Lucy's Wolverine (Lilly Town Shifters) (5 page)

Chapter 9

              How could she not tell him Mike had been shot? It was just a little bit important, seeing as he didn’t always carry bullet extraction equipment with him. He really hoped he had everything he needed.

             
“Hey kid,” he said to Mike when he saw him on the bed.

             
“Don’t you think you can stop calling me kid? I think I’ve outgrown it by now,” Mike said with a small smile.

             
“Yeah, I’ll stop calling you kid when I stop getting phone calls for me to come patch you up.”

             
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault this time,” he grumbled.

             
There were many, many times Bill had been called to give Mike a few stitches or set a few broken fingers. It was a good thing his dad had wanted him to follow in his footsteps and be a shifter doctor. His father had Bill follow him around from the age of eight. He could stitch anything like a pro at eleven, and could remove a bullet at fourteen. The only problem was he didn’t want to be a doctor. He didn’t want to have to do house calls at all hours of the night, but most of all he didn’t want to have to tell families that someone was dead. Yeah, he liked fixing people up, but he liked owning the bar more. And his other work: well, he’d had to make the calls that someone was dead, but at least he was also saving people. He could as a doctor, but with the organization he ran, he was really making a difference.

             
“Okay, let’s take a look at what you did to yourself,” Bill said as he pulled the towel off the wound.

             
“Thanks for the warning,” Mike said, wincing in pain.

             
“I’m guessing you’re in a lot of pain,” Bill said, looking at the wound.

             
“Yeah? How could you tell? Not from the whole bleeding and grunting I’m doing, surely?”

             
“Very funny. No, they got you with a silver bullet. Whoever did this knew what to use,” Bill said, wiping away some blood.

             
“Great! Just what I wanted!”

             
“Is he okay?” Lucy asked.

             
Bill turned around and saw her standing in the doorway. Shit! He hoped she hadn’t heard that part of the conversation. How did he not know she was standing there? “Yeah, he’s going to be fine. I need to get the bullet out and get him stitched up, and then he’ll be fine. You might not want to be here for this, though,” Bill told her.

             
“I’m okay,” she said, standing a little taller.

             
“Lucy, I’m about to stick a knife in Mike’s stomach and fish out a bullet. Then I’m going in to repair any damage it’s caused. He’s going to be screaming in pain, and I don’t think he wants you to see that,” Bill said bluntly. Maybe she’d get the hint he doesn’t want her there.

             
She gulped and said, “I can take it. I want to be here for Mike.”

             
“Mike,” Bill said. He wanted the woman out of the room. If he could, he’d get her out of the house and out of screaming range, but he’d take what he could get. He knew she wouldn’t leave. She seemed to care about Mike just as much as Mike cared for her. Don’t people know that it takes more than two conversations to really start caring for someone? You don’t know anything about them. Hell, she could be a mass murderer for all Mike knew. Bill didn’t really think she was, but still.

             
“Lucy, I'll be okay. Bill won't let anything happen to me. I know what he's going to do and I don't want you to see it. It's not pretty. He knows what he's doing and I trust him with my life. He's patched me up more times than I can count.”

             
“Are you sure? I can hold your hand,” she said, starting to sound unsure. She was wavering, which was definitely a good thing.

             
“I'll be fine. Thank you for offering, though,” Mike said, giving her a smile.

             
Hell, Bill didn't know how the man was able to talk. The silver was burning him and he had a hole in his stomach. That wouldn't last long either. If he waited much longer, the hole was going to start closing for Mike's shifter genes, and he would have to make a new one. He was really hoping Mike would pass out from the pain soon. He couldn't really give him anything because of his metabolism. It wouldn't do any good.

             
“Okay, I'm going to be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me,” Lucy said, never taking her eyes off Mike. She was really worried about him. It showed that she was a good person, but she still didn't really know him.

             
“Thanks. I do need to wash up. Where's your bathroom?” Bill asked. He knew she wasn't talking to him, but he still needed to get cleaned up. He didn't want infection to set in because he couldn't wash his hands.

             
“Right through that door,” she said, pointing to a door across the room. Good, he wouldn't have to go far. He wanted to get this taken care of as quickly as he could.

***

              Lucy watched Bill walk into the bathroom. She didn't like him very much. He didn't have to be crude; he could have just asked her to leave. She just wanted Mike to be okay. Was that so wrong?

             
“How are you holding up?” she asked Mike.

             
“I'm good, for someone who was just shot,” he answered, closing his eyes. She could tell he was really hurting.

             
“Can Bill give you something for the pain?” she asked.

             
“No. It doesn't work on me.”

             
Huh? That was odd. “Can I get you anything?” she asked. She was feeling helpless. She needed to do something, anything, to help him.

             
“I'm okay.”

             
“So, do you know why you were shot?” she asked.

             
“Someone didn't like my pretty face?” he said with a small smile, his eyes still closed.

             
“Very funny, but when you're feeling better, you need to explain what happened,” she said sternly.

             
“I know.”

             
“Okay, well, hold on to something, and no dying or anything,” she said, walking up to him and kissing his forehead.

             
“Thank you,” he said.

             
“For what?”

             
“For helping me. For being here. For everything,” he said, looking into her eyes.

             
She smiled and said, “No problem. Just don't do it again. I don't like seeing injured, naked men in my back yard.”

             
“But you don't mind seeing naked men there?” he asked jokingly.

             
“You know what I mean. No more getting shot here,” she said with a smile.

             
“I'll try my best,” he answered with a small smile before closing his eyes again.

             
Bill came back out and said, “Lucy, I'm going to start. He will scream, I'm telling you now. I don't want you coming in here and trying to rescue him. I have to get the bullet out.”

             
“Okay. Can you just let me know when you're done? I'd like to see him when you are,” she said as she walked toward the door.

             
“I can do that,” Bill said, and put on some gloves.

             
Lucy walked out of the room and went directly to her desk. She didn’t think she’d get any writing done, but she could try. She needed to keep her mind off of what was going on in her guest bedroom. Turning on some music, she opened her E-mail. She knew she was getting behind on them, and maybe some were important enough to keep her mind occupied. When she clicked open the first one, she heard Mike screaming. Maybe he would pass out? She couldn’t stand the thought of him being in pain.

             
The screaming continued for ten minutes before it just stopped. Over the past hour, she’d wanted to go check on him, to make sure he was still alive, but she knew she couldn’t. Mike trusted Bill, so she would just have to trust him and continue surfing the internet. The door opened and she looked over toward it, waiting for Bill to come out. When he finally emerged from the hall, he didn’t look too happy, but he didn’t look devastated. She hoped it wasn’t bad news. If he cared for Mike, he would look more upset if something had happened to him, right?

             
“He’s passed out. You can go see him if you want,” he said, and headed for the door.

             
“I… is he okay?” she asked.

             
“He’ll be fine. There was more damage than I thought so I had to do some repairs, but he’ll be back to his brooding in a few days.”

             
“That fast?” she asked.

             
“He’s a fast healer. I expect him to be out of bed and moving around by morning, probably sooner. Just make sure he doesn’t overdo it. Sometimes he forgets his limits.”

             
“Me?”

             
“I thought you were taking care of him since he was here. I’m sorry if I was wrong. I can get someone here in a few hours if you want. I just don’t want him moving yet, and he’s a little on the heavy side.”

             
“It’s fine. He can stay here.” She had a feeling there was more to this than he was saying, but she wasn’t going to question him. Maybe he didn’t want to deal with taking care of Mike, or maybe there were other reasons.

             
“Good. I’ll be back to check on him tomorrow. Just make sure he gets a lot of protein and fluids. He’s going to need it,” Bill said, and left. Protein? She’d never heard of that being part of the healing process. Maybe it was some new study or something. Shrugging her shoulders, Lucy headed for the guest room.

Chapter 10

              Mike woke with a horrible pain in his stomach. It was worse than anything he’d ever remembered feeling. He needed Bill. He needed to be patched up. Not knowing where he was, he tried listening to sense where he was. He was on something soft and there was a blanket on top of him, so he must be in a bed of some kind. His sheets weren’t this soft, so he knew he wasn’t at his apartment. So the question was, where was he?

             
He guessed his best bet to figure it out was to open his eyes and look around. If he was in a bed, the threat couldn’t be that bad. The walls were blue and there was light shining through the curtains. Yeah, definitely not his apartment.

             
“Hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling?” he heard someone ask. The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Turning his head, he saw Lucy sitting in a chair next to the bed. She had a computer in her lap and some music playing softly. Seeing her brought it all back to him: the shooting, Lucy seeing him naked, Bill digging the bullet out. “Mike?” she said when he didn’t answer.

             
“I’m hurting some, but it’s not too bad. Where’s Bill?” he asked.

             
She looked hurt by what he said. “He left about an hour ago.”

             
“Okay, did he say when he’ll be back? I need to ask him something.” He wouldn’t look directly at her. He didn’t want to see more of the hurt look on her face.

             
“He’ll be back tomorrow to check on you. Do you need anything?”

             
“Can I get some water?” he asked.

             
“Sure, I’ll be right back,” she answered, standing up.

             
Mike watched as Lucy left. He was nervous. He’d promised to explain things to her, but what was he going to say? How was she going to take it? Was she going to run screaming from the room and call the police, or the hospital to have him committed?

             
“Here you go,” she said, walking into the room with a bottle of water in her hand.

             
“Thanks,” he said, taking it from her and opening it.

             
“Do you need anything else?” she asked.

             
“I’m okay,” he said after taking a sip.

             
“Okay,” she said, turning to leave him alone.

             
He guessed it was better to just get it over with and tell her. There was no reason to keep putting it off. “I owe you an explanation.”

             
“For what?”

             
“For earlier,” he answered.

             
“Okay,” she said, sitting back down.

             
He took a deep breath and let it out. “I hadn’t heard from you and I was afraid you didn’t like me.”

             
“I already knew that. You told me earlier.”

             
“Okay. Well, I guess I should just spit it out then, shouldn’t I?” he said.

             
“That would be nice,” she said, sounding like she was getting a little aggravated.

             
“I’m a shifter.”

***

              “Okay,” Lucy said, not really knowing what else to say.

             
“Are you okay?” Mike asked. He didn’t seem sure if she believed him or not.

             
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.

             
“Do you believe me or do you think I’m crazy?” he asked.

             
“I believe you,” she said with a small smile.

             
“Um, how are you not freaking out or anything? Did you already know about us?”

             
“I’m a writer,” she answered. That should explain it all. Or she hoped it would. Why wouldn’t it? It made perfect sense to her.

             
“I know, and what does that have to do with anything?” he asked.

             
“Active imagination and everything. Things aren’t that hard to believe for us crazy people who make up stories,” she said with a little laugh. That was one thing she’d always liked about herself: you had to be just a little crazy to be able to come up with the things she wrote about. She never wanted anyone to poke around in her brain; they might have her committed.

             
“Yeah, but we aren’t talking about fiction here. This is reality.”

             
“I’m fully aware of that. I believe you. I write paranormal stories. Creatures like you live in my head. Why would it be that much of a stretch to believe you were real?” Secretly she had always hoped they were real. She often wondered if she had encountered a shifter or paranormal when people appeared out of nowhere or were silent as they walked up behind her.

             
“I always thought people would freak out and make a run for it when I told them. I never expected this,” Mike muttered under his breath.

             
“Now that we have that straightened out, why were you in the back yard?” she asked.

             
“I told you. I hadn’t heard from you in a while and wanted to check on you. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Well, I actually went for a run and saw that I was close to your house, so I came to check.”

             
“And the shooting?”

             
“I don’t actually know. That’s what I wanted to talk to Bill about. I’m not really in any condition to go looking around.”

             
“Oh,” she said. She felt kind of stupid for getting upset when he’d asked for Bill. She’d thought he hadn’t wanted to be there with her or around her. She’d thought he hadn’t wanted her. Lucy knew she didn’t know Mike all that well, but there was something about him that drew her to him. She didn’t really know or care why; she just knew she couldn’t let him go.

             
“Do you mind if I call him?” Mike asked.

             
“Sure. Let me just grab the phone for you,” she said, and walked out.

             
As she left the room, Lucy realized something. She had a shifter in her guest room. Maybe she could do some research, get some facts she might be able to use. She was so excited she was shaking. She had a real shifter in her room! She wondered what kind he was. It would be so cool if he were some kind of cat. She’d always been partial to them. Lucy grabbed the phone and quickly got back to him. She wanted to know. Walking back in the room, she saw Mike trying to sit up.

             
“What are you doing?” she asked at once.

             
“I have to go to the bathroom,” he answered, trying to twist his legs off the bed.

             
“Okay. Do you need help?” He looked at her. Yeah, she didn’t really want to help either. She liked the guy, but she hadn’t really known him all that long. Yes, she’d seen him naked and he was currently standing up naked, but that didn’t mean she wanted to help him use the bathroom. She sat down in the chair and listened, just in case he needed help. She hoped he didn’t.

             
Mike came back out and hobbled straight to the bed, climbing under the covers. He shivered, and she wondered if maybe he was getting a fever. She didn’t keep the house all that cold, so he shouldn’t be shivering. Maybe that was something she needed to talk to Bill about. Or maybe it had something to do with him being a shifter.

             
“Here,” she said, handing him the phone.

             
“Thanks,” he mumbled, and looked at it.

             
“No problem,” she answered, and turned toward the door.

             
“Don’t leave, please.” She nodded and walked back over to the chair. Before she sat down, he scooted over and pulled the covers back. He wanted her in bed with him? Did he realize they barely knew each other? And that he was naked under that blanket? She stared at the fitted sheet, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Looking back at Mike, she saw the puppy dog eyes. She couldn’t resist puppy dog eyes. With a resigned sigh, she climbed into the bed with him. Lucy purposely kept her distance from him, though. She didn’t know him and he was naked.

             
“Relax,” he whispered in her ear, and kissed her cheek. She looked at him and saw his warm smile. Lying back, she tried doing what he said, but it was still hard.

             
“Bill, hey. Is there any way you can come back?” he asked into the phone. With Mike distracted, Lucy felt like she could finally relax. Her muscles unbunched and she watched him talk on the phone, completely at ease.

***

              Bill was sitting in his office trying to get some work done. It was hard. He was worried about Mike and was thinking about Lexi. He didn’t have time for that, though. His team was investigating a report of a circus that was holding shifters, and he needed to plan an extraction. That, and he needed to take care of the payroll and do a liquor order.

             
Then Mike called. “I think it was the Hunters. I want to check it out before the scent’s gone, but I don’t think I can.”

             
“Fuck! No, you stay in that bed. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have checked that when I was there,” Bill said, pissed off at himself for being so distracted.

             
“You were a little busy digging a bullet out of me. I don’t blame you for being a little distracted.”

             
“Yeah, but you know what I do. I should have known to look around. I guess I’m not used to things happening in my own back yard. I’ll let Basil know. I think he’ll want in on it.”

             
“Okay. I’ll let Lucy know to expect visitors,” Mike replied.

             
“No, you get some rest. Just tell her we’ll be in her woods, but that we won’t bother you guys,” Bill said.

             
“Thanks. If this is the Hunters, we need to know. You know if they are coming after one, none of us are safe.”

             
“I know,” he said with a sigh. No one wanted a threat in their own territory.

             
“Let me know what you find?” Mike asked.

             
“Sure. Get some rest,” Bill said, and hung up. Bill looked at the stacks of paperwork on his desk and sighed. He guessed he’d get to it… eventually.

***

              Mike hit the ‘end’ button on the phone and looked at Lucy with a smile. They were going to be alone for a while and they were in bed together.

             
“What did he say?” Lucy asked.

             
“He’s going to get the alpha of the wolf pack and they’re going to come over and check it out. They aren’t coming in, but Bill might stop by and fill us in.”

             
“I have a few questions about what you just said. But first, he doesn’t think they’re going to come back?”

             
“Not right now. We know there’s something going on. They won’t risk exposing themselves. They know we’ll be looking for them, and if they’re still around they know we’ll find them. If it’s the group I suspect it is, they won’t be back. They’re going to re-group first.”

             
“Okay, next question. Alpha of the wolf pack?”

             
“Basil. He’s the sheriff and alpha. He’s a great guy. He’s helped Bill and me a few times and lets us stay in his territory.”

             
“So you aren’t a wolf?”

             
Maybe he hadn’t explained it as well as he’d thought. “No, I’m a wolverine. The last one.”

             
“I’m sorry,” she said.

             
Mike rolled over on his side to face her. She looked confused, but tired. Maybe all the stress was starting to get to her. “Do you have any more questions?”

             
“Not right now,” she said with a yawn.

             
“You look tired. Why don’t you try to get some sleep,” he said.

             
“Okay,” she said with a nod and closed her eyes. He pulled her into his chest and held her close. He was probably moving too fast, but he couldn’t help it. He needed her close to him and it felt right with her in his arms. Lucy stiffened for a moment before relaxing into him. He’d be happy to have her like this every night for the rest of his life. Closing his eyes, Mike let sleep take him in the comfort of her arms.