Page 45 of Wolf Bane
Zero shrugged weakly.“Benoit sees what he wants to see sometimes.We all do.”
Something about the way Zero laid emphasis on that made me feel a spark of guilt; I’d definitely done that more than a time or two myself, and I thought—I knew—I’d been doing that to Ethan recently.
Justifying it asbut he’s different, he’s acting like he can’t trust meand nothe’s protecting me, he’s protecting his job.
I sighed and raked my own hair back out of my eyes.“Here’s the thing.I don’t know how to fix this, but I have an idea where to start and that’s with some basic pathology.There’s someone I know.A friend.He’s a pathologist.Used to work with me when I was in the medical examiner’s office.”To be fair, Justin hadn’t returned any of my messages yet, but I was hoping this could be a case of easier to ask forgiveness than permission.“He’s going to need a lot of blood work and… Well, I’m not sure what else.”
If he’d call me back, I’d have a better idea…Not even Tyler had returned my messages, which was… less than great.
Still, I swallowed the anxiety and offered Zero another small smile.“Everything’s been just out of reach for the past few days.The council isn’t giving me any information, never mind aboutenough, people are sick, I had a patient shift out of fucking nowhere after being human for damn near eighty-four years of his life…” I blew out a breath.“It’s been like a thousand plates spinning at once, each one starting to wobble out of control.But I think I might know how to at least figure out what the cause is, how some weres and shifters are getting sick but not others.”
And it was one of those Occam’s Razor solutions, something so obvious and simple it couldn’t be anything else.But I would have to prove it before anything else could be done.
If anything else could be done.
“I need help, Zero.I need you to talk to the patients and see if I can take their blood.And I’m going to need samples from weres whoaren’tsick.And some who were but got better and?—”
Zero’s eyes were wide, dark pools of excited uncertainty.“This calls for a label maker!”
* * *
Zero’s enthusiasmfor their label maker was diametrically opposed to Benoit’s feelings about what I was about to do.
“And then what?”he demanded for the third or fourth time, cornering me while I drew blood from one of his clan.“You get the blood, your doctor friend takes a gander, then what?”
“Then,” I repeated, far less patiently than before, keeping my attention on the tiny butterfly needle in the restless woman’s arm, “we start to work on a treatment.If possible.And stop breathing down my neck, for fuck’s sake!Until recently, my patients were far less mobile, so this is taking some concentration!”
That addendum just stoked the fire of his frustration higher.“You’re just gonna turn your back on us like they did,” he seethed.“You think I’m letting you walk out of here?—”
“If you don’t, I’ll make sure you don’t walk out of here either,” Waltrip said quietly.
Benoit rounded on him, red-faced and tight with rage.“I can’t believe you, Wally.I thought you’d be on our side after?—”
The growl that rose from Waltrip’s throat was sharp and loud.Benoit made a dismissive gesture but backed down.Like, literally back down, head dipped low and everything.I widened my eyes at Waltrip, a silentwhat the fuck was that, but he just shook his head, keeping his glare on Benoit.“I’m on the side of whoever’snotkilling weres and shifters.That’s all you need to know, Benoit.”
Benoit lifted his chin and, cutting a glance at me, smirked.“But is it all he needs to know?Or have you not told him about being one of the council’s flying monkeys seven years ago?”
I perked up, my still-aching head giving a pulse of protest.“I’d heard some hints but nothing definite.Care to share with the class, Waltrip?”
“Not especially.”
But Benoit sure did.“Waltrip here was a little golden child for the council ‘bout a decade ago.Barely out of training pants, and he was up there kissing all the asses.Cause of your mama, wasn’t it?”
Waltrip didn’t go pale.He didn’t flush in anger.He didn’t even go still.But something shifted in the air around him, some subtle change, that set my feelers on high alert.And Benoit felt it too.He didn’t back off though.He puffed his chest out like a banty rooster and jerked his chin up.
“Am I lyin’?”he demanded.“Your mama got you a job there and then you turned tail and?—”
“And that’s enough,” Waltrip said calmly.“This isn’t the time or place.”
Benoit grunted, turning his glare back to me.“It’ll be soon enough.And you’re still not leavin’.”
“Then your people aren’t getting help.There’s nothing I can do for them here, and if you think holding me hostage like some pet physician is going to change things, you’ve got another think coming.”
Holding out my arm, I peeled back the gauze to expose the still healing wound, definitely improved over a few hours ago but still raw and angry looking.
“You’ve already proven I’m pretty disposable, Benoit.Why should I stay here and become a chew toy for your sidekick whenever you feel like I’m not moving fast enough?”
Waltrip snorted.“Got you.”
