Trace: Follow His Destiny (12 page)

The rave was somewhere in the warehouse district, so rather than looking for clues late at night tomorrow, they’d decided to come out here after work today. They’d find the spot, note it down, and then head to the mall to buy something new to wear.

There they were deciphering clues amongst the graffiti when an older lady came stumbling naked into the street. Her long hair was in a tangled mess around her face, clutching some torn clothing.

Now she was driving to a small town northeast of Denver. “Sarah,” she whispered, “Did she fall asleep?”

“Yeah, she’s passed out. I’m really worried about her. How long do you think it will take to get there?” Sarah answered back, also in a whisper. She tucked the blanket more securely around Surya.

“Normally it’s about an hour, once we clear the suburbs I’ll put my foot down. Maybe we can make it in 40 minutes. It’s good there wasn’t a game today. The Nuggets play tomorrow and the opener for the Rockies is on Monday.”

“I think that speeding up would be a good idea. You’re right about the intravenous fluids. She’s moaning a little under her breath, I think she ate too much, even though she ate so little.”

“Her stomach is really shrunken right now; she won’t be able to eat very much at a time for awhile. My aunt Mary was like that when she was sick.” About twenty minutes later, they’d cleared the last of the suburbs and had entered open country. Judy immediately sped up. “Keep an eye out for police; we don’t want to get pulled over.” Unfortunately, just as they were reaching the outskirts of Milliken that’s exactly what happened.

Lev Adler an officer with the state police was headed home to Milliken after a long shift.

He’d started work at six this morning and here it was almost seven thirty in the evening.

But before he could go home, put up his feet and pop open a beer, he’d deal with these yahoos speeding into his town. He flashed his lights, pulled up behind and prepared to do his job. After running the plates on his dashboard computer, he saw that the car was registered to a Judith Levison from Greenwood Village. Now what was a nice girl from the southern burbs doing this far north on a Thursday night, he wondered as he stepped out of his cruiser.

As he approached the driver’s side, he could see the heads of two women in the back seat then he saw that the driver was a woman also. So it looked like Judy was driving her car and it hadn’t been stolen.

“Drivers license and registration please,” he asked the standard phrase and she burst into tears. He waited, as this was actually not an uncommon occurrence when young ladies were pulled over.

Judy pulled herself together. “Officer, you’re going to give me a ticket, that’s fine. But before you do, we need help. This lady in the back has been attacked. We need to get her to a doctor. We thought she’d fallen asleep, but she was moaning and now we think she’s passed out. Does Milliken have a hospital?”

He drew up at her words, no time for question’s now. “I’m going to pull out in front of you. Follow me in. If I see you pull a u-turn and take off, you’re in a world of trouble, got me?”

Judy nodded quickly with a serious look on her face. “No problem officer, we’ll follow you in.”

There were no hospitals or urgent care facilities in Milliken. He used his radio to contact the 24 hour emergency number for Cloe’s clinic. There were five doctors; two would be on call, one for humans, and one for shifters. He put on lights and sirens and led the way into town. Within five minutes, they were pulling up in front of the clinic. It wasn’t until he’d gone around to the rear passenger side to help with the victim that he realized she was naked under the blanket. He gave a sharp look to the girl sitting next to her. “Explanations later, we promise, help now, please.” Just then, another car came up and stopped. Then another car came in from another direction and pulled in across the street. The doctors strode over. “Do we need to get a gurney?” one asked.

Lev looked at Sarah, “She was walking around, she said she’d been starved. She didn’t say anything about injuries, so it should be okay to carry her. Would you hurry please?” He bent in and picked her up; making sure the blanket was wrapped around her. The doctors were both humans, so until they performed a quick shifter test, they didn’t know who should treat her. They lead the way into the clinic, opening doors and turning on lights as they went.

“Her name is Surya,” Judy called out as Lev followed the first doctor into an examination room and laid her down. The second doctor turned to the girls. “What can you tell me about her? Her age, any medications she might be taking?”

“I’m sorry, we don’t know anything. She stepped in front of our car and collapsed. She said her nephew had been starving her for some time. She begged us to bring her here,” said Judy.

“Wait, she said her grandson was a deputy here in town, what was his name, Judy, do you remember what she said?” Sarah added.

“No, she didn’t say his name just that he was a deputy.” This last was heard by Lev as he re-entered the room.

“What deputy?” He asked the girls.

“Surya, that’s why we drove here, she begged us to bring her here, to Milliken. She said her grandson was a deputy here. Oh and she speaks with a heavy French accent, will that help?” Judy explained.

“I’ll see what I can do to track him down. You two sit over there. Doc, I think you’re needed in the examination room.” The doctor took off down the hall and Lev pulled out his cell and dialed a number. “Where did you pick her up?”

“In Denver, in the warehouse district, I can’t tell you the street, we were looking at graffiti, not street signs.” He lifted a brow at that and would get the full story soon.

Right now, someone was answering the phone.

Back in the examination room, Dr. Ellen Walker took a lancelet and pricked the index finger of the woman on the table. A drop of blood welled up she wiped it away with a sterile cloth and then pinched the finger again. No second drop, the small pinprick had already closed, the woman was a shifter and not her patient. She looked up at Lev. “Not my patient, Lev, she’s shifter, get Rod in here would you?” Lev nodded and left the room. He entered the waiting room in time to hear Judy say ‘he was a deputy’.

Lev watched the two girls as he called the Enforcer’s barracks at the New Council compound. If Surya’s grandson was a Milliken ‘deputy’ and she had a French accent, which meant she was connected to the former Denver Pack Enforcers that had become the New Council Pack.

“Barracks, Luc speaking, what do you need?”

“Luc, this is Lev, I’m in town at the clinic. About half an hour ago, two young ladies from Denver brought in an older woman. The woman has been held prisoner and starved for some months. She was found in the warehouse district stumbling around naked. She’s unconscious now, but earlier she said her ‘grandson’ was a deputy in Milliken. And Judy, one of the girls, says she has a heavy French accent.”

“Merde and Milliken doesn’t have any deputies so she must have meant an Enforcer.”

“My thoughts exactly, the two women are from Greenwood Village.”

“Right, so they’re most likely human. Look, there were less than two dozen that originally came over from the Gevaudan Pack, but more have come over since then. It’s going to take me time to narrow this down. Do you have any more information?”

“Only that her given name is Surya,” Lev added.

“What! Are you sure?” asked Luc

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“Surya is the name of the Old Council Seer. She hasn’t been heard from for months.

The last to see her was Braden so we’ve feared she was dead. Look, even if I don’t track down her grandson, I’m sending over four enforcers to make sure she’s well guarded.”

“Fine, I’ll stick here and get the full story from the wits.” He closed his phone and went to sit with the girls. He didn’t pull out his notebook; he wouldn’t be filing a report with the state police on this one. “Judy, the good news is that you won’t be getting a ticket.”

“You said ‘good news’ does that mean there is bad news too?”

“I’m not sure yet, maybe. Surya’s grandson is on his way here with some bodyguards.

Her family has been worried about her for some time. For now why don’t you tell me everything you know from the beginning?” And while Sarah and Judy related their story, the doctors were working to help Surya and Luc was finding Surya’s grandson.

Forty minutes later Lev, Sarah, and Judy had finished talking and were waiting for word from the doctors. One had come out some time ago and said that they believed she’d pull through but that she hadn’t regained consciousness. When suddenly the front door opened and four, tall, gorgeous men stepped into the room. Sarah looked at Judy and she looked back. That was all it took for them to pass the message ‘hotties’, they had thought Lev was a cutie too, but didn’t get the vibe from him at all. They figured he didn’t swing their way, too bad. But now they knew Surya would be alright and they had four pieces of beefcake to look at. It was only a little before nine, maybe this evening would have a happy ending after all.

Jean Paul Gillard walked into the clinic beside his team leader. He hadn’t been on duty tonight but when he heard that the woman at the clinic might be his Grandmeré he’d volunteered to go along. He said goodbye to his bunk mate and left. Charlie would have come along too, but he had guard duty at the gate starting at ten thirty and they didn’t know how long this would take. The wolf Enforcers and pride Warriors were sharing the barracks for now, they intermingled the rooms to promote inter-species team building.

They ragged on each other all the time at first, then after some scuffles, kept ragging on each other. Only now, the teasing was good natured. He and Charlie, a cougar shifter from the Northern Pride, had become good friends.

“Lev, this is Jean Paul Gillard. He believes the victim may be his Grandmeré. May he see her?”

“Luc, glad you could make it. Sure thing, she’s in the first examination room on the right, down that hall. There’re two docs with her now.” Jean Paul had just started heading down the hall when he caught her scent. Merde, his mate was here now? He stopped and turned to Lev, “Don’t let them leave,” he said pointing to the two girls and then he walked away.

“Luc, do you know something I don’t?” Lev asked

“No, I think we should wait and ask Jean Paul.”

In the corner of the room, Judy and Sarah wondered if their plans were going to take another turn. One of the men just stood by the door and another had gone back outside.

They were waiting for Lev or Luc to say something.

Down the hall, Jean Paul knocked on the exam room door and then opened it. One look at the frail figure on the bed and he had to force his wolf from leaping out. It was his Grandmeré and she looked very weak. He looked to the doctors. “She is my Grandmother, and the Seer to the Old Council. How is she doing?” he asked.

“She’s going to be okay, she’s just very tired. It’s obvious she’s been starved and been under a great deal of stress for some time. We’ve given her one bag of Cloe’s special IV

for shifters, this one is the second. These last few minutes she’s been mumbling a little.

We were discussing whether or not to pull Lev in when you knocked. She may wake up soon. Would you try calling to her?” The doctor said.

“I’ll speak to her in French, it’s her native tongue, and she may respond better.” Then he approached the table and carefully picked up her hand. When had she gotten so frail, he thought. “Grandmother? Grandmother, it’s me, Jean Paul. Wake up, Grandmother.” He repeated himself several times and they could all see her waking up.

“Jean Paul, it is you enfant?” That was when he realized she was now blind. His rage was so powerful that he fell to the floor trying to contain it. After a moment of two, he stood back up. “Yes, Grandmother, it is I.” He kept his voice calm and even for her sake when all he wished to do was howl.

“Jean Paul, you must tell the human wolf, all will be lost if she doesn’t remember the three. The Alphas will die if she doesn’t remember the three. Hope will be gone. The high place, the treasure must be found or Hope will be lost. Hope will return with the treasure.” That was all she said, her eyes closed and she fell back. Jean Paul looked at the doctors.

“She’s asleep now.” She no longer fidgeted or moaned. “It’s a healing sleep and just what she needs,” he said.

“Can she be moved? I’d like to take her back to the compound, it’s more secure,” he asked.

“I don’t see why not. She needs to be kept warm though, in her weakened condition she’s more vulnerable.”

“That’s fine; we’ll warm up the truck and get it ready before she’s brought out. I’ll go ahead and make sure a bed is ready for her. Would you make sure she’s bundled up?

Does she need to continue the IV?” he wanted to know.

“We pushed the first IV bag as fast as we dared to get her fluids up, she was badly dehydrated. We’re going slower with this one. She’ll need to stay hooked up for another two hours then she should be good. In the morning, she can start eating solids again, mixed in with plenty of fluids. Can you wait and take her at about eleven thirty?”

“Yes, I can do that. We brought four Enforcers, the clinic is surrounded, we can keep her safe that long. Thank you for taking care of her. You can send the bill to me at the compound.”

“She’s considered Pack, there won’t be a bill,” the doctor said. “She’s covered under the monthly stipend Quin donates to the clinic from pack funds. We’re the best equipped office for miles around because of the Pack, don’t worry about that. We’re pack too.”

“Thank you, I haven’t been sick myself, so I didn’t know. I’m grateful for all you’ve done for her,” he said as he left the room.

He walked back into the waiting room. Everything was quiet; he walked over to where Lev was standing and explained everything that had happened in the room. They were going to have to talk to Jordan soon. Luc suggested that they speak to Jordan first and not disturb the Alphas until they knew more. That was agreed and Lev was allowed to leave and go home, he’d put in a long day. The four Enforcers would take over from here. Lev saw the way the big wolf was looking at the two girls behind him and offered to introduce them. Jean Paul immediately took him up on it.