“Will shifting heal him?” asked Hunter.
“Maybe,” the doctor frowned. “There are different kinds of head injuries, some of which are minor, and a shift will solve the problem. But others are more severe, requiring hospitalization in order to provide the necessary treatment. I’ll need permission from a relative if that’s the procedure I recommend.”
“I understand,” Carson said.
“You can wait in here,” the doctor said, opening the door to the room they were standing next to. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
Now in another waiting room, Carson looked around before sitting down in the lone chair, leaving the love seat for his cousin and Fionn. Using his phone again, he redialed Remy’s number, listening to it ring. When it finally went to voice mail, Carson left a message, briefly reciting what had happened to Henri and asking Remy to call him back. Sighing in frustration, Carson leaned his head back against the wall, wondering if he should call Colton, but rejected it. Yawning, he closed his eyes—the lack of sleep was catching up to him now that his adrenaline rush about living in Paris had faded.
~/~/~/~/~
After trying to reach Henri several times without success, Remy slammed down the handset of his old office phone in frustration. Taking a deep breath, he picked it up again and dialed Dire Enterprises’ representative, Carson Blackwood, hoping for a simple answer as to why he couldn’t reach his driver. But after a number of calls, all going unanswered, he dialed Henri’s assistant in case he knew something, but no, he hadn’t heard anything either.Something has happened…he could feel it in his gut, but what to do about it? Drumming his fingers on the desk, Remy began organizing the facts he knew, hoping to find some clue that would be helpful.
After going over all the possibilities, Remy wasn’t any closer to figuring out why Henri hadn’t called him to let him know about a further delay—or why Henri was ignoring his calls. Whether it was his frustration or the feeling that Henri was in trouble, Remy couldn’t say, but suddenly his secret—the one he never spoke of—popped into his head.My special ability!The one that only his parents knew about. He was about Galen’s age when he first used it, not realizing it was most unusual for a warlock like him—a warlock with so little magic—to possess it. He’d never forget the day his parents found out he’d used it, nor the fear he saw on their faces when he confessed to it.
Within two days, his parents had packed their belongings, loaded them into a van, and drove off with Remy in the middle of the night. Sleeping through most of the trip, he had no idea where they were going, but when he woke up, he saw an old, isolated farmhouse. Rolling down his window, shivering in the frigid air, staring at the white stuff on the ground, he remembered asking why they’d stopped there. It was only after they’d moved in that he got an answer. His parents sat him down in front of the blazing fire that now kept them warm, warning him never to use his ability again. When he asked why, they told him it was too dangerous—nothing more. From that day on, though, he followed his parents’ edict without question.
From time to time, as he grew up, he felt sorry about his lack of magic and asked his parents why his ability was so dangerous to use. They promised to tell him when he was older, but that day never came. By the time he graduated from the university it didn’t bother him anymore; besides which, lacking it would make living among humans easier, so he never brought up the subjectagain. Now it was too late; his parents were gone, and he knew no one else to ask, leaving him in a quandary.
Mulling it over, Remy weighed the option of not using it versus using it and the possible danger that might ensue.Of course, it would help if I knew exactly what danger I’d be in if I used it.Dropping his head to the desk, he closed his eyes in frustration when a thought popped into his head: perhaps his ability was gone after not using it for so long—it seemed to have happened to other magical abilities he once had.
During his childhood, his mother made him do daily magic drills to learn basic spells, which he found boring. Maybe if he were a powerful warlock, it might have been enjoyable, but with the limited magic he possessed, he was only able to perform simple tricks. When he complained, wondering why he should even bother, his mother told him it was important to keep whatever magic he had strong and that the drills would help.
But after he enrolled at the university, Remy didn’t care about magic anymore, especially since he intended to live a life with as little magic in it as possible. So, he stopped the drills, concentrating on his studies while learning how to interact with his human classmates. And he never gave it another thought until Galen asked him, one day, if they could resume the magic drills he’d did with his parents before their death. That’s when Remy found out he’d lost a lot of his adeptness at it. Sighing, he made a mental note to look into getting Galen some simple spell books and, just maybe, if he practiced them with his brother, some of the little magic ability he’d once had, would come back.
Setting that problem aside for now, Remy went back to the one facing him—finding Henri.If I use the magic, will I be in danger?It was a risk he’d never take innormal circumstances. Weighing his options, he decided to try. Rising, he locked his office door and then, after pulling down the shade on the window overlooking the tasting room, sat down at his desk and turned off his computer and phone.
Shutting his eyes, Remy placed his hands flat on the desk, seeking to find the spark in his mind needed for him to begin. Searching through his memories, he began to panic when he couldn’t locate it, but just when he was ready to accept that his ability was gone, a tiny white shimmer appeared from behind the wall he’d built to keep his grief at bay. Willing it into his hands, Remy rolled it, watching it grow bigger and bigger until it was the size of a bowling ball before removing his hands and waiting until it stopped spinning. Then, taking a deep breath, he plunged his head into it.
Ignoring the sizzling sparks of light that jabbed at his face, Remy concentrated on the person he wanted to find and, when a life force trail appeared, followed it until he reached the end. Looking down at the scene, Remy inhaled sharply; Henri was lying in a hospital room, his head bandaged. Knowing he had to get there at once, he started to back out of the light ball, but stopped when the door opened, and a doctor entered. Watching him walk over to Henri, Remy waited until his examination was over, hoping to find out more about his condition.
Casting a glance towards the door when he heard it open again, Remy expected to see a nurse, but instead, three men appeared, heading toward the foot of Henri’s bed. Giving them a fleeting glance, he was sure they were the people he sent Henri to pick up, but they appeared to be unharmed, so he focused again on the doctor.
“Gentlemen,” Dr. Marceau said, addressing the three men in the room, “I have the results of the MRI…”
“How bad is it?” asked Carson.
Remy’s eyes flashed over to the person speaking.Oh, my gods!Stunned, Remy felt the voice penetrate his body until every part of him cried out for relief.A wolf shifter is my Fated Mate? It’s impossible! I can’t have a mate...no, no, no!
Chapter 9
His thoughts all jumbled up, it took Remy a few moments to realize the doctor was answering his mate’s question.
“…not bad at all,” answered Dr. Marceau. “It’s only a concussion.”
“If that’s all,” Carson asked, “why isn’t he awake?”
Shrugging, the doctor replied, “Each person reacts differently to head injuries, but I expect him to regain consciousness soon.”
“That’s a relief. Will he be able to travel?” asked Carson.
“Not today, I’m afraid,” Dr. Marceau said. “He won’t be able to shift right away and until it happens, he needs to be monitored.”
“Henri will be okay, right?” asked Fionn.
“Yes, he will, pet,” Hunter replied tugging his mate close to his side. “He just needs some time.”
Glancing at his cousin, Carson said, “I’ll call Remy again and let him know we won’t be arriving until late tomorrow.” Then turning to the doctor, he asked, “Is there a hotel close by?”
