Chapter 24: Forced Change

Liv’s change was starting, right on schedule. “I will be up shortly. Is Vicki awake yet?”

“No, she’s still sleeping.”

“Let her, it’s going to be a while, and the screaming will eventually wake her.” I saw Larry approaching. “We need to get the FBI out of here as soon as possible; Liv’s change is starting.”

“I heard. Donna, Anita, and Brent are all up there with her. They’ll move her to the master bath, that’s farthest from the house. As long as she doesn’t scream while they are in the driveway, they’ll never know.”

“If they push to speak to her, it won’t be today. She’s exhausted and injured, and she didn’t see anything anyway.”

Larry nodded. “I understand. We’ll move them along. Now, what do you want to do about that fucking Todd?”

“Just like I sent out in my text, his neck will be in my teeth when I’ve recovered. In the meantime, he’s got Pack members who want out, my brother is out for his blood, the Council on its way, the FBI and Sheriff who will start poking around, and a pissed-off Momma Wolf about to come out. He’s got plenty to keep busy with.”

“And Alpha Brenda?”

I thought about it. I didn’t need Brenda or her Pack anywhere near here with the FBI and all my other problems. “You have friends on the Council?” He nodded. “Fill them in on the situation and ask them to pay a visit to the Marengo Pack. Tell her I know she wants Vicki dead, but I also know she hasn’t done anything to her yet. If she wants to live, it needs to stay that way. Vicki is my niece and my Heir. If she takes out MY heir, her own will not be spared when I come for her.” Larry’s eyes got wide; threatening children wasn’t done, but he understood what I was doing. “She is the reason my wolf has come back. If Vicki dies, I will stop at nothing for my revenge.”

“I will see to it your words are passed along verbatim,” Larry said. “I just hope she listens.”

We kept out of the way while coolers full of ice were carried upstairs to the apartment. I was glad her bathroom had the two-person jacuzzi and the window overlooking the yard, as both would help with the fever. When they came down, two of the Winona men just looked at me with big grins on their faces. “What?”

“Someone needs their old, beat-up ass taken upstairs,” one said.

“And I’m not carrying you bridal style,” the other said.

The two picked me up in a fireman’s carry, taking me up the stairs while Larry followed with my wheelchair. They set me back in and Larry wheeled me to the master bedroom. The three of them went back to the house, with Larry in charge of security. Liv was lying on top of her bed, her blanket pulled away, and only a thin sheet covering her body. “I’m sorry I let this happen to you, Liv. I never wanted to put you through this.”

“You didn’t bite me, Leo. It’s all right. Tonight, I’ll have a wolf, like my baby.”

I reached over and took her hand; she was already sweating, the fever was building. Soon she wouldn’t be lucid. “Who do you want to help you through this? You’ve seen how it is, and you’ll be naked for most of it.”

“Donna, Connie, and Anita will help me. I want you close by, but not in the room until the change is finishing. Brent, the same goes for you.”

“And Vicki?”

“Don’t keep her from me, but she doesn’t need to see it all. Keep her distracted, play with her, whatever.”

“I have to go check on her,” Brent said. “I’ll be right back.” Even at home, she still needed to be checked every hour while sleeping.

Donna put the thermometer up to Liv’s forehead. “One-hundred-four-point-two,” she said. “Time for the ice bath.”

“Ugh,” Liv said as she was helped up.

Anita pulled the sheet back with her one functional arm, exposing Liv’s thin shorts and crop top. “I’ll let Mike know when we need more ice. Come on, Liv. It only sucks once.”

Liv rolled her eyes as she stood up; she was a little wobbly as Donna and Connie helped her into the bathroom. I watched the door close and closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer to Luna. As much confidence as I had in her, in the back of my head, I knew the statistics. Luna didn’t always allow humans to make the shift, and no one knew what she was looking for.

I heard her cry out about the cold; a big tub full of cold water and a hundred pounds of ice wasn’t pleasant. I resumed my prayers, interrupted when Brent came back out of Vicki’s bedroom. “How is she doing?”

“Good. Vicki probably won’t sleep much past lunch.”

I could see his wolf pushing forward with every noise that came from the bathroom. “It’s going to be a long day, Brent, and she’s not ready for you to be with her. You need to go blow off some steam and get control of your wolf.”

His eyes flashed, and he looked at me, then at the door. “Liv needs her mate close by,” he said.

“Her wolf isn’t here yet, right now you’re a guy she barely knows, and she’s naked in a tub. She’s not letting you into her bathroom,” I said. “That wasn’t a suggestion, Brent. You have an hour before you have to check on Vicki again. Go out to the woods and run or go to the gym and work out. Go.” The Alpha command was behind it, and he let out a sigh and turned for the stairs.

“Keep me posted, I’m right outside if you need anything, Anita. I sent Brent to work some of his aggression out, and Vicki is sleeping.”

“You know how this will go, Alpha. She’s going to be in the tub for hours.”

“I know.” With nothing else to do and no real way to move around with the wheelchair with one arm, I pulled out my phone and started going through the messages. My earlier texts, plus the word of the ‘accident’ we’d had, caused my feed to blow up. I decided to send an update, but only to those who asked about me or expressed an interest in my Pack. The message lacked the anger of before; I told them my pickup had been knocked into the ravine and rolled several times. I said that I had a severe ankle sprain and dislocated shoulder, and another Pack member broke her arm. Liv and Vicki were out, so I sent the truth on them as well. My young niece was recovering from a head injury, and her mother’s leg was chewed up badly. I finished by asking for prayers for speedy recoveries, and for the coming change.

They would know what that meant, but it was innocent enough if a human read it.

Using the paste function, I got a bunch of replies out quickly. I was heartened by the response; it was far beyond the Welch Pack. They were sneaky; they couldn’t respond to me directly while still under Todd’s Alpha command, so they forwarded my message and their reaction to friends outside the Pack. Those friends then added on their own thoughts and sent it back to them while copying me. A little over half of the Welch Pack was interested in my offer of a Pack change.

The constant was the outrage that injuring a child brought out. Many were questioning if Todd was behind the kidnapping and murder I’d stopped.

The texting helped distract me from the moans and cries of pain in the bathroom. It wasn’t long before Brent was coming back up the stairs. “Thanks, Leo,” he said. “I needed that.”

“Did you run?”

“Sparred with a few of the guys downstairs.” The gym had an open area with mats where they could fight as humans. He disappeared into Vicki’s room, but when he came out, she was with him. “She heard Mom,” he said.

Vicki walked to me, and I lifted her up with my free arm and set her on my lap. “Mommy has the fever, she’s in an ice bath right now,” I said.

“I don’t like that,” she said as she rubbed her eye.

“Why don’t you go see her? I’ll see if we can get you any lunch while you give her a big hug.”

“Okay.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek, then slid off and went into the bathroom.

“Anita, I’m going to send Brent down to get food, do you need anything?”

“Yeah, your credit card. We want burgers and fries.”

I just laughed. “Write down your orders, and I’ll have it delivered.” Mine was easy; a half-pound Mudhen burger with seasoned waffle fries and sour cream. The Mudhen was named after the town baseball team and had sauerkraut, bacon, and swiss cheese.

One of the guys went to pick it up, and the girls rotated out to eat. Vicki liked her cheeseburger with extra bacon; I’d ordered a quarter-pound one instead of a kid’s size, and that was the right call. “How is Mom doing,” I asked.

“She’s tired and hot, and she isn’t talking to me,” she said.

“You were the same way when you were changing,” I said. “You came through with a beautiful shark-colored wolf. What do you think Momma will be?”

“Momma is old, so maybe she will be grey like you?” I just about snorted my Coke through my nose at that.

“Your mother is NOT old,” I said. “You’re lucky she didn’t hear that, kiddo.”

“I’m old enough to be Leo’s Mommy, and I’m not old,” Donna said. “Larry and I are just as active as when we first mated.”

“What’s first mated,” Vicki asked.

I just backed away and showed my hands; I wasn’t the one who brought it up with a curious girl. Donna didn’t mind. “Well, we believe the Goddess Luna, who gave us our wolves and the ability to shift, also gives us mates. Larry is my mate, and Mike is Anita’s mate.”

“Married?”

“We get married too, but it is more than that. Finding your mate is the happiest day of your life because that person is meant just for you. When you find them, your wolves claim each other, and you are mated.”

“How?” I couldn’t look.

“The man and the woman bite each other on the neck, like this,” she said as she pulled her blouse down and showed the scar. “It’s our wolf way of showing that we have a mate we are with for the rest of our lives. Then we go to bed and see if we can make babies,” she said.

“Oh, you have sex,” Vicki said like it was no big deal.

“Yes,” Donna said.

“Mommy going to have sex with Brent?” Of course, this was said as I took a bite, and I almost choked on it.

“Why would you say that,” Donna said.

“I heard him say Mommy was his mate,” she said. “I hear a lot with my Wolfy.”

“Mommy doesn’t know that yet, and you shouldn’t tell her,” I told her. “When her wolf comes out, she’ll know.”

“When I have mate, I have LOTS of sex,” Vicki said.

I started coughing; I couldn’t take this anymore. “We don’t find our mates until we are at least eighteen,” I said. “Donna is right, it was the best day of my life when I found Catherine. I still miss her every day.”

We finished the burgers, then Brent came up and escorted her downstairs so she could watch a show for a bit. She didn’t need to see all the pain that her Mom would be going through.

“Help! We can’t keep her temperature under control,” Anita said in a panic. I was helpless to do anything but listen as I heard them dump more ice on the floor. Brent came running up the stairs, followed by Mike and Larry. They left the door and window open, cooling down the room. “One hundred and seven,” Anita said as she ran the probe against her forehead again.

It was like watching a train wreck. Liv wasn’t conscious, and a few minutes later, she had a seizure. It ended after about thirty seconds, but then she was still. Too still. “GET HER OUT AND LAY HER DOWN ON THOSE TOWELS,” Donna said. Mike hauled her out with Larry holding her legs, while the women frantically dried her off. They set her on the floor by the sink. “No pulse, start CPR,” Donna said as she took her fingers off Liv’s neck.

Mike knelt next to her, placing his hands in position on her chest. “One and two and three and four…”

“I’ve got the defibrillator,” Anita said. I watched as she attached the pads and turned the machine on. I always kept an AED in my truck when I was doing construction, and I had moved it to my kitchen when I sold the company. Anita had been smart enough to have it along with a medical kit staged.

“STOP COMPRESSIONS, STAY CLEAR,” the machine said. “ANALYZING.” A few seconds later, it had enough. “PREPARING TO SHOCK. PRESS FLASHING BUTTON.”

Anita verified everyone was clear, then hit the button. Liv’s chest jumped with the shock. “ANALYZING.” None of us could breathe while we waited for the verdict.

“CONTINUE CPR.”

No….