The Midwife's Moon (12 page)

“Like what?” her voice, still soft, caressed his body and fear hounded him.

“Like I matter,” he admitted.

“You saved me. I’ve never faced what happened, but that doesn’t change the facts. Without you, I would have died in that trap.”

“Without you, I would have lost all hope.”

They kissed again, her lips soft under his as they melded together—a kiss of promise, of dreams, of beginning. A kiss he’d never thought to experience, and then it hit him. He’d shared a beautiful moment with Lisa.

Elation blossomed within him, and he suddenly lifted his head, laughed, and spun her around. He had a chance at love, at happiness. Her smile as she laughed at his silliness only made things better. As the spin slowed, he kissed her again, a quick hard kiss. They pulled apart and looked at each other.

“Ahem.”

They both jumped apart, and Lance pushed her behind him as he turned to face the voice. His stance relaxed as his brain recognized Nolan.

“How’s Marty,” Lisa jumped in anxiously.

“He’ll live. Whatever he had may have hurt a human, but barely affected him.”

“But it did affect him,” Lance said softly. After his years of hanging out with Roxy, he knew a little about what weres could and could not take.

“And that’s a grave matter for the pack. We’ll have to call another special meeting and ask that none of you eat out in non-were restaurants at all for a few weeks. But that’s not why I’m out here.”

Lance waited. In the end, it was Lisa who spoke. With a mumbled “men” for his hearing only, she moved to under the cradle of his arms and asked, “Can we inquire as to why you came out to see us?”

A small smile tugged at the side of his mouth that was next to her cheek. Her humor came as a bit of a surprise to him.

Nolan stared at them both, and Lance had a suspicion he also tried not to grin. “I’m here to tell you that neither one of you have faced the past, and it’s time for you to do so. Joseph has been taken to the healer’s old cabin. Together, you need to face him. Not only for what he’s done to you, but for what he hasn’t.”

“But—” Lisa began.

Lance touched her arm, shook his head, and she backed down. “It’s normally against the rules to speak to one in exile, but you want us to face this together, don’t you? I don’t know why, but that is immaterial. I’ll be happy to stand with her as she faces the one who betrayed her.”

“He will also have to face the both of you. At heart, despite being a strong fighter, he’s a coward. He only likes to fight when he thinks he can win. Whatever you do, don’t let him think that. Now go. Travel to the mountain holding of Heather George, and deal with the man whose grip on your past has been strangling you both.”

Lance shook so hard, he was afraid he’d be unable to grasp Nolan’s outstretched hand, but he managed it. “We’ll go up there tonight.”

“Fine. One thing, try to get Joseph to tell you who else in the pack helped him. I know he hasn’t been working alone. Too many other things have been going on for too long. Or maybe Roxy had more than one dog on a leash.”

Lance thought back to all the times he’d seen Joseph. “Someone else did come with him before. I caught a glimpse of them once or twice.”

“Would you recognize them?”

“I don’t think so. I haven’t seen them recently.”

“Okay. Any information you find out can help us clear Lisa. I think they never meant to kill Marty. I think it’s supposed to discredit me and possibly her, our only midwife. Alex, though a healer, isn’t as directly involved with the pregnant weres that died. Someone here under my protection? This could cause a pack war, one that other packs would come in to support Justin over. You two stay low after talking to Joseph. Take some time for each other.”

“What about Elizabeth?” Lisa interjected.

“Let me know where you’re going to be so I can contact you. I have a bad feeling about this, and I need the two of you kept safe and out of the spotlight. Lance and you are mated, and now everyone either knows or will know. I need Alex’s testimony in case of a human trial, but...” Nolan stopped and looked toward the moon.

“Alex worked on genetics in school and independently from Roxy after she came home. She and a couple of healers from packs back east are testing to see if we can determine lineage.”

Lance ignored Lisa’s gasp, and if Nolan heard it, he didn’t show any sign. This was huge.

“And I don’t just mean like if someone’s family has a history of werewolves. We’re very close to being able to prove Joseph made you an
aswan
.”

Lance bristled at the implied insult and Lisa’s whimper of emotional pain drew out a growl.

“Lance!” Nolan gave him
the
look.

Lance swallowed.

“Lisa, I didn’t take you in all those years ago, make you our midwife, fill-in healer, and an Elite Guard because I thought you were a liar,” he chided softly. “But if there’s trouble between the packs, I may need the absolute proof of it for other packs. There’s something going on, something beyond our packs’ fighting. It’s about more than the Lupins and Wahpawhats. It’s subtle, and until I can at least get a handle on who the real enemy is, I’d like you guys to stay low.”

Lance spent long moments trying to read Nolan, but he remained impassive. “You mean there’s someone out there gunning for us as bad as Roxy?” Lisa’s hand gripped his hard as he asked the question.

“I think,” Nolan said, staring at the moon again. “There’s something out there that’s evil on a scale we can’t understand. I can’t get a handle on where it’s coming from or who’s responsible, but I sense it.”

Lance wanted to deny Nolan’s words. Instinct. He still fought against his memories of Roxy’s torture. “I think...” he started, but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I think you’re right,” he said.

Chapter Ten

Nolan strode back into the hospital mansion and sought out his wife. Not for the first time, he wished he had a better handle on politics. There were too many threads for him to follow. Give him a good old-fashioned murder any time over the lies and back stabbing and false courtesies of political ranks.

“I resent that, wolf,”
Sherona said into his mind.
“I’m very political. Cats have to be as they are slyer than most wolves would dream of being. Doesn’t make me awful, and quit broadcasting so loud. You never know who might be listening.”

Nolan cringed at the deserved rebuke as the elevator made its way to the basement.
“Sorry. I just want to protect the pack. Someone at the pack meeting was thinking about Justin. I’d initially dismissed the possibility of it being outside the pack. After what just happened, I’m not so sure. My father is way better at this political stuff.”

“Then there must be a reason he stepped down and let you be in charge. Looking into the why of things will be more productive than complaining that you’re not good enough.”

“She’s right you know, Nolan,”
Alex interjected.
“You berate yourself too much. You don’t see how important you are to the whole pack, not just as ulfric. When looking into the murders, even though you saw that power played into it, you couldn’t see it was
your
power they wanted to mitigate. Stop selling yourself short, my love.”

“Fine,”
he said exasperated.
“You two gang up on me, and I don’t stand a chance.”

A deep rumble filled his mind.
“Get used to it, Ulfric,”
Doctor Waverly said
. “When women stick together, men don’t have a chance.”

The women laughed out loud, echoing in the small room as Sherona and the Doctor entered the waiting area. “Marty looks great,” the doctor said. “Between Lisa’s quick thinking and the fact he didn’t imbibe much from what he said, the damage was mitigated.”

“Get me those test results as soon as you can. Have Marty sign whatever he needs to sign,” Nolan added when the doctor looked hesitant.

“He’s already begged me to do that. I’m fairly certain it’s a mild version of what Alex had though,” he added.

Alex sucked in her breath, and Nolan knew it hurt to hear it. He took hold of her hand and drew her in close, laying it on his arm and covering it again with his own hand.

“Without the test results, what makes you say that?” he asked.

“The coloring around the mouth for one.”

Nolan was confused. “What coloring?”

“Alex had similar coloring. A fact you hadn’t asked me about. I assume you didn’t notice because she bled so profusely before you got here. Or maybe you attributed it to that.” He shrugged. “Either way, I believe it was a symptom directly related to the poison. The other is, he’s still bleeding from us pricking his arm to get the blood draw.”

“I see.” And he did see. It would stretch coincidence a little far to have someone come up with a serum that did the same damage to weres so closely to Roxy’s scheme.

“Nolan.” Alex’s voice broke, and he felt the anger against her mother flow in him again. She didn’t want to believe her mother capable, but he’d seen the pages with his own eyes.

“Have you worked up antidotes from the notes she gave you when Alex was injured?”

“Not really,” Doctor Waverly said, his demeanor tired. “I’ve been trying. It’s only been a couple of weeks, Ulfric. Science can’t move that fast. Right now, the best idea I have is flushing it out. It’s working on the rats. It buys them time, and with care, they heal from it. But that only works if given within a short interval from when the poison is introduced.”

“He’s doing what he can,” Sherona said, her voice more defensive than the doctor’s.

Nolan wondered, not for the first time, what her relationship was with the doctor. “I believe him, Sherona,” he said gently. “I’m just asking his progress, not condemning it.”

Sherona had the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Ulfric. I’m not accustomed to dealing with rational weres.”

“I know. Roxy for a neighbor had to be tough.”

Sherona nodded. “Worse in some ways because our shadow doesn’t work the same as your packs. We’re much more independent. Makes it harder to keep war from breaking out when you have wolves like Boris hunting in your territory, despite the agreements to stay off our land.”

Nolan raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

“He won’t forget his lesson.”

“I—” He stopped as images slammed into his head then dropped to his knees while clutching his temples. Alex knelt down beside him, but he couldn’t hear what she said. All he could do was see the images flooding his head as they pounded their way through. His head throbbed with the intrusion in techno-color—like watching a movie with faded out corners.

But the pain. It screamed through him like a locomotive out of control. Screeching and wailing in protest of the visions he saw, of the fighting, of the intruder in his mind.

“What is it?” he finally heard Alex ask.

“Lance.”

***

Lisa let Lance drive again as he knew where they were headed. Both had mostly sat silent, deep in their own thoughts. The last few years were an emotional blur, and the impact of Lance’s involvement in saving her still pushed through her heart and rearranged her mind—not to mention that he claimed she was his mate.

A fire started low in her belly. Well, her body believed him. And her mind? It would take more than one night for her mind fully to catch up. Still, he’d risked his life to save hers, and that wasn’t something to throw away or take lightly. And in the warehouse, hadn’t she wanted him to touch her? Hadn’t she felt jealous when Sherona intimately talked in his ear?

Part of her werewolf heritage was smell. Perhaps, in her unconscious state, she’d taken in his scent and knew he meant safety? She took a deep breath in, closing her eyes even though it was dark. The feeling of safety and being cherished washed through her. That theory held promise. But she still had a lot of ice shards in her heart. Would she be a woman Lance deserved or would she be forever doubting him and his motives as a result of Joseph’s perfidy?

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said quietly.

She studied him for a moment, then decided to let him know her mind. “I’m worried I’ll not be able to heal from Joseph’s actions enough to be a good mate.”

He never took his eyes off the road, and sat silent for so long, she wondered if he would answer. When he did, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she held. For a short moment there, she’d wondered if she’d be rejected by Lance as well. Funny, as she’d never wanted to date again anyway.

“I don’t come to you a fresh innocent, either. I have my baggage. One of the best—and most damning—features of being a werewolf versus other weres or humans, is that our mates are known to us, almost immediately. You felt it. I knew it before I spoke to you. It’s our human minds that throw up obstacles.”

She knew what he said was truth as there’d been enough couples that she’d seen come together and quickly. But...just but. “You’ve been so good to me. I don’t want to shortchange you.”

“You won’t,” he said and gave a sad laugh. “I’m worried I won’t be able to be a proper mate to you when the time comes.”

The words slammed into her. “Why not?” He couldn’t leave her already! She wanted time to explore the feelings he brought out in her. Course, hadn’t she just said she couldn’t?

“Roxy’s tortures were wide and varied. And...” He paused and swallowed.

She wished she could hold him now. He looked so lost and forlorn. “And?” she gently prodded.

“And what if I can’t make love to you?” His voice could barely be heard in her SUV.

“We’ll both take this one day at a time,” she finally decided as she studied his features. She’d given Joseph more for less. How could she deny Lance? She couldn’t. Even now she felt the pull of his masculinity. And hadn’t they kissed in the garden like all new lovers? Maybe they were both overthinking their problems. As she recalled their kiss, her belly tightened, and she imagined doing more with him.

How she wanted that—to kiss someone without the deadness inside she’d had since Joseph’s betrayal, to be loved again. When Lance kissed her, she’d been unable to think of anyone but him. Her body had caught on fire. When he’d swung her in happiness back at the Waverly Mansion, a small chip of ice had broken off.