The doctor gazed down at Marco for a moment, lost in thought. “Which makes me wonder. . . when you went into the Hunter’s complex during the battle, did you touch anything in the labs and or come across any infected persons?”
“No,” Marco replied. “But when I was in the general’s quarters, some guy did come out of a side door and attack me with a hypodermic. Zack killed him when he saw me attacked. ”
“What?” The doctor said in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”
Marco shrugged. “I thought at first it was some kind of poison, but after a few minutes, whatever it was didn’t bother me, so I forgot about it. ”
The doctor’s voice took on an excited tone. “That could have been the pathogenesis—the way the virus was introduced. ”
“Yes, but doctor…” Ian interrupted. “The raid was over six weeks ago. Surely he would have gotten sick sooner if that had been the case. ”
“Not necessarily,” the doctor said, shaking his head. “Incubation periods vary widely. Mononucleosis, for example, has an incubation period of over forty days. Other viruses can be even longer. We need to find out what this person might have injected you with. Do you have any idea who he was?”
“The bodies were all identified and matched with locations before burial,” Ian said, a worried frown on his face. “We’d just need to check the records. ”
“Yes, if you could do that, it would be helpful. I have access to all their experiments, and if we could figure out what it was, we might be able to reverse the effects. ”
“What effects?” Marco asked. “I mean, I know I’ve been pretty ill, but I’m better now. I feel pretty good, really. Whatever it was has gone. Maybe we’d better just leave well enough alone. ”
Both Ian and the doctor gave him a strange look. Ian put a hand on his arm. “Marco, you don’t remember your bloodmate, Nicky. It’s breaking his heart and if you were yourself, you’d never allow that. Something is terribly wrong, Marco, and I, for one, won’t rest until I find out what it is. ”
Chapter Three
Nicky stood outside the lodge, waiting for the car carrying Marco and Ian to arrive. Logan was with him, and soon Evan walked up to join them too, giving Nicky’s shoulder a squeeze. Evan was the mate of a gamma, and another of Nicky’s closest friends. Some of the other wolves
and their mates were drifting out in twos and threes as well, to welcome their alpha home. “What time are they supposed to be here?” Evan asked.
Logan checked his watch. “Any minute. I talked to Ian when they left the hospital, and that
was thirty minutes ago. ”
Evan fidgeted for a moment and then turned to Nicky. “So he doesn’t remember you at all? How is that possible?”
Nicky blew out a big breath. “I don’t know; I’ve been asking the same question, but the doctors don’t really know either. Dr. Cornsilk said there was some kind of amnesia— systematized, I think he said—where you can forget just one person and anything related to that person. But why me, of all people?” Tears came to his eyes again, and he shook his head miserably. “I don’t want to talk about it now, Evan, when he might come any minute. God, he’s
seen me blubbering enough already—he must think I’m fuckin’ unstable as it is. ” “Sure, I’m sorry, Nicky. It’s just so hard to wrap my mind around it all. Oh, look, here they come. ”
A big black SUV was coming
slowly down the long graveled private road leading to the lodge. Nicky tried to calm himself and smoothed his sweaty hands down over his jeans. He’d dressed carefully that morning, wearing his favorite tight, dark-washed jeans and a blue buttonup shirt that was Marco’s favorite—used to be his favorite, anyway. He’d once said it matched the color of Nicky’s eyes perfectly. Nicky had shaved closely and tried to tame his unruly blond curls. He’d even put on some aftershave that Marco liked. He stood up straight and schooled himself not to run and throw his arms around Marco the minute he saw him. He had to remember to play this cool and not try to force a response from him.
The car pulled slowly to a stop in front of the lodge and both Ian and Marco got out. Ian went to Logan right away and kissed him on the forehead, murmuring something to him in his ear. Marco smiled at Nicky and nodded very politely, acknowledging him, then glanced around at the others who had come out to greet him. The pack had been nervous and uneasy since his
sudden illness and needed to be reassured their alpha was well on his way to recovery. “Thanks for coming to meet me, everyone,” Marco said with what Nicky thought was a beautiful smile. “Maybe things can get back to normal now that I’m home. Nobody needs to worry about me—I’m feeling just fine. ”
“Yeah, except for the fact he can’t remember his own mate. ” Evan stepped close to Nicky and whispered in his ear, putting a hand on Nicky’s back reassuringly. Nicky smiled at him, but shook his head in remonstrance.
“No, it’s okay. He has to reassure everyone. We have to put a good face on this so no one is too alarmed. ” He stepped forward and took Marco’s arm. Marco looked down at him in surprise, but didn’t pull away. “Marco, we have a little surprise for you. We’ve planned a luncheon in honor of your recovery. Don’t worry,” he said when he saw the look on Marco’s face. “Nothing too elaborate. Just a little lunch. ” He pulled Marco with him into the lodge, and Marco gave Ian a
slightly irritated glance over his head. Ian shrugged and smiled back at him.
Inside the large dining area, Nicky had directed a head table to be set up, with Marco in the center and Nicky at his right side. Ian, Logan, Casey and Rory made up the others at their table, and once they were all seated, the servers brought out the food. Fried chicken, ham, pinto beans, collard greens, fresh corn, even banana pudding, still warm from the oven—all Marco’s favorite
dishes.
“No speeches,” Marco growled in his ear, and Nicky laughed, so happy to have Marco home and there beside him again. They all tucked into the feast, and though Nicky still didn’t have much appetite, he enjoyed watching Marco eat. Nicky had always been a picky eater, hating most vegetables and especially the southern staples, though he’d been born and raised near Atlanta. He’d chosen these dishes for Marco and was content to just watch him enjoy his meal.
At one point, Marco glanced over at his still full plate. “You need to eat something. ” He picked up a bowl of pinto beans and put some on Nicky’s plate. “Eat some beans. They’re good