Ellida (25 page)

Don’t let him go! We need him!
my wolf
screamed at the top of her lungs.
I don’t know if I can handle
one more change, Astrid! You are useless! You can’t help
me!

“
Back off, wolf!”
I yelled back, and
then angrily turned my attention to Jack. “What’s going on,
Jack?”

“A young woman I know. She’s in the hospital
in critical condition. Her husband beat her. Before she passed out,
they asked her about her closest relatives. She gave them my phone
number.”

“Why yours? Is she your relative? Doesn’t she
have a family? Friends? Anybody?”

“I don’t think she can count on her
family.”

I didn’t like it at all.

“We used to date a few years ago,” Jack said.
“Her name’s—”

“Lanni?”

Lanni
! my wolf barked out at the same
time.

“How do you know?” Jack asked.

“Livia told me about her.”

“Astrid, I have to go. She’s in bad shape.
She might not recover. I have to see her.”

“Jack, she’s human, right? Are you going to
turn her to save her life, if necessary?”

“I’ll do anything to save her, Astrid. I just
hope she’ll be alive when I arrive.”

JACK WALKED briskly to the car while I
tagged along. We didn’t talk during the short ride to James’ house.
Fortunately, nobody was at home. I felt miserable for being selfish
and uncompassionate. The poor woman was lying half dead, beaten to
a pulp, and all I could feel was jealousy and anger.

Being so close to transformation turned me
into a bundle of raw nerves. My wolf didn’t help either: even more
jealous and selfish, she hissed and kicked from inside, demanding
to be heard.

“
We have to deal with it together
,” I
said to my wolf. “
I need your help.”

“
Then listen to me, damn it! I’m trying to
help! Don’t let him go! How do you know he will be back in time?
God knows what else could happen!”

I felt I needed to defend Jack. “
He
promised, and he’ll do everything he can to keep his word. If
something unpredictable happens, well, you and I are going to do it
on our own. One more time. We can do that, can’t we?”

She didn’t say anything, but her anger lost
its edge.

Jack cupped my head between his warm,
callused palms and locked his eyes with mine. “I’ll be back before
the full moon. Okay?”

I nodded, swallowing back the tears. “Jack,”
I said quietly, “what if I go with you? Maybe I can save her. I can
help her to heal.”

I might feel unhappy with the turn of the
events, but I was a doctor. I would fight for that girl’s life with
all I had.

“It’s too late for you to go. Let’s hope
we’ll get there in time.”

“
We?
Who else is going?”

It seemed Jack didn’t hear my question. He
kissed me one more time. “I love you, baby,” he whispered on my
lips, and the next moment he was gone.

I NEEDED some peace and quiet to collect my
thoughts, so I drove back to the plateau. My wolf was unhappy but
quiet, which was a blessing. I didn’t have the energy to argue with
her. As for myself, I decided that wallowing in self-pity would do
just fine, so for a while I sulked, sighed, cried my eyes out, and
cursed my rotten luck.

“
That’s enough!”
I heard my wolf.
“I understand why you didn’t stop him from going. I’m not angry
anymore.”

“
What would Jack think about me if I tried
to stop him?”
I snapped. “
I can’t choose a hot night with my
boyfriend over somebody else’s life.”

“
There’s more at stake than that, Astrid.
Our spirits should connect as soon as possible,”
she said in an
unexpectedly calm voice.

“
Maybe we can do it without Jack.”

“
Oh, no, here we go again! Astrid, we
cannot. Period. What part of this statement don’t you understand?
Jack’s wolf needs me and I need him. Do you remember what Ellida
Morgaine said? This is the safest way. Everything else would be
risky.”

“
Okay, okay, just don’t get worked up. But
if necessary, can you help me to go through this one more time?
Next time, I promise, if Jack isn’t around, I’ll lure Sid Brandon
into the forest.”

I heard her chuckling.
“But I want Jack.
What the heck, we can probably pull through it safely one more
time. Just stop making me feel miserable, please!”

At that moment, my phone rang. It was
Peyton.

“For heaven’s sake, what’s going on,
Astrid!?”

“Hey, Peyton.”

“Jack just phoned and now Ingmar took off.
I’ve just arrived in Seattle, but now he’s gone. He said something
about going to San Francisco with Jack. What happened!? Where are
you now? Why isn’t Jack with you? The full moon is in two
days.”

I took a deep breath and told her what had
happened.

Peyton exploded. “Oh, will she leave him
alone?! Didn’t she hurt him already enough?!” She was so loud that
I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “Of course she phoned
Jack! Why didn’t she phone her husband?”

I interrupted Peyton’s angry rant. “It was
her husband who put her in hospital, he did that to her. She has
life threatening injuries.”

I could hear Peyton exhaling deeply. “Oh,
God! I’m so sorry. That’s terrible. Will she be okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“I hope she will. But what now? Look what
happened to our great weekend! I’m twiddling my thumbs here in
Ingmar’s apartment, and you are by yourself in Red Cliffs, two days
before the transformation. Astrid, I’m coming back. I’ll stay with
you.”

“NO!” I said categorically. “You
are
not
coming back, Peyton. Jack will be back in no time, and so
will Ingmar. Do you hear me? Do not come here!”

“Is that an order, Ellida?” I finally heard a
soft, pearly giggle.

I laughed back. “If it’s necessary, then yes,
it is. It’s going to be okay, Peyton. I’d rather hear about
Ingmar.”

There was a long silence before Peyton
whispered, “Astrid, we are bond-mates.”

I closed my eyes, thankful for this miracle.
“Oh, Peyton, I knew it. The night you told me about him I figured
out you must be.”

“It’s so overwhelming, Astrid. I’m half-crazy
because he needed to go, like a part of me has gone with him.”

“How does Ingmar feel the bond? How do you
feel it? Is it like a warm current and you think you can’t live
without it anymore?”

“Yes, just like that. It’s incredible. A
simple touch of his fingers and I feel complete. Everything is
falling into place.”

“You found your second half, Peyton, that’s
why. What about him? He’s a wizard. It must be different for him. I
mean the physical manifestation of the bond.”

“Why do you ask me?” Peyton said, laughing.
“How did you feel it, wizard?”

“As a werewolf,” I laughed back.

“It has something to do with your energy
flow. Ingmar was just about to describe it to me when Jack phoned.
He was taken aback when he touched my hand the first time. Not
shocked, though. He was—”

“Fascinated,” I finished it for her. “I knew
he must have been fascinated.”

She laughed happily. “Well, yes. That’s the
right word.” She paused. “Enough about that now. What are you going
to do?”

I sighed. “I’ll wait. If Jack isn’t back by
Monday, I don’t know. I might ask Livia and Tristan to come and
stay with me. They’ve done it many times before.”

“Where are you now? How are you feeling?”

“I’m on the plateau above town, sitting on my
car hood. How do I feel? Oversensitive, moody, horny. My symptoms
are back, but that’s fine, it’s about time.”

“No wonder. Are you sure you don’t want me to
come?”

I rolled my eyes. “I am absolutely sure,
Peyton. Jack will be here, I know that. What are you going to
do?”

“Ingmar’s friends are taking me out for
dinner.” She smirked. “Dinner with two unknown people and curling
up in bed with a book wasn’t on my agenda for tonight, but I’m sort
of running out of options. Unless I find where Ingmar keeps his
movies.”

“That tall antique glass cabinet with clay
masks inside… Open the bottom door. They should be there… Found
them?

“Yes, thank you. I hope I won’t go through
the entire collection before Ingmar comes back.”

“I bet he isn’t very happy either to be in
San Francisco now. I have to go, Peyton. Don’t worry about me, I’ll
be okay.”

“Call me if you want to talk later.
Okay?”

“Sure. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

SHE WASN’T fine. I wasn’t fine,
either
.

Miss Spock had decided to suffer in silence,
waiting for Jack to come back. How pathetic! But she was hurt,
disappointed and jealous. Being a truly compassionate person, those
feelings made her wrestle with her conscience and despise herself
for being selfish. What a mess!

Well, to tell the truth, I was also jealous,
hurt and disappointed. I understood Jack’s human motives. He’d do
the same for anybody he knew. I had a problem with his wolf’s
engagement, though, because that part operated on a deep, primal
level. Once, that girl was his, and Jack’s wolf still reacted to
it. Miss Spock had sensed that subconsciously and that made her so
unhappy.

Anyway, although I hoped for a happy ending,
I had to prepare us for a less-than-fairytale conclusion: that for
whatever reason, Jack would be prevented from getting back on
time.

I TRIED to call Jack, but his phone was
switched off. Then Tristan called, informing me that Livia had gone
to San Francisco to meet with Jack and Ingmar.

“What’s going on, Tristan?” I said. “Why does
Jack need them?”

“Lanni Blackwell suffered life-threatening
injuries. I’m afraid human medicine might not be sufficient. Poor
girl! That bastard of a husband, I hope Jack will find him… How are
you, Princess?”

“Fever, sore muscles, shivers, nothing
unusual. My wolf’s strong. We’ll manage it if—”

“Astrid, if Jack and Liv aren’t back by
Monday morning, I’ll come. I’ll meet you at The Watchman’s. I could
be there by Monday afternoon. Okay?”

I sighed. “Yeah. I don’t think James would
let Betty and Morgaine babysit me this time. He’d insist he should
stay with me, you know him.”

“Astrid, I can’t reach any of those three.
Did you manage to talk to Jack?”

“No. His phone’s off.”

“If you don’t hear from him, or I from
Liv—”

“Or Peyton from Ingmar.”

Tristan stopped, and then laughed. “Ingmar
and Peyton, you say? Son of a gun, he’s been flying under the
radar! We haven’t noticed anything!”

I laughed. “It’s not easy to read wizards’
emotions, not even for vampires. That’s why we sometimes look
emotionally challenged. Listen, Tristan, I’ll phone you. Thank you
for your offer.”

“Don’t mention it, Astrid. I’m sure
everything will be fine, but just in case, we have to have a
back-up plan, all right?”

“All right. Love you.”

“Love you too, Princess.”

TRISTAN PHONED at quarter to five on Monday
morning asking if I’d heard from Jack. Sobbing heavily, I said I
hadn’t. Around three o’clock he phoned again and asked me to come
to The Watchman’s.

“Room 36 A. I’ll check myself in as Mr.
Whyte. How long will it take you to get here?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“Are you able to drive?”

“Sure, providing that I’m able to sneak out
of the house first. James put me under 24-hour surveillance,” I
said.

I’d spent the previous day in the house under
my family’s watchful eye. I told them Jack had an urgent job to do,
and that I’d asked Tristan to stay with me. My uncle was visibly
upset, Betty worried, Morgaine just smirked, and Eamon said, “He’ll
be back, don’t worry.” Mercifully, they didn’t ask more
questions.

It took me less than fifteen minutes to drive
to The Watchman’s.

Everybody in Red Cliffs knew my red Ferrari,
so to avoid unnecessary attention, I parked it in the back alley,
in the spot reserved for the staff. I brushed my tears away—I’d
been crying all day and a good part of the previous night—took a
deep breath and entered the hotel through the back door.

“Hi, Martina,” I greeted the receptionist. “A
friend of mine, Mr. Whyte, is expecting me. He’s in 36 A. Could you
tell him I’m on my way?”

She smiled at me. “Sure, Miss Mohegan…
Ellida. I’ll let, ahem, your friend know you’re coming.”

There was something a little bit off in her
smile, or her voice, but I didn’t have time to dally there.

Too impatient to wait for the elevator, I
sprinted the stairs to the third floor. There I suddenly stopped
and sniffed the air. Although my sense of smell was partly numbed
from a long cry I could still smell the beloved, arousing scent of
rain, sunshine and longing.

“Jack!” I cried in such relief I thought my
heart would burst, and flew toward room 36 A. Before I touched it,
the door swung open.

“I promised I’d be back, Astrid.”

I flew into Jack’s open arms, unable to say a
word.

I looked into his smiling face and his
wolfish, amber eyes.

“Now I’ll drag you to the cave, baby, and
play with you there for a while,” he said, smiling.

He lifted me up, tossed me over his shoulder
and carried me through the entire hotel and across the parking lot,
all the way to his truck.

JACK PULLED up in front of his house.
Walking around the truck, he opened Astrid’s door, lifted her from
the seat and carried her straight to the bedroom.

Her skin was hot and sensitive. Her eye color
shifted between blue and amber, indicating her resurfacing wolf,
strong, confident and aroused. But there was no pain this time, and
Astrid the Wizard stayed close, awake and excited.