too, and be with her,
and talk to her, and she wouldn’t feel alone anymore.
A distant sound of several emergency vehicles
heading toward the same point interrupted my thoughts. I glanced at
Tristan and Liv. They heard it, too.
“What do you think, Jack? Why is her change
so dramatic?” Tristan asked. “Can you help her?”
“Her spirits are still separate. Her wolf
part needs to be connected to her human part.”
“How did that happen?” Livia asked. “Aren’t
your spirits connected at the moment of birth?”
“That’s how it usually happens, yes,” I
said.
Both my parents were werewolves, and I was
born with my spirits united. Even children who had one human parent
wouldn’t have two separate spirits. Usually they’re already linked
by the time a child was born.
“There are exceptions,” Tristan said. “But
that’s never been a problem, as far as I know.”
“Rarely, a wolf spirit and human spirit are
separate,” I said. “But they connect either with the first
change...” Here I took a deep breath. “Or with the first sexual
intercourse with another werewolf. In Astrid’s case, they didn’t
connect with the first change, and she... ahem... hasn’t been in
contact with us, so...”
Livia clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh.
My. God. In other words, she needs a werewolf boyfriend. She’ll be
thrilled when she hears that! The good news is you two are heading
in that direction anyway. God, Jack, you’ve made my day!”
I redirected my eyes to Tristan. He at least
tried to keep a straight face. “You know what, Jack,” he said in
the tone of a trained professional, “it makes a perfect sense.”
His phone hummed. “It’s Astrid,” he said as
he glanced at the display. “What’s up, Princess?”
“I need you to come immediately.” I heard her
confident and calm voice.
“On my way,” Tristan said as he rose. “Talk
to me.”
“A family was in a car accident. Two girls,
ages five and seven, not badly injured. We did MRIs, no internal
injuries, no head injuries. The father’s in bad shape, but he’ll
make it. You’ll do him. The mother’s in critical condition. They’re
prepping her. I’ll start right away. She was a heartbeat from
death. I stabilized her, but I’m not sure. She’s suffered massive
internal injuries...” She continued in Latin medical terminology.
Then Liv closed the door behind her husband, and I couldn’t hear
Astrid’s voice anymore.
Liv let out a deep sigh and sat down across
from me. “Two of the best doctors will operate on them. If anybody
can save them, it’s Astrid and Tristan.”
“Why did she call Tristan? Why not somebody
who’s already there?”
“Because of the severity of the injuries. She
doesn’t trust anybody more than Tristan. And vice versa. Tristan
gave her that authority, to call whoever she thinks will be the
best.”
“They must be quite a team, then,” I
said.
“Oh, you bet. Did Astrid tell you how they
ended up working together?”
When Astrid was attacked last spring, Liv
explained, Arnaldur contacted her and Tristan for help. Astrid
chose to come to this town and start working as an ER doctor.
Tristan and Liv had decided that one of them needed to be close to
Astrid while she was at the hospital. There hadn’t been any other
open positions, however, so the always practical Tristan created
one. The previous CEO suddenly got a once-in-a-lifetime,
take-it-or-leave-it offer that took him to Chicago, and Tristan got
the brass plaque on the CEO’s door on the fourth floor.
“How do the other doctors take that? They’re
probably not crazy about the Duplant/Blake tandem.”
“You’d expect their professional pride to be
bruised, but they like them both. Especially Astrid. She spends
more time with the other doctors and staff. They respect Tristan
because he’s so capable and does so much for them. He’s flexible,
approachable and ready to help whenever he can. Your girlfriend...”
Liv looked at me and
and talk to her, and she wouldn’t feel alone anymore.
A distant sound of several emergency vehicles
heading toward the same point interrupted my thoughts. I glanced at
Tristan and Liv. They heard it, too.
“What do you think, Jack? Why is her change
so dramatic?” Tristan asked. “Can you help her?”
“Her spirits are still separate. Her wolf
part needs to be connected to her human part.”
“How did that happen?” Livia asked. “Aren’t
your spirits connected at the moment of birth?”
“That’s how it usually happens, yes,” I
said.
Both my parents were werewolves, and I was
born with my spirits united. Even children who had one human parent
wouldn’t have two separate spirits. Usually they’re already linked
by the time a child was born.
“There are exceptions,” Tristan said. “But
that’s never been a problem, as far as I know.”
“Rarely, a wolf spirit and human spirit are
separate,” I said. “But they connect either with the first
change...” Here I took a deep breath. “Or with the first sexual
intercourse with another werewolf. In Astrid’s case, they didn’t
connect with the first change, and she... ahem... hasn’t been in
contact with us, so...”
Livia clapped her hands in excitement. “Oh.
My. God. In other words, she needs a werewolf boyfriend. She’ll be
thrilled when she hears that! The good news is you two are heading
in that direction anyway. God, Jack, you’ve made my day!”
I redirected my eyes to Tristan. He at least
tried to keep a straight face. “You know what, Jack,” he said in
the tone of a trained professional, “it makes a perfect sense.”
His phone hummed. “It’s Astrid,” he said as
he glanced at the display. “What’s up, Princess?”
“I need you to come immediately.” I heard her
confident and calm voice.
“On my way,” Tristan said as he rose. “Talk
to me.”
“A family was in a car accident. Two girls,
ages five and seven, not badly injured. We did MRIs, no internal
injuries, no head injuries. The father’s in bad shape, but he’ll
make it. You’ll do him. The mother’s in critical condition. They’re
prepping her. I’ll start right away. She was a heartbeat from
death. I stabilized her, but I’m not sure. She’s suffered massive
internal injuries...” She continued in Latin medical terminology.
Then Liv closed the door behind her husband, and I couldn’t hear
Astrid’s voice anymore.
Liv let out a deep sigh and sat down across
from me. “Two of the best doctors will operate on them. If anybody
can save them, it’s Astrid and Tristan.”
“Why did she call Tristan? Why not somebody
who’s already there?”
“Because of the severity of the injuries. She
doesn’t trust anybody more than Tristan. And vice versa. Tristan
gave her that authority, to call whoever she thinks will be the
best.”
“They must be quite a team, then,” I
said.
“Oh, you bet. Did Astrid tell you how they
ended up working together?”
When Astrid was attacked last spring, Liv
explained, Arnaldur contacted her and Tristan for help. Astrid
chose to come to this town and start working as an ER doctor.
Tristan and Liv had decided that one of them needed to be close to
Astrid while she was at the hospital. There hadn’t been any other
open positions, however, so the always practical Tristan created
one. The previous CEO suddenly got a once-in-a-lifetime,
take-it-or-leave-it offer that took him to Chicago, and Tristan got
the brass plaque on the CEO’s door on the fourth floor.
“How do the other doctors take that? They’re
probably not crazy about the Duplant/Blake tandem.”
“You’d expect their professional pride to be
bruised, but they like them both. Especially Astrid. She spends
more time with the other doctors and staff. They respect Tristan
because he’s so capable and does so much for them. He’s flexible,
approachable and ready to help whenever he can. Your girlfriend...”
Liv looked at me and
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