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“Thank you,” she said as she saw the deer Anson carried. She asked no questions. Pat had probably already called to fill her in on what he was doing here.
“I can butcher him for you,” Anson said.
“Use the barn out back,” Jennifer said.
Anson wasted no time. He disappeared behind the house and set about his task. I turned back to Jennifer.
“Are you all right?” she asked me, stealing the question I was about to ask her.
“I’m healthy,” I said.
“Your parents?”
“They’re holding their own for now. Jarred too.”
“Oh, Tem,” she cried. “We were so worried about you. Your mother was beside herself. If she can hear you now, if she can at least sense your presence, it will do a world of good.”
“What about your sister? Where’s Olivia?” I asked. “Can I see her? And Uncle Alec?”
Jennifer looked nervously at the house. “Dr. Olivet was here last night. She doesn’t think it’s wise.”
“If I were going to catch whatever this is,” I said. “I would have by now.”
“We don’t know what it is,” she said. “And there’s no way to know how it mutates. You might be immune to whatever strain is in your house. But this is magic-based. Dr. Olivet was pretty certain of that, at least. It was a risk for you coming here at all. I’m so grateful though. We were running out of supplies.”
“You tell me,” I said, almost shouting it. “I am not going to let the packs of Wild Lake starve to death, Jennifer.”
“I’m glad you have help,” she said, gesturing toward the barn. “Where did you find him?”
So Pat hadn’t told her everything, it seemed. Jennifer had seen X once, years ago. The way he looked now, with Anson’s features but some of X’s scars, she hadn’t recognized him.
“I just…let’s just say he’s a stray dog.”
Jennifer smiled. “It’s smart, the collar. If I’d thought to do it when your Uncle Alec came down with this, it might have bought us some time. That’s another thing Dr. Olivet said she was going to test.”
So she’d told Jennifer my lie about the collar being prophylactic. It meant at least for now, she bought it.
“We’re going to get through this,” I said. “I will not let these packs fail.”
Jennifer sank down and sat on the wooden porch bench. “I don’t see how you’re going to be able to prevent it. It’s been weeks, Tempest. No improvement. They just linger. Waste away. It’s killing me to see these strong Alpha wolves so helpless. My sister…she’s hanging on by a thread, mentally. Watching her and the other human mates just sitting helplessly while the Alphas get worse. I know in my heart the only reason Olivia’s still alive at all is because Alec is. I’m so grateful a lot of the younger generation weren’t here when this outbreak happened. The Devanes too. Mal, Laura, Colm, Cassia. They’ve been spared to the north of us. Cassia’s family has given us everything we asked for. How will they ever be able to survive if Dragon magic isn’t strong enough to save them?”
I sat beside her. “I’m going to figure this out. Somehow.”
Anson reappeared. He wiped the blood from his chest with a wet towel he’d likely dipped in the stream behind Alec Martel’s barn.
“That should be enough meat to last a week or two,” he said. “We’ll bring more.”
“Thank you,” Jennifer said. A roar rose from inside the house. I felt my wolf flare. Anson’s eyes flashed.
“That’s Alec,” Jennifer said.
Anson didn’t ask for an invitation. He stormed past the two of us and headed straight for the source of the sound.
“Wait!” Jennifer called out. “You shouldn’t…”
“Stay here!” Anson called back. “Tem, you especially. I won’t risk you exposing yourself.”
Jennifer tugged at my arm, trying to pull me away from the door.
