Riley’s Downfall(40)

The warriors were still wrapped around her finger, but she was grown now, or almost. She had turned into a beautiful young woman and had a fierce attitude to match Maverick’s. But as he glanced over at the small girl with long brown ringlets, he wished he could make time stand still so his little Melonee wouldn’t let her mate claim her and then leave him. Melonee was his right-hand girl.

His mate, Cecil, was his best friend and everything else Maverick had ever yearned for in a mate, but Melonee was his sidekick, his buddy, and his get-into-trouble partner. What was he going to do without her?

“Is everything all right?” Dr. Carmichael asked as Maverick took a seat.

Damn, his eyes were misty. When in the hell did he ever get misty-eyed?

Duh. When he thought of Melonee.

Maverick cleared his throat and nodded. “I’m fine. What did you find out?” His nostalgic moments of his daughter were for him alone.

“Well,” Dr. Carmichael began as he lifted his cup of coffee, “Cole’s blood test came back.”

“And?”

The wolf physician shook his head, took a sip of his coffee, and then set the cup down. “The blood I drew from Seth and the blood I drew from Cole have been tested. Although Seth has been converted into a bear, he has a minute trace of the drug Liquid Wrath in his system.”

Damn. Maverick had prayed that Seth, Chance Lakeland’s mate, wouldn’t be infected. The Lakelands weren’t going to like this news.

“And Cole’s blood?” He still gritted his teeth to think that Shanta, the deceased fey leader, had tried to use the whelp for monetary gain. The otherworldly residents of Brac Village kept the news that Cole’s blood contained the cure for Liquid Wrath a well-hidden secret. They didn’t want another psycho coming after the babe. Cole’s father, Luke, hand had a hard enough time keeping his son safe when he ran from Shanta. Malcolm’s mate didn’t need any more bullshit coming his son’s way.

“I tested the child’s blood against the small sample of the drug I have. It’s still the cure for that horrendous paranormal drug. But when I tested his blood with the mutated version of Liquid Wrath, it was useless. The mutation allows for a human being to be converted into a shifter, vampire, demon, or whatever his mate is, but Cole’s blood is useless in neutralizing the mutated version of the drug.”

Maverick was both angered and relieved. He was angry that Cole was still a target, but relieved that his blood had gone down on a notch on the most wanted list. Malcolm and Luke would at least get some good news.

Maverick nodded at Tangee as the mate brought him a chai tea. The man knew his weakness. “Thanks.”

“Are you going to order anything to eat?” Tangee asked as he tapped his pencil on an order pad.

“Not today.”

Tangee nodded. “Okay, call me if you change your mind,” he said and then walked away to take some else’s order.

Maverick waited until they were alone and then turned back to the doctor. “Tell me, doc, why did Ahm turn white?”

The physician looked shocked, his brows jumping up into his hairline. “He’s not blue anymore?”

Maverick shook his head.

“I’m afraid I don’t know too much about the shadow elves, Maverick. The shadow elves are elusive. In all my life, I’ve only met one, and that was Ahm. Did he give you a reason?”

Maverick chuckled and then sipped his tea. “The Keebler Elf says it happens when a shadow elven turns five hundred years old. I’m just wondering if there is more to his story than he’s telling. But be warned, he isn’t too happy about not looking like Papa Smurf anymore.”

Dr. Carmichael clucked his tongue, shaking his head at the same time. “I swear, alpha. One of these days you are going to poke fun at the wrong person and they are going to poke back.”

Maverick grinned at the wolf physician, and he knew his smile was more demonic than humorous. “Let them try, doc. Let them try.”



* * * *



Sterling had big plans for Bacon. He wasn’t sure if other people would consider his plans “normal,” but he didn’t care. Bacon was his little girl, and he was going to pamper her like a princess.

“Chauncey?” Sterling said the man’s name as he walked into the kitchen and spotted the big guy eating right from the ice cream container. He was going to have to make sure he forwent any ice cream in the future.

The man leaned against the counter scooping the treat out, but Sterling noticed that Chauncey’s moves were a little uncoordinated. He looked like he was scooping just a little too slowly, and his wrist kept jerking.

“Would you mind taking me into town?” he asked, smiling at Chauncey.