Shifting the Night Away (43 page)

Jenna hesitated for a moment before she said, “I think the name Isabella feels right.”

“Okay, very good. Can you tell me anything about the date?”

Jenna shook her head. “No, I’m not sure but everyone is dressed in clothes from a different century. Long ago. A long ago Christmas Eve. But when, I just don’t know.”

“That’s okay. How…”

“It’s starting!” Jenna’s voice got anxious. “The murderer is grabbing me by the arm and yanking me from Michael into the trees.” Fear coated her words. Her eyes fluttered back and forth under her closed lids as anxiety flooded her system.
 

“It’s okay, Jenna. Remember what to do?”

“No!” Her voice raised another octave. “Michael is attacking him. We’re screaming for help, but the music… the holiday celebration is too loud. No one hears us. No one…” her voice chokes in her throat. “He pulled out a knife.” Jenna’s voice doesn’t get above a whisper.

“Remove yourself from the scene. Remember Jenna, this is a memory, a television show playing out on the screen in your mind. Do you have your remote?”

Tears started streaming down her cheeks. “The killer stabbed him. Michael crumbled to the ground. Oh, my god, he’s coming after me.” Her head thrashed back and forth. “No! Please! Someone please help me.”

“Jenna, come back to me.” Clara’s voice took a sterner tone. “Jenna, do you hear me? Open your eyes. Now!”

“No! No. It’s okay. I’m watching now.” Jenna's voice took on an eerie calmness that caused shivers to rise up Clara's back.

Clara let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. “Good job, Jenna. Now cut the emotional string. This happened long ago. What you’re watching isn’t real anymore.”

“He’s stabbing me.” Her voice back to whispering, raspy with emotion. “Wait, there’s a wolf that scares him away. It’s biting Michael, it’s biting me, but I don’t feel anything anymore. Everything’s numb.”

“Okay, float up to the waiting area. It’s time to let this life go and move forward with your current life. Ask your guides if there are any lessons you need to take with you to close this chapter in your life journey.”

Chapter Four

Michael and his pupils pulled up to the local wolf compound. From the outside, it looked like a large wooden cabin surrounded by acres of meadow and forested land. There was a group of men in various stages of dress sparring on the front lawn. All were dressed in jeans or shorts, but half of them were shirtless. Each taking turns battling each other to show their dominance for the three she wolves that sat on the porch steps bored with the preening, more focused on each other and the gossip in their lives.
 

They were gathering for the full moon that would make its appearance that night. Typical of wolf packs, most liked to hunt together on the full moon, safety in numbers and their strength magnified when they were together. Michael had limited experience with pack life. He was forced into the monastery shortly after he was turned because of his violent reaction. He was almost uncontrollable, no alpha could contain him when his rage took over. The beast needed caging, and it was either the monastery or prison. He chose wisely. The order gave him purpose and a way to control the beast.
 

“While I’m meeting with the alpha I want you four to buddy up to the pack members. Find out how they feel about their alpha, and if there is anything particularly damning.”

“You got it.” Stephen grinned devilishly. Michael knew the egotistical shifter was in his element with this task, and his team would keep him safe.
 
They may be pups to him, but they were adult shifters and had spent more time in packs than he ever did.

They exited the vehicle at the same time. The dark-skinned alpha approached them while cleaning his hands from a black substance that covered his body which came from working on one of the motorcycles in the shop a few yards away. “Can I help you?” He asked, sniffing the air.

“Marcus?” Michael turned to the alpha and was greeted with a smile.

“Michael, to what do we owe the pleasure of the order visiting?”

“Random inspection and introduction of some of my pupils to the job.”

Marcus shook his head. “Random inspection brought on by complaints?”

Michael nodded. “Always the perceptive alpha.”

Marcus stretched his hands outward. “You have the freedom to roam my compound. You and your group can even hunt with us tonight if you like.”

Michael nodded. “We may take you up on that, thank you.”

***

Clara waited impatiently as the staff psychiatrist met with Jenna. They’d seen some progress with the last few sessions, and knew it was important to let her try her tools in a real life setting. It did little to alleviate the nervousness she felt over Jenna’s possible early release.
 
She still worried about the possibility of relapse, but ultimately it was Dr. Jonas’ decision.

Dr. Douglas Jonas was a middle-aged man with a balding head and vibrant eyes hidden behind thin glasses. He wore sweater vests that went out of style a decade ago under his lab coat. Today, his sweater vest was a mess of red, gold, and green and his green corduroy pants made him look like a holiday tree threw up on him. He let out a minty breath when he exited the hospital room and greeted Clara with a smile.
 

His smile was the warmest thing about him, that and his rounded belly made her feel at ease, something she was sure helped him in his practice. “Well, I’m concerned about her mental stability, but I can see you’ve made progress with her. I’m going to recommend she stay another twenty-four hours.”

“So you’re not releasing her early?”

“No.” He started walking down the hallway and Clara had to quicken her pace to catch up.
 

“Do you have any recommendations for further treatment?” Clara asked in a rushed tone.

“No. Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll release her tomorrow. The best I can do is recommend she visit doctor Fredericks on a weekly outpatient basis. Nothing about her demeanor indicates she’ll relapse, but the reasoning behind the attempt concerns me. Irrational night terrors linked to the holidays. Hopefully you and Fredericks can help her manage her dreams.”

“So you think she’ll be okay?”

He stopped midstride, and Clara had to put on the breaks and swerve to keep from hitting him. “She needs further treatment, but with time and self-help tools combined with some cognitive behavioral therapy she should find a full recovery.”

“And the dreams?”

“That’s your department, Clara. Unless you want to recommend she gets some dream therapy to help with her insomnia.”

Clara shook her head. “Forcing her to sleep is the wrong avenue. It’s the dreams that terrify her. Dreams triggered by the holidays. This is supposed to be the happiest time of year, not the scariest.”

Doctor Jonas nodded. “I think the tools you’ve given her to manage the dreams are wonderful.” He placed a gentle hand on her arm and Clara felt the need to back away. She never enjoyed anyone invading her personal space and Jonas was no exception. Unwanted affectionate touches only brought back painful memories, memories she was working to manage through self-hypnosis.

She held strong to the urge to flee. She respected Jonas, and didn’t need to burn any bridges. Nodding, “okay, I’ll continue my work.” She headed back toward the room.

“I’d like to see the tapes when you’re done.” He called out to her. It was a strange request. He’d never wanted to see them before. She turned to ask why, but he was gone.

Chapter Five

Michael debriefed his team. As suspected, Marcus was acting well within his rights as alpha. Michael was impressed with Willow’s and Stephen’s ability to root out the troublemakers. He approached the three pack members that were trying to undermine Marcus and had a discussion about respect, and what it meant to be a member of the pack. By the time he was done, he figured he’d managed to sway two into believing him, and one he pushed further toward becoming rogue. It was his choice. A rogue wolf struggled to survive. Wolves were pack animals and rogues were loaners. Sometimes a wolf made the decision to leave, search for his or her own pack, or another pack that might be better suited to his needs. It wasn’t Michael’s job to convince him to stay, it was his job to relay the facts and let the wolf and human host make their own informed decisions. Either way, he was Marcus’s problem now.
 

The moon was high in the night sky. The silver orb lit the forested area offering a spooky, yet comforting feel. Isaac and Tyler, shifters, but not wolf shifters, decided to stay in for the hunt. Willow and Stephen joined Michael as they excitedly got undressed and began the change to become their animal halves. Michael and Marcus were equal in size as wolves, both built to be alphas, only Marcus had the respect of a large pack behind him so Michael knew not to go against the grain and to be mildly submissive. They were both of the same species, black and white coats, while the majority of the other wolves were various shades of browns and reds. Willow was jet black, and stood proudly on one side of Michael, and Stephen was white, almost silver in the moonlight, and he took up position on the other side of Michael. All alphas in their own rights, if there was trouble the three would give one helluva fight.
 

Marcus let out the howl that signified the start of the run, and they did. Tearing through the wooded area, narrowly missing trees and broken limbs, jumping over rocks and dips. Michael never felt freer than he did running as a wolf. The chilly night air and frozen ground didn’t affect him in the least, his two coats and the energy his body exerted kept him toasty. His claws dug into the icy ground just enough to give him the traction needed to keep from slipping as he dashed in between the trees and other random obstacles.

A scream broke out a couple hundred yards in the opposite direction. Michael, Willow, and Stephen stopped and then went to investigate the second blood-curdling scream. Neither needed to speak, they acted on instinct. Their job was to protect, be the liaison between the humans and shifters, to keep both sides safe from harm. If a wolf attacked a human it would bring devastation to this pack and the area. Humans would react by hunting the beast, killing pack members which would require retribution. Marcus would order attacks on humans. Both sides would suffer great casualties. The raging thoughts taking his mind made him run faster, his heart pounded in his chest.
 

When he arrived at the clearing he saw two mauled humans lying on the ground. It appeared they’d been camping in the woods. Movement caught his eyes and he spun his head to see Marcus with a wolf’s neck in his jaws. Satisfied Marcus had his flock under control, Michael morphed from wolf to human and went to check on the campers.
 

His heart broke when he found the man dead, but hope rose when the woman looked at him with life still in her eyes. Michael heard the snap of bone and footsteps coming up from behind him. He knew the wolf who did this was dead and he could smell the anger behind him, instinct telling him Marcus had shifted and was standing behind him.

“Please help me.” The woman begged for her life.

“I’ll turn her.” Marcus offered.

“No.” Michael inspected the woman’s wounds. For the most part they were minor, but the leg wound worried him. Blood was flowing fast and he suspected a major artery was injured. She wasn’t dead yet which meant it wasn’t the femoral artery that was punctured. She still had a chance. “I need something to tie off the bleeding. Stephen go get a vehicle, she’s going to need a hospital.” Michael started barking out orders, and wolf and human responded.