The Alpha Won't Be Denied (13 page)

                A voice cracked through the air. “You
bitch
.”

                They both turned to face Sheriff Marsh.

                He’d managed to creep up on them by staying downwind, and both Natasha and Virginia had been distracted by their heated confrontation.

                He was pointing his gun at Natasha. His face was distorted with fury.

                “I should kill you right now,” he raged. “You did that to our son? You’re the one who poisoned him?” Then tears flooded his eyes. “I thought you loved us. How could you?”

                “I do love him! I’m the only one who can keep him alive,” Natasha said quickly. “She’ll ruin everything. You have to help me. Even if you want to leave me, you need to at least keep me alive. Without me, Kyle will sicken and die. Shoot her. She’ll ruin everything.”

                His hand wavered.

                “She’s lying!” Virginia snapped. “You just heard her admit what a liar she is. There are thousands of healers across the country, many of them who are extremely powerful. I already sent some people’s blood off to be tested by the Council of Elders. Healers will come here and they can help these people. They can find a cure, or at least keep it at bay.”

                Natasha flashed a look of fury at Virginia. Then she turned her attention back to her husband.

“Are you going to risk your son’s life finding out?” Natasha demanded. “Kill her! We can go on the run. I can keep him alive. You have to kill her. It’s her or Kyle.”

                Sheriff Marsh stared at Virginia, his eyes growing huge. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and pointed the gun at her head. Virginia braced herself for the sharp stab of silver, for the searing agony that would consume her alive. 

Then a startled look crossed his face. He smelled something. He smelled it at the same time Natasha and Virginia did.

                “That’s my husband,” Virginia said, the words falling naturally from her lips. “He’s very close. If you shoot me, he will hear the gunshot, and you two won’t have time to stage a damn thing. It’s over.”

                Natasha promptly shifted, and turned and ran. Marsh swung the gun to point it at her, then he stood there blinking back tears as she vanished into the woods.

                “Carver!” Virginia screamed. She heard him crashing through the woods to get to her.

                She turned to Sheriff Marsh. “Does your son have anyone else to care for him?”

                Tears trickled down his cheeks. “Nobody else in my family. Not after my sister died.”

                “Then I’m not going to tell Carver the part where you were going to kill me, but you will step down as Alpha. You don’t deserve to lead a damn cub scout troop, much less a pack. You will tell your pack tonight.”

“I still can’t believe it,” Sally said, shaking her head in disgust. “I hope when they find that bitch they skin her alive.”

“I hope they can save all the people she poisoned,” Edward said anxiously. He and Sally sat in front of the fireplace at the lodge, no longer hiding now that they’d been discovered. Their hands were entwined.

 “You see why I love him?” Sally cooed. “Because he’s the sweetest fuzzy wuzzy ever.”

Carver and Virginia both made retching noises at the exact same time, then looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Seriously, if you ever speak to me like that…” Virginia told Carver.

“No worries.” Then he whispered, “Cuddlebuns.”

“I’ll kill you in your sleep,” Virginia said. “You’ve seen what we Battles are like when we’re really, really mad.”

“I think it’s precious,” Edward said proudly.

Virginia stifled laughter behind her hand. “I am very happy for you,” she said.

The front door of the lodge swung open, letting in a blast of cold air. The sun was setting. She caught a glimpse of Darlie rushing in. She hurried over to Virginia, who stood up to greet her, and hugged her hard.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you what was going on,” Darlie said. “We were all afraid that if Natasha left, all of the people she was healing would just die. I put your life at risk. I would never have forgiven myself if you’d been harmed.”

“I’d never have forgiven you either, “Carver said with a growl of anger. His eyes flared yellow and he pinned her with an ice-cold glare.

“Carver!” Virginia admonished.

“No, he’s right,” Darlie said.

Virginia shook her head. “You were all victims of her manipulation. She held the entire town hostage. That’s why you and your husband haven’t had children so far, isn’t it?”

Darlie nodded. “We couldn’t be sure what was causing the sickness. We were afraid there might be some kind of contagious virus, and we would never risk having a cub who would be exposed to that.”

Virginia squeezed her hand. “Well, I look forward to sending you adorable baby presents at your baby shower.”

Darlie blushed. “Maybe you can come to the baby shower. When we have one, I mean. If you stayed here. We have a position open for a healer.”

Virginia glanced at Carver. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Darlie. I would need to discuss that with my husband first, of course.” Carver’s eyes lit up at that.

“In fact,” she said to Darlie, “I think we should go chat now. Thank you for coming up here. I’ll see you tomorrow at the clinic.  I can at least come in to work while everyone figures out what they’re doing.”

The lodge was a bustle of activity.  A number of local pack members were there, milling about restlessly, murmuring amongst themselves.

Sheriff Marsh, his face drawn and grim, was standing in the lobby talking to Warden Kostechi.  He’d already announced that he was stepping down as Alpha to care for his son.  Word was being sent to shifters all across the country – a Kill on Sight order for Natasha.

“I’m sorry I told you to quit working for the Wardens,” Carver said to Virginia as they walked back to her room. “When I thought about it, I realized it’s no different than me being a deputy, or me being an Alpha, for that matter. It’s risky, but someone has to do it. I admire you for being willing to take on that risk for the sake of our kind.”

“I’m sorry I accused you of spying on me, although you really shouldn’t have talked to my family without letting me know.”

“No, I shouldn’t have,” he agreed.

“So…do you, uh, want to give me my ring back?”

He shook his head solemnly. “Nope.”

She looked at him to see if he was serious. He was. “Really? All right. You, uh, just want to take it slow, see if things can work out between us?”

He shook his head again. “Nope.”

She felt her heart crush itself in her chest. “You want to end things?” She couldn’t believe it. She’d been the one to push him away, she’d told him she was leaving as soon as they were done with their honeymoon – and now the thought devastated her. She didn’t want to be without him. She didn’t feel complete without him.

“Nope.”

Fury boiled up inside her and she struck his chest with her fists. “Say something other than nope, you grade-A jerkoff!”

“At least I’m grade A.” He broke into a grin. “A man does not take things slowly with his wife. I am not giving you back that cheap ugly ring from the casino. I’m going to buy you a beautiful ring that shows my pride and love for you. And from now on, neither of us keeps secrets from the other.
Capiche
?”

She laughed at the gangster slang.

“
Capiche
,” she said. Then she realized there was still one secret she was keeping.

“Last thing I didn’t tell you,” she said. “The monsters. One of them grabbed me while I was out running in the woods the other day, and took me to heal its mate. There’s something we’re not getting about this, Carver,” she added as he looked at her with alarm. “They didn’t harm me. They only attacked the sheriff when the sheriff’s men were shooting at them.”

Carver frowned. “The first sighting of them was ten years ago. Natasha started her experiments ten years ago.”

“Oh my God.” Comprehension dawned. “Natasha gave a cure to a local family, and then after that seemed to work, she gave the vaccine to other families. Two different formulas – a vaccine and a cure. The cure is what created those monsters. I know it. We need to talk to Sheriff Marsh.”

She looked at him. “I want to try to bring those things in and figure out if we can help them. If we can’t help them, we have to protect them.”

“They killed a family,” Carver pointed out.

“We don’t know that.  All we know is that they were seen running away from a house on fire.  Maybe they went there to seek help. They’ve had plenty of opportunity to kill people, and they haven’t.”

                “I can only tell you that I’ll try my best, but if they attack you, I’ll kill them,” Carver said.

* * *

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon as they set out. “I know you think I’m weak for not wanting to kill my wife, after all she’s done,” Sheriff Marsh said mournfully as they trudged through the woods. He, Virginia and Carver had managed to slip away unnoticed.

After Virginia had told him her theory about the monsters, he’d agreed to take her and Carver to the place where he thought his wife was hiding out – a small fishing shack that the two visited every year.

“I understand not wanting to kill your wife – well, most of the time,” Carver said, with a quick glance at Virginia, who shot him a derisive look. Then he turned serious again. “And yes, I think you’re weak.”

“I guess it’s no secret that my men have been approaching you to see if you want to be the new Alpha.” Sheriff Marsh looked even more hangdog as he said that.

                “They have?” Virginia asked.

                “They have,” Carver acknowledged, “but I was going to discuss it with you first.”

                It wasn’t really coming as any surprise. “Well. I do like it here,” Virginia said. “It’s sufficiently far from my family that they wouldn’t drive me insane. I would still need to travel when the Wardens needed me, but as a home base, it’s a lovely place to be.”

                “I still have mixed feelings about helping these things. They may be responsible for what happened to my sister and her family.”

                “Well, if she can turn them back into people, we can ask them about it,” Virginia said. “We can’t leave them in that form if we have any way to help them.”

                A few minutes later, Sheriff Marsh said, “We’re getting close. Stop here before you get close enough for her to scent.  She’s still armed, as far as we know, so I should go first and get her to come out.”

                “Do you think he’ll just warn her to run for it?” Carver asked as the sheriff jogged through the woods.

                “No, he knows she can’t escape. All she can do is try to fix what she’s broken.”

                A minute later, Sheriff Marsh led his wife through the woods. “I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!” Virginia heard her crowing triumphantly. “I knew you’d come back for me. We can get Kyle and we’ll go—” Then she came through the trees and stopped when she saw Virginia and Carver across the clearing.

                “You betrayed me,” she said accusingly to her husband. “Your own wife. The mother of your child.”

                “Don’t even try that on me,” Sheriff Marsh said as Virginia and Carver jogged up to them. “You don’t deserve the title of mother.”

                Natasha tensed and shot Virginia and Carver resentful looks as they approached, but she didn’t try to run. There was no point. It was all over for her.

                “Natasha, I know where those creatures are staying,” Virginia said to her. “Can you heal them? Can you make them what they were before?”

                 “I don’t know,” she said sullenly. “It would probably kill me if I tried. That’s why I haven’t done it before. I’d have to pour all my life essence into them to even have a chance of success.”

                “You need to try,” Marsh said urgently.  “Turn them back into whatever they were before.  You’re a dead wolf walking no matter what, Natasha – you might as well do something that your son would be proud of before you go.”

                At that, Natasha’s expression became resolute. “Yes. I can do it,” she said, and followed them through the woods.

                They took off their clothes and shifted to move faster, carrying their clothing in their jaws.  It was still a long run, and when they got to the cave, they were panting heavily as they shifted back into human form.

                “It’s me!” Virginia called out at the cave mouth. “We’re here to help you! Please, come out!”

                There were rustling sounds, and then the two creatures emerged from the cave, blinking and staring suspiciously at the shifters. The male let out an angry growl at Natasha.

                They knew, Virginia realized. That was why they’d never approached Natasha – they knew she was the one responsible for what had happened to them.

                Natasha took a deep breath. Then she nodded to herself, held up her hands and slowly knelt down next to the male. She placed her hand on his flank, and he growled again, but didn’t attack her. She put her free hand on the female’s flank.

                Then she closed her eyes. “Tell Kyle I love him,” she said, and tears trickled down her cheeks as she bowed her head.

                After a minute she began breathing hard…and the creatures were changing. Their bodies were rippling, moving, shrinking.

                She kept at it, groaning in pain.  The creatures writhed on the ground. They looked as if they were melting. They were growing smaller and smaller.

                Natasha turned paler and paler, growing waxen.

“She needs help,” Virginia said, and she flung herself down next to Natasha.

                “No!” Carver cried, grabbing at her.

                “Let me be!” she shrieked, and shut her eyes, concentrating. She forced her energy into the monsters, forced it through the filth and wrongness that she felt there. She could feel Natasha’s energy intermingling with hers, battling the mutation. The mutation was subsiding. Natasha’s life was draining away; Virginia could feel her dying.

                She heard whimpers that sounded human and felt smooth skin beneath her hands. She opened her eyes and pulled her hands back.  Natasha fell onto her side with a thud and lay as still as a stone. Virginia looked around, dizzy and nauseated.

                Curled up in the snow in front of her were a little boy and a little girl. Both blond. Not mates – brother and sister.

                They sat bolt upright, looking around, then leaped to their feet. “Uncle Peter?” the boy cried.

                “Oh my God. Oh my God.  Lacey. Rory. Oh my God.”  He choked out the words, his eyes wide with shock. The little boy and girl flung themselves into his arms.

                “They look exactly the same as the day…the day of the fire,” he said wonderingly to Virginia and Carver.

              That was the family that Natasha had cured of Con-Rab and accidentally poisoned. Her own husband’s family. And she’d kept silent all these years, knowing that those two monsters in the woods were Peter’s niece and nephew. She’d have let them be hunted down and killed to protect her secret.

                “Daddy killed Mommy, Uncle Peter. He turned into a monster, and then she turned into a monster, and he killed her, so we ran away,” Lacey said mournfully.

                “So you’ve been hiding out here the whole time?” Tears poured like rivers down Sheriff Marsh’s cheeks.

                “It just happened yesterday,” Rory said. “When we ran away we saw a fire. I think our house burned down too. Are we living with you now, Uncle Peter?”