Deja Vu: The Healer

Chapter 9: Background

A few hours later I was working in my office when Tarin linked me. Beta William?

Yes Tarin?

Now I don't want you to kill anyone...

I immediately bristled and was out of my chair. What happened to my mate!

Not her exactly... You should probably check the security images from section 4A, at 2:20.

Explain now!

You should probably just check the footage yourself.

Tarin. My thoughts were a dangerous low growl. What has happened to Caroline?

She relented. Not her. Him. He was seen going into a restroom with another woman. They were in there quite a while.

I shot back down to my chair and started bringing up the security footage from my laptop. When the scene played out, I saw red. It was true. My mate's person was clearly cheating on her.

My body then was torn into two halves. The first half that would rip him apart for hurting her and the second part that knew by hurting him would rip her apart.

And Kara's well being would always trump my bloodlust for some stupid prick.

Be smart. Was Tarin's only advice.

I know! I shouted at her and threw my desk lamp at the wall.

I had to get out of there before I did anything stupid, so I did the only thing I could that wouldn't end in his murder.

I ran.

When I hit the trees I shifted mid air and followed the perimeter, overrunning the patrol easily. They tried to link but I blocked everything. I'd run until my feet bled.

I would circle wider and wider until I went clear around the county multiple times. There'd be hell to pay when I got home and Eric realized I jumped the human highway, but I couldn't care about that now. I just needed peace and to move.

Hours later I was laying exhausted by a river clear down south of the lake and out of pack borders, finally the fight trying to leave my body when my father linked me.

Will?

Yeah Dad?

I have some information on Caroline ready. Did you want to meet?

My wolf head lifted. Oh, Dad! I forgot. I learned a little about her already. Her real name is Kara Day. She lived here for a few years.

Kara Day? You mean one of Ralph's? We thought they all died in a fire.

Yeah. She's still alive.

His voice smiled through his thoughts. I remember her.

You do? I started listening intently.

He laughed. Yeah, her and Eric were always causing trouble. She was Jared's younger sister.  Do you remember her?

No. My wolf head shook.

It was years ago so I can understand that. Well are you still interested in seeing the paperwork I've got on her then? Or no now that you know that background?

No! I mean, yes. I want to know anything about her. I got up and started running back to the packhouse. I'll be there in a few minutes. Meet me in my office.

See you in a bit Son.

Yep.

I ran back and stopped at the clothing shed grabbing a pair of sweatpants and plain shirt, then headed back to my office. Dad was setting my lamp back on my desk. He'd already replaced the broken bulb for me.

"Have an issue with your lamp?" He wondered adjusting the arm over my desk.

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk about." I grumbled sitting in my seat.

"She's engaged," he commented as he sat in the chair facing the desk.

I looked up to his knowing eyes and nodded. "Yeah, mostly. How did you find that out?"

He put a printed-out article from some Seattle news column in front of me. It was engagement announcements. I looked at her picture for a whole minute before realizing he was there too. The thought surfaced in my head to rip it down the center.

I growled out, "he was spotted going into a restroom on the fourth floor with another woman."

"Oh," he sat back startled. "Well, that's not good."

"Can we please talk about something else?" I pinched over my eyes. Could werewolves get headaches?

He took the page from in front of me and put another copied from a newspaper. She was in a stunning blue dress and holding a glass slipper.

"Maybe this one will calm your wolf. She did a lot of community theater it looks like."

I gave a long breath and grabbed the picture, studying her.  It did calm me.

"That article was my favorite of her. She's very beautiful. Your mother is dying to meet her.  She'll be surprised to find out that it's Kara."

I nodded and placed the paper on the desk. "Dad, I've barely met her so far."

"Nora knows it'll take time." He started shuffling through papers. "So Caroline. Nothing came up for her under Caroline Peter's in the werewolf system, but I did find some things on her from a human background. She was born June first, twenty eight years ago. I thought her birth records looked sketchy, but now we know why. They must have been forged if she's actually Kara. She attended a smaller elementary school in Seattle where I found at least one instance of her being excused from any physical education time because of a bad foot."

"She has a bad foot?" I asked perplexed. I saw her slip today, but I thought that was nerves. And I did see her yesterday with almost nothing on. Her feet both looked fine then.

He held more records out. "She started cheerleading in high school. Her coach called her out for bulimia, and when her dad refused to get her help, the coach went to the state to demand she be put in a clinic. She was in one for three weeks."

"What happened?"

"Apparently they never caught her being bulimic and she got weak and even started losing weight. They sent her home."

"I don't understand." I grabbed the release form and looked it over.

"It makes more sense if you think of her as a werewolf."

"She ate a lot. And then she was still very fit." He nodded to my assumptions. "And when she was put in that clinic they watched her calorie count and then she got sick?"

"Yes. I'd imagine that was exactly the case. She stopped doing cheerleading and went into theater evidently. And as a child, she probably wouldn't have wanted to run at human speed."

"So she is a wolf? I can't scent that she's a shifter."

"She has to be if she was one of Ralph's."

"What else?" I started flipping through the pages on my desk.

He slid another news article in front of me. "She was top of her class, graduating at Plaudit State University in veterinary science. She now works at a clinic that has had amazing successes in the last two years. Can you guess how long she's worked there?"

My inner wolf smiled his pride. "Two years?"

My father nodded.

Eric's link came through: William, I'm here with my Dad. He has some information about Kara. Can we come speak to you?

Sure. See you in a moment.

"Eric and Samuel are coming."