In the Shadow of the Wolf 3 - Splintered Lies (4 page)

At Nick's house, on his state-of-the-art computer, Google returned so many hits on Ardenvale Pharmaceuticals that it was near impossible to pull the wheat from the chaff. The woman they had met, while being director of New Technologies, wasn't the CEO; that honor fell to Derek Young, who appeared, for all intents and purposes, to run his part of the company out of New York. The place they had visited this morning was the jewel in the crown, where the magic happened. The impression Nick had of Susan Young, his wife, was that she had a grip of iron on what happened inside the secure doors. There were the usual reports of profits both big and small and a huge, flashy initiative for providing funding into research for combating tropical diseases. They couldn't find a connection between Ardenvale and Mara—not even through her OB's office, the most obvious place to look. From the outside, Ardenvale appeared to toe every ethical line, even donating hundreds of thousands to charity each year.

Mark appeared from the second bedroom looking adorably rumpled post sleep. He had improved to the point where he was able to stay alone in the apartment for longer and longer periods of time, but really Nick felt he should be arranging something for the younger man.

"Hey," Mark said. He crossed to hug Nick around the neck and didn't seem perturbed when Joe stared at him pointedly. They were never going to get along. Joe wanted Mark to go and live with Sam and Doug. Nick wasn't ready to force Mark to go anywhere.

"Did you just get up?" Joe asked. There was irritation in the question. Mark tilted his head.
"I was back late from a run." He wasn't apologizing but there was an edge to his words.
Joe narrowed his gaze and Nick sighed inwardly.
"You're running on your own now?" Joe asked.
"Have been for weeks."
Joe cast an accusing look at Nick. Hell, when was he supposed to tell Joe that Mark was healing and more able to live an independent life? It was nothing to do with Joe. Except… it probably was. Joe hated the fact that the younger wolf was all over Nick. Telling Joe over and over that Mark just needed security and comfort was not something Joe ever seemed to fully understand. If anything, Joe was irrationally jealous of Mark, the first glimpse of real emotion Nick had seen in his friend in a while that wasn't shaded with his grief.
Mark crossed his arms over his chest. "Sam called, said he has a spare room and needs help with the rest of the pack," he said.
"Are you going—"
"You should go—"
Both Nick and Joe spoke at once and then just as suddenly stopped. Mark simply stood there and smiled a wolfish grin. Dropping a deliberate kiss on Nick's head, he straightened.
"I'm packed. Doug said he'd come over and pick me up this afternoon."
"Stay safe," Nick said. He couldn't help himself. As much of a pain in the ass as Mark was, Nick still felt responsible for the guy that had clung so hard to him.
"I'm going out for breakfast." He yawned widely and stretched, revealing skin where his T-shirt rode up. Nick tried to hold in the laugh at Joe's scowling expression but he couldn't. All Joe did was scowl even more.
Turning his concentration back to the screen and following his instincts, Nick scrolled through the list of beneficiaries, and then stopped when a name jumped out at him.
"Look, December last year, a financial donation for the Vitamins in Schools project with fund manager Chase Vaughn-Hyland."
"As in the senator?" Joe asked. "Senator Chase Vaughn-Hyland?"
Nick frowned. "Could be a coincidence."
"Yeah," Joe said drily, "I bet there are a hundred Chase Vaughn-Hylands."
"Says here"—Nick traced the words on the screen— "as part of the VIS initiative the senator held several meetings to encourage Ardenvale to donate money and vitamins to those he labeled as 'the needy'."
"Senator Vaughn-Hyland and Ardenvale in the same sentence? A senator?" Joe wasn't stopping to think about the link and Nick didn't disagree. It was a coincidence that he was willing to investigate further. The fact that Sam had uncovered a link to a senator in this whole mess was just one coincidence too many.
Logging in to his account at the station, Nick soon had an address, a phone number, and details of the senator's family. As well as pictures. Lots of picture of Mr and Mrs Perfect-white-non-wolf with their picture-perfect three kids.
Nick's cell buzzed and he answered without checking the screen.
"It's Keith. I got the results you wanted. Remember, this was a rush job so I can't guarantee the results one hundred percent."
"Go on."
"I must say, I'm quite impressed. You have a slick bit of pharmaceutical engineering on your hands. The vitamins were laced with the inhibitor all right but it was tweaked. You've heard of slow release, well imagine the opposite. It was built to pass through the mother's system directly into the fetus."
"Fuck," Nick swore. "There was inhibitor in the pills," he explained to Joe. His friend indicated he wanted the phone and Nick passed it over.
"Keith. Joe here. Tell me." He listened as the lab tech passed over the same information he had given Nick. "Okay," Joe said flatly. "Was the dosage killing our baby?" There was a pause as he listened and then he passed back the phone and left the room.
"What did you say to him?" Nick asked.
"I'm sorry. He asked. I didn't know what else to do but tell him."
"It's fine. You said what you needed to say. I'll handle any fallout on this end. Tell me what you told him," Nick said. He reassured the technician without really believing he could handle anything to do with Joe at the moment.
"The dosage wasn't enough to kill. I'm sure that wasn't the intention. My hypothesis is that this dose level, introduced to the fetus at such an early point in development, would cause basic genetic changes. In this case, it would stop the baby from being able to shift."
"Keith, make some sense, man, babies don't shift." Nick was distracted; he thought he could hear retching. It sounded like Joe was in the bathroom being sick. What the hell?
"Yeah, like I don't know that," Keith sounded annoyed but Nick thought it had a lot more to do with what he'd discovered than any real irritation with him. "You aren't paying attention. I would need to check the fetus to be sure. But—my theory is that this drug is designed to scramble genetic markers, making the child unable to shift at puberty. Or ever."

Nick didn't say anything for a long minute listening to his friend retch in the bathroom and trying not to imagine what it would have been like if Joe's baby had lived. Deliberate genetic tampering, aimed at the ability to shift. Finally learning what lay at the end of the twisted chain of events they'd been following the last few months didn't bring Nick the sense of closure he'd expected. Instead he had more questions than ever and not an answer in sight.

"Look, Keith, thanks. I mean it. Keep this quiet for a while, for us." Nick wasn't sure Keith would agree. He didn't owe them anything. He barely knew them. Still maybe he'd keep it low-key for a few days.

"I'll do it for Sam, Doug, and the wolves. They deserve answers and maybe you guys can find them."
Nick sighed with relief. "We won't let you down. Will you send the results to Rob at the station? We need to dig deeper into this mess. Thanks again."
Nick ended the call and hit the number to quick dial Rob, who answered on the first ring.
"Rob here. Did you find out anything?"
"Keith is sending over proof that the vitamins were laced with the inhibitor. Joe's not taking it well."
"What next?"
"I'm taking Joe for a run. Getting him out to spend time as a wolf is the best thing I can think of for him right now."
"I agree. You take care of Joe, and I'll find out what I can."
"Call if you learn anything. We'll catch up with you later." Ending the call Nick tucked his phone into his pocket.
The sound of water running in the bathroom alerted Nick that Joe would emerge any second. Nick had no doubt his best friend would be more on edge than ever. Chewing the inside of his bottom lip, Nick glanced out a back window into the small courtyard the U of his apartment building was built around. No place to run but like he'd told Rob, that's what they needed. The safest place he could think of was the woods behind Doug's place. They wouldn't have to go in the front and announce they were there.
Joe came out of the bathroom looking pale and drawn. "Did he tell you?"
"Yes."
Joe looked broken in a way Nick had never seen before; he couldn't imagine how it would feel to learn someone had been poisoning your child right under your nose. Nick could see Joe thinking about it, how the drug would have changed the tiny unborn baby into something neither wolf nor human. Nick thought Joe might start puking again if they didn't get moving.
"Break time," he announced. "It's gonna be a while before Rob gets any paperwork through on Ardenvale. That's enough for one day."
Joe's eye's narrowed but before he could get a word out, Nick was pushing him out the door. "Seriously, if anything else happens today our heads will explode. Let's go run."
Still silent, Joe let Nick get him back into the 4x4. He made no comment as they rode, not even when it became evident where they were headed. Nick found a place to pull off the road and parked behind a group of half-grown saplings, effectively hiding the vehicle from the road. The pair climbed out and Joe began to strip. Satisfied his friend wasn't going to resist taking a much-needed break Nick shrugged out of his jacket and pulled his shirt over his head. With their clothes folded haphazardly on the hood of the car, the men shifted at almost the same instant. Joe took off into the thick underbrush of the forest, Nick right on his heels.
Joe ran. And ran. And ran. Trapped inside his wolf mind, unable to talk to Joe, Nick wondered if he'd made the right choice. He thought, not for the first time, it'd be nice if life imitated fiction and wolves could communicate telepathically with one another. It worked so well in the stories. Then Joe stopped abruptly ahead of him and Nick had other things to think about. He scented the deer as soon as he halted beside Joe. Joe's lighter, silver-colored wolf turned gold eyes in Nick's direction, his expression quizzical. Nick wagged his tail and brushed shoulders with his friend, signaling his approval. His mouth watered at the thought of fresh venison.
Venison.
That was the human in him. The wolf hungered for the dark spill of hot blood, the chance to tear into freshly killed meat and eat his fill. They hunted skillfully as a team, as they had so many times in the past. During the hunt they worked so fluidly together it sometimes seemed as if they could read one another's mind. Nick lurked upwind and allowed Joe to circle around downwind to lay the trap. Unlike so many things that day, the hunt went beautifully.
The deer's head came up when it scented Nick the moment he leaped snarling from the brush. The startled deer turned and fled straight to where Joe lay in wait. They had eaten their fill when the wind brought them the sound and scent of Doug's young pack out for their daily hunt. The yips and howls of the excited young wolves was usually something Nick enjoyed, but neither he nor Joe were in the mood for putting up with the youngsters' antics. Deserting the remains of their kill, Nick led Joe deeper into the forest, toward the sound of rushing water.
They found the wide creek bed not far from where they'd taken the deer. Exchanging a single glance they bounded into the water without hesitation, loping downstream and out of Doug's territory. Once past the boundary they slowed, taking time to wash the blood out of their fur and off their jaws. Nick watched Joe, taking note that his friend appeared less tense, and led him out of the creek. The pair climbed the slight grade of muddy bank to find themselves in a tiny clearing. Trees surrounded the haven of sun-warmed moss and grass.
Yipping happily, Nick trotted to where a single beam of late afternoon sunshine managed to navigate the multitude of branches to shine on an area of thick dark green moss. He nosed around the moss, investigating by scent what had been there before them—nothing much, just a few squirrels, a rabbit or two, and a family of mice. The tiny plants tickled his nose and Nick sneezed explosively. Shaking his head, he plopped down onto his haunches and turned to see what Joe thought of their temporary haven. Nick watched with wary eyes as Joe looked around the clearing, swiveling his ears this way and that, before walking around, his nose to the ground.
After making a trip around the tree line Joe turned to face Nick. He cocked his head, his wolf-face thoughtful. Nick braced himself for the worst when Joe started in his direction, but to his surprise, when Joe reached him it was to do nothing more than to circle in place three times and lie down on the choicest piece of moss. Nick huffed with feigned indignation. Joe's wolf laugh took away any real sting at losing the best napping spot. Feeling pleased with himself, Nick made the required three turns and settled down beside Joe. The wolves curled together, each resting his head on the other's flank, and slept.

Night had fallen when Nick next opened his eyes. The air felt cool but not uncomfortably so, wrapped in fur as he was and piled with his best friend. Stars twinkled in the sky overhead giving the appearance of a high domed ceiling. The moon hung low and fat, an additional reason Joe's emotions were so volatile. Nearly full, the hunk of rock hanging in the sky—so important to the Earth's wellbeing—didn't dictate a wolf's change but it did have a strong effect on them, sometimes sending the most sedate wolf into an emotional crisis. Nick snuffled a wolfy laugh; by no stretch of the imagination could Joe be considered a sedate wolf.

Taking care not to wake his friend, Nick shifted. The ground where he'd lain as a wolf felt warm under his naked bottom, and the air felt a little cooler against his human skin. Nick looked down to where Joe's muzzle rested on his thigh. He looked peaceful lying there asleep. His blond hair translated into silver-hued fur that made it easy to see him in the dark. Nick didn't try to resist the urge to thread his fingers into the thick fur at Joe's throat, letting his fingers bury deeply into the warmth. He scratched Joe's ears with his other hand. Nick couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so content. Even in the midst of their current crisis the warmth of Joe against Nick's leg, combined with his scent in the clean night air, made Nick feel as if he'd come home.