Chapter 6

Kyp

The ride from the airport to the hospital was tenser than I’d expected it to be. Rachel had always talked animatedly and happily about both her sisters until Joanie’s overdose yesterday. Clary was stiffer than I anticipated, and Rachel seemed out of her element. I learned about Clary’s job and some of the highlights of her life in Seattle. And how Seattle coffee is much, much better than the coffee at the airport this morning. I wasn’t required to join in the conversation much as Clary’s sleep-deprived talk rambled more than it probably would have normally. Mercifully, Honeydew curled up in a ball and slept. There were perks to being half-wolf.

I drove them all the way to the hospital and parked.

“Thanks for the ride,” Clary mumbled as she exited the car. She snatched some dog treats out of her purse and put them on the seat next to the still-sleeping Honeydew.

“Leave the windows cracked,” she ordered, then turned toward the hospital.

Rachel turned to me with wide eyes.

“Kyp, I’m so sorry! I only now realized that you’re here without a way back. Ugh, I’m so scattered today.”

“It’s no problem,” I assured her.

“No, it’s rude of me. I don’t mind if you want to take my car back. We’ll ride back in Mom and Dad’s.”

“I’ll at least walk you in first.” I wondered if she would prefer I leave, or if she’d actually like a friend with her. Even if I wasn’t Megan. I needed to check in with Sam to see if they needed me for anything. Sam’s pack gave me a purpose I hadn’t had in Kentucky, and I wanted them to know that their faith in me wasn’t misplaced.

“Thanks,” she said gratefully.

I clicked her door locks and handed her back her keys. She put them in her purse. I didn’t know if it was out of habit, or because she wanted me to stay.

We walked through the doors and the smell of antiseptic, blood, and fear hit me in the face. Rachel stiffened beside me.

“Elevators?” Clary motioned.

“Yeah, third floor,” I answered when Rachel bit her lip, her eyes lost. Holding my breath, I tugged her hand. “You okay?” I whispered as Clary punched the UP button with more force than was necessary.

Rachel shook her head. “Sorry. Just trying to hold it together.”

I squeezed her hand and her fingers tightened around mine. “Need a frilly latte?”

A surprised chuckle tumbled from her throat.

“Yes. Yes, I think I do. Do you want one, or is it still too unmanly?” Some of her usual spark filled her eyes as she peeked up at me. I felt the side of my mouth tip up.

“Maybe. But you’re still sworn to secrecy.”

“Cross my heart.”

“What are you two talking about?” Clary asked, amused annoyance sounding in her voice.

“Coffee. All about the coffee,” Rachel said.

“You have to try Seattle’s coffee. You should fly out this summer.” Clary gazed down at Rachel with real emotion, like she was seeing her sister for the first time since she flew in. Clary reached out and brushed Rachel’s shoulder as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

Rachel squeezed my hand again and let go. “Thanks,” she whispered. I nodded but was surprised to find that I missed her hand in mine. I didn’t have a lot of experience with girls—basically none at all—and the emotion felt strange.

One hall down and we were in the cold, sterile waiting room again. Clary fell into her parents’ arms as soon as we hit the door, and then there was loud sobbing and back patting and talking all at once. Rachel hung back, letting Clary have all of their parents for a few minutes. Her lip trembled. I scooted over and propped myself against the wall, my arm brushing hers. Whether or not she meant to, she leaned into me, and I was glad I had come upstairs with them.

We waited a few more minutes for her parents and Clary to disengage and then Rachel moved forward. I stayed where I was, now unsure what I should do or where I should be.

Rachel hugged both her parents.

“Still no change,” Mrs. Crumb said.

“At least it’s not negative change,” Rachel said optimistically.

“You’re right.” Mr. Crumb patted Rachel’s back. “Oh, Kyp! Did you come with the girls?”

“Yes, sir. I drove up with Rachel to the airport.”

“Did Megan come, too?” Mrs. Crumb’s eyes tracked to Rachel, obviously assuming as we had at the cabin, that Megan would go with Rachel.

Rachel’s cheeks flushed.

“No, um…”

“She got sick right as they were getting ready to head out the door. I was in the neighborhood and offered to come with Rachel instead,” I supplied quickly, hoping I’d given enough details without giving too many. Rachel glanced at me gratefully.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I hope she didn’t pick something up here last night.” Mrs. Crumb worried her lip just like Rachel did when she was concerned.

“I’ll call her in a few minutes to check on her,” Rachel assured her mom.

“Good idea.”

“I guess if there are no new updates and nothing happening, I’ll go call her now, if that’s okay?” Rachel asked.

“Of course, Sweetheart,” her dad said.

“I’ll come with you.” I cut in and I noticed her dad’s shoulders relax a fraction of an inch. I took that as a good sign.

We left the waiting room and Rachel shivered.

“Cold?”

“Not really. I don’t like that room. It reminds me too much of why we’re here, and how much we might still lose.”

I nodded, understanding but not knowing what to say to that. Wolf nudged me encouragingly.

“You want to walk around until we find a quiet place? I want to check in with Megan, but don’t need anyone else overhearing, you know?”

“Sure. There’s usually a deserted consultation room or two. I would like to call Sam, too.”

We found an empty consultation room not far from the chapel. The whole hallway was silent without a soul in view. I let Wolf up to the front to listen for anyone who might be out of sight. We heard nothing, so I figured we were safe enough to speak freely.

“Megan? Any news? What’s up? Are you okay?” Rachel babbled into her phone. She glanced up at me. “Hang on. I’m putting you on speaker. Kyp’s here, too.”

I was warmed at her gesture of inclusion and leaned in to hear.

“Hey, guys. Sam is still running patrols with Dominic. I’m at the big house with Mary.” Mary was Sam’s mom. “Sam’s been sending me updates every so often. They’ve found a blood trail. It’s light, only a drop or two every little bit, but it’s outlining the entire southern Wolfe border.”

I clenched my jaws together. It was a warning. Victor Atwood was out for blood. Literally. Apparently, he’d already found some.

“Is the blood itself important?” I asked.

“Yes,” Megan whispered. Rachel’s eyes grew so round the whites showed around the green centers. I held my breath, waiting for Megan to continue. “It’s Shelby’s blood.”

We stood in stunned silence for a moment.

“Shelby Atwood? Victor’s daughter?” Rachel expelled a breath.

“Yes. Sam’s certain. He knows her scent, and this is her blood. I don’t know if it’s enough blood to kill her or not, but she’s missing a decent amount.”

“Monster,” Rachel whispered.

“We’re assuming Victor is behind the blood trail, not Shelby. But we do still think Shelby is the one behind the two attempts a few weeks ago. At that point, Victor had no reason to come after me, but Shelby did. She wanted Sam. And if she did have the surgery to remove her werewolf glands, it’s possible she could be deranged and crazy enough to do something this weird. Right?” Megan’s voice sounded hopeful. It would be nicer to believe that this was the work of a lone crazed werewolf girl with a fixation on Sam, than it was to believe that Victor Atwood was sadistic enough to bleed his own daughter to send a message to a rival Alpha.

“I’ll ask my mom if she knows anything else about how the disease progressed in the case she caught wind of in Kentucky,” I said. My mom had been the one to recall the case where a werewolf girl had been diagnosed with a rare disease in her second set of glands. In a risky move to eradicate the disease, she’d had her werewolf glands removed. She was still all wolf, could shift at will, she just didn’t smell like a wolf and couldn’t secrete some of the chemicals werewolves used for communication. But it had resulted in her madness. She’d completely gone off the deep end and, in the end, she’d died anyway—though from the disease or the surgery, we didn’t know. Shelby had had the same surgery. She’d had her glands removed. It was the only explanation for her intermingling with Dominic’s pack for two years without being detected as a werewolf. That kind of dedication passed the line of sane and sent a shiver down my back.

“Are you okay?” Rachel asked Megan.

“I’m fine. I’m safe. How are you doing? How’s Joanie?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s much change…Oh! Hang on. I got a text.” Rachel held the phone away from us so she could read the message. “Oh, thank God! It’s from Dad. Joanie’s vitals are better! The doctor said there’s been improvement in the past hour. I think we’re going to head back up there now, but please call or text if you find out anything else!”

“I will. I’m so glad to hear there’s improvement! Keep me posted,” Meg replied.

I fired off a quick text to Sam on my phone while Megan and Rachel said their goodbyes.

At the hospital with Rachel. Heard about the perimeter. Let me know if you need me back. Otherwise, I’ll stay with Rachel.

I didn’t expect a quick reply since I assumed Sam was still in fur.

Rachel and I made our way back to the waiting room where Mr. and Mrs. Crumb and Clary all appeared better, though still haggard.

****

By early evening, Sam had messaged me back and told me to stay with Rachel and keep my eyes open. Joanie had shown slow but steady improvement throughout the afternoon. Enough so that the Crumbs decided to head home and get some much-needed rest before coming back tomorrow.

“Kyp, thank you so much for coming today. And for staying,” Rachel told me as we were gathering our things to head out.

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you want me to take you back to your house? Or is your truck somewhere else?” Rachel hedged.

I smiled. “No worries. Just let me out a few blocks from your house. I’ll run home. I ran to your car this morning, so my truck is still in my own driveway.”

Rachel stared at me, her eyes round.

I lifted my eyebrow. “What?”

“That’s really kind of awesome.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. It gave me a curious giddy sensation in my belly. I smiled back and held the door open for her.