FMR (14 page)

"Ray, we're going to have to finish up with Jacqueline," Dr.

Browne said as she re-entered the room with a nurse. "Would you

please wait in the hall?"

"Certainly," Ray politely nodded to the ladies, then returned his

attention to her. "I'll be waiting for you outside."

Ray stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him and drew

a deep breath. Damn! His
sithech
-senses were amped up just from

holding her close.
Control,
he warned himself.
I must stay in control.

Every fiber of his being knew the moon was swelling to fullness, even

from behind the looming snow clouds.

His desire quickly turned to anger as he thought of the attack on

Jac. His hands balled into tight fists at his side.
It's enough to make a

good wolf go bad,
he thought, briskly heading toward the exit.
If I get

my paws on the wolf that did this I'll–

"Ray!" A voice pierced his thoughts. "Ray, hey, hold up!"

He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Ernie jaunting down

the corridor in his direction. Finally, Ernie caught up. "W-we need to

talk," he puffed, clearly out of breath. "In private."

The young man took the laptop bag from his shoulder and gingerly

handed it to Ray.

"What's wrong?" Ray's
sithech
-senses flared, picking up a

disturbing simmer in Ernie's aura.

"Let's head on outside." Ernie angled his head to the exit door and

swung it open before Ray could reply.

They stepped out into the frosty night air. A blanket of pure white

snow draped the surroundings, on cars and in the soccer field beside

the center. The clouds had briefly parted, making the silvery

moonbeams sparkle on the freshly fallen snow.

"What the hell's going on, Ern?" Ray frowned turning to face his

friend. "Talk to me!"

"It's about your lady-friend." Ernie swallowed hard. "I did what

you asked, I was checking to make sure her laptop wasn't damaged."

"Yeah, go on." Ray nodded.

"Well, it seems she's been asking questions uh, about wolves ...

wolves in Heather Grove."

"To whom?" Ray arched an eyebrow.

"J.T. White at the town hall, that's who!" Ernie exclaimed. "She's

writing a story for her magazine about –

"Ernie! Have you been snooping through Jac's computer files?" Ray

growled through clinched teeth.

The young man's eyes widened. He took a giant step back from

Ray, holding up his hands. "Whoa, man, it's not like I was being

nosy. Just checking to make sure nothing was damaged, but I came

across the article."

"And, naturally, you read it." Ray sighed.

"Yeah, it caught my attention." His eyes narrowed. "Especially

when it mentioned what happened last Halloween."

He glared at Ernie, but was speechless. The blood simmering in his

veins had suddenly gone cold.

"Take a look at this," Ernie continued, pulling a newspaper clipping

from his jacket pocket. "It was in one of her research folders."

"Sheez! You went through her folders, too?" Ray shook his head in

disbelief as he took the scrap of paper from Ernie's extended fingers.

Squinting under the parking lot lamp, Ray skimmed the article. His

stomach tightened as he recalled MacDonald's lunatic attack on

Megan and Derek during the Samhain full moon.

"This story was retracted the next day," Ray replied. "It took some

doing, but our town hall connections managed to squash any rumors

about werewolves running wild. I wonder how she got a hold of this."

He frowned.

"Your lady-friend is a journalist," Ernie reminded him in a solemn

tone. "It's her job to dig up the dirt for those supermarket 'rags'."

Ray unzipped the laptop bag on his shoulder and dropped the

clipping into a battered folder. He let out an exasperated sigh. "You

might have a point there, Ern."

"Sorry, Ray, but you're one of the pack guardians." He shrugged. "I

thought you should know."

Ray strolled over to his truck and swung open the creaky door.

Gently, he placed the laptop into the floorboard, then slammed the

door shut. As he walked back toward the entrance where Ernie was

waiting, his mind was spinning.

"So, what was J.T.'s answer to Jac's questions?"

"According to her notes, he was being very vague. She even jotted

down he seemed angry about the clipping. And, get this," Ernie added

with a chuckle, "Old J.T. even swore on his family Bible there were

no werewolves in Heather Grove."

Ray wasn't smiling as he gazed into Ernie's eyes. "Jessie Theodore

White's a quarter
sithech
," he mused out loud. "And Jac made him

angry, asking his questions about us ... about the pack."

The young man's eyes widened at the same time something clicked

in Ray's brain.

"H-he didn't attack her, did he?" Ernie stammered. "I mean, I know

the moon's almost full and all, but–"

Ray had already unclipped the cell phone from his belt and

depressed a number stored in memory. "I don't know, Ernie, but we're

going to find out."

"Ah, come on, Ray, Jessie's as harmless as a pup." Although Bruce

had a good point, something bad was gnawing at Ray's insides.

Seated in the warmth of the truck cab, Ray gripped the cell phone

tightly to his ear. "Still, all the same, I think you should check it out.

Just to be sure."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone, followed by

a pause. "All right, bro. If you're getting bad vibes from this, I'll do it

... but only for you."

A grin spread over Ray's face. "Thanks, Bruce. I owe ya one,

man."

"What about Ms. Hamilton? How are we going to get her out of

town? Her car's still in the shop and more nasty weather's on the way."

"We're not, but I think she'll need to be kept safe."

"What do ya mean? Ray, you're not going to do anything you'll

regret later, are you?"

Ray sighed, shifting in the driver's seat with aggravation. "I'm just

planning to keep her safe ... and that's all. She's scared, bruised and a

bit confused at the moment."

There was another pause. Ray felt his fellow
sithech
psychically

nudging his mind.

"Get out of my head, Taylor," Ray warned. "Or I swear I'll–"

"You're taking her back to your place," Bruce interrupted, reading

his mind. "Damn it! Don't make this situation worse than it already is,

man."

"Lay off." Ray snapped. "I know what I'm doing. Now, check out

Jessie and get back with me."

He quickly flipped the cell phone shut and let out a sigh of

frustration. The full moon's effects were strong. It seemed that

everyone was getting under his skin and making his nerves itch with

irritation.

Everything will be back to normal when the moon starts to wane,
he

reassured himself.

Familiar voices drew his attention back to the glass doors of the

center as Jac exited the building with Ernie by her side.

Ray swung open the door and stepped down into the snow-covered

parking lot. "Watch your step, guys. The ground's getting slicker

with ice," he called out as they approached.

His heart panged watching Jac cross the parking lot with caution.

He knew it was partly from her bruises and, the other half, his

warning.

"I appreciate you checking my laptop, Ernie," Jac said as they

approached the truck. "It's good to know someone around here has

some computer expertise."

"Don't mention, it," he grinned, thumbing in Ray's direction. "It

was all his idea."

"Oh?" she angled her head, smiling over at him.

Her smile made him tingle from head to toe. Ray modestly cleared

his throat. "Yeah, well, you said your story's important. I didn't want

you to screw up your deadline."

He turned his gaze back to Ernie, asking if the young man needed a

ride back to town.

"Nope," Ernie declined with a shake of his head. "I'm heading back

to my place to catch a few Z's. It's getting late, so I'll see y'all later."

After saying their 'good-byes', Ray tugged open the truck door and

offered Jac a hand up into the cab.

As he rounded the truck, Ray's stomach coiled with nerves. Taking

Jac back to his place was the only sure way to keep her safe from the

rogue wolf until it was apprehended. But could he keep her safe from

himself as the 'moon fever' stirred in his own
sithech
-blood?

"Thank goodness this laptop case is extra padded," Jac said as he

slid into the driver's seat, slamming the door behind him. "I was

worried it might've got damaged in the tumble."

"It's safe and so are you." Ray flashed a thin smile. "I'm glad you

weren't severely hurt or worse."

"Yeah, I know." There was a quiver in her voice. An uneasy

silence fell between them as Ray put the truck in gear and headed

slowly out of the parking lot. His heart ached as he detected a

shimmer of fear in her aura.

"I'm taking you back to the motel," he said, breaking the silence. "I

need you to pack your bags, check out and come back to the truck."

Jac glared over at him, her mouth open, yet she was speechless.

"I'm taking you home with me," Ray said evenly.

"Why?" she retorted. "The doctor said my bruises were nothing

serious and I'd heal. Besides, I can take care of myself."

Ray cut his gaze over to the passenger seat. He could sense her

confusion. "Yeah, I'm sure you can. It's nothing like that," he replied,

keeping his voice neutral. "You're going to have to trust me."

"Trust you? What's this all about, Ray?" she folded her arms over

her chest. Her mouth was drawn into a tight line across her face, but

her cheeks were glowing with color.

Ray's heart sank at her outburst. He wished he could tell her the

whole truth, but he couldn't. Even though she was human, every

instinct in his
sithech
-nature was going haywire. He had to keep her

safe. Why? He wasn't sure.

"I have a gut-feeling you're in danger, Jac."

* * * *

asking questions to a brick wall. Frustrated, she'd given up ... for the

time being. They rode in silence back to the Starlight Motel. She

wanted to protest a bit more, but didn't. It was unexplainable.

Something deep inside her trusted Ray.

While she quickly packed her bag, Ray went to the office and

checked her out of the motel. They walked in silence back out to the

truck. Yet, her mind was spinning with lots of unanswered questions.

However, it had been a long day. The attack had left her shaky and

she was thoroughly exhausted.

He tossed her suitcase into the back of the truck, then swung open

the door and helped her climb up into the cab.

Jac let out a low groan as she shifted in the passenger seat.

"Are you okay?" Ray gently inquired, concern clouding his eyes.

"Considering I feel like a PetSmart chew toy, I think I'll be okay."

She managed a weak smile. Ray gave a soft chuckle, closing the

door, then rounded the truck.

Yeah, I'll get to the bottom of this,]
she decided, buckling her

seatbelt.
But, only after a hot bath and a good night's sleep.

"Ray." She cast him a sidelong glance as he settled into his seat. "I

don't know what this is all about, but I'm gonna trust you."

"Thanks, Jac." The worried expression on his face softened into a

smile. He turned the key and the truck rumbled to life.

Jac gave a heavy sigh, reclining back in the seat and closed her

eyes.

Within moments, she was sound asleep.

* * * *

unmistakable aroma. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she

hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Slowly, Jac opened her eyes

and blinked, attempting to recall where she was. Then, it dawned on

her. She was at Ray's house.

Her mind was fuzzy as she rose from the bed. She breathed a small

sigh of relief as she noticed she was still in her clothes ... minus her

boots and the jacket. Not recalling the ride home, she deduced Ray

had carried her in and tucked her into the bed.

She swung her feet over the side of the large bed and got up,

padding over to the closed door. The house was quiet, except for the

gurgling of the coffee pot. Opening the door, she made her way down

a small hallway, following the scent of the coffee.

Around the corner was a small kitchen area complete with a table

and two chairs. Jac smiled to herself, opening the cabinet above the