-knit family. She tried to think back to what she’d said about werewolves before this. When Allan had said if he’d played the LARP game he would have been a hunter, she’d really thought he meant he was against werewolves or the concept. Now she suspected he meant he wanted to hunt werewolf hunters. The PI? Vaughn Greystoke?
She put a hand to her temple, feeling light-headed all at once. Another wolf? Another wolf pack? She had to get out of here…now.
She opened the side door to the garage as carefully as she could and stopped dead. Her car wasn’t in the garage, but Allan was. He looked up from grabbing the ice chest. Crap.
His brows raised in one big question mark. What was she doing in the garage when she was supposed to be taking a shower? This was so not good.
Plan B. She would have to come up with a story really fast about why she was in the garage and go along with him to his mountainside cabin—despite wishing she had any other choice. Then when he was sleeping, as long as he didn’t handcuff her to a bed, she’d escape using his vehicle.
She thought of just screaming, but what could she say to the police? A werewolf pack had abducted her? Allan was one of their divers and so was Paul. They were SEALs, for heaven’s sake. Paul’s wife had even trained a couple of men at her dojo who became police officers. So no, Debbie wouldn’t be able to get anywhere with that.
“Hey,” she said, frowning a little. “I thought you said my car was here.” Can’t come up with a story? Get on the offensive.
“I guess they parked it at someone else’s place for safekeeping since you were going to be staying with me for a while. I thought you were taking a shower.” He looked like a really wary wolf.
And she felt like Little Red Riding Hood. So where was the werewolf hunter when she needed one? “I had a bag in my car with all my emergency supplies. I was going to add that to the stuff I wanted to take to your place.”
“Oh. I’ve got mine so if you need anything from it, you’re welcome to it.” He escorted her back to the house. She was certain he didn’t believe her one iota. And the feeling was mutual.
When she returned to her bedroom, she took a shower, glad that she had only been running the cold water or she wouldn’t have any hot water now.
It would have felt good—it was her first shower in days—if she hadn’t had to worry about what came next. But the problem with washing up was she felt even more tired, like she could lie down in the tub and go to sleep. She guessed the doctor was right. She still needed time to recuperate.
Debbie decided to take a bath instead so she could soak and relax before her next attempt at escape. She began filling up the tub, hoping she wouldn’t drown in it if she fell asleep.
* * *
Allan picked the lock of Debbie’s bedroom door so he could make sure she was in the shower and hadn’t tried to take off again. This was really not good. Somehow, she must have figured something was wrong, despite acting as though everything was fine.
He heard her stop the shower, then start running water in the tub.
While he waited for her to actually get into the tub, he texted Paul: She’s acting like she knows nothing about us, but I think it’s a ruse. She left the house to get something out of her car when she was supposed to be taking a shower. She didn’t need to get anything out of her car. And of course, the car wasn’t there.
Allan glanced at the bedroom window and texted: She had to have slipped out the bedroom window. She’s taking a bath now. But I suspect I’ll have trouble with her.
Paul texted back: Let me know if you need backup. You’ve got the sedative that Doc gave you, don’t you?
Allan: Yeah, but I only want to use it as a last resort.
Paul: Gotcha.
Allan heard her turn off the water and step into the tub. He left the bedroom and closed the door. He couldn’t lock it. He wasn’t going to give her an explanation for that if she asked. He figured she knew to some extent what was going on.
He didn’t want to start making lunch if she was going to be a while soaking in the tub either. But when she didn’t leave the tub after a good twenty minutes, he knocked on the bedroom door. “Debbie? Are you all right in there?”
He was afraid she had slipped out the window and…
His heart pounding, he headed back through the duplex, and when he reached the front door, he opened it. Covered in an inch of snow, his hatchback was still there. He closed the front door and returned to the bedroom.
Worried about Debbie even more now, he knocked on the bathroom door. “Debbie? I’m coming in.”
He was afraid she’d accidentally drowned in the bathtub. He twisted the doorknob. It was locked. He used his lockpick on it and yanked open the door, afraid of what he might find.
He hadn’t expected to see a wolf shaking water from her fur coat and had no time to react before she lunged.
Chapter 15
Debbie had fallen asleep in the bubble bath only to wake to find she was a damned wolf! She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t discovered any bite marks on her anywhere when she stripped out of her clothes. The oddest thing was that her scars had vanished. Yet it hadn’t really registered in her tired brain until she turned into a wolf.
How had they turned her? Maybe it was like with vampires, even if they weren’t real. But in some stories, the vampire could seal the wounds and then the bite marks were gone.
Now she was soaking wet and staring Allan down as he stood in her bathroom doorway. He had to have picked her lock!
She shook off the excess water, getting him all wet.
She was so angry, she wanted to rip Allan to shreds. He just stared at her in disbelief, as if he had never seen a wolf before. As if he wasn’t a part-time wolf himse
lf. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was a minion to a wolf pack, like Dracula had minions working for him.
Ohmigod, this was so unreal. She growled, and she couldn’t believe she’d made such an angry growly sound, right before she lunged at him.
She slammed her paws into Allan’s chest, but he quickly grabbed her head to keep her from biting him. He was strong and she thought she could yank free of him, but after her injury and surgery, she was way too weak. Her growls sounded menacing though, and she snapped her wickedly sharp teeth.
He held her head securely, despite the fact that she was shaking it, snarling fiercely, and trying to break free from his titan grip.
“Debbie, you were going to die if we didn’t save your life the only way we could. Your heart quit beating twice. We have faster healing properties. No one else would have been able to keep you alive like we could.”
She called him a liar, only the word was just a menacing growl. It didn’t matter that she looked like, felt like, and sounded like a wolf. The notion just didn’t register in her brain, and she’d expected to hear human words, not an animal growl.
She likened it to a scenario in which she suddenly had elf ears or purple skin. When she looked in the full-length dressing mirror hanging on her bathroom door, she had expected to see her usual self—brunette, brown eyes—not a wolf with gray, tan, and black markings. Not a wolf with a long tail and big ears and teeth.
When she’d first seen her huge wolf feet and wolf legs in the bathtub, she thought she’d somehow turned into a German shepherd. Which was beyond bizarre. She had watched lots of horror stories and thought maybe she’d received a body organ from a canine and now could turn into a dog. But instead of a dog, she had been a long-legged wolf with a shocked expression—her shocked expression. No matter how much she tried to rationalize what she was seeing in the mirror, she couldn’t.
“You’re going to be all right. You’ve got a pack to take care of you, and you have me. We’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
She felt the tension leaving her body. Not because she was done being angry, but because she couldn’t keep the fight going. She felt like sinking into the floor and sleeping for an eternity.