know there’s a dead lady in here too?”
I didn’t have much strength left, so I took a moment to organize my words. “Tobias, Odessa is behind everything. She poisoned me with honey.”
He gaped at me, crestfallen. “Odessa? But she seems so sweet!”
I managed not to yell at him. “Can you get me back to the manor?”
“Of course!”
He could have used the golf cart—there was still one in front of the barn from that morning—but by the time I pointed that out, he had already scooped me up and started running through the woods on the red-dirt path.
In human form, werewolves aren’t much faster than the fastest humans, but they have grace and stamina for days . . . quite literally. Tobias cradled me and sprinted at an even, steady pace, and I realized how exhausted I was again. Crawling across the concrete floor had used up everything I had. I felt my eyes drift closed at the rhythmic rocking motion.
The next time I woke up, I was lying on the sofa in Beau’s office. The lights had been dimmed, and there was an IV drip in my arm. Someone had pulled up a chair next to me, but it was empty. A bolt of fear cramped my stomach. Was I too late?
“Tobias!”
“Here!” He appeared at my side. He’d just been in the armchair nearby.
“What time is it?”
Tobias pulled out a cell phone, the light from the screen illuminating his worried face. “Six-oh-seven,” he reported. He jumped up and turned on the lamp on Beau’s desk so I’d be able to see him.
We had less than an hour before sunset. Experimentally, I tried sitting up—and was thoroughly surprised to find that it was possible. “What happened? How did I get an IV?”
“You don’t remember?” Tobias’s face creased with worry. “When we got back to the house, you told me I couldn’t take you to the hospital. You said I should get a card out of your pants pocket and call the number.”
I relaxed, letting my side rest against the back of the couch. “Dr. Latham.”
“Yup. She should be back any minute—she just went out to her car for something. I didn’t really know what to tell her, except for the honey thing, so she’s pretty confused.”
“You did great, Tobias,” I told him sincerely.
There was a quick one-two knock, and then the doctor strode into Beau’s office. Latham was wearing jeans and a silk blouse, with tiny silver hoops in her ears. She smiled as she saw me sitting up. “You’re awake, excellent. How is the atropine suiting you?”
I lifted the hand with the IV. “That’s what’s in here?”
“Indeed.” She sat down in the chair next to the couch, where she’d probably been monitoring me this whole time, and took my wrist. “Your friend here said ‘poisoned honey,’ and I connected the dots. I haven’t seen grayanotoxin poisoning myself, but I have a colleague who spent some time with Doctors Without Borders. He advised me on what to bring.”
“Thank you so much,” I said.
Latham frowned down at her watch for several seconds, then looked at me over the top of her reading glasses. “Your pulse is still elevated. You’re out of the woods, but you need to take it easy. Mad honey is no joke, and you seem to have gotten a heavy dose.”
“It was an accident,” I lied. “I used someone else’s honey to sweeten my tea.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She pursed her lips as if weighing something.
“But I’m very grateful for your help,” I added, not lying at all this time. “I’d like to compensate you for your time, of course.”
Latham waved it off. “I wasn’t working today, and frankly the chance to see grayanotoxin poisoning up close was worth the drive. And, as I said before, Mr. Calhoun is a very generous donor to the hospital.” She hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “You’re not going to tell me what’s going on here, are you?”
I tried to look contrite. “No, ma’am. But I certainly won’t be eating any more honey.” Maybe ever.
She gave a disapproving headshake, but all she said was, “I can stay until it’s time for that IV to come out.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I told her. “I can take it from here.”
She weighed me with her eyes for a long moment. “Well, since no money is being exchanged and no paperwork is being done, I suppose I can’t stop you,” she replied, with a hint of a grin. “But it might be time to return to Boulder, Miss Luther.