Chapter Nineteen

The next twenty-four hours were excruciating. Information came in bits and pieces. A stroke of luck one minute. Bad news the next.

Dale hadn’t slept. His parents had encouraged him to lie down, but he had refused. Everyone else had gone to the closest hotel in shifts to sleep.

For a blessed few minutes, he was alone, staring down at his life-partner. His would-be mate. Tubes and wires were everywhere.

The doctor slipped in silently. “You should at least sit. You’ve been on your feet for a full day.”

Dale nodded but made no move to do anything of the sort. He wanted to be able to see Gavin’s face, watch for signs of life. He wanted to be there if and when he woke up.

“The CT scan looked good. It confirmed what I suspected. Several vertebrae were broken, but the spinal cord is intact. That’s the best we could have hoped for. We’ll do an MRI next. His left lung collapsed. It’s improving. Another good sign he’s fighting.”

“Can you…” Dale nearly choked over his words. “Can you fix his vertebrae?”

“With surgery, perhaps. But he isn’t stable enough. He would not survive trauma.”

“What will happen when his body reaches the stage where he needs to shift?”

“We don’t know. I haven’t found anyone who’s seen this sort of case.”

Dale nodded. If they had no information, it was possible they would make the wrong choices and risk Gavin’s life.

There were humans who had been changed either against their will by a rogue shifter or intentionally. That data was more readily available. In fact, Isaiah’s mate, Heather, was one of them. It took her about two days before the shift happened, and it would appear it had been out of her control. If Gavin’s frail body attempted to shift in one more day, what would happen?

Dale was particularly glad neither the doctor nor anyone on staff had openly judged him for his decision. They also hadn’t stopped him from biting his lover. Wouldn’t anyone else have done the same thing?

As the doctor stepped out, George stepped in. He set a hand on Dale’s arm. “Eleanor’s here.” His voice was soft. Sorrowful?

Dale nodded and followed him out of the room and down the hall until they came to a closed door. George opened it and let Dale in ahead of him, closing them off from eavesdroppers. Eleanor was facing the window but turned around when they entered. Her face was grim.

Dale stuck the tips of his fingers into the pockets of his jeans and took a deep breath. “I know I’ve broken the law, and you should know I would do it again given the chance. I understand that you have to take me into custody, but I’m asking you to please permit me to stay here until I’m sure my partner is going to live or die. I’d like to be able to pay my respects or at least look him in the eye one last time.”

Eleanor sighed. “You have indeed put us in a difficult position.”

Dale nodded.

“No matter what my personal opinion is on this subject, to allow this to go unpunished would set a precedent that could snowball in so many directions I can’t even wrap my head around it.” She lifted one hand to rub her temple. The woman was quite a force. Five foot ten. Midseventies. Her gray and white hair was pulled into a neat bun. Her steely gray eyes bore into him. He’d always known her to be swift and fair. But she was no pushover.

George cleared his throat, making Dale twist his neck to look at the man who was almost as formidable in his own right. Tall. Graying. Midsixties. When Eleanor wasn’t in the room, he was often the alpha. Dale was curious to witness the dynamic between this leader of his people in the same room with the impressive, powerful council member who ranked below her in the hierarchy of the council. “I instructed Dale to change his partner.”

“What?” Eleanor’s voice hit a higher pitch. She stepped forward.

Dale could feel her advance, but his gaze was locked on George who most assuredly didn’t give him permission to bite his lover. In fact, the man had emphatically argued against the decision, and Dale had blatantly disobeyed his direct order. There was no doubt Dale had been frantic and out of his mind at the time, but not so much that he’d misinterpreted the confrontation with the Arcadian Council member.

George nodded, his gaze only trailing to Dale for a split second before he resumed looking at Eleanor. “I believe we need to reevaluate our laws with regard to this subject.”

“Do you now?” Her voice was filled with sardonic mirth.

“Yes.” George stood firm.

Dale watched the man in awe as he lied to his superior. In a curious twist, Dale was fairly certain Eleanor had the power to know the truth which would mean this entire display of force was all for show. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it, and his brain was still reeling from the idea that George had just lied in an attempt to save Dale’s ass.

“I’ve had the opportunity over the last few days to get to know both Dale and Gavin. Dale’s a good man. We all know this. In the past, he has worked tirelessly for the good of our species. Though it is true he has spent the last several years mourning the loss of his life partner—he has more than paid his debt to society.

“His current partner is also impressive in his own right for a human. His heart lies with the shifter community. I’ve watched him time and again put others first, including shifters. Before his accident yesterday, I spoke with him at length about his desire to become a shifter.

“I insisted it wasn’t possible, of course. But we have Gavin Wright to thank for kicking Dale in the rear and shaking him up enough to get Dale to do what we all know he was born to do. Use his extraordinary gift to save lives and keep our species safe from outside interference. Gavin even gave up his own claim on his partner in order to ensure those two girls would have the best chance at rescue.”

“How is that?” Eleanor asked.

Dale was stunned. When did George have such a lengthy conversation with Gavin? He could only surmise it had been when George followed Gavin out the front door while Dale began to search Carla’s computer.

George crossed his arm, a bold, defiant stance. “The man who is now hanging onto his life by a thread forced Dale’s hand. He not only threatened to leave if Dale wouldn’t do what was right, but he followed through. The most selfless decision I’ve ever had the privilege of witnessing. His last heroic act of love was to exchange his own happiness to save those girls.”

Eleanor didn’t say a word.

George continued. “If he hadn’t given Dale the shakeup he needed to get his rear in gear and come back to work, Gavin never would have been on that road at that moment. His life was sacrificed for the good of many.”

Dale stood so still, stunned beyond words. It didn’t escape his notice that George had just insinuated he had agreed to return to work. He would not waste this gift. If Eleanor could see her way to letting him off the hook, the least he could do would be to resume his job. No matter what happened to Gavin, he would still find the strength to report for work as soon as possible. If Gavin died, it would no longer matter what Dale did for a living. Gavin’s life would never again be on the line. Dale wouldn’t lie awake nights worrying about his partner.

If Gavin lived, he would be a member of the shifter community with every ability of the grizzly pack. Dale wouldn’t waste a moment. He would bind the man to him as soon as possible even if he had to tie him to the bed for two days to get him to consent, though Dale seriously doubted any arm twisting would be necessary.

Binding would be a game changer. It would give Dale the ability to reach out to his lover from anywhere at any time. It would give him a peace of mind otherwise in jeopardy.

George leaned toward Eleanor, punctuating his words as he spoke again. “So yes, I was there. I witnessed true love for others, and I made the split-second decision to give that man a fighting chance at life. It won’t be the same life he knew before he was forced to shift, but I have the utmost confidence that it’s what he would have wanted had he been conscious enough to make the decision.

“I didn’t make my choice purely out of some romantic desire to see Dale happy, but also from a personal belief that a truly good and kind individual had a right to a chance at life. My actions were spur of the moment, but they weren’t without cause.

“I acted in defiance of our current policies, but in the last few days, it has come to my attention that perhaps some of our laws are antiquated and in need of refreshing. If this means you’d like me to resign from my position, so be it. I won’t fight you on your decision. I will, however, request that you consider this matter further and open up discussions among the council members to reevaluate our stance on human conversion.”

Dale couldn’t help but shift his gaze toward Eleanor in the ensuing silence. Her expression was unreadable. Finally, she spoke. “You told Dale to change his partner.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“I ordered him to. Silently, of course. Privately. No one else heard me.”

What the hell? Now George was adding to his story to ensure no one else in the room could contradict him?

Eleanor gave one firm nod. “I’m going to need some time to process all this information.”

“Of course,” George responded.

“I trust you both will be staying here for the foreseeable future?”

Dale recognized her discreet way of saying that Dale and George were not free to leave the city while she made her decision. “You have my word.”

With nothing more than a blink, Eleanor left the room, her head held high, her shoulders back.

Dale’s heart raced. He stared at George. “I—”

“You should get back to Gavin. He needs you.”

“But—”

George closed the distance between them and met Dale’s gaze, leaving inches between them. “Look, I know you were distraught and confused when they first brought Gavin into the clinic. But that’s how I remember the conversation. Are we clear?” He lifted a brow.

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. Get back down the hall now. Gavin’s going to need to know you’re nearby as he fights. They say the best thing for a coma is for the patient’s loved ones to talk to them and encourage them to fight to live.”

Dale nodded. He was still stunned, but he took George’s advice and fled the room.

»»•««

“As I was saying, all we can do is guess here,” Doctor Towers stated. “It’s been almost two days. The clock is ticking. I don’t know what will happen when Gavin’s body begins to shift. I don’t even know if it will, but historically speaking—which is all we have to go on—his body should be close to making its first involuntary shift.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“I suggest we stay closer, let nature take its course, and hope for the best.”

A woman Dale recognized from the reception desk opened the door a few inches and stuck her head inside. “Doctor Towers, I have Doctor Felipe Durand on the line calling from France.”

Doctor Towers’ eyes lit up. He held up a finger. “Hold that thought.” And then he was gone.

Dale prayed the call meant the doctor had finally found someone who had answers. It was horrible to hope someone somewhere in the world had gone through a similar fate, and their experience could somehow provide hope for Gavin, but Dale couldn’t keep from praying such was the case.

While the doctor was out of the room, Dale wrapped his fingers gently around Gavin’s and gave a slight squeeze. He had no idea if Gavin had any sensation from the neck down, but he didn’t want to cause him pain or risk injuring him further, so every time he touched his partner, he did so as carefully as possible. “Hang in there, Gavin. The doctor is doing everything he can. I need you to keep fighting.”

The clock on the wall ticked, every second seeming to reverberate off the walls in long stretches of silence. Dale was hoarse from speaking to his mate almost non-stop. And yes, he had begun to think of Gavin as his mate at some point in the process.

After several minutes, Doctor Towers rushed back into the room, two male nurses trailing behind him. “Change of plans.”

The taller, broader nurse was carrying an IV bag and quickly made his way to the IV stand at the head of Gavin’s bed. A tube ran from the current pouch to a vein in Gavin’s left arm.

“What’s happening?”

The doctor leaned over Gavin with his stethoscope and listened to his heartbeat. He then took his pulse before saying, “I hope we aren’t too late. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.” His words were murmured as if he were speaking to himself.

“Doctor?”

Finally, he lifted his gaze and met Dale’s eyes. “That call from France sent me in another direction. Spoke to Doctor Durand, and he said he was aware of two cases similar to Gavin’s. In the first case, the victim was permitted to shift which occurred about fifty hours from being bitten. He didn’t survive.

Dale’s chest seized.

The doctor kept speaking. “As we suspected, a patient in this condition isn’t strong enough to make the transition.”

Dale took a deep breath. “And the other case?”

“They decided to put the patient in a medically induced coma.”

“What does that mean?” Gavin was clearly already in a coma.

“It means we’re going to sedate your partner enough to keep him from waking up. The sedation will slow down his brain metabolism to allow his body to heal. It’s quite common in the human population. When someone is gravely injured, an induced coma often buys their body time to heal without the added stress of wakefulness.”

“What does this have to do with shifting?” Dale wasn’t quite following.

“Apparently, in cases like this, the induced coma suppresses the first transition.”

Dale’s eyes widened. “Oh. That’s a thing? You can do it?”

“We’re going to try.”

“For how long?”

“We’ll monitor him and hope his body begins to heal on its own.”

“His human body.” Dale swallowed, a thought occurring to him for the first time. “If you succeed and he gets strong enough to wake up and make his first shift in better shape, does that imply he would have survived without me stepping in?”

Doctor Towers shook his head. “Not a chance. He was nearly dead already. Another minute or two and we would have lost him. Your actions saved his life. I still can’t promise we’re out of the woods. He might not make it in the long run. But this is the first breakthrough we’ve had. Hope.”

“If he hasn’t even shifted yet, how is he not technically still human?”

“Your serum raced into his bloodstream instantly. Even though the results aren’t apparent to the naked eye, inside his body is slowly mending. I say slowly because he isn’t a full grizzly yet, nor is he in his bear form, but even his human body is working at a faster healing rate than a normal human.

“It’s the same for any of us. If you break your arm and don’t shift, it still heals quicker than a human. Might take a week or two, but much faster. If you shift, the bones will mend in days.”

“Right.” That made sense. It also meant Gavin’s body was knitting itself back together from the inside out.

“As soon as I feel like he’s no longer in grave danger, I’m going to take him into surgery and properly set every bone so that his limbs heal in the correct position. That’s been my greatest fear so far. It’s why I’ve taken so many X-rays. I’ve been monitoring him, watching for that fine line between ensuring he’s strong enough to tolerate the surgery but not so healed that even more damage is introduced from misaligned bones that start to mend themselves.

“I have no way of knowing what rate his body will heal since he’s not like any other patient I’ve ever treated. There’s very little data to indicate the healing rate of a newly transitioned patient in their human state compared to a full-blown shifter in their human state.”

Dale rubbed a hand over his face. “When do you think you’ll operate?”

“I had imagined it would be sometime tomorrow morning. But now that we’ve induced the coma, we need to evaluate him again. It’s possible his rate of healing will slow down and buy us more time.”

“So we wait.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”