She took a deep breath. Human. She managed a frozen smile and murmured a thanks.
“I’ve never seen a wolf attack a human in these parts. I’ll have to contact the police and let them know. Might be rabid.”
She stared out the window, keeping an eye out for him, wishing she knew who the lupus garou was who had attacked her.
The grizzled old man kept talking, but all she could think of was the teens telling Doc Mitchell she’d been with them, he’d alert Darien, and they’d know her last whereabouts soon. Which meant she hadn’t much time.
Chapter 18
DARIEN PLOWED THROUGH ANOTHER SNOWDRIFT, GLAD Tom’s four-wheel drive monster truck could handle just about any road conditions, but he still wasn’t letting either of his brothers drive, figuring if he had a wreck it would be his fault, no one else to blame.
“We’ve been driving for an hour in this mess and have barely made any headway,” Jake said. “How was Lelandi acting before you came down to talk to us?”
“Pissed off about Ural. She probably headed to the jail to make sure we didn’t kill him.” He could barely see the road, or whether they were driving on it, the shoulder, or in the ditch. The only thing he could make out were the trees on either side of the road. Darien squinted, but it wasn’t helping.
“Wait, Darien! I think I see something,” Tom shouted from the backseat.
“Where?”
“To the right… looks like the tail end of a green pickup.”
Darien stopped the truck and they got out. “It’s the Woodcroft boys’ truck. I recognize the crunched right side where Cody backed into their mailbox by accident when he was learning to drive last year.” Now, stuck in the ditch, half-buried in snow and ice. He rubbed the snow off the driver’s side window. No sign of anyone. “Call their dad. See if they made it home, Tom.”
Tom pulled out his cell phone while Jake and Darien scouted around the truck for tracks. “If they hiked out of here on foot, the blowing snow covered their tracks already,” Jake said, rubbing his gloved hands together.
“Hi, Anthony, this is Tom. Are your boys at home?”he yelled into the phone above the blowing wind.
Darien pointed to a couple of trees nearby. “Branches are broken. They walked this way, marking a trail at least. That abandoned cabin is located half a mile west of here. They’d know about it. Maybe they went there seeking shelter.”
Jake made a disgruntled noise. “Hell, the whole thing might have blown down in this storm. But it’s worth checking if their dad says they’re not home.”
They looked at Tom, whose face puckered into a frown. “I’ll let Darien know. We found their truck and it looks like we’ve discovered the direction they’re headed.” He paused. “A mile south of Darien’s place and the truck’s stuck in the ditch and buried in snow.” Tom looked at Darien. “Yeah, Lelandi’s still missing. All right. Let you know if we find anyone.” He pocketed his phone. “Anthony, Sr. said they went sledding and were late in arriving home. Peter called him to help in the search for Lelandi, so he’s heading out, but his wife will be home waiting on news of the boys. Not only that, but the sixteen-year-old twin girls that joined our pack were with the boys.”
“Hell,” Darien said. “Grab some flashlights. They might be able to see them. We’ll check that abandoned cabin. Call Uncle Sheridan and tell him we’ve got some missing teens out here now, too. He’ll need to report the girls are with the boys, have abandoned the vehicle, and are on foot somewhere in the woods. And call Bertha Hastings and tell her to start the alert roster calls to account for everyone else.”
With heartfelt thanks, Lelandi climbed out of the Good Samaritan’s truck and headed for the hospital entrance. Glad to have made it, she felt a sliver of relief, knowing she still might get caught before she discovered anything.
What of the receptionist? Lelandi hadn’t thought about how she could get past her if that blasted Angelina was on duty. With trepidation at being discovered, Lelandi opened the hospital door and let in a blast of cold, but the heated air inside welcomed her like a hot blanket.
A woman she didn’t recognize manned the front desk and was talking to a human mother. The woman’s son was coughing nonstop. While the receptionist was busy, Lelandi slinked on past in her wet clothes down the hallway.
The smell of antiseptics brought a flashback of her stay at the hospital. She shivered, not wanting to think about it. Doc was talking to someone in one of the exam rooms and when she passed it, she saw Ritka adding something to a patient’s IV in the next room.
Ohmigod. Deputy Trevor was peering into a hospital room, his back to her.
Two more hospital rooms to get by and she’d reach Doc’s office at the end of the hall. She hurried past the deputy and into Doc’s office, then shut the door behind her. Her hands shaking, she took a steadying breath. Immaculately neat, everything was in its place. A brass caduceus sat on a stack of papers in the center of the mahogany desk, and she removed Caitlin’s gloves, shoved them in her pocket, then flipped through the papers. Current patient notes, nothing old enough to relate to Larissa’s case.
Certificates decorated the walls, and a portrait of a white-haired, elegant-looking woman and a distinguished-looking Doc was hanging on one of the walls opposite his desk over a file cabinet.
Trying the top drawer, she slid it open. Files of current patients. Files of more patients filled the second drawer also. No Wildhaven here though. No, it would be under Darien’s name, Silver.
And there it was. Lelandi Silver, DECEASED.
Lelandi’s skin prickled. She slipped the file out of the drawer and opened it, her heart fluttering at a quickened pace.
9/6 Lelandi cut her wrists as a plea for help.
Her sister had attempted suicide? Hating how much her sister had to have suffered, Lelandi sat down hard on the doc’s chair.
She must have known she couldn’t die in that manner. I’ve tried speaking with her, but she won’t tell me what’s going on. Nurse Grey spoke with her at some length, but couldn’t determine the cause of depression. Probably brought on inpart by fluctuating hormones from the pregnancy. Suspect underlying reason, but can’t say without further information.
Lelandi’s eyes pricked with tears, and she wiped away a couple rolling down her cheeks. How could she not have been here for her sister?
9/8 Released Lelandi from the hospital. She seemed more upbeat and I had Doctor Craighton visit her from Green Valley. He’ll be seeing her once a week for a month to work with her through her psychological issues.
9/12 Lelandi seemed somewhat less distraught. Silva has made friends with her as well. I’m hoping that she’ll adjust to life here with the pack sooner than later as the pregnancy progresses.
10/6 Darien spoke to me about Lelandi’s crying spells. They’re much more pronounced than for a normal pregnancy. The only thing I can attribute it to is the possibility that the babies aren’t Darien’s. I don’t want to speculate further about that.
Lelandi reread the entry. Did Darien know? What about the rest of the pack? Silva. Maybe Larissa had told her. Or as bad as the news was, maybe not. No wonder Larissa was so distressed.
10/20 Lelandi had to be hospitalized for dehydration. Darien says she’s not eating properly. Too ill with morning sickness.
10/24 Autopsy revealed cause of death: broken neck from strangulation. Deemed a suicide, considering suicide note found in patient’s handwriting, past history of severe depression, and previous suicide attempt.
10/26 Autopsy of fetuses indicate the DNA does not match Darien’s.
Tears streaked down Lelandi’s cheeks, and she quickly brushed them away. How could her sister have done this to Darien? To the family? She’d shamed them all. It was bad enough that she’d mated another wolf when she was already mated, although Lelandi could forgive Larissa’s transgressions considering how cruel Crassus was. But how could Larissa have conceived someone else’s babies?
And who was the villain who seduced her sister? Silva said Larissa was seeing a miner. The only one she knew was Joe Kelly. If not him, would he know her sister’s lover?
She couldn’t believe how bad the situation with her sister was turning out.
“Doctor,” Ritka said from down the hall, jarring Lelandi from her morbid thoughts. “Mrs. Waverly wants more medication, but she’s had enough morphine to put a cow under.”
“Mrs. Waverly’s bone cancer has spread to many of her vital organs. She doesn’t have long to live. She’s entitled to whatever pain medication helps ease her suffering. Anything else?”
“Just Willy Wilkerson. His lungs sound like they’re full of fluid. Might be pneumonia. And Ural seems to be regaining consciousness.”
Ural was here? Unconscious! Lelandi ground her teeth. That’s why Deputy Trevor was here. Damn Darien and his men.
The doctor and Ritka walked past the office and Lelandi didn’t stir.
Once they’d reached an exam room, Doc Oliver said, “Mrs. Wilkerson. We’ll have Willy on medication and better in no time.”
Lelandi refiled her sister’s health records and made for the door. Whether Trevor liked it or not, she was going to see her cousin and find out what they’d done to him.
The door eased open and Lelandi’s heart nearly quit.
But it wasn’t Doc.
Joe Kelly hurried inside and shut the door. Snow covered his coat, hair and whiskers, and his eyes had a madman’s look. “Searching for Larissa’s file?” He pulled a gun out and motioned for Lelandi to back up against the wall.
A sickening feeling rippled through her. Her gaze shifted from the gun to his grim face. “You were the father of her triplets, weren’t you?”
“We thought Darien knew. But he either pretended not to, or was too arrogant to believe someone else had captured his mate’s heart. All that crap about dream mating.”
Hoping for a distraction, Lelandi backed toward the desk where she could reach the caduceus paperweight. Then she recalled her gun. Hell, she could have used it on the wolf stalking her. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she realized with a sinking heart she’d exchanged jackets with Cody. Oh, god, an underage lupus garouhad her gun filled with silver bullets. Darien would kill her if this lunatic didn’t beat him to it.