8. Anna

8

Anna

A sudden and uncomfortable invisible tug jerked me to my feet. Spinning around, Finn was immediately on guard. I'd dropped the thick file folder off in my room, and we'd explored some of the territory before we'd stopped for a drink at the Snake River Valley brewery.

Around us, the other wolves, most who'd been friendly, but a couple who'd watched me with narrowed eyes, stopped talking.

"It's not them," I told Finn as I rubbed my chest. "It's Jax. Something is wrong. Where's the infirmary?"

Everyone started murmured at once until an older man stood. "I can take you."

It was a short run, one that I was able to do on foot, and when we arrived at the infirmary, Jax and Saul burst out. Upon seeing me, they stopped short. "What's wrong?" I demanded. "What happened? Are we fighting?"

"We were locked in a closet."

"You…what? You were locked in a closet?"

Jax nodded, and I rubbed my chest again. "I felt panic from you."

His handsome face lit up as his lips curved in a slow smile. "Did you now?"

"Now is not the time," I snarled in frustration. Some of the other wolves outside had stopped and were watching us. "You were seriously panicked about being locked in a closet?"

He slung his arm around my shoulder. "I seem to have developed some claustrophobia while on the ship. Saul accidentally closed a door on me, and I panicked. I didn't mean to alarm you."

As he guided me away, I clamped my mouth shut and slowly tried to count to ten. I made it to six before I pulled away and glared at him. "You were running out of the infirmary."

"Finn jumped out of a window."

"I'm never going to live it down," Finn sighed. "It was my first time on a ship! I was unsettled."

Jax just put his arms around me again and tugged me along. "We'll talk," he said in a low voice. "But I am interested in how you are ready to fight all the time. It is a time of peace. Relax."

"I do not believe it is ever wise to tell a woman to relax. Ever," Saul advised, but I noticed that he looked tense as well.

What the hell had happened?

We reached London's house, and Jax stopped Cruz in the hallway. "You should be aware that there was an incident in the infirmary. I had to break the lock on the door. I suggest it be replaced right away."

"You…what? Why? And why didn't you tell Makayla?"

"Makayla was nowhere to be found. I need to speak to London right away."

The second looked suspicious. "He's still in his office."

"The lock, Cruz. And I suggest you don't hand the keys out to anyone until you speak to London."

"I don't take orders from you."

"It was a suggestion," Jax said calmly. "Not an order. But I'll have London call you shorty if that would make you feel better."

Cruz nodded and headed to the infirmary, and Jax pulled me into London's office. "Back already? That was fast."

"Were the containers full?" Saul asked immediately. "Vials in every slot?"

London sat up straight. "We removed one vial from each container to see if the shipments were identical. Otherwise, there should be none missing."

"The bottom container is only half full, and your healer locked us in the closet. She was nowhere to be found when I broke it open," Jax said tensely.

"She what?" I bellowed.

London held up his finger and his phone. "Please alert all the guards that I need Makayla escorted to my office immediately. Check her home and her sister's home first. Make sure all the roads in and out of the territory are closed until she is found. No one goes in or out."

He hung up and called Cruz. After explaining the situation, they decided it would be best to simply move the containers to London's private quarters. When he hung up, he looked as though he'd aged ten years. "Makayla is young and bright. She's eager for knowledge. She's always been dependable, even when I let her leave to pursue her education, but a year ago, her sister fell ill. A virus that attacked her lungs left them scarred. When she was about to be hooked up to a ventilator, Sasha panicked and shifted."

Saul grunted, and I frowned. "I don't understand. Why is that a bad thing? The process heals."

"Injuries, but not internal viruses. Sometimes, during the shift, they can mutate and worsen, affecting both human and wolf anatomy," Saul explained. "It's best to try to dispense of the virus before a shift."

The things you didn't learn when you didn't have access to a pack healer.

"Both of Sasha's forms are very weak. She's no longer in the infirmary, but she can't walk long distances and sometimes she struggles to catch her breath. She's easily fatigued, and her mental state is deteriorating. Makayla has taken it personally. She spends all her time in the infirmary, and she's rather enamored with you, Saul."

"You think she locked Saul in a closet so he wouldn't leave? I thought she was supposed to be smart. A locked wooden door isn't going to keep a werewolf in," I pointed out.

"I think she probably panicked." Jax looked over at Saul, but he was staring at the wall. "Saul? You want to chime in here?"

"Hmm?" Saul turned his head and nodded. "Yes. My apologies. I believe that the young woman did panic. Do you have access to all the files in the infirmary computers?"

"Sure. They all have their own login, but IT can access it. Should I be calling them?"

"Yes, please. What about personal computers?"

"IT doesn't have access to them, but they can gain access if I request it. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking Makayla has done more research on the vials than she's told you. The records in the infirmary will let me know which equipment she used and the readings. Perhaps we'll get lucky and she made her notes there as well, but she might also be keeping them on a personal computer."

London's eyes began to gleam gold. "And why wouldn't she share these findings with me?"

"I won't know that until I discover what she found," Saul said as he dropped his gaze to the floor. Even I knew that he was lying. He already had his suspicions.

"Make an educated guess," London said in a hard voice.

Jax stood. "Saul is not one for guessing, and I won't have him bullied into one. He'll share his findings with you once he's investigated."

"But not first," London sighed. "He'll share them with you first, despite being on my land. My cordial hospitality will only go so far, Jax. Keep that in mind. If I have werewolves attempting to cultivate a dangerous drug on my land for profit, I would like to know first rather than last. Makayla does not strike me as the type to do anything criminal, but I cannot turn a blind eye to this."

The testosterone levels were getting just a little too high in this room for my liking. "I remember several instances where you had your people reporting to you before Jax when you were on our lands," I pointed out mildly. "And while Saul's duty is to Jax first, he is not going to let a whole pack fall prey to anything sinister. So, let's all just take it down a notch and go to the infirmary together. Saul will give you a brief summary of what he finds and what he needs to investigate further, and we don't need to fight just because some impressionable and naive wolf is trying to play at breaking bad."

Saul hid his chuckle and Jax smiled softly while London looked appropriately chastised. With a bow of his head, he rose and gestured to the door. "Shall we?"