“Sweetheart, you were sleeping for a long time, and we were worried about you.” Chase moved to the other side of the bed and held her hand in his.
“What do you mean for a long time? How long was I asleep?”
Chase and Julia looked at each other. Then Chase nodded and Julia replied, “Two days.”
“What? That’s impossible. I mean I was…we were…” She turned to Chase for some help, knowing her face had turned red.
“Yeah, well after you fell asleep, we were unable to wake you up. We called the shifter doctor in, but all she said was to let you rest and that you would come around once you weren’t so worn-out.”
His eyes kept roaming over her face as if worried she’d keel over in sleep any second.
“Well, I’m not sure why I slept so long, but I feel incredibly rested. So where’s the food?” She winced at the cramping in her stomach.
She enjoyed the conversation around her while they ate, and thought of how she’d love to check out her blood under a microscope. Wondering what lay behind the bouts of exhaustion she was experiencing, she wished she could pick apart her cells and look at the impact the shifter gene had had on her system.
Once again, Chase, Seff and Riel went off to look for Tryx. After two days of searching, every clue they’d gotten had seen no results. They were starting to wonder if she’d been taken out of the state or if she’d been killed. Sophia refused to believe the sweet wolf was dead.
Julia went home with River after he made a comment over how tired she looked.
Sophia was on her own inside while two men secured the outside of the house. Because she was tempted to take a nap, she decided to use Chase’s computer to access her work e-mail instead. The last thing she needed was to take a nap and wake up a week later. In her e-mail, she found a request by one of the director’s for their monthly meeting. Cringing at the fact the e-mail was two days old, she typed up a reply suggesting a date and time.
A new message arrived from a generic e-mail address she didn’t recognize. Thinking of all the kinds of computer viruses she could give Chase’s system, she debated opening it. She gave in to temptation, took the risk, and opened it to find a web link. It clicked open to a site that showed a video that was being streamlined live.
There was a woman dangling from a set of metal chains in thick manacles. Her body was bloody, and her face showed her anger at being tied up. Sophia’s eyes watered when she realized the woman was Tryx.
Scanning the screen, she noticed Tryx was in a basement somewhere. Nothing stood out to give Sophia any inkling as to where they could be.
A small chat icon popped open on the screen, and her eyes left the image of Tryx to look down at the message.
User 1: If you give us the samples you can save her life.
She stared at the words for what seemed like an eternity and then used shaky fingers to type up a response.
Guest: How do I know you’re not lying?
The response came back immediately.
User 1: You don’t, but we don’t want to hurt a helpless female. We just want your work. You have two hours to decide if she lives or dies. Call this number when you’re ready to make a trade.
Be careful of sharing the information with your wolf, or the woman dies. We’ll know if you use your phone. The deal will be off, and she’ll die. Once you are ready, call. We know where you are and will take care of the two shifters guarding you.
Guest: You mean you’re going to kill the wolves?
User 1: No, just put them to sleep while you come with us. Remember, two hours.
The pop up closed, indicating the other person had gone off-line. She paced around the office, wondering how to let Chase know what just happened.
She concentrated on the link she had used with him at the lab. Mentally picturing his wolf and hoping she successfully got through to him in human form, she screamed out to him.
* * *
Chase was in The Back Door talking to a group of men while planning a new search mission for Tryx. A nagging in his head made his wolf pace restlessly. He tried to take over his body, and Chase had to haul the animal back to keep the skin.
The wolf became agitated and fought his restraint. He’d never had this happen before. The animal knew who was in charge but was currently fighting for dominance.
He turned to River with a frown, and they stepped in one of the back offices.
“What’s going on?”
“I…don’t…know.” He clenched his teeth while rubbing his hand on his forehead and fighting the animal for control. His wolf must be sensing something wrong. Breathing deep, he focused on his link with the animal. There was something just beyond his reach, and it sounded very much like Sophia’s soft voice calling out to his wolf in the distance.