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mothers have cursed the lack of pain killers quite eloquently,” she said sardonically. She would sort out the partial shift later. Her mind couldn’t wrap around it.
    “I don’t know,” he responded earnestly. “I’ve been wracking my brain, but everything’s hazy. I just knew I had to get here, but I didn’t know where to go. So I went to this bar since it was the only thing I could find open, and it’s sort of a blur after that.”
    “Sort of?”
    “I had to have talked to someone. Someone who knew where to find Kamiakin and Nolan, right? My mind tells me that much, but every time I try to remember, my head starts pounding, and I want to throw up. I can’t think of who or when.”
    “Marty, the when’s fairly obvious,” she said impatiently. “You were clear-headed when you reached the bar, then hazy. Someone slipped you a mickey.” Was I ever this naïve? Yes, she knew she had been, but she’d learned young. Sometimes, she felt decades older than her physical age.
    “Of course. I’m sorry. I’m really not as stupid as I must be sounding. The idea of losing my wife and child has me half crazed already. Everything else is—”
    “Like pouring gas on a fire. I get it. Go to sleep now. Your spouse will be here as soon as physically possible. You’re safe here,” she said and shooed him with her hands.
    When she was sure he would stay in bed, she retired to her own room. Emotionally exhausted as well as physically, she went to her own. She had delivered a non-were baby early in the morning and hadn’t returned. Still, her mind kept her awake.
    Hearing of a woman with no family to help her through the stages of being a shapeshifter had brought back too many painful memories to be able to rest. Lisa closed her eyes and did as she always had—she acknowledged the memory, the emotion, admitted it hurt her and shaped her life, then put it behind a door in her mind.
    Although she had the outward appearances of normal, she knew she never would be. Having been a victim of her own innocence and a cheating man’s whim, she refused to let it force her into hiding. Instead, she wrapped her heart in thick insulation, keeping the ice shards intact, warding off all would-be lovers, and otherwise lived her life.
    Eventually, she did drift off to a restless sleep but woke early to the arrival of her second guest. She donned a robe and went to let them in. A beautiful redhead stood at her door, about her own height. “This is Elizabeth Finch,” the Wahpawhat guard introduced.
    “Hello, Elizabeth.” Lisa smiled. “Your mate will be happy you’re here with him. You’ll be safe in my home,” she added when the woman’s eyes stayed open and afraid. “Did they explain to you what’s happening and who I am?”
    “No. They told me Marty was in a predicament, and that I was needed. Marty was nearly incoherent in the two minute call I had with him.”
    Lisa gave the guard a reproachful look. However, safety was their strong suit, not people’s emotions. Even the women guards were not always understanding or intuitive about what a wife might need to know. Lisa mentally sighed. At least Elizabeth was here now. “Come in, and sit on the sofa. I’d like to take a baseline on you, and see where we’re at.”
    Lisa turned to the guard, saying, “We’ll be fine. I have good protections on the doors, and everyone’s busy preparing for a fight. I doubt we’ll be bothered.” She looked to see if Elizabeth had gone to sit on the couch as she’d asked before adding in a fierce whisper, “And next time, tell the poor woman her husband is fine!” and shut the door in the shocked guard’s face.
    Lisa picked up the stethoscope and blood pressure cuff she kept on her buffet case. “Now, let’s see how you’re doing. Then you can join your husband in your room. We’ll do a full mock-up tomorrow—later today, if you’ll permit me. I’m a midwife.”
    “You’re a midwife?” Elizabeth’s face held profound