Silence of the Wolf

Chapter 6

As soon as Jake Silver took a deep breath, Elizabeth knew he was sampling her scent, checking out the wolf-coyote.

The natural instinct to do so existed in both wolves and coyotes. She wished she didn’t feel so defensive. It didn’t mean he judged her for what she was. But based on past treatment, she automatically assumed the worst.

She didn’t have any sisters, and her half brother, Sefton, had only used her as the butt of his jokes before he moved in with their uncle. Sefton had never teased her in a lighthearted way, like Jake did Tom. She could tell Jake was pulling Tom’s leg, even though he sounded so serious. He smiled at Tom with a devilish glint in his eye.

“Cantrell sent me a short video of you,” Jake said to Tom.

Tom looked clueless. Thinking it was the pay-for-view video of her and Tom kissing, Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat all over again.

Jake was as rugged looking as Tom, but his eyes and hair were darker brown. He was tall and commanding, equally in control. She wondered if their brother Darien appeared much the same. She could easily imagine humans getting them mixed up.

When Jake turned his full attention on her again, his expression grew wary, like he was looking out for his brother’s best interests. A warning. Don’t mess with the Silver pack unless you want to face down some angry wolves.

Jake didn’t have to worry about her intentions. Joining a gray wolf pack here or anywhere was out of the question because of what she was. She had to admit that she found it refreshing to see a pack run their own town and ski resort, instead of hiding among humans and pretending to be just like them. She also liked how protective Jake was of his brother.

Long ago, she’d learned that she just didn’t fit in anywhere. Men—human or otherwise—were a definite hazard to her health. Case in point: whoever had pushed her down the black-diamond slope had meant to injure her. Why? For taking a few pictures of the mountains? Of a skier in action?

What if the skier hadn’t wanted her to capture him on camera in action or any other way? She frowned at that. She realized that even if her camera was broken, she did have the card with the pictures of the man who had ridden the lift with her, if he was the other guy’s ski buddy.

She had a flash of recall. She had taken a backward shot to capture the interesting vista from the lift, and she was certain the man on the chairlift behind her would be in the picture. Maybe blurred. She couldn’t remember exactly what she’d been focusing on.

“I got pictures of them,” she said.

Tom asked, “Of whom?”

“Of the man who pushed me down, if he rode the lift behind us, and the other who might have been with him. I don’t know how good the photos will be.”

Jake glanced at her camera, his face brightening at once. “You’re a photographer.” As if he suddenly recalled what she was doing up there.

She felt like laughing. Now it didn’t matter who she was or what she intended—if she liked photography, she had an in with Jake. “I write for a newspaper.” She took decent pictures, but she didn’t want him to think she was a professional photographer.

Tom frowned. “We’ll check out the pictures after Doc Weber runs some tests on you.”

She hoped the pictures would reveal something useful. But now she had a new problem. She had to get hold of North and make arrangements to meet him somewhere else at a later time. She wouldn’t be able to return to the ski slopes this afternoon.

Jake had to be kidding about taking care of Elizabeth. Jake had a mate, whom he adored, so Tom knew his brother wasn’t interested in the she-wolf. It seemed more like a case of him trying to give Tom a hard time. Or maybe Jake was worried that Tom would show interest in the wrong she-wolf. He wondered what video Jake was talking about, particularly since his brother couldn’t hide the hint of a smile that surfaced when he mentioned it.

Now Jake appeared every bit as interested in her camera and the pictures she’d taken, and nothing else mattered.

“I already offered to go with her,” Peter said. “Tom’s not budging. Although I also want to get a look at those pictures if this was foul play instead of an accident. And Cantrell’s video, if anything important is on that.”

“I agree about the pictures, Peter.” Tom gave his brother a sideways glance, wondering about Cantrell’s video. “I’ll take care of your ski rentals, Elizabeth. After I’ll get your stuff from your locker, I’ll meet you down at the hospital.”

“I need to get up the mountain,” Jake said and slapped Tom on the back. “Keep me posted on the little lady.”

Tom squeezed Elizabeth’s hand with assurance. “I’ll see you real soon.”

He caught Jake’s eye, saw the way his brother watched them, and shook his head. Tom loved his family, but he hadn’t realized what it would feel like for him to be under the magnifying glass and not them when it came to interest in a woman.

Cody, Anthony, and Minx quickly took Elizabeth’s ski rentals in hand and offered to turn them in. Thanking them, Tom headed for her ski locker where he could pick up whatever she’d left there. He hoped the man who had run into her had only done so because he was being a jerk, instead of doing so on purpose.

When Tom arrived at the hospital, the waiting room was empty, mostly because wolves didn’t get sick often and healed quickly on their own. Humans were the only ones who needed much care, but the town had a sparse human population. The receptionist, a middle-aged widow, smiled at him. Maggie was dressed in her usual black and white kitty-cat scrubs. Everyone teased her about wearing cat scrubs when she was a gray wolf in a pack of mostly gray wolves.

“Hi, Tom. Thought you were on ski patrol today.”

“Just this morning.”

“Did you need to see the doctor?” Maggie rose from the chair.

The news would get all over town when he told her he’d come to check on Elizabeth. “I’m waiting to hear what Dr. Weber has to say about Elizabeth Wildwood.”

“Elizabeth Wildwood.” Maggie’s tone of voice and smile said it all—she figured he had something going with the wolf-coyote. “Do you want to have a seat?”

No, he didn’t. He just wanted to learn about Elizabeth’s condition as soon as possible. “I’ll just walk back.”

Before he reached the hallway to the exam rooms, Maggie said, “She’s pretty. Not from around here. Is she moving to town?”

“No.” He wanted to end the discussion without another word.

“Ah. So… there’s nothing to the video.”

Tom paused. “What video?”

“The one that Cantrell took. Didn’t you know about it? He’s charging ten dollars a view. Everyone who’s gotten word of it is paying for it. Even your brothers, I heard.”

Tom said again, “What video?”

Maggie blushed. “Of you kissing a woman on the slopes. I’d say it was… Elizabeth Wildwood.” She smiled. “Really nice kiss. If the eligible she-wolves weren’t already interested, they’d be pounding on your door. And the bachelor wolves? They’ll take notes.”

Tom let out a disgruntled sound and headed for the exam rooms. “I’ll kill Cantrell.”

If Elizabeth had been one of their wolf pack, Tom could have walked back and learned the status of the patient, no questions asked. He would have informed Darien of her condition right away.

Even with her not being part of the pack, Darien would have to be told about her condition since she’d been injured in their territory. That was a pack’s way of doing business. Patient-client privileges were not relevant here. Especially if they learned that the man who had pushed her was a wolf from their own pack and had done so with malicious intent. It was also important to protect the pack from another that might be angered that she’d been injured here.

Tom met Nurse Matthew standing in the hall, typing notes on a computer. New to the pack, the tall, dark-haired man wore blue scrubs and sneakers. When he saw Tom approaching, his somber expression turned into a scowl. Matthew didn’t have much of a sense of humor. The hospital needed him, although he hadn’t fit in well with the other wolves.

Tom had welcomed Matthew to the pack and attempted to draw him out of his lone-wolf mind-set, but he remained standoffish.

Matthew blocked Tom’s path right away. “She’s in with Doc.”

So Matthew knew exactly why Tom was here. And he didn’t like it.

“I know that.” He had only assumed, but he didn’t want to indulge Matthew. “I’ll be in the staff lounge. Tell Doc I need to see him when he’s done.”

Matthew gave a reluctant nod. He had worked in a strictly human hospital before this and had not been with a pack before. He didn’t care for pack politics, but he did like to see to the care of wolves and not just humans. Darien had high hopes that the nurse would come around eventually and join in the other wolf activities in the pack. They needed his nursing skills no matter what.

Tom had pulled Elizabeth’s camera out of his bag the first chance he’d had to see if it worked. He’d thought he might be able to take a look at the display, but he couldn’t get the camera to turn on. Broken? Hopefully it was something easily fixed.

He poured himself a cup of coffee in the staff lounge and glanced out the window. A couple of vehicles drove by—a black pickup and a white minivan. Because of the snow accumulation, the streets were quiet.

Doc Weber walked into the lounge and poured a mug of hot tea. A red wolf from Lelandi’s pack originally, he was gray haired, shorter, and staying here to take care of Lelandi and her babies. Now Jake’s wife would be having hers, and Doc Weber said he’d stick around a while longer. Tom thought he’d stay forever, considering how fond he’d grown of their pack.

“She’ll be okay, if you’ve come to check on Elizabeth Wildwood.”

As if the doc didn’t know that’s why Tom was here. “What’s the verdict?”

“Mild wrist sprain, some bruising, and minor back strain. She doesn’t really need any special treatment for it, but she might want to sleep for a while. She’ll be as good as new before you know it.”

“The concussion?”

“The scan showed no problems. She seems to be fine. If you see any setbacks…” Doc paused. “You’ll watch her, right? I would keep her overnight at the hospital for observation unless you or one of your family members will be with her for the night.”

“Um, yeah.” Tom hadn’t planned to stay with her for the night. But if Doc thought she needed Tom to watch over her, he would. “She said someone pushed her on the slope. Did you see any evidence of bruising, particularly on her back or shoulder?”

Doc Weber rubbed his forehead like he always did when he was tired, then took a sip of his tea. “She has a couple of bruises, but considering all the clothes she wore and that the man most likely wore gloves, I doubt any fingerprint bruise marks would have occurred.”

Footsteps sounded and Elizabeth joined Tom and the doc in the lounge. She had a wrap on her left wrist, her parka under her right arm, and a sack in her hand. She gave Tom an annoyed look. He could tell it was put on—or at least he thought it was.

“I’ll live. Told you so. Dr. Weber was very thorough. You all made way too big of a deal of it.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Tom said, fighting a smile. She was a feisty little thing and ready to bite, and he was amused at her taking him to task. He pulled her snow boots out of the bag and helped her into them after she sat down on one of the chairs.

Doc Weber took another sip of his tea. “I gave her an ice pack she can use.”

Tom eyed the wrap around her wrist. “Thanks, Doc. I’ll be in touch if she begins to feel bad.”

He helped her to stand, then draped her parka over her shoulders. Relieving her of her bag, he rested his hand at the small of her back and guided her down the hall and out through the waiting area. He hurried her past the reception desk before Maggie could say another word that might embarrass his charge. Like mentioning that damned video. He wanted to see it as soon as possible, but he didn’t want Elizabeth to learn of it. And he wasn’t paying to watch it!

Maggie was on the phone, thank God, or he was certain she would have said something to them on their way out.

Elizabeth said, “Did you check my camera?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s not working. I’ll have Jake look at it.”

“Great,” she said unhappily.

As they exited the building into the biting cold, she looked so miserable, her chin pointed down as she stared at the snow-shoveled walkway to the truck, that he felt badly for her. He hoped a good meal would make her feel a little better.

“Do you think you can handle lunch?” he asked.

“My stomach is growling, if that’s any indication that I have an appetite and can eat just fine.”

“How do you feel about eating out? Or would you prefer that we get some food at your room?”

“I’ll be fine. Really, Tom. I can dine out. No special treatment. Thanks, though.”

“All right. I’ll take you to Silver Town Tavern for lunch. When we’re done, we can return to your room, and I can apply the ice pack on your back. That will help keep the swelling and bruising to a minimum.”

She looked at him with one of those almost smiles that said he’d pushed it in trying to get close and personal. But they’d already been close and personal, and if she hadn’t been injured, he’d want to sample more of her kisses. Without an audience and especially without Cantrell around to use his phone video recorder!

He raised his brows. “It’s the least I can do after not being there for you when you were hurt.”

“I’m sure I can manage.”

“Doc’s orders. One of us has to stay with you until we’re certain your condition doesn’t deteriorate.” Tom knew she shouldn’t stay by herself in the event she had incurred some head trauma. She couldn’t even turn her head without wincing and groaning.

When she didn’t say anything, he glanced at her. She smiled at him.

“What?”

“That is the best pickup line I’ve ever heard. You are so bossy. Did you know that?”

He chuckled. “I’m free all afternoon. We can eat, then we’ll drop by your place, and you can try to sleep while I apply the ice pack to your back.”

“All right. I’m sure if I oppose any part of your plan, you’ll disagree.”

“What part of the plan would you object to?”

She rolled her eyes and then tried flexing her fingers, wincing a bit at the sore muscles in her wrist.

“It’ll get better,” he continued. “By tomorrow, some of the edge will be off, courtesy of our wolf…” He paused, wondering if she was the same as them because she had mixed coyote blood. He had no idea if coyote shifters healed faster.

“Yes, I heal quickly also.” Her words were clipped.

He’d hit a nerve, and that made him want to know so much more about her. What was her history with the coyote and wolf packs? Why was she so touchy about her coyote roots?

Maybe he should have been a psychologist like Lelandi. Darien would have a fit if Tom even considered such a thing.

One psychologist in the family was more than enough to drive Darien nuts.