Page 10

Chapter Ten

Fen

“H ey, Dad, What’s up? Are you and Mom okay?” It was strange to get a phone call from my father first thing in the morning on a Wednesday. A sharp stab of fear attacked my chest at the thought that he would deliver bad news.

“Oh, no. Everything is fine with us, Fen.” My father chuckled. “I’m sorry for causing any alarm. I just wanted to let you know that you may see some trouble headed your way.”

“What do you mean?” An icky heaviness covered my skin, my intuition telling me Dad had bad news to share. My wolf began to pace, thinking the worst was to happen.

“Those idiots from the pack. Marcus and his group of followers.” My father swore under his breath. “They think that you and Arley need to pay for leaving town without permission. They told the elders that they are too soft for leadership roles and that they will set things right again within this pack. They think forcing Arley back home will be the key to demanding the respect they deserve.”

“I thought the elders were going to sort out this mess and deal with Marcus and his gang of thugs.” I shook my head, disappointed in how the pack handled the situation. Disappointed in Marcus in general. “What happened?”

“They did have a meeting between Marcus and the elders. It was volatile.” My dad growled. “They roughed up a few of the elders since this wolf virus has weakened us older wolves.”

“What?” I stood from my chair, alarmed at the thought of anyone getting hurt. “Is everyone okay? And when will the doctors or healer solve the mystery of everyone getting sick?”

“Don’t worry, kiddo. Everyone is fine. They just got restrained by Marcus’ men,” Dad said. “As for the virus. They are still running tests and trying to figure it out. They have decided to start testing our water source and anything else that all members use. A small fraction of the younger pups are getting sick too.”

“I don’t know what worries me more. The pack’s politics or everyone getting sick?” I absently wondered if the two were connected; not the elders, per say, but Marcus. But that was my author brain spinning tales.

“For me, it’s the pack. I swear this pack and town are circling the drain. Your mother and I are one foot out of here at this point.” I couldn’t blame them; so much had changed since I left home.

“Well, if you need to, come out here and we will make it work. Maybe get a small house in one of the suburbs or something since the city will be a bit steep.” I looked over at my sleeping mate. Arley looked so peaceful sleeping curled around my pillow. “Do you really think we need to worry, Dad?”

“I do.” He sighed, and I wondered if there was more to it. “Those kids are too full of themselves and some conflated concept of predatory shifters being better than all others.”

“Fuck.” He was right, as much as I wanted him to be wrong. I leaned over and kissed Arley’s shoulder when he rolled over to continue to sleep. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads-up.”

“Of course. Let us know if they do show up. And be safe. We love you both.”

“Love you too.” I hung up the phone and lay back down, pulling Arley back into my arms. The scent and feel of my mate settled my nervous wolf. He was ready to attack at any shadow. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“Everything okay?” my mate mumbled. He did a little shift in my arms as he snuggled closer. “It sounded like there might be drama.” My mate was always perceptive. The best mate ever, and I knew I would do whatever it took to keep him safe.

“Marcus and his legion of fools all decided that you and I overstepped pack rules by leaving town without permission. They are on a mission to find us and demand retribution.” I knew I sounded sarcastic and hateful, but it pissed me off and made me worry. I kissed my mate’s neck, pulling him closer, not that there was any room to spare between them. “Promise me you won’t go anywhere alone, all right? Not until this shit passes and they move on to something else. Like training the next generation of wolves to ignore knowledge and only speak into the echo chamber of ideocracy.” Which honestly scared the crap out of me. What if our children ran into Marcus’ idiots one day? I shuddered at the thought.

“I’m so glad I don’t live there anymore. It wasn’t so bad when we were younger and my parents were still alive. But it seemed like in the last few years everything shifted. For the worst.” I hated that Arley struggled when he should have been safe.

“Exactly. It was always kind of there in the shadows, I think. But something shifted while I was out here for school. When I returned home for break and saw how different Marcus and the others had become, I knew I could never live there again.” I shivered at the thought. Thank goodness I found Arley when I did and we moved. I’d be in a constant battle of panic if Arley had stayed behind. “I’m glad I was able to talk you into moving out here with me.”

“It didn’t take much. I mean, I miss my little house but honestly, I wasn’t feeling safe out there any longer.” Arley shivered and I clenched my arms. “Not with Marcus making a play at taking over the pack leadership. Any shifter who wasn’t a bear or wolf, or some other dominant hunter, was in his line of vision for take down. They were just a bunch of bullies.”

I sighed as I rolled to my back, taking Arley with me. He grunted and giggled at the sudden movement. “I just wish we had answers to why the shifters in the pack are getting sick suddenly. My parents were never sick; you know shifters hardly are. But now there is this virus hitting the whole pack. My dad just told me it’s hitting the kids now.”

“That is worrisome.” Arley leaned his head on my shoulder, his body doing a cute shimmy as he continued to get comfortable on my hard chest. “Do you think maybe someone is behind it? I know some witches can do sickness spells. Maybe we should ask the campus pack or medical center if they have ideas on what could cause this amongst the shifters.”

“That’s not a bad idea. I was having my own second thoughts on it, but that could just be my imagination.” I pulled Arley closer up my chest, his lips ripe for the taking. I was finally feeling hopeful that I might help my dad. “I’ll talk to the campus pack later this week. Patrick can introduce me to the council here and maybe we can come up with some answers.” With a plan in place, I seized Arley’s lips and rolled us before we had to leave for morning classes.

***

“Hi, Patrick.” I sat outside the campus café with one of my classmates and leaders in the campus pack. My leg bounced under the table as my wolf paced. I knew what I had to do, but the idea of having issues and not being able to help made me antsy. “I’m glad you were able to meet up with me today.”

“You know I’m addicted to coffee.” Patrick laughed, tilting his coffee cup in thanks. “Offer to buy me my favorite latte and I’ll make room in my schedule. Besides, we’re friends and you said you had a question for the pack.”

“I was hoping maybe you or the elders of your pack can help me and my birth pack.” I picked up my mocha and savored the assault of flavor that hit my mouth. I let it soothe my frayed nerves for a moment before I steeled myself for what needed to be done.

“I can’t make any promises but I can hear you out and see.” Patrick drank his latte, listening intently. “What exactly is the problem?”

“My birth pack is experiencing an issue currently.” I placed my mocha on the table and pushed away my empty plate. “There seems to be a wolf virus affecting the members.”

“Shifters hardly get sick.”

“Exactly. That’s why we are worried. It started with the eldest of the pack and now is hitting the youngest members.” I leaned in, resting on my elbows. “None of the local doctors or healers know what the issue is.”

“And you are hoping maybe my pack has some experience with a virus like this. Or inspiration on what it could be?” Patrick pulled out his cell. “Let me call two of my friends and have them meet us. They are experts in wolf viruses—both medically and magically.”

“Magically?” Just as I worried.

“If it’s mysterious, then there may be a magical element involved. Either causing it directly or masking the truth from anyone researching it.” Patrick nodded. “We have some witches from the greatest covens attending the university. I can speak with them and perhaps a couple can take a small trip to your hometown and scope out the area for traces of energy left behind by a spell. If they find anything, they may be able to unweave it.”

“And what if it’s an actual virus? Do the doctors here know much about that?” If I can get their assistance, my dad can get better.

“I just texted my friends and they will be here in ten minutes.” Patrick put his phone on the table. “But I can also send one or two of our best doctors to Painesville and have them work with your local doctor and healer to pinpoint the illness.”

“That would be amazing. Thank you.”

Ten minutes later, Patrick’s friends joined us at the café. Skye was a witch I knew from my chemistry class last semester, and Damian was a dragon that worked in the campus medical center. The energy of both felt warm and welcoming and my hope expanded even more.

“Thank you for joining us.” Patrick stood and hugged the newcomers. “My friend Fen has an issue in his birth pack and he’s hoping we can shed some light on. A medical mystery afflicting the pack.”

“And something is telling you there may be a magical interference as well?” Skye sat down with iced coffee in hand. I remembered that she hardly ever didn’t have one with her.

“My intuition is blaring,” Patrick confirmed. “I was thinking perhaps we can have a couple pack and given members go visit and see if we can be of any assistance.”

“We can definitely plan a trip.” Rayne looked at Damian and then back to Patrick. “If there’s magic involved, I’ll be able to sense it and work to unravel the web. And either way, Damian should be able to work with the members of the pack and relieve symptoms and research the ailments.”

“With my background in magic, I may be able to figure out the medical cause even if a spell is interfering.” Damian typed something into his phone. “I just requested some time off work. We’ll go home, pack for about a week, and leave tonight. Just text me the information.”

“That’s it.” I shook my head, unable to believe this was going so quickly and easily. “You are just dropping everything and going to help?” It was hard to believe, but I wasn’t going to dissuade them either. Not when my parents and my home pack could benefit. I just had no idea how to repay them.

“Well, Patrick is requesting our assistance and we are loyal to his leadership in the pack.” Skye handed me her phone. “Add your contact information and anyone who we should connect with once we arrive in your hometown. If they can send us any records to look over, things they have tried or dismissed as a cause already, we can read up on it while on the way. I think we might take Jeremy and Kim with us as well. They also have experience in situations like this and together, we can get to the root cause and help rectify it.”

“I really appreciate this.” I stood and offered a hand to Damian and Skye. I could never show my gratitude enough; a handshake seemed inadequate. “My father is one of the members stricken by this and I’ve been worried. Knowing there may be answers soon settles my anxiety a bit.”