Chapter 7
Missy fell to her knees, a cry tearing from her lips. How could he leave after being told they were mates? Damn overly considerate asshole. Every cell in her body screamed at her to follow, to drag him back into the cabin and force him to finish what they’d started.
She dropped her head to the floor and concentrated. Her skills as an Omega calmed her so she could think, could function until Tad regained his senses and returned. Long, slow breaths helped relieve the hardest edge of her pain as she stretched the hormone-tightened muscles of her arms and legs. After what seemed to be hours, Missy crawled to the table and pulled herself up.
Stumbling to the door, she forced her legs to cooperate as she drove herself to keep moving. Part of her body wanted to shut down and retreat under the blankets to shake until Tad came back and eased her pain. But if what she’d guessed about him was right, Tad wasn’t aware of all the physical rules for wolves. He might not want to mate with her, but he had little choice in the matter now. The chemical switch had begun to flip and they needed each other to survive.
“Just saying no” wouldn’t be enough.
She tugged the door open and stared into whiteout conditions. The wind shook the roof of the cabin. It was hard to see the stairs five feet away at the edge of the covered porch as the snow streaked across in sheets.
If Tad was anywhere but in the airplane he was in danger.
She pulled off her clothes, her teeth chattering from more than being cold. Her skin was so sensitive each touch of her own hands tore her body apart with pain. Tad could be as considerate as he wanted some other time. Right now she was going to haul his ass back and force him to take her.
Missy stepped onto the porch naked, skin lashed by ice particles that stung like wasps. She lowered herself to the ground and shifted, the comfort of the change to wolf easing part of the pain even as missing her mate hurt at a deeper core level.
She felt him out in the storm. Tad had tried to deny they were mates, but there was no way to deny the connection. It was like a string tied between them that she could easily follow.
She leapt off the porch and listened for a moment, the harsh cry of the wind different to her lupine ears. Little creatures huddled under the porch, their tiny bodies hiding from the winter’s fury. Larger animals roamed in the more protected trees, including at least one natural wolf. He would know she was there. He would know she was one of his kind and yet not his kind, and he’d be wary. She let a little of her Omega awareness slip away to reassure him before she turned to track her mate.
The wind had already obliterated a large part of Tad’s footprints, the holes filled with the driven snow. The trail she followed wandered as Tad had staggered on unsteady feet. How he managed to flee so far from her showed incredible strength.
Or stubbornness that bordered on the moronic.
She approached the plane, fear rising within her. She sensed Tad’s heartbeat slowing, not through meditation, but because he was in danger. Ahead by the ski of the plane, there was a snow-covered mound. She raced up to discover him crumpled face down on the ground. She threw back her head and howled, a long high cry of command, before she stuck her muzzle to the side of his face and sniffed.
The initial hit of his scent raced through her with the impact of shooting a mickey of tequila. Her head spun, her mouth watered and the sexual tension throughout her body flared again just being in his presence. But she also felt the danger. Tad was burning up. His body shook with fever, and even if she woke him, she’d never be able to carry him. She cried out again, louder this time, more demanding.
Missy used her paws and her teeth to drag Tad closer to the plane and the slight protection of the hillside before she curled around his head, her warm breath on his face. She watched for any sign of movement, in Tad or in the whitened air beyond them.
“Missy?” Tad’s voice was a soft rasp.
She licked his neck.
“I’m sorry, Missy. I’m so sorry.”
Missy’s head flicked to attention.
They came. The natural wolves crept up to where Tad lay, the leader’s eyes on Missy. She stared him down, not moving from her protective position around Tad. Slowly the timber wolf approached and lowered himself to the ground by her paws. He lapped at her mouth for a moment and she gave him a nudge with her head.
They would be all right.
A few minutes later Missy double-checked the pile of furry bodies that covered Tad to keep him warm until she returned with help. She nudged the leader of the group in farewell then turned away.
Pain stroked the back of his neck, wrapped gently around his forehead and then socked him between the eyes. Tad would have groaned but that required too much energy. Panting seemed the limit of his ability to complain at the moment.
“So, zombie boy. You gonna get your ass out of bed sometime this week or what?” His partner’s loud voice echoed like he was using a megaphone.
“You think he’s going to remember anything this time, Shaun?”
“Don’t know, TJ. I think it’s pretty amusing myself. How about we tell him he’s been booked to fly the Queen on her next royal tour?”
They were talking nearby but Tad couldn’t see them. “Hey, guys. Shut up for a minute. Which one of you dropped the anvil on my head?”
“Hmm, good sign. He’s being an asshole,” Shaun said.
“Why can’t I see you?” Tad thought his eyes were open but it was so dark in the room he couldn’t be sure.
A faint shimmer of light came through as Shaun cracked open the curtains. “It’s nighttime and we’ve got your summer light-blocking curtains closed. The pack doctor said with the fever you needed it as dark as possible to avoid complications.” He paced over and sat, the most concerned look on his face Tad had ever seen. “How do you feel?”
Tad tried a slow stretch. He had aches on tops of aches, his head pounded and there was something he needed to remember. “Did I catch the flu or something?”
Tad watched TJ and Shaun exchange glances. “Yeah, or something. Remember that guy you flew around for hours? He came down with a bad case of the nasties, and since you had the pleasure of his company in close quarters, you were a nice little time bomb waiting to happen,” Shaun explained.
TJ snorted. “Of course racing into a freaking blizzard didn’t help matters. The only reason you survived is—”
“TJ, go make some coffee. Thanks.” Shaun turned his back on TJ in dismissal.
Tad attempted a laugh as TJ left the room. “How did you do that? I thought no one could get TJ to shut up when he gets started.”
Shaun reached for Tad’s forehead. “It’s a wolf thing. I rank higher and I only use the authority when it’s needed.” In slow motion Shaun touched his skin.
Giant invisible ice picks appeared and starting jabbing him everywhere. He jerked away from Shaun’s hand, swearing under his breath. His head spun and his skin crawled. “What the hell is that about?”
“You really want to know?”
Tad threw a pillow at Shaun. “What kind of stupid-ass remark is that? Of course I want to know. My head is throbbing and I feel like I’ve been tied to an ant hill after being dipped in honey.”
“Ooooh. Nice analogy, flyboy. You remember where you got the honey from?”
Tad got ready to yell at Shaun to tell him to start making sense and then… “Oh shit, is Missy all right?”
Shaun clapped his hands together with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Finally, the right question. You are on the cutting edge of sanity this time. Yes, Missy is as good as can be expected.”
“What’s that mean? And why are you acting so weird?” Tad threw back the covers and swung his legs to the floor, intending to get dressed. The room had other ideas as it spun in a one-eighty, and the roof flipped to the floor. Tad found himself flat on his back, this time on the carpet.