Reclaiming the Wolf (Cascade Shifters Book 1) (18 page)

“No problem, brother. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need help. Even though you’ll reek of wolf from now on, I’ll still find a way to love you.”

Sy almost smiled. Before he could say anything, his sister-in-law’s voice came on the line. “Kian has something he needs to attend to, and I wanted to talk to you before you get so busy that you can’t spare two seconds for me.”

He resisted a sigh and steeled himself for his sister-in-law’s meddling. “What did you want to tell me, Trin?”

“Just take care of Kaya. I like her.”

He growled without thinking. “Of course I’m going to take care of her. I’m not sure why you would think I wouldn’t. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, I was going to tell you something useful about blood donors for transfusions. Did you want to hear it or are you just going to growl at me again?”

“Make it quick, Trin. I’m nearly at GreyFire’s secret back entrance.”

“Okay, Mr. Cheerful. I’ve made a list of all the cougar-shifters who’ve had contact with the infected but who don’t have any symptoms and are healthy. If you need any more blood transfusions from them, just ask. You may be GreyFire now, but you’ll always be my brother-in-law. I have faith in you to set this right.”

“How did you know I was GreyFire now? Kian said he was alone.”

“Don’t worry; your brother didn’t lie to you about being alone. It was obvious to me how you and Kaya fit together. It was only a matter of time until we lost you.”

“Trin...”

“Neither of us has time for sentimental bullshit. Take care of your female, Sy, and let Kian and I know if you need our help.”

“Thanks, Trin. Talk to you soon, I promise.”

“Bye, Sylas.”

The phone clicked off and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have Kian as his brother and Trinity as his sister-in-law. They barely blinked an eye at his changing clans and loving a wolf-shifter.

Things were a lot different than they’d been ten years ago, and not just because of him and Kaya being ten years older. No, for the first time, he actually believed the different shifter clans could be close allies.

He approached the last few turns to his destination and pushed those thoughts away. He didn’t want to miss a turn and get lost.

He had never driven to GreyFire’s hidden entrance and he was relying entirely on the directions he’d received earlier from Kaya. He needed to concentrate. Every second he spent getting lost would be a second less of time for Kaya to get help from one of her clan healers or her clan researchers.

But as soon as one of GreyFire’s vehicles came into view, he knew he’d arrived at the right place.

He pulled next to the other vehicle and just as he exited the car, Erika Washington strode out of the door from the den. “Sylas. Where’s Kaya?”

He moved toward the passenger’s side of the car. “I overheard her talking to you on our way here, so you know what’s going on.” He didn’t say it, but Erika nodded in understanding about Kaya being sick. He leaned close to Erika and said, “Is there a way to get inside without everyone seeing?”

Erika stilled a second at his proximity, no doubt her wolf trying to figure out if he was a threat or not. Kaya’s second didn’t have any symptoms—yet. Their best guess as to why was due to the fact that Erika’s grandfather had been human, which was rare among the shifters of the Cascade Mountains. But the slightly different DNA could be protecting her.

She nodded. “Get back into the car and give me a few minutes. I’ll bring two of our most trusted doctors out as well.”

Sy didn’t like waiting, but he knew they needed to avoid a panic. A sick, unconscious, and restless Kaya would start a surge of worry and maybe even hysteria. During his tours in Iraq, he’d seen firsthand the effects a death or sickness of a leader could have on a population or family. He wasn’t about to start that here.

He nodded and headed back to the driver’s side. Once he was in his seat, he turned toward Kaya and cupped her cheeks. Her skin was burning to the touch, but he kept his hold and started to strum his thumb back and forth against her skin. This might be the only chance they had alone for quite a while, so he said, “Fight for me, Kaya-love. There’s so much we could do together. And besides, I want you awake when I tell you that I love you.” He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her warm lips. “Don’t die on me, Kaya Geraldine Alexie. I’m not sure I can survive being without you again.”

~~~

Kaya stood in the middle of GreyFire’s main hall. The only light came from the main hall’s entrance on the far side of the room, and the smell of death permeated the air. At first, she could barely make out more than vague shapes in the dark, but then the lights flickered on and Kaya stopped breathing.

Erika lay on her back with her eyes closed and her throat slashed open. Turning the other way, she saw Jonathan was chained up in wolf-form, his eyes glowing an eerie purple. A few feet away from him, a couple held their dead child in their arms, crying and wailing the way only a parent could when they had lost their baby.

Despite the tightness in her chest, she forced herself to keep looking around the room. As she slowly turned and surveyed the surroundings, the situation was the same everywhere. Clan members were dying, dead, grieving, or chained up with glowing purple eyes.

She couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore, and shock, denial, anger, sadness, and a bevy of other feelings coursed through her. Her clan was dying and she didn’t know how to save them.

She’d failed them.

She tried calling Sy’s name, but she didn’t see him anywhere. Had he abandoned her? Or was he also dead? She didn’t like either option, but she hoped it wasn’t the former because it would only highlight how she’d come to trust him too soon. Also, it meant he’d deserted her when she needed him most.

Again.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what she could do rather than what she couldn’t change.

First things first, she needed to reach her office and see if she could call Kian to ask for his help. Provided, of course, he hadn’t also abandoned her. Without the cougars, her clan’s chances of rebuilding or survival were nearly zero.

Kaya tried to move toward the corridor to go to her office, but after walking just a few feet, flames started sprouting up all around her. She tried moving her legs to get away, but they wouldn’t budge. She was stuck in place.

The flames licked her skin, burning her with each caress, and she battled a scream. Then the flames engulfed her completely and all she could feel was pain, so much pain. She had no words to describe it.

Her last thought as the flames consumed her was how she’d failed her clan. GreyFire was no more.

Kaya’s eyes opened on the tail end of a scream. The room was bright, but there weren’t any flames. And yet her skin was still burning.

Where the hell was she?

Sy’s face came into her vision and she felt some relief. He was here. He hadn’t abandoned her.

He touched her forehead and worry flickered in his eyes. “Kaya?”

She tried to sit up, but her body felt heavy. Maybe if she could cool down, she could make her body work. She would ask for Sy’s help. “Hot. Sy, I’m so hot. I want to be cool.”

He caressed her cheek, his voice a little unstable. “I know, baby. Wait here. I’ll get you a cool cloth.”

He moved, leaving her alone. She tried to kick off the covers, but she could barely move her toes, let alone her legs. Terror filled her at the thought she was dying, but then she pushed it back. Even with a fever and her inability to move much, Kaya’s stubbornness would never disappear.

Sy came back, laid something cool and wet on her forehead, and she let out a sigh.

Somehow, despite the fuzziness and the burning, her mind started to function a little. She remembered Sy driving her to her clan’s land, but she must’ve fallen unconscious at some point because the room she lay in was familiar. This was one of the sick rooms inside GreyFire’s den.

She looked into Sy’s eyes and she found strength in his tender, warm gaze. Sylas Murray had stayed by her side and taken care of her. She couldn’t give in to her sickness. She needed to be strong, for him and their future.

She managed to mumble, “How long have I been out?”

Sy ran another cool cloth over her cheek and neck. The motion helped to soothe her wolf, who was weak and angry at not being able to move, let alone run through the clan’s den to assess the situation.

His voice was rough when he finally spoke. “About three hours. One inside the car, and two here.”

She licked her dry lips and Sy noticed. He put down the cloth and picked up a small cup of water. He raised her head and she took a few sips before closing her eyes. If taking a drink of water was a chore, Kaya knew it wouldn’t be long before she was unconscious again. She needed to make sure things were in place.

She opened her eyes and said, “Sy. Give me a report.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Even with a raging fever and lethargy, you’re still bossy.” Before she could muster the strength for a reply, he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. Kaya sighed, the warm touch of his lips making her feel a little better.

Sy took one of her hands in his and started talking again. “After two hours of questioning and some light ‘persuasion’, Kevin Howard is still resisting. The only thing Matt and Ginnie found out so far is how the threat of locking him up with infected wolf-shifters didn’t make him bat an eye. He quite proudly said he was immune. So a team of your researchers went to draw blood and various samples for their work.”

At least they knew there was a vaccine or cure of some sort. Since speaking took a lot of energy, she kept her response short. “Progress on research?”

He squeezed her hand. “One of the wolves from the first round of cougar-shifter blood transfusions appears to be getting better. The other three in the group are still inconclusive. As for a vaccine or cure, no nothing yet.”

Then Kaya knew what she needed to do. “If they don’t find anything within the next day, I want the transfusion.”

Sy’s eyes turned fierce. “You should wait at least three days. There’s a high chance the transfusion will kill you. I’d rather give your medical team more time to find a safer approach.”

“Three might be too late. Two.”

He shook his head. “Fine. Two. Why I love your stubbornness, I’ll never understand. It makes my life difficult.”

She smiled, and without thinking, she said, “You know you love me.”

He stilled a second and Kaya wondered if she’d just made a mistake. After all, who wanted to be saddled with a dying girlfriend?

Then he moved his free hand to her cheek and hope started to gather in her chest. His voice was fierce yet tender when he said, “Damn straight I love you. So get your sexy ass well so I can show you how much.”

Chapter Sixteen

Sy hadn’t planned to tell Kaya that he loved her yet, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself.

The few seconds between getting the words out and waiting for Kaya’s response were some of the longest seconds of his life. Then Kaya let out a sigh and said, “Sy. Kiss me.”

He hated how weak she sounded. Again, his inner cougar wanted to do something, anything, to save her and he had to stroke his cat to calm him down. Then Sy leaned down and stopped a hairbreadth from her lips. “Tell me, Kaya-love. I want to hear it.”

He stared into her eyes, but she never looked away. No, his wolf-shifter would never shy away from him, which was another reason he loved her.

The heat of her breath danced along his lips as she whispered, “I love you, Sylas.”

He growled and kissed her. He should be gentle, but the instant his lips touched hers, something snapped inside of him.

Not that Kaya minded as she opened her mouth and let his tongue stroke hers. Distracted by the silky heat of her mouth, it took him a second to realize her mouth was too hot, way too hot.

Because she had a fever.

No. You need to take care of her.
He reluctantly retreated, kissed her lips, and then laid his forehead against hers. “What can I do to help you, love?”

In a second, he felt a hand in his hair. Sy rubbed a hand up and down Kaya’s arm and she said, “Visit Kevin Howard and see what you can find out.”

His hand stilled on her arm and he gave her a light squeeze. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“You must, for our clan.”

For our clan.
Her words sent a thrill through his body. Kaya already believed he was part of GreyFire now.

He lifted his head so he could look into her beautiful brown eyes. “Only if you promise me you’ll try your damnedest to stay alive. I don’t want to come back and find you gone.”

She gave a weak smile. “Are you really going to question my stubbornness?”

He chuckled. “Of course not.” He kissed her nose. “And I promise if there’s no progress on a cure in two days, I’ll see you get the transfusion. Provided our blood types are compatible, I’ll give you my own. Then you’ll always have my blood running through your veins.”