Chapter Eight
Jericho’s thoughts were all over the place.
Threats from other shifters, other packs, hell, even humans, all of that he could deal with.
How did he fight biological warfare? How did he protect his people from a virus that had no cure?
Payton was pregnant, and mentally picturing what happened to Mrs. Smyth happening to his mate was more than he could bear.
He had to get her away until he figured this out.
In fact, getting as many people away that could go sounded like a great idea.
He pulled out his cell phone and called Ledger.
“Hello.”
“Meet me at my office as soon as possible. We have a situation.”
“On my way.”
Without even bothering to say bye, he hung up and marched to the apothecary. Savannah was gathering herbs and muttering to herself. She looked up at him as he entered.
“Niall will be here shortly. We have to put a ward around Sheridan.”
“I want women and children to leave—”
“That can’t happen, Jericho. We have no idea how far spread this is. We have to contain it here.”
In his deep-seated fear for Payton, he hadn’t thought of that. “Is there some kind of test to see if people have it?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Trying to think of which herbs would allow us to determine who are carriers as well as those who are infected. You should also call other nearby packs and warn them.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “I’m going to have everyone shelter in place.”
She nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“Let me know the moment Niall gets here.”
“I will, Alpha.”
He marched out of her store and back up the street. It didn’t take him long to get to his office, and by then Ledger was waiting for him.
“Come on,” he said.
His beta followed him and closed the door after they reached Jericho’s office.
“What’s going on, Jericho?”
“Remember when Ezra Parson’s died?”
“Of course.”
“We just had another death. Gladys Smyth. Turns out they died from a virus. A very old virus that I’ve never heard of. Something called the red death.”
“Oh, fuck,” Ledger said, his eyes going round. “That was like the bubonic plague that wiped out half of the shifter population. What’s it doing here?”
Jericho frowned. “You know about it?”
“Yeah, learned in school. I had to do a report and that was one of the topic options. It sounded cool so I chose it.”
Jericho took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. “This could be really bad, Ledger.”
“What’s the plan?”
“First, all non-essential businesses need to temporarily close. Second, people need to shelter in place until we figure it out. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
Ledger pulled out his phone and started taking notes. “Okay.”
“Savannah said Niall is on his way. They plan on placing a safety ward around Sheridan in hopes of containment. There’s a girl named Kadie who came from Brinnah’s old pack to warn us of the plague. She’s currently at the medic center, so we’ll need to monitor her.”
“Could this virus already be rippling through other packs?”
“I don’t know. There are a lot of I don’t knows with this situation.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I have to contact them.”
“Do you want me to set up a panel to have people call?” Ledger asked. “I’m sure Anais would help.”
“That’s a good idea. Coordinate with my assistant, Leesha. She can take that role on.”
“So, we’re telling people about this?”
“We have to,” Jericho replied. “This virus is too deadly. Remind anyone on patrol, or who might have been exposed, what to look for. Make sure they’re aware of quarantine procedures.”
“Jericho,” Ledger said solemnly. “Is there a cure besides the horn of a unicorn? Or are we looking at a ticking time bomb?”
“No cure. Not unless Niall and Savannah find one.”
“Have you talked with Asher Reidman? His bar is called The Unicorn. We’ve always wondered why he named it that.”
“Huh. He can’t be. Can he? I don’t scent him as a shifter.”
“Jericho, all the unicorns were slaughtered when the shifters realized their horns were the cure. Children included. We made them extinct. So, if he’s been hiding in plain sight, I can’t fault him for that.”
“I don’t care,” Jericho barked. Silence fell. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “I’m sorry. This has me on edge. How do I protect everyone from something I have no control over?”
Ledger laid a hand on his shoulder. “I get it. Let’s not jump to conclusions or despair, okay? We’ll see what Savannah and Niall say and go from there.”
Jericho nodded. “In the meantime, let me go chase that lead.”
****
Corbin had just left when the air shifted and Asher looked up to see Jericho Savidge stride purposefully through his bar. A fierce look of determination hit with every stride. Not once had the alpha ever stepped foot in his domain, so this visit didn’t really give him the warm fuzzies.
“Can we talk?” Jericho asked politely, but with an edge of steel in his tone.
“Sure,” he said, confused. “We can go to my office.”
“I appreciate it.”
Asher looked over at his bartender and told him to hold down the fort, and then he escorted Jericho through the back and up the stairs, unlocking the door and letting the big wolf enter first.
“How can I help you?”
“A situation just developed that I think you might be able to hopefully help with.”
Asher had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what the man was about to say. “All right.”
Jericho ran a shaking hand through his hair, which only added to Asher’s uneasiness.
“So, one of my pack members just died from a virus Savannah calls the red death.”
Oh, shit, Asher thought as his heart started racing. Everything faded away because the only thing he could think of was a whole bunch of curse words. The last case of the red death was over seven hundred years ago.
“I’ve never heard of this virus until it killed Gladys Smyth,” Jericho continued. “Savannah said it’s very contagious. An airborne virus.”
Asher knew exactly where Jericho was heading with this.
“I find it very interesting that you have a bar named after the very thing that is the cure.”
“Let me get this straight,” he said. “If I get what you’re implying, you think I’m a unicorn because I named my bar that.”
Jericho waited, body tense and hands fisted.
“I can’t help you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
He saw that Jericho did not believe him. “Can’t.”
For a moment, the wolf’s eyes turned a menacing gold. “You’re refusing to help people live.”
“I don’t know what else to tell you,” Asher said. “I can’t help you with a cure.”
Jericho took a menacing step closer. “Be very sure that’s what you want to tell me.”
“I’m sorry, Jericho.” Asher refused to back down, even though Jericho could probably bench press him. “I would help if I could, but I can’t.”
For a moment, Jericho’s wolf flashed over his face, as if he was about to shift. “If anything happens to my pack, I will personally make sure you’ll pay in blood.”
With those words, he marched out the door. Asher took a deep breath, relaxing his tense muscles.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “How the hell did the red death get resurrected?”
Juniper flashed through his mind, and fear pushed up into his throat. She and Clover were in danger, and he absolutely could not allow them to be hurt. He pulled out his phone and placed a call.
“We have a problem,” he said as soon as the other end connected. “The red death is back.”
“Impossible.”
“Apparently not,” Asher glowered. “Two people have died. I need to protect Juniper and Clover—”
“At what price?”
“People are dying! Don’t we have an obligation to that?”
“Remember the past. Remember what they did.”
Asher let out a frustrated sigh. “They’re different.”
“They’re not.”
“We should help.”
“It’s not our place to help. It would make no difference.”
The phone call abruptly ended.
“Damn it,” he muttered. Fear struck him, along with a heavy dose of guilt. He was afraid this was going to get worse.
Much worse.