As soon as Ryan parked the truck at Doc’s rental house, a neat little clapboard house with a white picket fence surrounding it, she noted the sign hanging above the door. The sign welcomed visitors, which was just like Doc. If patients needed him when he wasn’t on duty, they were welcome to come to see him at anytime.

  Carol jumped out of the truck before Ryan could exit the vehicle. She hurried to Doc’s door, afraid Jake would try to stop her. Ryan stalked after her, his footfalls getting closer. After knocking and not getting a response, she unlocked the door. She saw Jake park behind Ryan’s vehicle as she hurried inside, hoping she could speak with Doc before he might decide to shift and it would be too late.

  To forestall any disagreement, Ryan waited on the porch to talk to Jake and Tom, who were hurrying up the walk. “She’s just checking on him.”

  “She has his key? Hell, what if the old guy has a girlfriend?” Jake shook his head and folded his arms, while both of them stared into the dark house.

  Tom watched in the other direction, making sure no one visited the house who shouldn’t be there, just like they shouldn’t.

  Jake suddenly turned to Ryan, his eyes widening. “She had a premonition?”

  “No. Well, just a feeling, from what I understand.” At least he didn’t think she’d had a new vision. And he wasn’t giving away the vision she’d had of several of them shape-shifting and not turning back. Not unless she wanted him to.

  When she didn’t appear right away, they walked into the living room. Carol hurried down the hallway, waving for them to leave.

  “He’s sleeping soundly,” she whispered, looking vastly relieved.

  Ryan took her comment to mean that Doc was still in his human form.

  In the kitchen, the phone rang. Carol instinctively ran to get it, but Ryan grabbed her hand. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he said, his voice hushed.

  “I don’t want the phone to wake Doc.” She paused as the answering machine came on.

  “Hey, Doc. I called earlier but didn’t leave a message. This is North Redding, and we’ve got a bit of trouble here.”

  Carol trembled, and Ryan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as if he was protecting her from the menace.

  “We really could use your help. We’re no longer with Lelandi’s pack but started our own. If you could see your way to helping us out, we’d sure appreciate it. I’ll call back later to see if you’re agreeable.”

  The connection disconnected.

  Ryan rubbed Carol’s arm. “Was that one of the men who took you hostage?”

  She nodded. “The one who carried me. He’d spoken to the others when he took me hostage the first time. I’d recognize his voice anywhere. He’s the same one who hit Tom when we were in the exam room. Doc identified him by name.”

  Jake said to Tom, “I want you to stay here and watch over Doc. I’ll send others to help look after him in case North tries to take him hostage. Can you manage it?”

  Tom nodded. “Hell, yeah.”

  “North was sick, and maybe others in his pack are also. If they need our help…” Carol said, letting her words trail off.

  “Why go after Carol and the doc? Why not contact either of the other nurses?” Tom asked.

  “North and his men are reds,” Ryan reasoned. “Even though Doc is, too, I imagine they went after Carol first because they wanted to keep her in their pack. Then when they figured it was going to be too difficult to try for her again, they decided to solicit Doc’s help.”

  “I’ll keep him safe,” Tom said. “Just let any of them try to break in.”

  Jake slapped him on the back. “I’ll send Deputy Trevor and a couple of other men over to watch the outside. Let us know at once if anything happens.”

  Ryan headed out to the truck with Carol and Jake, leaving Doc under Tom’s protection. “You might have someone posted to watch out for the other two nurses, just in case North and his men go after them, figuring they can’t wait for Doc’s help,” Ryan said to Jake.

  “Hell.” Jake flipped open his phone and punched in a number. “Darien, we’ve got a new situation.”

  “See you at the house,” Ryan said to Jake. Jake gave him the thumbs-up, and Ryan led Carol to his own truck.

  When they were on their way to Darien’s home, Ryan asked. “Doc was all right, correct?”

  “Yes.” Carol rubbed her arms and still appeared unsettled.

  “Good thing you wanted to check on him. If we hadn’t learned of North’s interest in him, we might not have discovered what they were up to until it was too late. Whoever’s sick can be brought here. And none of the medical staff is going to them. Certainly not after what they pulled with you. Are you sure you didn’t have a premonition of the phone call? It seems odd that you were so desperate to go there, and we find he’s just sleeping, but then we learn of North’s interest in the doc.”

  “I didn’t have a vision of anything. Just a strong feeling. And since the last vision I had was of Doc not being able to shift back, that’s what I feared this was all about.”

  “I thought we established that you don’t see lengthy visions, that he could very well shift later on.”

  “In his wolf form, he’s agitated. I can’t see where he is, but it’s like he’s caged in. Like he’s stuck.”

  He could allow that she “felt” something. She was correct in assuming that he’d have a hunch about a situation and know danger was present, or that someone was lying to cover their illicit deeds. Nothing that he could prove in a court of law. Just that elusive feeling.

  But he couldn’t help feeling that something more had triggered her need to be at Doc’s house at the right moment. Something that was a little more than a hunch. Something like a sixth sense that went beyond what he normally believed in.

  Silence filled the air as he thought about Doc being in his wolf form, pacing and anxious, and what could bring that about. “Maybe he just does that normally, Carol.”

  She turned to stare at him. “What?”

  “Doc. Maybe he turns into the wolf and paces when he’s agitated sometimes. All of us handle situations differently. My Aunt Tilda likes to take a nap as a wolf. As a human, she feels she isn’t allowed. To her way of thinking, only children take naps. But as a wolf, she feels it’s acceptable. So maybe when Doc Weber is stressed, he shape-shifts. To an extent, it does change who we are for a while. It’s a different sort of freedom.”

  “Maybe he does shift for that reason,” she said quietly, “but I wouldn’t have a vision of something that is perfectly normal for him.”

  Silence stretched between them as Ryan mulled that over. “Do you see more pieces of the vision later on?”

  “Sometimes. Mostly it’s just the same spot in time, the same image. Like with Mervin tackling me.”

  Despite not having any confirmation that what she envisioned could come to pass, Ryan was beginning to worry for Doc, too.

  Chapter 20

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER, RYAN PULLED INTO DARIEN’S drive, unable to let go of Carol’s concern over Doc or his own worry that she might be right. He turned off the ignition and spoke to Carol as Jake pulled in behind him and parked.

  “You sure you didn’t have another premonition about Doc that triggered your concern?”

  “I’m certain. Why do you keep asking?”

  He shook his head and opened his door. “I don’t know. Maybe your premonitions have… gotten me to thinking.”

  “You felt something, too?” Her eyes were wide. “A hunch that maybe something wasn’t right?”

  Or maybe her worry was feeding into his psyche. Almost as if her concern for a future unknown event had sensitized him to the possibility that it existed. He shook his head at himself, she sighed, and he closed his door. Before he could reach hers, Jake was already there again, helping her out.

  Darien headed outside to speak to them. “I don’t want Lelandi to know about this latest development concerning North and his men. She’s to be under guard as usual until we settle this. But it appears that the hospital staff are most likely the targets this time. Tom called and said Doc woke to find him there, was coughing his head off, and decided to shift.”

  “No,” Carol said, her voice hushed as her hand flew to her breast.

  Ryan caught her free arm as she wobbled on her feet.

  Darien frowned. “He thought he’d feel better. Sometimes our wolf halves can handle colds or allergies better. If it’s the flu, canines can’t catch the human variety. So it would knock it out. Anyway, if it’s any of the more common stuff, sometimes shifting will lessen the symptoms. But he’ll know before long and can change back if need be. ”

  Carol looked pale and distraught.

  “Let’s go inside,” Darien said, studying her. “Lelandi’s got supper on.”

  His arm around her waist, Ryan walked Carol into the house and whispered to her, “You all right?”

  “Sure… sure, I’m all right.”

  “Is Tom staying the night with Doc?” Ryan asked Darien.

  “Yeah. The sheriff is running by there to watch the area, too, and a couple of other men also. He’s well safeguarded.” Darien motioned for Jake to take Carol into the dining room. “I want a word with you, Ryan.” He walked Ryan back outside as Jake led a reluctant Carol into the dining room. “Have you learned how Carol is stopping the shift?”

  “Visions.”

  Darien raised his brows. “Really.” He said the word with awe, but then he frowned. “Can she always control it?”

  “If her panic in attempting to reach her bedroom after Mervin accosted her is any indication, I’d say no. She stopped the shift, but I think she was awfully close to changing until she was able to control the urge.”

  Looking thoughtful, Darien rubbed the dark stubble on his chin. “Not good. If she doesn’t have any real power over it—which would be expected since she’s newly turned, although some have better control than others—she’s going to be real trouble. Can you convince her to shift?”

  “No. I believe she’ll continue to try and avoid it through her visions. I don’t think there’s any way that I can convince her to accept that part of our werewolf nature. At least for now.”

  “You have faith in her visions now?”

  As much as Ryan had a hard time trusting in anything of the sort, he did. “Yeah, I do. Even though it goes against everything I’ve ever believed in. I did try a psychic once in my line of work, but she turned out to be a fraud.”

  “I know,” Darien said, his lips curving up slightly.

  “You knew?” Ryan was used to doing the investigations, not being investigated.

  “When someone gets interested in joining the pack or shows interest in one of my pack members, I have him or her checked out. I owe it to my people.”

  “And you discovered?”

  “All about your faux psychic. If that had happened to any of my pack members, the man who threatened you with libel and the woman who was a phony psychic would have been leaving town for good.”

  “That’s the problem with Green Valley being a human-run town for the most part. We want more of what you have here in Silver Town, where you and your brothers run things.”

  Darien nodded. He didn’t say anything for several lengthy moments, studying Ryan the whole time, and then he asked, “What if you mated her?”

  Darien could have knocked Ryan over with the question, it surprised him so. He observed the Douglas firs shuddering in the breeze. He hadn’t planned on taking a mate. Hadn’t been looking for one. Yet ever since he’d met the determined woman five months ago and had seen her heroics, her determination to help save others in need, no matter the consequences to her own life, he couldn’t deny that he’d been thinking along those lines.

  The way Carol reacted to him physically was a sure indication that the wolf side of them was well aware of the interest they had in each other. After Carol had caressed his plaid in the truck and he envisioned himself wearing it while she continued to touch the fabric so intimately, he’d again envisioned her being his mate. They’d partake in the Celtic festivities, even if he was a McKinley and she was a MacDonald. He’d wrap her in his plaid and show her just what a Highlander of old was capable of.

  He looked back to see Darien waiting for a response. Would Ryan be able to convince her to shape-shift if he mated her?

  “I’m not sure she’d shape-shift if I mated her. She’s pretty stubborn.”

  Darien snorted. “Tell me about it. Come on. I know Carol’s concerned about something, and I want to find out what.” He slapped Ryan on the back. “Let’s get something to eat before we upset Lelandi by letting the food get cold.”

  When they entered the dining room, Darien said to Carol, “You seemed concerned that Doc had shifted. What’s wrong?”

  She gave a heavy sigh as he watched her, his brows furrowed. Ryan was sure that if she told Darien what she’d envisioned, he wouldn’t believe her. Even if he might believe her about her other premonitions. But then again, Ryan wasn’t sure she’d even tell him what she’d seen.

  With an expression that bordered on insubordination, she straightened her shoulders, looked Darien in the eye, and said, “I see Doc, you, and Jake shift into your wolf forms, but none of you can shift back.”

  “Oh.” Darien’s whole expression lightened several degrees. “Can’t happen. Sometimes we stay in our wolf persona for hours or days. Depends on the circumstances. But your visions are only fragments of time, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “I won’t.” She sat in the chair Ryan pulled out for her as Jake brought in a platter of hickory-smoked brisket. “And I won’t even tell you I told you so when it happens.” She shrugged. “The point will be moot.”

  The aroma of brisket and dark-brown gravy filled the air. Broccoli and cauliflower sat in a separate serving dish. Mashed potatoes were piled high on another, and Ryan’s stomach growled.

  Smiling, Lelandi pulled off an apron, looking very domestic for a change. Ryan helped bring in a platter of bread, while Jake hurried to carry in the other dishes.

  “Poor Tom doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Jake said, a little too evilly. “Guess there will be more for me.”

  “Where is Tom?” Lelandi asked casually.

  Darien’s expression darkened, but then he put his hand around Lelandi’s shoulders and guided her to the table.

  “Doc’s got a cold, and Carol was worried about him. Tom is staying the night to make sure he doesn’t get worse.”

  Carol and Lelandi shared looks. Lelandi had to know that wasn’t what Carol was concerned about. Then Carol opened up her phone, punched in a number, and said, “Hey, Tom? Tell me the minute Doc shifts back into his human form, okay?”

  Lelandi hesitated to sit at the table.

  “Thanks.” Carol hung up her phone and gave Lelandi a wilted smile. “The meal looks terrific. Wish I could cook like this.”

  Lelandi managed a laugh. “Don’t believe her. She’s a great cook.”

  Everyone took their seats.

  Jake scooped a pile of mashed potatoes onto his plate from a large bowl. “Yep, except she’s very nutrition conscious. Makes us eat the right amounts of veggies and fruits with all our meals.”

  “I shouldn’t be the one who has to tell you to eat right, Jake.” Carol forked some beef onto her plate and then handed the platter to Lelandi.

  Ryan could feel the tension between the two women, the unspoken words, the shuttered looks. With Darien and his brother, the tension vibrated between them also, but for a different reason. He was sure they didn’t take Carol seriously on this issue and were more concerned about North’s message to Doc. And the possibility the reds were targeting more of the medical staff than they had first bargained on.

  “I’ll be moving into our grandfather’s house in a couple of months,” Jake announced, stirring gravy into his potatoes and trying to change the subject, no doubt. “Should be livable by then.”

  Lelandi sighed. “You don’t have to move.”

  Darien took her hand and squeezed. “Believe me, he has to. Once three new babies are in the house, he’ll have to find his solitude elsewhere.”

  Jake nodded. “The old place needs another coat of paint, some new plumbing, and some other minor repairs. But after that, it should be ready to move in. Tom and I’ve taken care of updating all the electrical wiring, and the chimney is cleaned out and ready to use. He said he’ll live with me for the time being.”

  “Sounds good.” Darien sipped a beer.

  Lelandi took another deep breath. “I’d hoped you would be our babysitter when we went out nights.”

  Jake laughed. “Silva’s already put her name on the long list of babysitters. Even got Sam rooked into it. And I know for a fact the list is growing daily.”

  Carol sipped some of her wine but didn’t say a word. She looked consumed with worry, although she tried to smile at the conversation.

  Darien’s phone rang, and he lifted it off his belt. “Yeah, Tom?” His brow pinched together in a frown. “Tom, what’s… Tom!” He quickly rose from his chair and headed for the door.

  Jake hurried after him.

  “Call the alert roster. North and his men approached Doc’s house. Tom’s cell phone went dead after that. You stay here with Ryan to protect the women,” Darien said to Jake.

  Lelandi sat frozen to her chair. Carol joined her and rubbed her shoulder. Ryan checked out the front window, looking for anyone who shouldn’t be there, while Jake called someone. “Call the alert roster. Tom’s in trouble at Doc’s house.”

  His voice trailed off as he left the dining room and checked the sunroom’s and great room’s back doors.

  “I guess I should put the food away,” Lelandi said, her voice small and disconcerted.

  “No,” Ryan said. “Eat. You’re not feeding just one now. And, Carol, you’ve been on your feet all day. Go ahead and eat.”