Page 22 of Hayden's Haven
“Don’t you mean steal?”
“Yes and no. We leave money for anything we take, but technically it’s still stealing since we’re not going through proper channels. Can’t leave a trail let alone wait for red tape to clear when it comes to this. This virus. . .” Tess sucked in a breath and then slowly released it. “It’s too deadly and damaging to wait for the humans to open their eyes. Despite the work Kate did getting them to start noticing that the WSSO has beenkillingshifters, we could all be dead before anyone in the government takes action. If anyone takes action, that is.”
“You sound like you don’t believe any humans care about what’s happening.”
“I guess Damien’s pessimism is rubbing off on me a bit. I grew up in Florida, in the middle of a city, so around here I’m probably the best-versed in human behavior and how they think. Some humans hate us, others fear us, but mostly they’re more concerned about how our existence impacts them. Either way, until the U.S. Government takes measures to help us, we have to defend ourselves. And that’s not just Damien talking.”
“I went to college and then medical school, six years in all since I was on an accelerated track. I had my fair share living among humans too. They’re not that bad. They kind of have it easy, all on the same footing in terms of their abilities at least.”
“Oh, don’t even get me started on the whole strong shifter weak shifter debate or we’ll be here all day and I want to get you settled as fast as possible.”
“Are the weak shifters. . .” Mila forced her arms to her side so she wouldn’t wring her fingers. “Are they shunned or abused?” she asked, cautiously.
Tess’s frown deepened. “Nothing like that, but there’s definitely a class split here. They don’t exactly get the best jobs and some of them feel as if they have no right to speak up.” Tess grabbed a set of clean sheets from a linen closet toward the back of the house. “This pack is slow to accept change. I tried pushing a few changes through faster than they were willing to consider, and it backfired on me. The strong wolves want to keep the weak wolves where they are, and the weak wolves are more intimidated than ever, taking out their frustration in little ways. I’m not sure Damien’s noticed. He’s a little slow to notice the subtle things around here, but I’m working on him.”
“You’re a rather progressive shifter, Tess. I take it you’re a weak wolf then?”
“Yes and no. I survived the virus and it left me completely cut-off from my wolf. I resigned myself to live as a human, which around here is hard. I’m not sure how Anna does it, but she does, with a smile to boot.”
“The ones who survived in my pack have the same issue. It’s been a rude awakening to get a taste of what it’s like for weak shifters, and it created a power shift in my pack. Those who survived the virus but lost their shifter abilities in the process now find themselves at the mercy of the strong and weak wolves. They’re being taunted, called ‘human’ and worse. It’s not a good situation.”
“Then you’ll want to have Anna bring you up to speed on the fix.”
“There’s a fix? Seriously?” That stunned Mila. The very idea that they could return shifters’ ability to shift was mind-boggling. Everything in her pack could go back to the way it was. Mila shuddered.
“You cold? Are your injuries more than the bruises and cuts on your face and hands?”
“Concussion. Bruised ribs, strained right knee and more bruises along my legs. And yes, I’m a bit cold from lack of sleep, food mostly. I’ll be back to normal in a few days.”
Tess opened the linen closet again and pulled out a second blanket for Mila. “When were you attacked?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“And your wolf hasn’t healed you yet?” Tess’s eyes widened. She knew!
“Please, don’t tell anyone. I’ll have enough trouble fitting in. I really just want to focus on finding a vaccine and then returning to my pack.” Or going somewhere since they probably didn’t want someone like her here, not given what Tess had said about the weak shifters. Mila would go anywhere, but home.
Though, if there was indeed a fix that would give shifters back their ability to shift, she was obligated to return and cure them. Damn hypocritic oath extended to shifters even if the U.S. Government didn’t consider them citizens, or on par with humans. As far as she was concerned, her oath as a doctor applied to shifters as well as humans.
“You said there’s a fix. What is it? How does it work?”
“You’ll have to ask Anna. She devised it. She’ll tell you everything you need to know to treat your pack and others. We’re not trying to keep the remedy a secret, but Damien’s trying to find a way to spread the word quietly, without leading the WSSO back to us. The WSSO doesn’t know we returned here, and we want to keep it that way. And then there’s the issue of what desperate shifters will do. Damien will help anyone, up to a point. We can’t, won’t, risk Anna.”
“Because she’s the only genetic engineer working on this?”
“That too, but mainly because she’s one of us.”
Mila laughed. A pack that could accept a human as their own could probably accept Mila, too. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to getting to know the shifters around her. Hayden’s strong face with thick black hair and deep dark eyes that a girl could lose herself in—had lost herself in, foolishly so—flashed into her head. He was the strongest shifter she had ever seen, maybe even stronger than Truman and Vance. No wonder he wanted nothing to do with her. Well, that was his loss. Mila wouldn’t let it stop her from making friends here. She already felt relaxed around Tess, as if they’d become good friends in time.
“I’m glad to hear the shifters here are welcoming of a human. You can’t imagine what it’s like not being able to shift, hear, see, or heal like the shifters who didn’t contract the virus.”
“I can imagine. I had the virus too. Twice.”
“Twice. Wow! Your innate and adaptive immunity must be superb. I’ll definitely be taking your blood samples, if you don’t mind.”
Tess winced.
“What did I say?”
