Chapter 11

Alise sat shotgun in the Hummer as Chief drove them toward the main estate house.  A few flakes had just started falling from the snow bloated clouds, and it felt ominous. 

The instant Chief pulled the car up at the main estate house, Alise noticed he was acting differently.  His eyes darted everywhere, and the greatest distance he put between them was to circle the vehicle to let her out.  She’d tried to walk, but Chief hauled her up into his arms and carried her inside.  There were Walkers everywhere.  Children, teenagers, and adults milled about, and Alise could tell it was stressing Chief out.

In the lobby, he cut a sharp right and carried her quickly toward a door.  The door led to a long sterile looking corridor.  The place smelled like a doctor’s office and without ever having visited it before, Alise knew it was the infirmary.

At the end of the hall, Jenny stepped out of a room and waited for them with her hands stuffed into the pockets of a white lab-coat.

“Chief,” she greeted with a look of concern before letting her eyes rove up and down Alise’s frame.  “Alise, you okay?”

“Hell if I know.”

Jenny smiled, and it felt good to evoke that reaction from the typically stoic Chief of Surgery.  It took some of the seriousness out of the situation.

Extending an arm, Jenny said, “In here, please.”

Chief carried Alise into the exam room, and once the three of them were alone inside, he set Alise on her feet in the corner and placed his big body in front of hers.

“I’m gonna tell you how this is gonna go,” he growled at Jenny.  “You can’t touch her.  No one can.  She’s…”

“Been stricken,” Jenny supplied.  “And because you haven’t yet mated her, the touch of any other person is extremely painful for her.  I know.”

“There’ll be no tests,” Chief continued.  “No fucking games, Jenny.  We’re here for answers only.  And if for one second I feel like you or anyone else here is being dishonest, I’m taking Alise back to the packs, where I’ll explain how this conveniently happened while I was in forced servitude to Monroe.”

Rolling her eyes, Jenny pulled her hands out of her pockets, “Forced servitude?  Don’t be so dramatic!”

“And don’t threaten me with a shifter war.”  Monroe’s voice carried through the room on the Amazon Show sitting on a desk near the wall.

Chief faced the intercom with e-screen and glared at Monroe.  “Did you do this?”

Hands steepled over his desk and pressed into his lips, Monroe simply stared at Chief a moment before pulling back.  “It’s extremely rare to be given credit I don’t deserve.”

“And is that case?” Alise asked, stepping around Chief.  “Are you saying you didn’t have a hand in this?”

“How could I?” Monroe asked.  “Neither of you have visited my infirmary until now.  Rather difficult to set things in motion with no specimens.”

With a snarl, Chief asked, “Are you admitting that you can make it happen?”  

“I neither admit nor deny any allegations.”

“You know if the packs find out about this…”

“Then what?” Monroe asked.  “They end our alliance?  It’ll never happen.  Our alliance is just as much—if not more—beneficial to your kind.  Your people need this more than my people do.  I assure you of that.”

“This feels anti-climactic,” Alise cut in.

“Excuse me?”

Chief turned to face her.

“I mean,” she looked from Chief to Jenny, then Monroe.  “I thought we’d get answers, but you’re spinning us in circles.”

Monroe clucked his tongue, “Tsk.  On the contrary Ms. Crane.  I’ve given you the most significant of answers.  I’m telling you this isn’t me.  Your stricken is real. You and Chief are mates.  Congratulations to you both.  If there’s anything I or Dr. Arkinson can do to assist in the completion of your claiming, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Chief demanded, “We need to leave StoneCrow.”

On the screen, Monroe shook his head.  “Denied.”

“We need a fucking minute to sort this out,” Chief snarled.

“You’ve got a cabin here. I’ll cordon off that section of the estate to ensure you ample privacy for the remainder of your week.”

“Remainder of our week?”  Alise’s asked in confusion.  “What does that mean?”

Monroe hesitated to answer, and Alise could tell by the way that Chief’s jaw was ticking that he knew exactly what Monroe meant.

“I’ve already ensured Chief that this was a legitimate stricken, Ms. Crane.  He’s been given a week to fully claim you.”  Monroe slid his steely blue eyes to Chief.  “He’s wasting time.”

“What…what happens after a week?” Alise whispered almost afraid to know the answer.

Monroe grinned, and Chief snarled, “Don’t!”

“If he doesn’t want to claim you, I know someone who will.”

“What?” Alise gasped.  She backed up until her body pressed into Chief’s, his arm wrapping possessively around her shoulders.  “I’m not…I’m not a piece of meat.  I’m not up for dibs!”

“True.  But I can’t have a stricken female running unclaimed on my estate.”  Monroe’s eyes never left Chief’s.  “Chief knows what I mean.  Don’t you?”

“You’re scaring my mate,” Chief growled.

“Ah,” Monroe’s brows shot up.  “So she is yours.  Makes things easier.  Happy claiming.  Now get to it.”  He pushed back from the camera, but Alise lurched forward, breaking Chief’s hold on her.  “Wait!”

Monroe stalled with his hand halfway to the device.

“I need…  I need to go home.  I have a house and a job and…”

“Denied,” Monroe drawled again.

“But!  You can’t keep me here!”

“You signed non-disclosure paperwork, Ms. Crane.  The last paragraph on the last page referenced the affliction.”

“But I’m not afflicted!”

“The section was recently amended to include being stricken.”  He smirked at Chief.  “I’ve got two wolves here now, so…”

“Stop being a fucking dick,” Chief raged.  “She needs clothes and some of her belongings!”

With a bored look, Monroe glanced at his watch.  “Take the Hummer. You’ve got the day.  If you both aren’t back by sundown, I’m sending out a team.”  His eyes narrowed on Chief.  “Don’t make me come looking for you, wolf.”

Alise started to protest, but Chief pulled her into him.  He knew a day away from StoneCrow was the best they’d get.

“Again,” Monroe smiled.  “Congratulations.”  He slid his eyes to Alise.  “And welcome to StoneCrow.”

The screen went black, and Alise felt defeated as she faced Chief and cried, “He didn’t help with anything.  Nothing at all!”

Chief pulled her into a hug, and she let him.

“Sorry about that,” Jenny offered.  “He’s been on one lately.  There’s been a lot going on, and his patience is veil thin right now.”  To herself, she mumbled, “Was shit to start with.”

Alise turned her head to stare at Jenny.  “Would he really send men after us?”

“Yeah,” Jenny’s lips pressed into a line of disapproval.  “He would.  Don’t push him.  Not right now.  Just go to the city, collect your things and come right back.  It’ll be best.”

Chief took Alise’s hand and led her out of the infirmary to the waiting vehicle out front.