“If you’d asked me yesterday, I would’ve said no,” Copeland paused, this time to cough, “but now I’m not so sure. To answer your second question; yes, we’re always hot.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Fletcher snorted and tossed a shirt in Copeland’s face. The wolf shifter winked at me, then rolled the cloth up to use as a pillow and closed his eyes.
Less than five minutes later, both wolves had fallen asleep.
Catching my hand in his, Fletcher brought it to his lips. “Where is all that amazing wolf stamina they were bragging about? A swim, sex, and sunshine was all it took to knock them out cold. I can’t wait to rub this in.”
We lapsed into a peaceful silence, enjoying the freedom of being outdoors and not needing to look over our shoulders. I could definitely get used to this.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we’d made it home from the lake. My wolves had grown progressively tired as we’d eaten our picnic, and I’d refused to let them carry me back to the house. Instead, we’d taken our time and walked back on foot. With each step, Linc and Copeland moved slower and their skin shone with a sweaty sheen.
Both men had assured me they were just tired from not sleeping well the past few days, and all they needed was a nap and they’d be fine. But holding the cool, wet cloth to their foreheads, and watching their breathing grow more ragged with each passing minute, I couldn’t deny the truth any longer. My wolves were sick.
I snuck from the bedroom and found Fletcher sitting at the dining room table. He stood, motioning for me to take a seat.
“How are they?” he asked, grabbing a plate from the refrigerator with a sandwich that he sat in front of me. “I know you’re stressed, but you need to eat.”
“Their temperatures are dangerously high. They don’t want to go to the doctor or worry the alpha, but we can’t wait around doing nothing while they get worse.” My eyes burned with unshed tears as I picked at the food. “I still don’t understand how it’s possible for a shifter to get sick. Our immune systems work too fast.”
Fletcher, who’d been pale and withdrawn the last hour, sat down across from me. “Because they don’t have a virus or bacteria.”
“You’ve seen them! What else could it be?” I pressed my fingertips against my eyes, rubbing furiously.
“Toxin.”
That single word hit me like a physical blow.
“A… t-toxin?” I croaked. “If that were true, we’d be sick too!”
“Because that’s how Blackberry Burrow protects its borders from predators.” Fletcher propped his elbows on the table and dropped his face into his hands. “It’s why we aren’t really bothered. I’m a little tired, but nothing like what the wolves are dealing with. They learned some rabbits are resistant, or able to tolerate a significant amount of certain toxic compounds like pyrrolizidine alkaloids and atropine. Those can be found in some plants that are lethal in mammals, like cats and dogs…”
“And wolf shifters,” I breathed in horror.
“Yes. They’ve found a way to enhance those compounds in the medical facility, making them far more dangerous for predators, as well as figuring out how to increase the odds that rabbit shifters can survive constant exposure.” Fletcher refused to meet my eyes as he spoke.
“Why did you only think to mention any of this now?” I hissed. “If we’d known, maybe we could have preventedthis! Were you trying to protect those monsters? Even after everything they did to me?”
My chest heaved, and for the first time in my life, I found myself truly angry with Fletcher. We’d had disagreements and spats over the years, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to forgive him if my wolf mates died.
“You know I’d never protect the burrow! My only loyalty is to you.” Fletcher’s hands fell from his face and he peered up at me with a look of devastation in his red eyes. “The burrow uses their toxin as a barrier to keep rogue wolves and coyotes from attacking us. Almost like a salt circle to keep a ghost away. I didn’t realize they would weaponize it outside of their border.”
I stared at Fletcher, utterly speechless. “Why didn’t I know about this? I grew up in Blackberry Burrows. I think I’d have known if there was a toxic barrier.” Standing, I began to pace.
Fletcher shook his head. “They didn’t want anyone to find out. I don’t even know the details, and I’m the son of one of their leaders. The council fears what would happen to them if the wolf packs discover they’ve created a toxin that could be used against them.”
My knees buckled, and I sagged back down into a chair. “How did they do it?”
Fletcher gave a long sigh. “I don’t know the full details. I ran across some documents right before we left. I was looking for some kind of leverage in the hopes they’d be willing to barter my silence for your freedom.”
My heart gave a little tug at those words and some of my anger cooled. He had risked so much for me, while having no promise of having his sacrifice or devotion returned.
“A lot of the information on the documents was redacted. But from what I gathered, they created a formula using their toxin that they used to drench the ground around the burrows, allowing the plants to soak it up.”
“So, it’s like a systemic pesticide, but instead of for pests, it’s for our predators?” I asked, my voice rising in incredulity. How far was the council willing to go to keep their secrets? “But that would only work if they ate it, and I doubt most wolves are out munching on random shrubbery.”
Fletcher shook his head. “No, they don’t have to eat it. They just have to break the branches as they run through in their wolf forms. It can be ingested, as well as absorbed through the skin. If it gets into their mouths, skin, eyes, or covers their fur, which they later lick, it kills them. It’s sophisticated and cunning and exactly what I would expect from our council. They’ve even manipulated the plants to do their dirty work.”
I wanted my freedom, but not if it required me to exchange my mates’ lives in order to gain it.
