The Love He Squirreled Away (11 page)

The pain that coursed through Daniel crushed Soren. His mate had a very close relationship with the rest of the Gardner-Boyd family, and this would be very hard on him. It couldn’t be helped.

He looked toward Liam, who had been silent so far. The wolf took a step forward toward Daniel. To Soren’s surprise, Liam hugged Daniel tight. “Thank you for saving the pups,” he whispered in a barely audible voice. “You know, she really cared about you.”

The pain passing through Soren’s connection with Daniel eased.

“See, baby, he doesn’t blame you,”
Soren told his mate.
“It’s not
your fault.”

Unfortunately, the squirrel didn’t seem to believe him. As the adrenaline of the day began to fade, a different pain flooded their bond, this time a physical one. Soren pushed Liam away and took hold of Daniel. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

His mate looked pale and was having clear difficulties in breathing. “Nothing.” He wheezed, a hand clutched to his chest. “I’ll be fine.”

Soren remembered what his mate had confessed a while back, after his jealousy fit. Daniel must have underestimated the seriousness of his condition, perhaps even on purpose. Then again, after what had
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happened earlier, Soren couldn’t blame the squirrel for the panic attack.

“Stay back,” he told the others. “Give him room.”

Gently, he placed Daniel on the bed. Stirred from their slumber, the pups woke, now seeming anxious as well. Liam removed them, preventing their presence from agitating Daniel further. Daniel shook his head. “Leave them here. Poor things have been through enough today.”

Shiloh appeared with a glass of water and handed it to Soren.

With as much gentleness as he could muster, Soren offered the liquid to his mate. Daniel made a grab for his pills, thankful the wolves had unknowingly brought him a coat carrying a bottle of the medicine. He popped a dose in his mouth and took the glass from Soren. As Daniel drank and swallowed his pills, the choking pain began to diminish.

He finished the water and looked at their dumbfounded friends.

“Sorry about that. It’s just my little condition acting up.”

“Little condition?” Shiloh repeated in disbelief. “I thought your doctor visits were just routine checks. God, Dani.”

Soren couldn’t have said it better himself. Still, his mate looked tired, so he made no further comment. For Dani, for his pups, and for Carlie, he vowed to get to the bottom of this and find the person guilty of this tragedy.

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Daniel fidgeted as he watched his mother serve Soren some tea.

He was sure that any moment now, the lie would explode in his face.

It simply wasn’t possible that his parents wouldn’t see through it.

Soren smiled at her as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Thank you, Mrs. Gardner-Boyd.”

“Please, call me Ruby.” She beamed, and for the first time, Daniel couldn’t tell if she was honest or not. “I’m so glad you decided to visit.”

“My apologies about the short notice,” Soren answered. “We were just dropping by on other business and, of course, we couldn’t come here without visiting.”

Daniel suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the reply. The absurdly polite conversation continued when his mother inquired,

“What about your pups? I’d love to know my grandchildren as well.”

Through his connection with Soren, Daniel sensed the tension in the other man. However, Soren just offered Daniel’s mother a smile.

“On our next visit, perhaps. They’re vacationing with their mother on Brody’s property.”

Daniel took his cue to contribute to the conversation. “We figured it would be a good idea to have them spend some time with children outside their species, get used to a mixed environment.” He forced himself to chuckle. “With an antelope calf, a lion cub, and a cygnet around, they’ll adapt in no time.”

“That’s a good idea.” His mother’s eyes, so much like his own, fixed on Daniel. “How long are you staying in the city?” she asked,
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changing the subject. “It would be great if your dads and your siblings got to see you, as well.”

“To tell you the truth, Mother, we came to check in with Dr.

Jenkins. I missed my appointment the other day, and Soren insisted on rescheduling.” It wasn’t actually a lie. Soren had indeed wanted to visit Jenkins, for two reasons. Since Daniel’s little fit, his mate was very concerned for him. At the same time, the pack still seemed doubtful of him, even if results came in testifying the gun had never been used. No one trusted him, and no one understood why Daniel survived when Carlie did not.

His mother’s voice snapped him out of his musing. “Honey, did you hear what I said?” She sounded worried, and Daniel berated himself for his absent-mindedness.

“Apologies, Mother. I was thinking about certain issues of concern. What were you saying?”

“Dani… Son, are you feeling all right?” She knelt next to him and took his hand. “Should I call your father or your siblings? You know they’d leave work if you needed them.”

Daniel shook his head. He knew how dedicated his family was to the homeless shelter they owned. Daniel had been the only one unable to work there, since his parents always feared him picking up a microbe or overexerting himself. “I assure you I feel quite well.”

“If I may, Mrs. Gardner-Boyd,” Soren piped up, “it’s time for our visit with the doctor. We’ll drop by again to see everyone before we return to the pack.”

“Very well, Mr. Wade.” Daniel’s mother didn’t look too pleased, but she must’ve realized that in the end, the doctor could care for him better. “Please, keep me posted if you find out anything.”

Daniel got up and hugged her. “Stop being such a worrywart,” he whispered, for once dropping the formal façade. “I’ll be fine.”

If she was surprised, she didn’t show it. Instead, she hugged him back, seemingly relieved. “Okay, honey. But anything you need, anything at all…”

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She left the sentence trailing, and Daniel nodded. “I know.”

Daniel broke the embrace and kissed her cheek. “Now we really must be going.” His mother led them to the exit, and just as they were about to leave, he turned and offered her a small, fake smile. “Oh, before I forget. Did you mention my doctor appointments to anyone?”

Her brows shot up in obvious shock. “No, honey. Of course not.

You know neither me, nor the others, would reveal something so personal.”

Daniel knew there was a little more to it than that. He couldn’t help but feel bitter about the fact that his family, while loving, hid him away out of a combination of protectiveness and shame. But no matter. He and Soren achieved what they’d come here for. “Thanks,”

he replied, shrugging. Before she could inquire as to the reason of his question, he hastily added, “I was just curious.”

His mother seemed satisfied with that, although a touch of surprise lingered. “All right, Dani.” She hugged him once again, and then Daniel and Soren left the house.

As they entered the car, Soren’s mental voice drifted into Daniel’s consciousness. “
Well, what do you think?
”

“
I should have known better than to believe they could have
mentioned it
.” It wasn’t even her actual words that had reassured him, but her tone and the look in her eyes. No, it hadn’t been them. Daniel just knew it.

“
Then who? The doctor?
”

Daniel hesitated. He still couldn’t get over his first mental image of Dr. Jenkins, the man who’d saved his life, and his first love. He couldn’t make himself believe the man could’ve had anything to do with the attack on Carlie.

Soren gaped at him, and Daniel winced, realizing his mate had caught onto the thought. “Your first love? How did I not know this?”

He stabbed the keys into the ignition, irradiating anger and jealousy. “It wasn’t important,” Daniel murmured, focusing on
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putting on his seat belt to avoid Soren’s gaze. “It was a long time ago.”

“How is it not important?” Soren snarled. The tires of the car squealed as they drove off. Daniel had a flashback of another fight and a subsequent insane drive. He’d been in a somewhat-better mood then. “He is a suspect for killing Carlie, Daniel, or have you forgotten?”

Hearing his mate calling him by his full name hurt Daniel more than he could have imagined. “I haven’t forgotten,” he shot back. “I just can’t imagine why he would ever do something like that. We’re missing something. It has to be someone else.”

“Someone who? We don’t have any other leads. Those men disappeared as if they were never there. This is our only clue, and you know it.”

Daniel bit his lip so hard he tasted blood. Yes, he knew it, and he knew Carlie’s death was his fault. No matter what Soren claimed, if one of Daniel’s friends proved to be the culprit, her blood would always be on his hands.

“Baby, you didn’t kill her.” Soren’s voice softened as he spoke.

“You didn’t cause any of this. The only one who’s guilty in this is the maniac who hired those men.”

Daniel nodded. “You’re right, Soren. Let us proceed to Dr.

Jenkins’s office. In the end, whether he hurt Carlie or not, he is the only one who can provide us with further assistance.”

Soren didn’t talk again, giving the occasional grunts of acknowledgment as Daniel directed him to the medic’s office. In the months he’d spent at Soren’s side, Daniel had somehow managed to keep the two men away from each other. He didn’t even know if it had been a conscious move on his part, but he now dreaded the moment of their meeting.

At last, they reached the clinic. In silence, they got out of the car and headed inside. There were a few other patients waiting, all herbivores of course, and they gave Soren startled looks. Daniel
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ignored them and walked toward the registry. He smiled at the pretty bullfinch girl who worked as Dr. Jenkins’s secretary, distantly wondering when he’d become such an expert at false cheerfulness.

“Hi, Cherry. Could you tell the doctor I’m in?”

“Of course.” Cherry fidgeted nervously. “I’ll tell him now.”

She took off like a bullet and retreated to the doctor’s office. She could have just buzzed him, but apparently any pretext, as poor as it might have been, served to get away from the presence of the carnivore. Soren scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Seriously, you’d think I came in here guns blazing…or jaws
snapping.”

Daniel might have been amused, except her attitude, along with that of the rest of the patients, reminded him of the reason why they were here in the first place. So many people died every day because of the differences between nations. His two friends Carson and Shiloh had narrowly escaped the same fate, but Carlie hadn’t been so lucky.

Was a relationship between a wolf and a squirrel impossible? Perhaps the only way to be together would be to flee the world and hide from it all, in a distant place where no one could reach them.

Soren’s hand gripped his and squeezed. Just like that, a measure of relief invaded Daniel. He couldn’t despair. He couldn’t give up.

The situation might look glum now, yes, but they still had their kids, thank goodness. The triplets were relying on him and Soren to build a better world, one where pointless assassinations wouldn’t happen.

“That’s my sweet Dani,”
Soren whispered in his mind.
“It’s okay.

I promise I’ll be polite and everything.”

“Thank you, Soren.”
He paused, choosing his words carefully.

“You know, I didn’t hide from you what I used to feel for Dr. Jenkins
on purpose. It was just… puppy love.”

They shared a look at Daniel’s unwilling reference of their own little private joke. Soren had been quite amused upon finding out baby squirrels could be called pups, just like with wolves. In the past, he’d even used this argument to claim they’d always been meant to be
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together. Somehow, the little exchange strengthened Daniel more than he’d have thought possible.

Cherry reemerged from Dr. Jenkins’s office and gestured them inside. As they entered the room, Soren thanked her, making the bullfinch chirp in agitation at simply being addressed. Shaking his head to himself, Daniel focused on his medic.

The man extended his arms for a hug. “Daniel, I’m so glad to see you. I was quite worried when you didn’t show up for your last appointment.”

He seemed nervous, and Daniel’s heart sank when he realized Soren’s suspicions must have been, at least in part, correct. But no, he wouldn’t judge until he knew all the facts. He owed Perry his life, not to mention all the affection the man had given him throughout the years. If the doctor was indeed involved in Carlie’s murder, Daniel knew there must have been something very powerful pushing him into it.

Soren’s voice drifted into his mind.
“He saved your life?”

“Yes,”
Daniel replied.
“Back when I was a child. He practically
brought me back from death’s door.”

“All right, baby.”
Soren sounded a bit pacified.
“I’ll give him a
chance, for your sake.”

Satisfied, Daniel focused on his doctor. He accepted the embrace but quickly broke away. The last thing he needed now was to provoke Soren’s possessive nature. “I’m quite all right,” he said, distantly acknowledging the fact that he was starting to sound like a broken record. He’d lost count of the times he’d reassured people in the past few days. “I guarantee you, Dr. Jenkins, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Still, I’d like to check you over. Just in case.”

Daniel nodded. “Of course. But first, let me introduce you my mate, Soren Wade. Soren, this is Dr. Perry Jenkins.”

The two men shook hands, and Daniel carefully watched his medic for any reaction. He knew Perry well and thought the man grew
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