A Siberian Werewolf in Paris (4 page)

A couple of the guys looked at her, so she shrugged her shoulders. They smiled and soon turned back to their conversations.

She needed to figure out what to do about Fortescue’s men. But the first thing to worry about was the possible tracking device in her arm.

Pain jabbed behind her eyes again, making her gasp and blink. That happened a lot after her escape. To stop the pain, she tried to
forget about her time spent in the laboratory.

She felt around until she could feel a hint of something hard deep in the fleshy part of her arm. Did she dare cut the thing out?

“Hey, do any of you blokes have a multi-tool?” Josephine asked.

“Yeah, I got one. Why?” the young man who’d commented on her hat asked.

“Can I borrow it a minute? I need to fix something,” she said, feeling guilty about the lie.

“How do I know you won’t pinch it?”

“How about you keep my hat? Come on, be cool. I’ll just be a minute.”

The yo
ung man glanced at his friends, then back at Josephine. “Okay, I better get it back. My grandfather gave it to me.”

“Here, I’ll be right back.” Josephine dropped her hat in his lap before walking toward the water closet, the multi-tool clasped in her hand.

She slipped into the toilet and pulled the knife out of the tool. Her hand shook as she rolled up her sleeve and looked at the blade.
Merde!
She was an Alpha in her own right. She could do this. Putting the blade against her arm, she pushed it into her flesh. Tears came to her eyes and rolled down her face, but she gritted her teeth and continued to cut. Blood dripped down her arm into the sink. She needed to hurry.

***

Valerii pushed the car above the speed limit. He knew he chanced being pulled over, but getting to Josephine was his first priority. If he was lucky, a mind push would convince any officer to let him go.

He gasped, feeling a blade cutting his skin. He looked at his arm, expecting to see blood. Nothing was there. Then Josephine’s thoughts flooded into his mind. She was hurt. He could see, through her eyes, the blood dripping down her arm.

Josie, what has happened?

They put a tracking device in my arm. I didn’t realize it until now. I feel so violated.
Chipped like a dog. I hate this.

Detka, stop.
You are going to do some serious damage.

Valerii tried to draw the pain into his mind and away from hers. His heart pounded in alarm
. His wolf rushed to the surface. He drew on his lycan strength and felt her sigh of relief when he succeeded in shielding her. He gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

I’ve almost got it. There
, it’s out.

Shift
. You need to heal your arm,
Valerii insisted, pushing at Josephine’s mind.

I can’t shift now. I don’t have time to strip
, and there isn’t any room in here.

When you get to London, call the pack members
who live there and have them pick you up. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
He couldn’t take much more of this. Josephine needed to return to him so he could keep her safe.

I told you I can’t do that. I have to go back to Paris. That’s where these men killed my parents.

Josephine, I forbid you to do this. You are my mate, forever in my care.
When would she realize their lives were forever connected? One mate could not survive without the other.

Valerii, I am the heir to the Alpha of Paris. I have to go back to my pack.

His jaw dropped. There was a pack of lycanthropes in Paris? Another secret Josie kept hidden. No wonder she seemed so driven. But the Alpha of Paris?

Josie, I
...

She cut their link, blocking her mind from hi
s. He was once again alone.

“You may run,
milaya moya
. But you are mine, and I will find you,” Valerii vowed.

Valerii threw his bags in the back seat of Melisande’s Mercedes and pulled out of the garage in Somerset. Josie was now thirty minutes ahead of him. He gritted his teeth and hoped the motorway traffic wasn’t too bad. At least
, he now had a full tank of petrol.

His first destination was Paddington Station. Hopefully
, he would catch up with Josephine there. After consulting with Grigori, Valerii decided he would travel with Josie to Paris and meet her old pack mates. If Josie tried to make her claim and take the Alpha female position, the Alpha male of the pack would try to take her as his mate. Valerii would not allow that to happen. The mating bond, sacred to all lycans, should prevent it. But Alpha males hated to give up power over a pack. Whoever this male was, he would be highly tempted to keep Josie as his own.

This matter of humans knowing about the lycan race also needed to be investigated. The Eurostar trains, leaving
for Paris from St Pancras Station made the trip in a little over two hours. If Josephine would only listen to reason. They were heartmated. She needed to understand what that meant.

***

Josie finished wrapping the gauze around the cut on her arm. Thank goodness she’d thought to add the first aid kit to her backpack. She rolled her sleeve down before picking up the small metal tube from the sink and rinsing the blood down the drain. Her first instinct was to flush the tube down the commode. Then, another idea came to mind, and she smiled. If the men wanted to track someone, she would give them someone new to track.

She walked out of the water closet and into the train car. Three police officers sat two rows up
from the train door. The one in the aisle seat was reading the morning paper. His jacket lay draped across the seat, and the pocket was in easy reach. Josephine wandered by, making a show of gripping each seat back on her way. When she reached the officer, she slipped the device into his pocket. Let Fortescue’s men track
him
for a while.

As she
returned to her seat, the train began to slow as it came into the next station. Josie watched the police officer fold his paper and pick up his jacket before making his way to the door, the other two officers following in his wake. Would her diversion work?

“Hey?” the teen holding her hat asked.

“Thanks for letting me use your tool.” Josephine handed the multi-tool to him.

“Here’s your hat. You want to come to the zoo with us? It should be fun
,” he asked, sounding hopeful.

“Sorry, I’ve got an appointment I can’t miss. Thanks for asking me
, though.”

“Hey, no problem
.” He turned to his friend on the other side.

He seemed like a nice kid. Who knows what might have happened if she hadn’t hidden in their midst? She took out a few pound notes and slipped
them in the kid’s jacket pocket.

The rest of the trip into Paddington Station was uneventful. Each time the train pulled into a station, Josie tensed, worried that Fortescue’s men would board. She would duck down and try to stay out of sight. But so far, there was no sign of them. Perhaps her trick with the police officers
had thrown them off her trail.

The train began to slow as the outskirts of London
appeared through the window, and soon conductors were announcing its arrival. Josephine walked with the teens to the main concourse before saying goodbye. Seeing an information kiosk, she hurried up to it. “I need to catch a train to Paris,” she told the clerk.

“Well now, you’ll have to go over to St
Pancras Station and catch the Eurostar. The quickest way there is to take a cab. If you have the time, the tube can get you there cheaper.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

She hurried through the station, following arrows on the floor to the taxi rank. She patted the pocket that held the rest of the cash from Valerii’s wallet—another thing she hoped he would forgive.

She walked outside and joined the people in line for a cab.
The wait wasn’t long, and she soon climbed in.

“Hey, kid,” the driver asked. “You got the quid to pay for this trip?”

“Yes, sir. Right here.” Josephine held up a few bills for him to see. “Take me to St Pancras Station.”

“What train you taking?”

“The Eurostar.”

“Okay, then.”

Josephine sat back in her seat and relaxed for the first time since arriving at the hospital. Her head, as well as her arm and shoulder, hurt. She needed to shift and let her lycan metabolism heal her wounds. The way things were working out, she would shift after she got to Paris. Fortescue’s men were still out there. Now wasn’t the time.

She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Her thoughts immediately went to Valerii. Where was he? Did he miss her?

Then she was seeing out of his eyes; he was on the motorway, and the next exit read Harrow Road.

Did you really think I would let you leave me?
His voice came flowing into her mind.

Josie broke the link as quickly as she could. Thank goodness her eyes had been closed
, and he couldn’t see where she was.

“Hey, kid.
You getting out? We’re here.” The driver turned to look at her.

Josephine
handed the man his fee and jumped out of the cab. She needed to get out of London before Valerii caught up with her. She didn’t want to listen to another lecture nor did she need his protection. She joined the mass of people walking into the station and followed the signs for Eurostar trains.

***

Valerii took the next exit and headed into downtown traffic. The station was only a few miles away. Now, if he could only get a parking spot.

Josie refused to let him link his mind with hers. He could feel her but not catch her thoughts. Why was she so hardheaded? He wanted
only the best for her. Swearing, he drove by the front of the station, trying to find an open car park. He peered at the mating bond, bringing it into focus.

“
Govno!
She isn’t at the station,” he said, hitting the steering wheel with his hands. Why wasn’t she waiting for him? The thin yellow cord led away to the east. “She must be heading to St Pancras Station.”

Valerii drove past Paddington Station, following the mating bond. Twenty minutes later, he was once again looking for a place to park. He turned down
Pancras Road, into the car park, and pulled a ticket from the machine. Grimacing at the rates, he decided to call Grigori and have him send one of the three, single pack males who lived in London to come pick up the car. When he caught up with Josie, they would take the tube and train back out to Taunton Station. He parked and gathered his luggage.

Josie?

His thoughts bounced back like they
’d hit a brick wall. Damn, she still wasn’t letting him link with her telepathically. At least the mating bond ran right into the station. She was in there, somewhere.

Sighing, he walked into the glass
-roofed station. The place was crowded, and his lycan ears hurt from the noise. How was Josie faring in this chaos? He gritted his teeth as heat flooded his face. She was being ridiculous, but she was definitely proving herself to be a strong Alpha. He shook his head. In a way, he was proud of her.

The smells of coffee and food couldn’t quite cover the smells of humans with their colognes and deodorants. Valerii coughed and covered his nose for a moment, before pushing his discomfort to the back of his mind. Nothing was going to stop him from finding his mate.

***

For once, things seemed to be working. Josie found the train schedule, and a Eurostar train was leaving in forty minutes. She knew she was cutting it close. Valerii was closing in on her. She sighed as she put his credit card into the machine and selected her ticket. Would he be terribly angry with her? She’d find a way to pay him back later.

She followed the crowd to the ticket barriers and fed the travel receipt into the machine. Then, she took her place in line for customs. As long as no one questioned her passport, she would be fine.

She stood behind a young couple
with their arms around each other. The woman wore her brown hair in a bun at her neck, while her blond companion looked at her with adoring eyes. Their accents sounded similar to the accent of the Alpha’s mate from America. From the way they gazed at each other, Josephine assumed they were on their honeymoon.

The young woman smiled at her. “Is this your first trip to Paris?”

“No, I used to live there when I was younger,” Josie answered.

“Really? That must have been wonderful. I’m Susan, and this is my husband, Jack.” Susan looked expectantly at Josie.

“I’m Joe,” Josie said, afraid to give her disguise away. Did the overlarge T-shirt and jeans hide her gender?

“Are you traveling economy? We can sit together,” Susan said.

“Ah, yes,” Josie said, stumbling over her words as she tried to think of an excuse. Not finding one, she accepted their offer. “That would be nice, thank you.” What would it hurt?

She followed the couple through customs, sighing in relief when the officer didn’t comment on her passport. He looked her over and handed the passport back.

“Hurry, Joe. We still need to get to the platform,” Susan called.

They hurried down to the platform and stood with the people preparing to board. Josie
was climbing up the first step when she felt a tug on the heartmate bond. Valerii was here. She rushed inside the train car and down the aisle, taking a seat across from Susan and Jack. Scooting closer to the window, she peered out. Would she see Valerii before she left? She felt so mixed up inside. Part of her feared seeing him, while the other part longed to with every fiber of her being.

Her heart ached, and she started to rise and turn toward the door before she stopped herself. She must go to Paris. She needed to protect Rosie and the English pack. She needed to be the Alpha she
had been raised to be. Nothing could stop her, not even the man who was her mate. Sitting back down, she turned away from the window and brushed tears from her eyes.

“Are you al
l right, Joe?” Susan asked, patting Josephine on the knee. “Honey, why don’t you go find the dining car and buy us a couple of drinks,” Susan suggested to her husband.

Jack frowned. He got up and headed down the aisle to where a conductor stood by the door.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Susan asked, taking Josephine’s hand. “When I saw you, I just knew I needed to help you. Are you in trouble? Is that why you’re dressed as a boy?”

***

Valerii walked up to the ticket counter and looked at the schedule. The next Eurostar train to Paris left in twelve minutes. There was no way to buy his ticket and get to the platform on time. Was Josephine on that train? The one after it left at 10:25—over an hour’s wait. Glancing at the customs lines, he gritted his teeth. He was never going to catch up with her.

Two doors down, a red sign read “For Coffee Lovers.” He might as well grab something to eat while he waited. Melisande
had introduced the pack members to the drink, and Valerii was particularly fond of it. In Siberia they drank hot herbal tea.

He sat down with
a cappuccino and biscuit. There was a tug on the heartmate bond, and he could feel Josephine’s sadness, the tears coming to her eyes.

Josie, don’t cry, malyshka. I will join you in Paris. You don’t have to do this alone.

It’s not safe for you to follow me. Please stay safe, Valerii.

Once again, she cut the link, leaving them both alone. Valerii tried to reconnect and met that barrier of resistance in her mind. He sighed and took a swallow of his coffee. It hurt that she was leaving him, but she was hurting
, as well. What drove her so? He couldn’t stay mad at her; she was trying to protect her pack members. Any Alpha would do the same.

He took a bite of the biscuit. It turned to mush in his mouth. He pushed the plate away and picked up his coffee, cradling it in his palms as if to warm him
self. His heart ached, and he felt cold inside. Only Josephine’s presence could warm him. He knew his sadness was going to get worse. The farther away she traveled, the poorer they both would feel.

His shoulders slumped, and he leaned his elbows on the table, suddenly weary. His wolf begged to go after its mate, to hunt and chase. He felt his skin warming as white lights started to form around him. Valerii used his strength of will to subdue his wolf spirit
, and the lights winked out. He agreed with his wolf, but shifting here would mean a death sentence. Humans could never know of the lycan race. He would catch up to his mate in Paris, and then he would never let her go.

He lifted his head and sniffed the air, catching a familiar smell over the aroma of coffee. The scent of the men following Josephine wafted into the restaurant.
Valerii rose from his chair and moved to the door. The three men he’d seen at the hospital walked up to the Eurostar ticket office. He hovered in the doorway, watching them.

“What are you going to tell Fortescue when we get back?” the man with the scar asked.
Valerii frowned, his hands fisted at his sides. Fortescue? Was that the man who was after Josephine?