Chapter Six
Two weeks had passed. He didn’t call her. Of course he didn’t call her. Hadn’t he already told her that he couldn’t see her? But that didn’t keep Stacey from checking her phone at least twenty times a day to make sure she hadn’t missed a call. Or a text. Or even a newsletter from his company.
When none of those things happened, she threw herself into work. It wasn’t hard to do. The third night of the visible moon had just passed, and things were also crazier in the hospital then. Kitchen accidents. Work accidents. Car crashes. Weird sex accidents. At this point, she figured she’d seen it all.
So when she pulled up to her house that night, she was exhausted. There were only two shining moments from her fourteen-hour shift. The first was that Dr. Littleston hadn’t worked. The second was that she hadn’t had time to think of Micah.
Later, when she looked back on it, she would claim exhaustion as the reason she didn’t see the shadows moving up her walk. They blended in with the night, and when they were upon her, she barely had time to scream.
Strong hands grasped her and threw her to the sidewalk. She heard the crack of her ankle as she fell, and as her head connected with the concrete, pain seared through her body.
Her attackers never said a word. As she opened her eyes to make sense of what was happening, she saw the flash of the blade. Her vision flashed white as it sunk into her stomach. Searing hot. That was all that she could think. The blade that looked wickedly cold was actually hot.
She clutched her wound and rolled over. Already, the shadows were melting into the dark. She was alone. Logic set it.
Move. If you don’t move, you’ll die. Ignore the pain. Ignore the shock. Get help.
She needed to get to her phone.
Grasping in the dark for her purse, she finally snagged the strap and pulled it towards her, but the contents had been dumped out in the ground. As she searched for it, she wondered if her neighbors had heard her scream. Had she screamed? She couldn’t remember.
There was no phone. All she pulled out were grass clippings and make-up. The darkness was closing, and finally, she let it take her.
***
Micah sat at the end of the endless conference table. The heads of each family surrounded him, and although the room was meant for calm and peaceful discussions, recent events had sent the pack in turmoil. He watched the arguments dispassionately as he calculated his next move.
Next to him, his mother sat stiffly next to him. He could see that she was watching him carefully. He hadn’t had a chance to talk with her yet, but he knew that no matter what the outcome of this meeting, his mother had his back.
On the other side of him, Jackson and Brent also surveyed the pack in stonily silence. Like his mother, he knew that they would support him as well. And that was a good sign. An alpha’s most loyal members should also be the ones closest to him.
Next to his mother, Bridgette stared at him. Tall, cold, and beautiful, Bridgette commanded attention. She had long dark hair and beautiful creamy skin, but here eyes were dark and calculating. For a second, he thought briefly back to Stacey’s own warm brown eyes. Even as they light faded from them, there was no malice in them. Bridgette was a different creature entirely.
Next to Bridgette sat Travis. As usual, hatred was radiating from the young man. It was a shame that he was such a loner because Travis was actually a powerful shifter. Their descendants were alpha’s in another community, and it was clear that the bloodline was strong.
Tension grew as the pack divided. Finally, Micah knew that he would have to step in. He raised his hands for silence, and the effects were immediate. Like a wave, the men and women sat in their chairs and quieted. Micah cleared his throat.
“I can see that my recent actions have caused turmoil within the pack. I deeply regret that. With any big decision that I make, I do, of course, always wish to include the opinions of the clan. In this situation, if there were time, I would have done the same. Unfortunately, the time was simply not there. I acted on instinct and impulse to save the life of a young lady, and I will stand by those decisions. As pack alpha, I am entitled to turn humans. Obviously, it’s a power that we don’t often extend, but might I remind you that I have broken no rules. And if you believe that I made the wrong decisions, then you have two choices. You may either challenge me, or you may leave.”
No one, of course, would challenge Micah. Despite what they may think about his actions to save Stacey’s life, no one thought Micah was a bad leader. It was in his blood.
Still, the pack had questions. Halfway down the table, a hand tentatively went in the air. Micah nodded. “Fontana?”
The man cleared his throat. “No one is questioning your leadership, Micah. But you have to admit that the action is unusual. No one in this pack has turned a human in fifty years. Most of us are wondering why you chose to turn her. If she’s important to you, then she’ll be important to us.”
The other leaders nodded their head in agreement. Micah carefully avoided the questioning look from his mother and Bridgette. “I will admit that my acquaintance with the young woman is new, however, I do believe that her attack has more to me with than with herself. These were not humans that targeted her, and I will not have a human die because of me.”
“Not human?” Bridgette sputtered. “How on earth do you know that?”
Micah steeled himself as he turned to her. “I can feel the vibrations of the area. Cold. Calculating. And distinctly soulless. I have reason to believe that the vampires carried out this attack.”
Immediately, the pack began to talk at once. Micah held up his hand. “Silence. I have no reason to believe that this is the work of de’Massier. We have a meeting set up at the end of the week, and I’ll know more then. As of right now, nobody is to assume that this was a personal attack on the clan. And no one is to retaliate. Do you understand?”
Everyone nodded. “Sir?”
Micah turned his head to the woman a few seats down on his right. She regarded him curiously. “If you were not with the woman when she was attacked, how did you know about it?”
He felt the intense stared of Bridgette and his mother. He swallowed hard before he lied. “She called me.”
Everyone nodded, satisfied with the answer. He dismissed the group and stayed his hand to keep Jackson and Brent from leaving. His mother and Bridgette didn’t move. Micah didn’t mind his mother staying, but he wasn’t quite ready to share his secrets with Bridgette. “Bridgette? I’d like to speak to my men in private.”
She slid a cold glance at his mother before nodding and leaving. Satisfied that he was alone, he shut the door. Brent and Jackson immediately stood. “What are your orders?”
“Brent, I want some men stationed outside the doctor’s office. It will take some time for Stacey to wake up, and I want to make sure she’s safe. I doubt a vampire would attack on our territory, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Brent nodded. “I’m on it. Want me to send some men out to check out the vampire territory?”
Micah shook his head. “I don’t want this to turn into a war. I’ll know more after the meeting. Jackson, I need you to investigate Stacey’s house further. I didn’t get a chance to look around. See what you can find. Talk to her co-workers, but be discreet. If I can keep the police from getting involved, I’d prefer that.”
Jackson nodded, and he dismissed them. Finally, he turned to face his mother.
She studied him carefully. No doubt she was seeing the exhaustion on his face. She patted the seat of the chair next to her, and he sank into it gratefully.
“I know when you’re lying,” she said softly.
He closed his eyes. “I felt her dying,” he whispered. “One minute I was getting ready to close up the office, and the next, I felt like someone was stabbing me. My bear kicked in. I don’t think I’ve ever moved in human form so quickly in my entire life. I was almost too late. I had just seconds to make the decision.”
Lynette Gordon reached over and grabbed his hands. “It’s not for the pack to say whether you made the right decision or not. You do realize that not everyone wants the kind of life that we live.”
He nodded. When Stacey woke up and realized what Micah had done, she might pray for death.
“It’s one thing to turn a human,” she said softly. “But it’s something else entirely to mate with someone other than the alpha. That’s a move that I doubt the pack would forgive. Tread carefully.”
Micah stared at her. “You know?”
“You felt her die, Micah. Of course she’s yours. There is no other explanation.” She reached up and stroked his cheek. “You’ve been so unhappy these past few months. I just wish you would smile.”
He grabbed her hand and held it. “This is what I was meant to do. I just have to figure out how to do it my way.”
Lynette leaned over and kissed him. “I’ll support you no matter what you decide. Your happiness means the world to me.”
“I barely even know her,” Micah admitted. “But there is something very strong connecting us, and I can’t shake it. I certainly can’t ignore it.”
She smiled. “The men in this family have always fallen quickly and hard. I have no doubt that what’s meant to be will be.”
Getting up to leave, she ran a hand through his hair. He heard the door close softly, and he was alone with his thoughts.
The consequences of his actions weighed heavily on him, but he couldn’t focus on that. Somehow, the vampires knew of his relationship with Stacey. And come hell or high water, he would find out who was responsible.