Joining Our Packs

Chapter Ten Wolfsbane

Amelia's POV

Opening my eyes a newfound determination snakes through me. I am certain it was Annalise, the instant I saw the young she wolf in my dreams, I knew.

Dressing quickly I head to my office scanning my records and pluck the file from my cabinet to read over the details from that night. Everything is flooding back.

Three years ago seem to happen before my eyes. I’m back to the night I held the girl as she cried, mourning the loss of her parents and many of her pack. Her dirty blond hair was a matted mess from being d**g from the debris of the pack house and her blue eyes shimmered with her tears. I could feel her body quivering in my arms all over again. I had offered her asylum after pulling her from the rubble all those years ago. Circumstances made it impossible for her to stay within the pack for long.

Dropping the file on my desk I grab my phone dialing the number for Goose Creek.

“Hello, Beta Finn speaking,” the man answers.

“Hi, this is Amelia Mason from Silver Crest, I am calling to inform you that one of your pack members is dead,” I say gripping the edge of my desk.

“Who and how?” He demands his voice becoming more gruff in his anger.

“An orphan named Annalise, I found her in the woods yesterday morning. Vampires were scented in the area,” I explain feeling my anger rise.

“Annalise ran away two months ago when she received her wolf,” He confirms sounding less angry now that the name held no meaning to him.

My anger skyrockets these assholes had assumed she ran away.

“Clearly she didn’t run away! Did you even try to look for her?” I scream gripping the edge of my desk in a white knuckle grip.

“This conversation is over Ms. Mason,” Beta Finn replies dryly ending the call.

I’m in a state of shock the dial tone buzzing in my ear as I keep it pressed to my ear.

How could they not care? I would’ve noticed her disappearance unlike Goose Creek. Now I feel like I’m to blame for her death.

Placing the phone on my desk I slide into my chair behind the desk to check my email and see if her autopsy has came back yet.

We need to learn all we can to figure out what the rogues are up to. Opening the tab I’m met with a new email in bold letters. I open it hesitant for what I might see. I knew she was in bad shape but reading over the report brings tears to my eyes.

Our doctors had determined Annalise was repeatedly drugged with wolfsbane by the residue amounts still in her system. They also found scars from silver blades where she was bled. To make matters worse the girl was being r***d as well.

Nobody knew what type of hell she went through in that time. It is a miracle she had been able to shift at all.

“Her wolf must have became resistant to the strength of wolfsbane she was given,” Acacia says reading my thoughts.

“That’s how she managed to escape.”

“They need to be stopped,” she growls.

Shoving away from my desk I return to the books I was rea searching last night. Vampires are not new to bloodlust, s*x l**t, and a hate for shifters. They are being careful by drugging them. Their venom usually only works on humans which is why they’re easier targets for blood slaves which have been banned for centuries since the war.

‘There’s no way Annalise is the first or only,’ I think.

Grabbing my laptop I send emails to every pack in a hundred miles hopping someone can give me some more insight. If we know the radius the Vampires are working in we can figure out how to stop them.

“And kill them,” Acacia adds.

New emails come in as I stare at the screen. I click them open one by one absorbing the information. Female shifters from multiple packs have gone missing in the last six months.

Everything I’m reading makes the thought circling in my head that much louder. I have to put a stop to these Vampires.

***

What I’m about to do is necessary. I won’t let another innocent she wolf die a horrible death if I can help it.

I sit in the small bed my back pressing into the firm mattress. My heart rate creates steady lines on the machine as they monitor me.

Nobody knows I am here or what I am doing. No one but the doctor in the room. If they knew I won’t be allowed to continue.

I am taking every precaution I can and Acacia is backing me one thousand percent.

“Are you ready?” The doctor asks stepping into my line of sight.

“Yes,” I say nodding slightly.

She lines the needle up to my IV and I watch in silence as the liquid is pushed in.

“Breathe,” she says.

My veins burn like a fire has been lit inside my blood. My fingertips tingle and my toes feel numb. Everything feels heavier as I try to lift my hand and it wavers in front of me appearing as two. The thickness in my tongue keeps me from speaking and I swallow my saliva feeling nauseous. The urge to vomit hits me hard and breathing becomes a challenge. The monitor beeps erratically indicating the slowing of my pulse and heartbeat becoming weak and irregular. My skin is cold and clammy not the norm for a wolf and I know if I could look in a mirror I would look something close to how Carter appeared.

With the wolfsbanes hitting full force and I remind myself of who I'm doing this for of all the shifters I will save. No other she wolf will endure what Annalise did.

“We've got this,” Acacia whimpers trying to encourage me.

“I know we do,” I agree.

I release a slow steady breath wrangling the pain and boxing it in. My pain is only temporary. The burning, tingling sensation turns to pins and needles that are be.

“How long until we can do it again?” I ask the doctor.

“As soon as it’s out of your system and your wolf has healed,” She explains staring at me in amusement.

“How long will that take?”

“It’s not been tested I would presume a few hours to a few days we can monitor your blood work and make a plan to continue your experiment,” The doctor tells me excitement in her eyes at having a new test subject.

“We’re doing this to save people not for you,” Acacia comments tiredly.

As she leaves the room to get more needles and tubes Acacia curls up in a ball and starts snoring softly in my mind. The wolfsbane must have worn her out more than she cares to let on.

*ring ring*

I look at my phone seeing ‘Mate’ across the screen and hit accept.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hey baby, where are you, I’ve looked everywhere?” Isaiah whines.

“Not everywhere,” I joke giggling.

“Well, not where you are but everywhere else.”

“I’m at the clinic, I wanted to check in about the autopsy,” I say leaving out my extracurriculars.

“I’m on my way,” He replies.

“No, I’ll be leaving in a minute I’ll just meet you in the dining hall for dinner,” I rush out. If he sees me in the bed with tubes he’ll freak and I won’t be able to keep this from him.

“Okay be safe, I love you,” Isaiah tells me.

“I love you too, see you soon.”

I end the call as the doctor comes back in.

“Do you need that many tubes?” I ask a scowl feeling the lines around my mouth.

“Yes, just to be safe,” she replies as she begins drawing my blood.

Four tubes later and she starts unhooking the machines and IV.

Isaiah’s POV

I haven’t seen Amelia since this morning and she rushed out of the room so fast I didn’t get to say goodbye. I had pack duties to handle so I haven’t had a chance to track her down until now.

Our link isn’t working so I dial her number waiting for her to pick up.

“Hey,” she answers after the first ring sounding tired.

“Hey baby, where are you, I’ve looked everywhere?” I ask trying not to sound whiny.

“Oh you sounded whiny alright,” Ishmael snickers.

“Not everywhere,” she jokes her sweet giggle meeting my ear.

“Well, not where you are but everywhere else,” I reason.

“I’m at the clinic, I wanted to check in about the autopsy,” she explains.

“I’m on my way,” I say turning toward the direction of the clinic.

“No, I’ll be leaving in a minute I’ll just meet you in the dining hall for dinner,” she rushes out stopping me in my tracks.

“Why is mate acting weird?” Ishmael asks his big wolf head tilting to the side.

“Okay be safe, I love you,” I tells Amelia ignoring Ishmael for the moment.

“I love you too, see you soon,” she replies ending the call.

“I don’t know maybe we should meet her at the clinic anyways,” I say to Ishmael.

“Acacia isn’t talking to me,” Ishmael whines pacing.

“Did you do anything stupid?”

“No did you?” He snaps.

“No, I don’t know. All I know is we need to check on our Mate.”

I head in the direction of the clinic trying to link Amelia to tell her I’m coming to her but I can’t break through the block on our link. Why is she blocking me? It doesn’t seem like a normal block though I can’t even feel the link connecting and it worries me.

I’m almost there and can see the building when I she walks out. Her skin looks pale even in the warm afternoon sunlight and I run to her side startling her. Did she not smell me or see me coming?

“Are you okay?” I ask wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her close.

Her scent smells off, it smells weaker.

“Yeah, just a little rattled. I thought we were meeting for dinner?” She changes the subject.

“I couldn’t wait to see you,” the excuse rolls of my tongue. It’s true but I am also worried about her.

“Awww my big softy,” she purrs leaning up to place a kiss on my lips.

I kiss her back showing her how much I missed her. When she pulls away gasping for breath her lips a swollen.

“Come on let’s go get you some food,” I say lacing our fingers together and heading toward the pack house.