The Day You Went Away

4. Cries

I woke up in a car and nearly freaked out when I didn't recognize the guy driving. He wore a suit—a nice one—and he smelled like expensive cologne but that didn't change the fact that he was huge, with a shaved head and a tattoo that looked like claws poking up out of the collar of his white shirt.

"It's okay," he said. "We're almost at the hospital."

"Hospital?" My skin prickled.

"You're bleeding," he pointed out. "That was a nasty crash."

Crash. Now I remembered. "Dan." I gasped, the words turning into a near-sob as the panic surged back.

"He's okay. He's being taken back to the pack. He'll be fine. But you need to be checked out." He glanced at me. "And if I'm not mistaken, some stitches." He turned into a street and I saw the familiar facade of Seattle Northern in front of me.

"I don't—" I stopped as the realization hit me that my skin was prickling from shifter buzz not shock. "You're a werewolf."

"Yes." He nodded. "But don't worry, I'm not going to do what Dan did."

"I'm covered in blood," I pointed out, noticing that fact for the first time.

"Yeah, it's not your best look. But I'm not a cub like your man back there. You're safe with me." He steered the car into a parking space near the E.R. sign.

"I don't understand. Who are you? Why were you there? Were you following us?" I heard my voice getting higher and higher with each question.

"Easy, Ms. Keenan. Doctor first, then questions," he said.

My nameless savior helped me out of the car and half-carried me into the E.R. Apparently walking in covered in blood and broken glass was a good strategy for going to the top of the priority queue. I was whisked off to a cubicle after my new friend had explained what had happened and had a virtual squad of doctors and nurses swarming around me in no time. They took me down to have a CT scan or something. When that pronounced my neck and back to be clear, I was cleaned off, a gash in my arm numbed and stitched up, and then someone slid what could very well be a pointless lycanthropy vaccine booster into my arm. Then they gave me more painkillers and put me into a slightly larger room with a bed, told me I had to stay under observation for a few hours, and left me alone.

Almost immediately my suited friend appeared in the doorway. "Can I come in?"

"Are you going to take no for an answer?"

"Probably not," he said.

"Then be my guest."

He sat on the visitor's chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

"It was a minivan actually. Or the first one was. I think the second car was an SUV."

"I'm less interested in the cars than the result," I said. The painkillers were starting to make me feel floaty. "Can I ask questions now?"

"Sure."

My head hurt. I decided to start with something easy. "What's your name?"

"Eli. Eli Carey."

"And who are you exactly?"

"Let's just say I'm one of Dan's pack mates. Someone with seniority."

"I don't rate an Alpha?"

"The Alphas are with Dan. They're best at controlling new ones." He looked at me solemnly. "They offer their apologies, by the way. We thought Dan was doing well. His control seemed solid. Otherwise we wouldn't have let him see you. The pack will pay your medical expenses."

"Trying to buy me off?"

He shook his head. "We settle our debts."

We. The pack, he meant. Dan was one of them now. Tears started building in my eyes. "I didn't imagine it, did I? That was Dan back there in the Jeep. He would have killed me."

Eli sighed. "He wouldn't have meant to but, yes, maybe. The shock of the accident, combined with fresh blood and I'm guessing a healthy amount of fear for you. That's a combination pretty much guaranteed to set a new wolf off." He leaned back on the chair, which creaked a protest, tugged at his tie to loosen it. "Pretty bad luck. I must say I've never seen a first meeting go quite so spectacularly wrong as that one."

My tears were coming harder now and I wiped them away angrily. "But you have seen them go wrong?"

"Things don't always go smoothly. That's why we tag along."

"You were following us?" Had he been in the restaurant? I couldn't remember. Everything that had happened before the crash was blurred in my mind.

"Yes. You never would have known we were there if this hadn't happened."

"Dan didn't tell me."

"That's what we advise. It can make people nervous, the thought of having werewolves around. Strange werewolves, that is."

"I can't imagine why," I said, then, "Are you sure Dan's okay?"

"Good as new once he changes. We're pretty tough. Don't worry about Dan."

"That's kind of like asking me not to breathe at this point."

Eli smiled at that. "He loves you, I know that much. Talked about you a lot while he's been with us. Couldn't wait to get back to you." His smile turned a little sad. "He's going to hate himself for this."

"It wasn't his fault," I said.

"No, it wasn't," Eli said. "And I'm glad that you can see that but maybe it's for the best."

I suddenly felt cold, fear rolling over me. "What do you mean?"

"We know what happened to your family," he said. I opened my mouth in outrage and he held up a hand. "I'm sorry but we always look into the background of those who are closest to our new members. We need to know what to expect."

"You investigated me?"

"Dan doesn't have much family. So yes, we were interested in who his girlfriend is."

"And who am I, exactly?"

"Unless I’m a very bad judge of character, I’d have to say someone who's not turning cartwheels at the thought of her lover being a werewolf."

I bit my lip. I couldn't deny it. I didn't want to become what I had seen in that Jeep. Werewolves weren't vampires. Weren't the kind of monster that had killed my family but they were still not human. "What would you do, if you were me?" I asked softly.

He leaned forward. "Do you want the truth?"

"Yes." I was crying again, soundless tears blurring my vision.

"It almost never works. When one partner is human and one is a wolf. It works if the human is happy to become one of us and makes the change successfully. But the only times I've seen it work is when the human is okay with the thought that he or she might not stay human forever. And you're not okay with that, are you?"

I shook my head.

"Then, most likely, it's going to end badly. So if I was you, and if I loved Dan the way that he loves you, then I'd do the right thing before it can get any worse."

"What's the right thing?" I knew the answer already but part of me just needed to hear it.

"I'd say goodbye and never let myself look back."