Wolf Fever

Chapter 17

THE GUARD IN THE HOSPITAL WAITING AREA WAS eyeing Carol until she mentioned North’s made-up name. That’s when he looked over at North and seemed to realize that North might be someone to watch. But the guard didn’t make a move to do anything, and Carol smiled as North stood and walked in her direction, coughing for effect, although the urge to do so was there anyway.

“How are we doing, Mr. Graylink?” she asked, walking with him toward the weighing station.

“Been sick. Running a fever. Coughing. All stuffed up.” He hated to admit any of it. As a werewolf, usually he just shifted. If it was a human viral condition, his wolf side would knock it out since the flu was nontransferable. Same thing if he had a canine bout of flu. But this time it was different. His cousin was the proof of that.

North nearly had a heart seizure when he saw Darien’s youngest brother, Tom, watching Carol from the station. Not good. He didn’t realize Tom was here. The alpha male was eyeing him with suspicion. North was too short to be a gray and wearing the hunter’s spray, so Tom couldn’t smell that he was a wolf, either. North had been afraid that if he didn’t use a gray name, he might not get in to see Carol since she was newly turned. Now he was afraid that hiding his scent would create the same problem.

Tom drew closer, took a deep breath, analyzing the air, and held up his hand. “Carol, you have another patient waiting for you.”

North coughed again, only this time he couldn’t help it. The damned tickling in his throat wouldn’t stop, yet it was so sore he was ready to rip it out. He cursed Connor for hiring the bioengineer and the man himself for what he had done to their renegade pack.

“Just this once, Tom.” She smiled at North. “You don’t mind if Tom Silver stays in the exam room with us, do you?” She shrugged. “Stalker boyfriend. Have to have a bodyguard around the clock until they catch him.”

North smiled, hoping his expression didn’t look too evil. Stalker boyfriend. That was about right. But then he looked serious and nodded, even though this was not what he’d had in mind. An exam room alone with Carol, that’s what he’d planned for. He figured he didn’t have much of a choice. Hell. He’d have to knock out Tom and then grab Carol. Hopefully, they wouldn’t make too much of a ruckus and he’d manage to pull this off.

Tom shook his head. “Darien said only special cases.”

“Special” as in lupus garou only because she didn’t have her shifting under control, North assumed.

“Matthew is seeing a patient,” Carol said, sounding exasperated. “I’ll only be with Mr. Graylink a moment. You’ll be with me. Then Doc will see to him.”

“No, Carol. Darien would have my head on this.” He said to North, “Sorry. Please take a seat again in the waiting area. Matthew will be with you in a minute.”

North cleared his phlegm-filled throat. “Probably nothing the doc can do but order me to get bed rest. Unless I have a sinus infection. Might as well go home.”

“What are your symptoms?” Carol asked. He loved the caring way she spoke to him.

“Carol,” Tom said, exasperated.

“If he has a sinus infection, he needs to be on antibiotics,” she said firmly.

“And Matthew can take care of it.” Tom wouldn’t back down, but neither would Carol.

North waited, sweat beading on his forehead.

Carol’s gaze shifted, her brows furrowing. “Have you had a fever?”

“One-hundred and one,” North lied. He’d had a fever, but it was low grade and had vanished by the previous morning. “But that was last night. I didn’t have one this morning. And my teeth have been aching, headache, earache.” Which was true.

“Come over here, and I’ll get your blood pressure and temperature.”

Tom folded his arms and glowered at North. In response, North attempted to look demurely sick and un-threatening. Despite feeling lousy, he could still manage a good fight.

“No fever,” Carol said, reassuringly. “Come with me, and you can wait in the exam room for Doc.”

Tom gave her a look like he could throttle her. She ignored him. North hid a smile.

When they entered the room, she motioned for him to sit in a chair and held up a chart, waiting to question him about his symptoms. Tom watched him like a predator would, and North wasn’t sure he could overcome Tom and Carol before the alarm was shouted.

Hell, he was here, and it was his show. Without further hesitation and with a well-aimed swing, he hit Tom with a hard-knuckle fist in the cheek. Tom stumbled back, crashed into the exam table, and swore.

Carol screamed, and North knew he had no chance to take her now. Still, he jerked a syringe out of his coat pocket, but to his amazement, she pulled one from her scrubs pocket, too. For a moment, they stared at each other, hypodermics readied like two swordsmen in battle. He smiled. The woman was worth having.

Then he dodged out of the room, shoved aside the male nurse headed for the room, tore down the hall past a startled Dr. Weber, and dove through the back door before a guy in a red-and-white-striped jacket could even get up from his chair. Beta wolf.

“Are you all right, Tom?” Carol asked, touching his shoulder and feeling horrible about the whole affair.

He tossed her an angry look.

“I’ll… get an ice pack.”

When she returned to the exam room, Doc was shaking his head.

Appearing sheepish, Christian, who had abandoned his guard post in the waiting area too late to have been of any service, and Mervin stood in the doorway watching them and not saying a word, probably thinking that Darien was going to be pissed at the lot of them for letting one of the reds get so close to Carol and then letting him get away.

Tom glowered at her. “He wasn’t human.”

“I know that now,” Carol said, annoyed but also regretful.

Doc cleared his throat. “That was North, a red from my old pack. Must have been wearing hunter’s scent. I didn’t smell him as he raced by me. Where the hell is Ryan? I thought he was supposed to be watching you.” The inference was that he wouldn’t have let anyone near Carol like Tom and the rest had.

She felt bad, too. If she hadn’t insisted on seeing to the patient, wanting to prove that she could still see humans without any threat of shifting so that they would allow her to be a nurse like she should be, Tom wouldn’t have been hurt and in trouble with his eldest brother. Jake would be just as annoyed with him, she figured. And Ryan also.

Matthew poked his head in. “Got a case where the boy probably needs to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon in Denver, Doc.”

Doc gave Carol a hard look that reminded her she was one of the pack and had to obey rules. “I’ll see to him,” he said to Matthew.

Tom took charge of the guards. “Mervin, return to your post. Christian, stay outside the exam room until Carol leaves for the day.”

Feeling like a lupus garou failure, Carol worked for three more hours seeing to one sick patient after another, but she couldn’t help worrying about Ryan and about Tom—knowing she’d caused trouble for him.

After finishing with another gray female who had the flu, she thought again about Ryan. Even though she didn’t want him getting himself or anyone on the staff in trouble by offering medical advice, she missed his antidotes, all given in the spirit of wanting to help others in need.

She realized then that he was similar to her in wanting to help others. As a P.I. looking into missing persons or wayward spouses or insurance fraud. As the mayor, trying to provide his people with a better way of life.

She glanced out the window between patients as Christian sat outside her exam room and served as a guard, while inside the room Tom watched her. He’d finally given up scowling at her and was resigned to his fate, but she hated seeing where the red had struck him, a reminder to her that not everyone could be trusted, sick or not.

“Ryan will be all right,” Tom finally said.

At the moment, she was worried about how Ryan, Darien, and Jake would react when they learned North had tried to take her again, this time from the hospital, and Tom had gotten clobbered for it.

“Ryan’s been shot three times—an unhappy husband caught in an adulterous affair, one fire insurance fraud case, and a robbery attempt at the bank next door to his P.I. business. He always comes out on top,” Tom continued.

Carol closed her gaping mouth. “How—”

“Darien checked up on him. You don’t think he hired him to be your bodyguard without seeing if he had the fortitude to do the job, do you?”

“But… if he’s been shot that many times, wasn’t Darien afraid he wouldn’t do the job right?”

“He’s had hundreds of cases over the many years he’s lived. So proportionately, he’s done damn well.”

“You don’t really seem to like him,” she said, although Tom had surprised her this time, sounding less harsh concerning Ryan than before when the two were butting heads.

“I think Jake should be the one for you. Then we’d keep you in the family.”

For the first time, Carol saw that he really did act like a protective brother. She smiled. “That’s sweet of you. But he’s not shown any real interest.”

Tom shook his head and winced. “He’s coming a little too late to the party, I’m afraid.”

Her cell phone rang, and she glanced at the Caller ID. Her mother. She’d been so irate every time she and Carol had had a visit recently because someone from the pack always accompanied them. Lelandi, Silva, one of Darien’s brothers. Carol imagined her mother was mad about it again, but Carol couldn’t tell her why Darien always wanted her chaperoned—that she was a newly turned werewolf and might let her “condition” slip.

Now with her having been kidnapped, pack members were watching her to an even greater degree. Hopefully her mother did not want to get together again soon, although she had loved to go shopping with Carol or to share a lunch. But how could she explain to her mother that she was being guarded more than usual, again?

“Hello, Mom. What’s up?”

“Ryan McKinley called me.”

Carol’s brain turned to mush. Not in a million years did she think Ryan would call her parents. “He called you? What about?” Her dad was always a real beta in wolf terms, even though he was human like her mother. Her mother definitely wore the pants in the family.

Her mother hesitated to say what McKinley had called her about, and Carol didn’t know what to think. “Mom?”

“Did you tell him that I sent you to see that psychiatrist?”

Crap. So was he trying to figure out if she was telling the truth concerning Dr. Metzger’s wife’s death? Ryan was an investigator, she had to remind herself. It was his business to investigate, and he wouldn’t get the truth from Dr. Metzger, not with patient confidentiality issues. But to call her mother…

“What did he ask you, Mom?”

“I didn’t tell him anything. I hung up on him. That’s what I did. He had no business calling me. He’s the one who doesn’t believe in your abilities. Isn’t that what you said? I have no time for people like that. I don’t care if he’s interested in dating you. He can’t. And that’s my final word.”

Carol raised her brows. “I am twenty-six, Mom.”

“Are you dating him?”

“Well…”

“Oh, Carol. You can’t be serious. Your relationships never work out. You need someone who at least believes in what you can do, like your father and I do.”

“I’ve only had one real relationship. And that was just out of high school.” There was a significant pause, and Carol glanced at the patient’s record again.

Her mother said, “I want grandkids.”

Carol bit her lip and looked back at Tom. He was watching out the exam-room window, but she knew he was mentally taking notes of everything she said to her mother. Speaking to any pack member was acceptable. But talking to a human alone, even when that person happened to be her mother? Wouldn’t be allowed. Which was ridiculous. If she made a slip about being a werewolf, would anyone believe her? They’d think she was joking.

Well, maybe not, since Carol was psychic and her parents had finally had to embrace the fact. What if she spilled the beans to them? They’d be destined to be just like her. Or terminated. According to Lelandi, anyone who learned that lupus garous existed had two choices—become one of them or die.

That seemed cruel, but it was the only way their kind had survived for a millennium or two. Carol could just imagine what would happen if werewolves were found to be real. They’d be treated differently—like outcasts— and most likely examined ruthlessly.

The worst of it? They were virtual fountains of youth, living much longer than their human counterparts. What if humans could manufacture whatever anomaly gave werewolves their increased longevity and bottle it? What if everyone wanted to be werewolves?

Hmm, that could be a good thing, she supposed. No more hiding what they were.

“Carol? Did you hear me? I want grandkids,” her mother repeated over the phone.

Carol took a deep breath. How could she tell her mother that grandkids were out? That they’d be were-kids—and who knew what kind of trouble they could get into? How could she raise little lupus garous when she hadn’t grown up as one and was still fumbling around with her own identity?

“Mom, I’m working at the hospital and need to go.”

“You do plan to have children, don’t you? You’re the only daughter we have left now.”

The guilt trip again. “I need a guy in my life first.”

“I shouldn’t have hung up on Ryan, should I have?” Her mother sounded really sorry for what she’d done.

Carol smiled. “Probably served him right. Got to go. Talk to you later.”

“Next time you visit, bring Ryan along. I haven’t met him, and I want to make sure he’s all right for you. That is if you’re hell-bent on dating him. I’ll give him a talking-to about your uniqueness.”

Uniqueness. Even now, her mother couldn’t bring herself to say Carol had psychic abilities. “He lives in Green Valley.”

“I know, I know. He told me. Just bring him by sometime. Soon.”

“All right. Bye, Mom.”

“Ask him if he wants kids. It’s important to discuss such things with a guy you’re interested in.”

“All right, if I get interested.”

“He’s interested, Carol, or he wouldn’t have called me.”

Her mom might not have psychic connections, but she was fairly intuitive when it came to understanding people. Still, Carol figured Ryan had only had one thing on his mind when he called her mother.

“You don’t think he was just going to ask if I truly had a vision about the doctor’s wife?”

“Of course he was. That’s what made me mad. He shouldn’t have to ask. But he wouldn’t have bothered calling me if he wasn’t intrigued with you. And I loved his sexy voice.”

Even though her mother didn’t like that Darien had moved Carol into his home, or that he or his brothers or Lelandi were always watching her, her mother loved Darien and his brothers’ sexy voices also. There was something about alpha males’ voices that made everyone take notice.

Call waiting warned Carol that she had someone else on the line. “I have another incoming call, Mom. We’ll have to talk later.”

“All right, dear. Good-bye.”

“Bye, Mom. Thanks for giving me a ring.”

Carol hung up and then stared at the Caller ID. Rosalind McKinley? Was she Ryan’s sister? It seemed to Carol as though she truly was dating Ryan, the way everyone was calling her about him. At least, that’s what she suspected his sister wanted to talk to her about since Carol had never met Rosalind… or spoken with her before. The day just got weirder and weirder.

“Hello, this is Carol Wood. How may I help you?”

“Hi, Carol, this is Rosalind McKinley, Ryan’s sister. I wonder if Ryan has told you how much he wants you.”

Carol glanced at Tom, who was trying to listen to her conversation. He set the ice pack down on the counter and folded his arms, his look annoyed. He didn’t budge from the room.

“What makes you think that?” Carol asked Rosalind. She already liked the woman for having the gumption to call her. But she wondered if Ryan’s sister really knew what she was talking about or just thought she knew her brother that well.

“Oh, Carol. I can call you Carol, can’t I?”

“Sure.”

“Well, Ryan hasn’t been able to think of anything since he met you five months ago. It was Carol this and Carol that, and dark brooding looks, chopping wood, pacing back and forth, wearing out our carpeting, impossibly distracted whenever I tried to talk with him.”

“He said nice things about me then?” Carol felt a warm glow.

“Oh, no… not at all.”

That hit Carol like she’d just been sprayed with a cold shower, dousing the warm, fuzzy feeling at once. “No? What then?”

“My brother was obsessed with you. Still is. Mate the poor fool and put him out of his misery. I can’t wait to meet you. No other woman has had this kind of effect on him. It’s wonderful.”

“But what did he say exactly to you about me?”

“He had taken tons of pictures of you. He keeps them in the top of the folder, and despite the case being closed, he keeps the file out for handy reference. Not to study the case but to get another look at you. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Not exactly.” Carol noted that Rosalind did not exactly say what Ryan had told her about Carol, either.

“He’s in love. I’ve never seen him fall so hard for a woman. But I was worried he might not get the message across to you, so I thought I’d better call and let you know how he feels. Just in case.”

“Um, thanks.” I think. Carol could just imagine telling Ryan that she understood he loved her and was thrilled he felt that way. He’d look at her like she’d lost her mind.

“Don’t thank me! I’m getting a sister!”

Her comment made Carol smile.

A commotion ensued in the lobby, garnering Carol’s attention, and Tom moved into the hall to check it out. “We’ll have to have this conversation later, Rosalind. Thanks so much for calling me.”

“Can we have lunch soon?”

Carol already really liked Rosalind, her friendliness, enthusiasm, camaraderie. She seemed like someone who’d be in Carol’s court if she needed her. “Lunch sounds great.”

“Hell, I’m fine, damn it,” Ryan growled in the waiting area down the hall.

Carol furrowed her brows and glanced back at the hall, but she was unable to see Ryan. The thrill of seeing him back without a scratch was tempered by worry that he’d be angry with Tom… or her… for letting North into the exam room with her.

Jake said in a scolding tone, “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who is a horrible patient. If you won’t go peaceably, I’ll have to send you to Matthew to check you out instead of Carol. And you definitely won’t make brownie points there. Guaranteed. Your choice.”

Her heart tripping, Carol looked at Tom.

He gave her a wry smile. “Guess that makes four times. Unless he was wounded in some other fashion.”

“Is that my brother growling about something?” Rosalind asked.

“It’s him. But I’m not sure what about. I’ve got to go. Trouble at the hospital.” Concerning your brother, but Carol wasn’t about to tell his sister that, in the event it wasn’t anything. “I’ll call you later.”

“Look forward to it.” They disconnected.

Her blood running cold, Carol shoved the next patient record into the holder. If Ryan had been shot because he was trying to protect her, she didn’t want to even think about it.

She hurried in the direction of the waiting room.