Three Fur All (2 page)

Elliot gritted his teeth. “Lana is not a piece of plastic. She is a highly tuned machine lovingly made of fiberglass and carbon fiber, with an engine that—”

“Elliot, you need to focus back on the situation at hand. You were talking about getting her to the cops and a hospital. We can’t bring her to the hospital because they’ll call the state authorities and report the accident. We can’t take that chance.”

“I have to call Dawn.”

Mika gritted his teeth at the suggestion. “Call her.”

Elliot glanced around the woods and ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair. “Good. She can look at the girl anyway. What’s her name?”

Mika looked at the woman in his arms and heard her moan.
“October.”
He ran his finger over her cheek. Her skin was soft. Dark circles accentuated her eyes. Her lips seemed raw, as if they had been worried.
What ordeals have you survived? What did he do to you?

Elliot punched a number into his cell. Mika knew he wasn’t happy about calling his sister-in-law, but at this point, they didn’t have a choice. Dawn was the doctor for the pack, and she would be able to help the woman. He hoped October wasn’t too traumatized by her torment.

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. Thank goodness we aren’t too far away from the house.
God, my car!”
Elliot roared.

Mika shook his head at Elliott’s attachment to the Corvette he had bought only a few months ago.

He didn’t see the wonderment of the vehicle. He’d rather be surrounded by books instead of the gadgets that his friend collected. Elliot always had to have the newest toys. Mika was satisfied with the aroma of old books and paper that kept him busy all day working in the used bookstore he owned. He glanced back to the drying pool of blood from the animal they had hit. The pack had been hunting for the deranged killer who was kidnapping girls and leaving their bodies on pack land. None of the hunters had found his scent or any trace of him. Now they had some way of identifying him. If Dawn was coming, they had to tell her something.

“We need to stick with the story of running into an elk. We can’t tell Dawn the truth about how we found this girl.
Or hitting the animal.”
Mika looked intently at his friend, who was on the phone again, probably calling the insurance company.

Elliot hung up the phone. “I called Samuel. He’s coming out here to get our report. Although I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.”

Mika was about to answer when he saw headlights approaching them. “That should be Dawn.”

The car eased up beside them. A woman with blond hair pulled back into a serious knot climbed out. Her sneakers squeaked on the pavement. She had her medical bag in one hand, and a scowl turned down her mouth. Her glasses reflected the glare of the headlights, but he could still see her brown eyes beneath them. The curves of her body were hidden by the white coat she wore. Mika remembered those curves all too well and how their relationship had gone sour.

“What the hell have you gotten yourselves into?” Dawn asked as she knelt down next to Mika.

“It’s nice to see you too, Dawn.” Mika flashed
her a
small smile.

She ignored him. “The car looks totaled. What did you hit, an elk?”

Mika glanced at Elliot. “Yes. That’s exactly what we hit.”

She checked October’s pulse and then pulled back her eyelids to peer into her green eyes with a penlight. “And I suppose you want me to believe she was in the car with you? Because, Mika, you haven’t gotten any better at lying. Whatever you hit doesn’t smell like an elk.”

“Think what you want, Dawn. Just tell me she’s going to be okay?” Mika asked.

“She’s human. What does it matter to you? If I remember correctly, you weren’t into humans. Unless you were the one who tied her up and decided she had to be become a wolf too.”

Hurt still lingered in her eyes even though it had been three years since they last dated. He winced at her comment, and the guilt ate him up inside. “I don’t know how many times I have to apologize. Besides, you got your wish. I was exiled from the pack and—”

“And I was made into what you are. You took everything from me—”

“Can you two argue about this later? We need to be sure she’s going to be okay. Will you please take Mika and her back to our house and see if she’s okay?” Elliot asked.

“Fine.
Mika,
lay her in the backseat, and I’ll drive you back.”

Mika lifted October and laid her prostrate form on the seat and then sat in the front with his ex. The silence between them weighed on his shoulders. He inhaled deeply and realized that he had missed her strawberry-scented shampoo. The aroma turned sour when the memory of
him being
brought before Cooper, the leader of the pack, flashed through his mind. October moaned in the back. He turned and checked to see if she was okay, but she remained unconscious.

They turned down the driveway to the house he shared with Elliot. Mika longed for his old house and the vista it offered, but he wasn’t allowed on pack land anymore. He still owned it, but it was now rented. A property manager handled any repairs that needed to be done. At the house, he unlocked the door and then came back to get October. Dawn entered the house after Mika. He set the woman in his arms in the spare bedroom. Dawn followed a moment later with some water and a towel.

She sat down on the bed and cleaned October’s wounds. “Don’t just stand around. Get another washcloth and help me.”

Mika dashed into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. He returned and began cleaning the grunge off October’s hands and face. Underneath it all, he saw how badly scratched and injured she truly was. Her hands were the worst. They were raw where the flesh was worn away from the cuffs. Dawn put down the washcloth and listened to her heart and her breathing.

“So?”

“So what?”
Dawn asked.

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Why is she so important to you? She’s just another human girl. What really happened to her, because I know you hitting an elk is a bogus story?”

He reached across October and took Dawn’s hand. “I truly am sorry for what happened. You don’t know how much. Please don’t tell anyone about tonight. If Cooper or Samuel asks you, tell them there was no girl and we really did hit an elk.”

“Why should I lie for you?”

“Because you owe me.”

“I owe you shit!”

He clenched his teeth.
“Fine.
Then you owe it to Elliot for your sister.”

“Don’t bring Dominique into this. Let her lie in her grave peacefully.”

“Your sister wanted to join Elliot in pack life. It wasn’t his fault the turning went wrong. That happens once in a while. He’s been good to let me stay here. He worshipped your sister, and he thinks of you as family. It hurts him that you forbid him to visit her grave, but he respects that. Please don’t go to Samuel with this,” Mika begged her, knowing that if she talked, then he might never get a chance to get back into the good graces of the pack.

“Tell me what happened.” She pulled something out of her bag and wiped it over the wounds on October’s face and hands.

“We were driving home from Trent’s, the club outside of Bakersville. She was flagging us down in middle of the road, screaming for help. We started to slow down, when an animal darted out in front of us. We hit it and totaled Elliot’s car. She fainted, and we called you. If we went to the hospital, they’d ask too many questions. And they’d want to check me out. Finding out that I’m not exactly human might pique their interest. You were the only alternative.”

Dawn tore October’s pants around her left calf and cleansed another wound. She bandaged it and then moved on to her swollen right ankle.
“All right.
I won’t say anything. She’ll be fine. Superficial scrapes and bruises. I’d say she hasn’t eaten anything substantial in a few days. She can’t walk on the ankle for at least a week. I’ll drop off some crutches and some antibiotics, just in case, with the wound on her calf. She’s lucky that she didn’t break it.” She got up and headed toward the door. “I’ll be back to make sure she’s still human.”

Before Mika could respond, she walked out the door. He sighed and looked down at October. Something about her captivated him. He picked up the washcloth and wiped the rest of the grunge from her face, wondering what she could tell them about her captor when she woke up.
Anything to lead them to the wolf terrorizing the women in the area.
Anything that could help him
regain
his ties with the pack. That was all that mattered.

Chapter Three

October opened her eyes to ones so dark they could have been black. She shrank back from the man who hovered over her.
Everything in her hurt when she tried to slide off the bed.
When she moved, the pain in her leg immobilized her. He smiled. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear what he said because her pulse thundered in her ears. It was all she could do to keep calm. Her gaze darted around the room. There were wood-paneled walls all around. A white ceiling with a few cobwebs was above her. A fan whizzed, sending cooling air around the room. Images of the night before flashed through her mind. She had been running through the woods. A large wolf was nipping at her heels, but she had kept on running, trying to escape her captor. The road was before her, and she had flagged down a car. A man had helped her, and then she had collapsed.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“Do you remember last night?”

She nodded.
“Yeah.
You’re the guy who helped me after the accident.”

“I’m Mika. I brought you back to my friend’s house, the one I’m staying with.
We had a friend of ours, a doctor
,
take a look at you
. She’ll be back in a couple of days to make sure you’re healing and we haven’t eaten you yet.”

A laugh slipped from her dry throat. It seemed she had been kidnapped again and being held captive in the lap of luxury compared to the underground cell. “Can I have a glass of water?”

“Of course.
I’ll be right back.”

October repositioned herself on the bed and had a better look at her injuries. When she pulled the sheet back, she was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an oversize blue plaid shirt. Her wrists were still raw, and everything else about her hurt. As she ran her fingers over her face, she felt the cuts and bruises. Her savior returned with the water.

“Here you go.” He handed her the glass.

She took it gratefully and gulped it down, but began to choke on it after a few sips. “Thank you.”

He took the glass and set it on the nightstand. Her caregiver pulled up a chair and then sat down, keeping his distance. October studied him. Tendrils of his brown hair hung in his face. A smattering of freckles ran along his nose and over the tops of his cheeks. A faraway look lingered in his eyes. His knee bounced up and down while he looked at her. He was antsy about something, and she figured it had to do with her.

“Is there something you wanted to ask me? You’re nearly leaping out of your skin.”

“Huh?” He glanced down at his knee and then stopped. “Sorry. I wanted talk to you, but I didn’t want to push you.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and cringed at how she must look. “Um . . . okay. I guess. I mean, I can try.
What’s
your name, and the other guy who was with you last night?”

“Shit. Sorry.” He stretched out his hand. “I’m Mika Winston. Elliot, my friend, owns the house. You said last night your name was October. Where are you from?”

“Yeah.
My mother had me in October, so she figured why not name me after the month too. She’s a bit of a free spirit. Originally I’m from Massachusetts, but I moved to Charlotte for a job. I don’t know where I am now.”

“You’re not that far from Charlotte, really.
Just a couple of hours north, in the mountains near Asheville.
We’re a small town called Lupine Gorge. Mostly the tourists drive through. The biggest draw we get is the deserted silver mine. I know you were being held captive. Do you think you could find the place you were held if you were brought back there?”

Horror gripped her at his comment.
Why would he want me to go back there?
Haven’t I suffered enough? I just want to go home and forget everything
. Her heart picked up its pace, and the world closed in around her.

She struggled to remain grounded in the present and not return to the dark cell where she had been held. October drew in a deep breath and rubbed her hands, feeling the shredded skin on her wrists. The world swam before her. All she could smell was damp earth and musk. Screams erupted around from the women in the other cells. Her captor’s eyes burned yellow in her mind. She shook her head.

“I can’t. I can’t.” She drew her knees up to her chest and buried her head into them. Sobs built in her throat and racked her shoulders.

“Whoa! It’s okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you so soon.” Mika came over to the bed and put his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace and inhaled his heady scent, a mixture of pine and cedar. It was the same aroma on the shirt she wore.

At that moment, she figured he had changed her clothes, meaning he had seen her naked, and shrank back from him at that. October wiped her nose and then looked into his dark eyes, seeing his concern. “It’s okay. It’s too soon. I’m sorry.”