Still, Ian said he was his bloodmate and had been for well over a year, so he had certain responsibilities to him. He would never abandon a bloodmate, and according to Ian again, he’d always indicated that he was very much in love with the boy. That accounted for Nicky’s strong reaction when he told him he didn’t remember him, and he felt a little guilty at how heartbroken the boy had seemed to be at his words.

Marco needed a little time alone to absorb all of this, and to understand what in the hell had happened to him. Dr. Cornsilk said they were still running tests on him. He’d had some kind of infection in his blood, akin to blood poisoning, or perhaps a virus. How he’d been infected was still a mystery, but in the meantime, they’d keep him here for a while and run more tests. It would also give him some time to figure out what the hell he would do about this boy, Nicky.

Marco had asked Ian to call Logan to take the boy home. He wanted a little time to himself, but didn’t want to hurt the boy by saying so. He’d obviously hurt him enough already by having no memory of him. When Nicky’s face crumpled in pain, Marco wanted to take it back, but then Dr. Tate stepped up and put his arms around the boy. Nicky put his head down on the doctor’s chest, and the son-of-a-bitch had actually rubbed his back in a sensuous, not just comforting way. Could no one else see how this man obviously felt about the boy who belonged to Marco? A strange, possessive feeling swept over him, flooding him with jealous rage.

Marco’s wolf leaped to the surface so fast he thought he might shift right there. He felt a growl at the back of his throat and restrained himself with difficulty. The bastard needed to take his hands off Marco’s boy, and damn quick, or he’d tear his fucking throat out. He said something along those lines, and Ian put a restraining hand on his chest.

Tate was surprised and dropped his arms, taking a step back. Nicky jumped away from him at the same time, a startled look in his eyes. His gaze searched Marco’s face to see if there was any recognition there, and finding none, he slumped his shoulders again. Marco leaned up in bed, though, and grabbed his hand, pulling Nicky over to him possessively, casting a furious glance at the handsome doctor.

“Nicky,” he said, gazing into his eyes, “go home with Logan. I’ll call you later tonight to make sure you get home safely. In the meantime, I want you to go to bed and get some rest. Understand?”

Looking a little surprised at his tone, Nicky nodded. “Sure, Marco, I understand. But I could rest here just as well. Couldn’t I just…”

“No. I said go home, Nicky. Now do as you’re told, and you can come back later.”

Nicky flinched at his firm tone, but dutifully turned and walked to the door. He glanced back at him once and Marco felt another unexpected pang at the misery in his eyes. But if this truly was his mate, then the boy needed to learn how to take orders. Apparently, he’d been spoiling Nicky, if the way he was acting was any indication. He wasn’t even wearing a collar. That kind of thing just invited unwanted attention. No wonder the damned doctor felt free to put his hands all over him.

Marco couldn’t imagine he was ever so lenient with the boy. Obviously, he needed to tighten the reins, and he would take care of that just as soon as he got home. His father had taught him pets needed a firm hand and a little good old fashioned discipline. That’s the way his father had treated his human mother, and she’d seemed happy enough. They had always given the appearance of being deeply in love. Ian told him he and Nicky had a great relationship, and had been very happy, so perhaps the boy was just distraught. Marco leaned back in bed. He would give him the benefit of the doubt—for now.

Dr. Tate followed Nicky from the room, but Cornsilk came over to check his vitals again. “Are you in any pain, Marco?”

“No, that’s the thing. I’m a little tired, but I feel fine. Maybe I can go home soon—I hate the idea of risking exposure like this in a human hospital. Do you really think it’s wise, doctor?”

“I know it seems strange to you, but we really had no choice. You were quite ill when you arrived, and you had to stay on life support until the transfusions of alpha blood began to take effect. If your vitals remain stable for twenty-four hours, then you can go home to finish your recovery, but you have to promise not to work so hard again. If this is a virus, as I’m beginning to think it is, the weakened, stressed state you got yourself into may have been a contributing factor. When we worked with the various viruses at the Hunter’s lab, the wolf’s metabolism was always strong enough to ward off any virus the scientists tried on them.”

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