New York close to the Jersey border
I was screwed! Ever since I had breached the mainframe computer at P.O.A.H headquarters, I was being followed. There was no doubt about it, there was a shadow head running P.O.A.H, and I had gotten onto their radar.
I was in the middle of buying a ticket to Boston when my private work phone buzzed.
There was a new target available on the dark net. I typed in my password and froze when my face popped up. I was toast! There was a $2 million dollar bounty on my head. Swearing up a storm, I logged out of my account and went into clean-up mode.
I always knew this day could come and had prepared myself. With several quick keystrokes, I systematically began destroying everything that made me Josiah Walker. It had been ten years since I assumed that identity and although I had become attached to it, because it brought me my mate, I had no choice but to get rid of it.
Within five minutes all electronic traces of Josiah Walker had disappeared. Even the apartments and condos linked to him went up in flames; both figuratively and literally. I only held on to one cell phone; the one with the number I gave to Nikki. It was fairly new so I had a few days before it would be traceable. By then, I should be by her side.
I stood in front of my New York apartment watching the flames shoot into the air while I said goodbye to the last ten years of my life.
Just as I was about to get into my car, the glint of a sniper rifle scope shone off the side mirror. I dove for cover, and a mere second later a high caliber bullet whizzed by and shattered the glass exactly where my head was a few seconds ago.
I swore out loud and quickly rolled under the car. Werewolf or not, a head shot was fatal if it severed my brain stem. I always parked over a manhole. It was a filthy escape route but one of the best.
I was halfway down the steps when I heard the sound of a Glock being cocked and fired. There was a painful burning in my arm followed by one in my shoulder and then my chest. Uttering another flurry of swear words, I managed to pull out my own gun and shoot off a few rounds. I heard the satisfying splash of my attacker hitting the sewage and exhaling a dying breath.
Using the last of my strength, I dialed the one man I knew I could always depend on then I sunk into unconsciousness.
"I'm not safe here" was my final thought before my wolf consciousness took over and my body shifted form.
The wolf part of my soul could survive a little longer when we were fatally wounded. He would find us a place to hide while Keith came to get us.
Back In Boston
Three days had passed, and I was no closer to dissuading Nikki from going off with her parents to see this supposed doctor. In a particularly bad argument, I had demanded that she at least learn
everything she could about this woman who could fix her so that we could be prepared. To my frustration, Dr. Wilson, apparently, really was a highly regarded geneticist. However, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that the Winsperes were up to no good.
I was already on red alert and their insistence on spending every day with us, no matter what we were doing, was driving me nuts. Every day one of them made sure they joined us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.