Sally walked as quickly as she could down the hall and, rounding a corner, almost ran into two immense doors bearing three large, black letters—ICU. Well, ask and you shall receive, she thought as she gently pushed on the doors to see if they would open. They didn’t. Sally shrugged. Worth a try. She looked along the walls on either side of the door for a button or something that would grant her access. As she examined the wall to the right of the doors, the hairs on the back of the girl’s neck rose. She felt like she was being watched. Sally was about to turn when she felt a pressure on her neck, and then darkness and silence engulfed her.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 12

  Skender stood alert outside the hospital room. Some time ago, the girls within must have drifted off to sleep because he could no longer hear their low voices coming through the wall. He heard the elevator down the hall ding to announce its arrival. He took up a defensive posture, his natural reaction when protecting something. When no one immediately exited the elevator, his wolf perked up. He sniffed the air and sharpened his hearing. He could smell a human and hear breathing. There was someone on that elevator, but judging by the sound of their slow breathing, he didn’t think they were conscious.

  The wolf moved quickly, throwing his arm into the open elevator before the doors could close. He looked down and a steady stream of curses in his native tongue flowed from his mouth. There, laying still on the floor, was one of Jacque’s friends, the one called Sally. He quickly scooped her into his arms and hurried toward her room. He knocked before opening it, hoping he would hear the other one, the mouthy one they called Jen. Silence met his knock, and he cursed again. He opened the door slowly, only to confirm his fears. The room was empty.

  He carried Sally in and laid her on one of the beds, checked her pulse, and watched her for a few seconds to make sure her breathing was steady. Then, as quietly as he entered, he left. All the while, the silence that filled the room screamed at him. Once in the hall, he debated over and over in his mind whether to go search for Jen or call Vasile or Decebel and let them know what was going on. He could only imagine the wrath Decebel would rain down on him. The beta’s actions toward Jen may not be obvious to him, but everyone else saw it, and if he found out she was missing he would tear Skender apart. Maybe I can wait just a little while to see if she comes back. If not, then I will panic. In the back of his mind, he knew he should call his alpha, but fear stayed his hand.

  * * *

  Jen turned toward the guy approaching her. As he got closer, she realized he was pretty cute and not much older than herself. The mischief gods were smiling on her tonight.

  “You do realize you aren’t supposed to be going to the ICU this late, right?” he asked her, totally throwing her for a loop.

  “The ICU?” Jen said stupidly.

  “Yeah, your friend just scuttled off to the ICU. There’s nothing else down that hall.” Jen didn’t respond. Instead, she stood there looking back and forth between the direction Sally had gone and back at the cute guy. Eventually, he spoke again. “I better go get her to keep her from getting in trouble. You need to head on back to wherever it is you are supposed to be.”

  The part about him going and getting Sally was what finally brought her out of her trance. Jen touched his arm to get his full attention, and when he looked at her, she smiled her most seductively adoring smile. “Okay,”--she paused to look at his name badge,--“Matt. You caught me. I was out roaming the hospital because I’m bored out of my mind. I was in a car accident, and I’ve been stuck in bed and I’m finally allowed to be up and moving. So here I am, little ‘ole pathetic me looking for a good time,”--she paused again and winked at him, bringing on a full blush,--“in a hospital. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find a good time that maybe came with a few drinks?” Jen said in her most hopeful voice. The guy named Matt looked at Jen, then at the hallway behind her, clearly torn between doing the right thing and the fun thing. Lucky for Jen, she was very good at convincing guys to do the fun thing.

  “Well, I was just going to end my shift,” he began, but Jen interrupted with a squeal.

  “Yay! See, this was fate. You were going to leave work and be bored, and I was going to have to sit in my bed all alone and be bored. But, instead, we met. Pretty awesome if you ask me.” Jen grinned at him adoringly. She wrapped her arm in his as she said, “Lead the way, handsome.”

  Matt took her to a room marked ‘Dietary’ in bold letters. “We have beer kept on some of the floors for alcoholics who come in.”

  “Shut up! Really?” Jen asked.

  “Yep, the docs have to write a script for it, though. It’s not the greatest, but it’ll get the job done in a pinch.” He grinned at her, and Jen saw that he had dimples. She groaned inwardly. If only she hadn’t given her heart to another. Wait, WTH, she hadn’t given her heart away, what was she thinking? Matt interrupted her inner dialogue when he took her by the hand. After he had filled his backpack with beer, he pulled her out of the room and continued down another hall. They came to a small waiting area tucked around a corner where it was virtually impossible to see them. Matt set down his bag and pulled out two beers. He handed her one and kept the other for himself. Jen sat down on the loveseat and stared at Matt over the rim of the beer can as she took a sip. “So, Matt, what do you do, exactly?”

  * * *

  Four hours, 12 beers, and two bags of Cheetos later…

  Matt sat on the love seat next to Jen while she rambled on about werewolves and how bossy they were. He figured she must’ve read those paranormal romance books that chicks are so into. When she finally paused, Matt took advantage of her silence by placing his fingers under her chin and turning her face to him. Jen’s eyes widened as he leaned toward her.

  “Has anyone told you how pretty you are?” Matt asked her.

  Jen giggled. “On occasion.” Jen turned her head, slightly cocking it to the side and asked, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to kiss you,” he answered bluntly.

  “Huh, well, I guess that’s ok. It is for Jacque, after all.”

  Matt looked confused by her statement, but didn’t respond. He leaned in the rest of the way and pressed his lips firmly to hers. Jen leaned closer into him and allowed him to part her lips with his tongue. This kiss lasted several seconds, but Jen abruptly pulled back when she felt Matt’s hand slip under the hem of her shirt and graze her skin.

  “Oh, I don’t think I’m quite drunk enough for that, big boy,” she teased.

  “Can’t blame a man for trying when there’s a beautiful girl sitting next to him, can you?” Matt winked at her.

  Jen stood up then and would have fallen down if Matt had not steadied her. “Whoa, the floor is dipping. That can’t be safe. You should probably tell someone to have that looked into,” she told him as she continued to try to stay upright.

  “Uh, huh. Jen, I think it’s time I got you back to your room.”

  “Room, shroom, I’m having fun. Aren’t you having fun, Matty?” Amazingly, drunk Jen could still flirt.

  “I’m definitely having fun, but I don’t want someone to worry about you if they come to your room and you are not there. Come on. You point me in the right direction, and I will escort you safely, my lady.”

  “Oooh, you’re my knight with the shiny armor.” Jen giggled.

  “That’s right, beautiful.” Matt smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist to help support her. They staggered slowly in the direction she pointed. She rambled the entire way there, and when they finally neared the room she said was hers, Matt froze at the sight of a big man standing in front of the door. His arms were folded across a wide chest. Matt swallowed hard as he continued forward.

  “Hey!” Jen waved at the man and giggled when he lifted a lip at her and snarled.

  Matt stopped moving forward, and when Jen realized he was nervous, she stepped out of his hold and pointed. “Matty, don’t be nervous, that’s just Splender.” She turned and blew the man a kiss. “He’s just grumpy.”

  Jen continued forward. When she reached the guy, she grinned big and pulled him into a hug which appeared awkward because the man remained stiff as a board.

  “Hey Splender, how ya been?” Jen said as she relinquished her hold on him.

  “It’s Skender,” he growled, “and what are you doing with that?” Skender pointed to Matt with a growl worthy of Decebel.

  “Oh, that’s Matty. He’s my new friend. Right, Matty?”

  “Uh, well yeah. But just friends, man, and I just wanted to make sure she made it back okay, so I’ll just be going then. Bye, Jen,” Matt spoke rapidly and backed away. He gave her a final wave and turned, almost sprinting down the hall away from them.

  Skender fixed his scowl on Jen. “You had better get back in there before Decebel finds out you were gone with a guy.”

  “Oh, Slender, quit being a worry-worrier.” Jen stumbled forward and Skender caught her. He reached back and turned the knob on the door to her room before gently pushing her in.

  “Go to bed and stay out of trouble.” He growled again.

  “What is it with you wolves and your bossy-beingness? It gets old, you know. Hey Spender, is the room spinning or are you spinning? If it’s you, could you please stand still?” Jen wobbled on her feet.

  Skender took her by the hand and led her to the nearest bed. “He is going to rip my throat out with his bare hands,” Skender mumbled under his breath as he eased her to the bed and stepped back.

  “Naw, he won’t rip your throat out.” Jen’s inebriation did not keep her from understanding he was talking about Decebel. “He won’t be that quick about it. Geeze, Snipper. Don’t you know him better than that? When he’s in grouchy-bear mode, he wants to inflict pain. I see it every time he looks in my inspection, wait, that’s not right. When he looks to my…well whatever it is ends in ‘tion’. The points is … pain. ‘K, now, stop spinning.”

  Skender went to the door to leave, but turned back before he closed it. “You going to be okay?”

  Jen gave him a thumbs up. “I am better than good, Spenster. I’m fantabulishisness.” Skender shook his head as he closed the door.

  Jen stood up and wobbled over to the stack of clothes lying on the other bed. For some reason, a shower seemed like a splendid idea. As she reached for her clothes, she noticed a lump under the covers. She leaned forward and poked the lump. It gave a grunt. Well, she thought, it’s a lump, and although she should probably investigate, she figured the lump would still be there when she was done with her shower. Nodding her head in agreement with herself, Jen marched into the bathroom, leaving her clothes behind.

  Fane paced the waiting room of the ICU while Decebel and Vasile played cards. He looked in their direction and growled.

  “Fane, it’s not that we don’t care, but this room would get rather small if all three of us were pacing, and the cards keep our minds busy. So, keep your snarling to yourself,” Vasile said.

  “It’s just driving me crazy,” Fane replied. “The constant waiting, the not knowing. I can’t pick up any of her thoughts; it’s making my wolf very restless.”

  “The doctor must have sedated her, which is a good thing since she was in so much pain. She will be fine, Fane. You know I will do anything in my power to keep her safe.”

  “I know, thank you,” Fane told his father.

  Logan’s phone vibrated, indicating he had a text message. He picked it up and looked at the illuminated screen.

  * * *

  Cme to 4th flr. Use staff elevtr 2 avoid wt rm, I will buzz u n the doors.

  * * *

  Logan stood up and put his phone in the pocket of the lab coat Dr. Steele had left for him. He grabbed the keys to the car the Coldspring pack had loaned him and headed to the fourth floor. He couldn’t help but be nervous with Vasile and his wolves still in the hospital. When the elevator doors dinged and opened, he stepped out and immediately froze. One of Jacque’s friends was standing in front of the doors to the ICU. She was trying to figure out a way to open them. If she was trying to sneak in, the girl wasn’t doing a very good job. He crept up behind her, his wolf helping him move silently while he stalked his prey. Just as the girl was about to turn around, Logan placed his hands on the point between her neck and shoulder and squeezed. She crumpled like a house of cards. He caught her before she hit the floor, and the only thing he could think to do was put her in the elevator and push every button. Surely, someone would find her. He placed her limp body on the floor and watched as the doors closed. That was a development he had not been expecting, but he couldn’t worry about it now. He walked back to the ICU doors and heard a loud buzz and the doors opened. Directly in front of him was the nurses’ station, a circular desk that gave them a clear view of every glass-encased room. Dr. Steele stood waiting in the doorway of a room directly to his right.

  “She’s heavily sedated. I have her hooked to an IV drip to keep her under. I’ve also forged transfer papers to the burn unit at Children’s Hospital in San Antonio in case anyone stops us. It’s not really plausible, but it may buy us some time if caught.”

  Logan was impressed with the doctors’ forethought. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s just get this done,” she growled. Logan wondered if the good doctor’s conscience was nagging at her. He thought about reminding her about what Fane had done to her brother, but decided it would be better to just keep his mouth shut, get Jacque, and go. Dr. Steele had wheeled a gurney into the small room, right up against the bed where Jacque was laying. Logan thought she looked pale, even with her still-pink healing skin.

  “I need you to grab that end of the sheet and on my count, pull. It will slide her smoothly across,” Dr. Steele told him as he stared down at the woman he had chosen as his mate.

  Logan grabbed the end as instructed and pulled smoothly on the doctor’s count of three. He covered her with a blanket up to her neck, and Dr. Steele placed an oxygen mask over her face. She said it was just to help make it harder to identify Jacque. They wheeled the gurney out, and it struck Logan that there was no one else around.

  “Where are the nurses?”

  “There are only two ICU nurses at night. I sent one to get me some more antibiotics from the pharmacy and the other to my office to get my phone.”

  “But you have your phone,” Logan said before thinking.

  “Yes, but she doesn’t know that, does she? Now, hurry before they get back,” she told him as she pulled the door to Jacque’s room closed. They pushed the gurney through doors opposite the ones where Logan had entered. It brought them straight to an elevator. The doors were held open by a large metal trash can. Dr. Steele was ahead of the game. Logan liked that. As they rode down, the sound of elevator music filtered through the speakers, and although the music was meant to be calming, it grated on Logan’s nerves. Calm down, he told himself, it’s almost over.

  After many agonizing moments, the elevator doors finally opened. He and Cynthia pushed the gurney into a hall containing harsh fluorescent lights that shined against white walls and white linoleum floors. Logan could hear sounds emanating from the far end of the hall. The emergency room, he thought. They turned left and quickly wheeled the gurney away from the noise. The hall seemed to go on forever. Just when he thought he might have to take off at a sprint, they came to the exit. Dr. Steele pushed a button on the wall and the doors opened automatically.

  Logan had parked the SUV directly to the left of the doors. As they wheeled the girl over to the back-passenger door, he realized that Jacque’s sickness made the situation a lot more complicated, so he made a split-second decision. When Dr. Steele walked to his end of the gurney to help him load Jacque into the vehicle, Logan grabbed her by the neck. She froze as she felt Logan’s claws pierce her skin. A warm trickle of blood slid down her throat.

  She didn’t know what the hell Logan was up to, but she did know that her role in this game had just changed, and not to her benefit.

  “I cannot manage all these medicines for Jacque, so until you tell me what I need to do to make her better, you are going with us.” Logan growled low, his eyes beginning to shine.

  Her wolf naturally wanted to submit, but the woman just wanted to spit in his face. She looked down at Jacque. The girl really was sick, and the doctor held no ill will against her. Jacque just happened to be caught in the crossfire. Once again to help justify her actions and allay her guilty conscience, she would comply with Logan. “Okay, I will go with you. But as soon as I have shown you what you need to do to heal her, I’m out, got it?”

  Logan gave her neck one more squeeze for good measure. “We’ll see, doc,” he told her, his expression promising retaliation if she did not keep her end of the deal.

  They got Jacque loaded into the back seat. Dr. Steele hung the IV bag from the clothes’ hook above the window, then climbed into the passenger side, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. What have I gotten myself into? Cynthia thought to herself. She watched as Logan pushed the gurney back on the sidewalk, not bothering to take it back into the hospital. He walked to the driver's side door and climbed into the vehicle. Without a word, he started the SUV, put it in drive, and slipped off into the night while Jacque’s mate waited in vain to hear news of her well-being. A tear slid down the doctor’s cheek as she stared out the window.

  OceanofPDF.com

  Chapter 13

  Sally woke groggily. Her first thought was that she was going to be late for school. That would normally have sent her into a panic, but somehow, she couldn’t gather the energy to freak out. Slowly, memories came back to her, memories of a hospital, a car accident, and her friends recuperating.

  She put her hands to her head and moaned. Her forehead felt as if it was splitting open. With much grunting and groaning, Sally slid her feet to the floor and rose, giving her head time to stop spinning and her legs time to steady themselves. She furrowed her brow when she realized there was singing coming from the bathroom. The girl took in her surroundings and realized she was back in Jen’s hospital room, and Jen was not in her bed. Then Sally remembered Jacque was extremely sick and in the ICU. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 5:00a.m. Walking over to the bathroom door, she tried in vain to remember what had happened last night. She gave up and knocked on the door. When the singing continued and no one answered, she turned the knob experimentally. Locked. She pressed her ear to the door and confirmed the singing was indeed coming from her best friend, Jennifer. Pressing closer, she strained to hear her.