This was hell.
“Hold on,” Liam whispered into my ear. “It’s almost over. He’s almost fully healed.”
I didn’t open my eyes. I didn’t even react to what he said. All I did was focus on the words—it’s almost over. They were my light.
As the white-hot pain continued to sear my insides, making me feel as though I were being burned alive from the inside out, I wondered if I’d be able to tell when the sickness was completely gone from Tobin’s body.
Would I feel it?
My limbs trembled as I continued to fight against the pain and pull his sickness inside me. I clenched my teeth together again as another wave of agony washed over me. More tears leaked from the corners of my closed eyes. I didn’t know how much longer I would last. I felt as though I was going to throw up or pass out.
And then it was gone.
Everything faded away—my pain, the feel of the Mystic magic, all of it. I was left struggling to catch my breath, completely exhausted, and feeling numb. Tobin said something, his voice high-pitched and more chipper than before, and Rayna pulled him into her arms as tears of joy streamed down her face. I smoothed my clammy palms against my shorts. The RV spun around me, causing nausea to build in the pit of my stomach. I could feel the toxic sickness as it moved through my system. My mouth filled with hot saliva, and I knew I was about to be sick. I barely made it out the narrow door to the RV before I vomited the contents of my stomach across the gravel in front of the steps. I dropped to my hands and knees as my body heaved forcefully for a second time. Gravel bits dug into my skin as my stomach continued to empty itself. My eyes widened when I noticed the colors coming from inside me—bright green and black.
Well, that can’t be good.
I stared at the colors, knowing I hadn’t eaten anything that even remotely resembled split-pea soup and black mold. It tasted awful on my tongue and smelled rancid. My stomach twisted and rumbled, letting me know it wasn’t finished yet.
“It’s the sickness,” Liam said. He’d followed me outside without my realizing it. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before glancing over my shoulder to look at him. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at me. “This must be the way your body is choosing to expel it from your system.”
My stomach twisted painfully. I shifted to look away from him, struggling to not throw up again. I knew it was probably best to get this crap up and out of me, but I didn’t want an audience—especially not one that was made up of Liam. I didn’t want him to see me like this.
I didn’t want anyone to.
What I wanted didn’t matter though, because I could feel eyes on me, and not just Liam’s. Others were staring too. I imagined that some of them were members of Liam’s clan, while others were merely human. The bears might understand why I was sick, but the humans probably thought I was a troublesome teenager who’d had too much to drink.
If only.
“Are you okay,” Liam asked. “Can I get you anything?”
I thought about asking him for a hole to crawl into. Not only did I feel like crap, but this was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life. It even pulled rank over the time I walked into the boys’ bathroom by accident when I was in seventh grade and nearly saw Thomas Wheeler’s penis. I’d begged the ground to open up and swallow me right then and there, exactly like I was doing now.
“I’m fine,” I muttered, trying hard to swallow my vomit. I shifted onto my heels and smoothed my gravel-coated palms against my shorts. The horrible acidic taste of vomit still coated the inside of my mouth, making me want to gag. “I just need some water and a second to catch my breath, but I’m fine. How is he?” I asked, nodding to the RV.
Bile climbed up my throat, but I forced it back down. I would not throw up in front of Liam again.
“I think he’s going to be all right. You saved him.” A wide smile stretched across Liam’s face as he stepped closer. I forced myself into a standing position and walked his way, putting distance between myself and the disgusting scene I’d left behind. Liam gripped my shoulder, sparking that insane electric feeling to dance beneath my skin again at the feel of his touch. “Thank you. I know that wasn’t an easy decision for you.”
My stomach rolled, and I fought to keep myself standing while thoughts of Penny surfaced. “It wasn’t, but it was the right one. I’m glad he’s going to be okay.”
I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I’d left without healing him first and he’d died while I was gone. With as sick as he’d been, I’d been right to think it had been too risky.
Liam started up the RV steps. “Let me get you some water.”
“And a mint,” I called after him.
He chuckled before disappearing inside the RV. I hunched forward, placing my hands on my knees while I struggled to not throw up again. My mouth continuously filled with hot saliva as my stomach twisted, churning with sickness. I situated myself on the bottom step of the RV with my head in my hands and waited for Liam. Exhaustion washed over me.
“Here’s your water.” Liam crept down the steps to where I was. I shifted to the side so he could get by. When he stood in front of me, he held a glass out. “The only mints Rayna had were peppermints. I hope that works for you. I know I prefer wintergreen myself.”
I took the mint and glass from him, not caring that it was peppermint. After a few swigs of water, I popped the mint in my mouth and the horrible taste eased away.
“Thanks,” I said.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Rayna said from behind me. She stood in the doorway of the RV. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying still, and her face was flushed. She made her way down the steps to touch my shoulder. It was a gesture that felt oddly intimate. “You saved my little boy’s life.”
I smiled at her, but couldn’t speak. Another rush of nausea twisted my gut. I sucked on the mint and pulled in a deep breath through my nose. I remembered Penny’s mom once said peppermints were good for headaches and upset stomachs. I hoped she was right because I didn’t want to get sick again.
“Is there anything else I can get you, anything at all?” Rayna asked.
I shook my head. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“You’re exhausted,” Liam said.
“Yeah, but I’m okay.” I stood so I could head in the direction of Ruby. All I wanted was to be alone so I could feel like crap in peace and rest. The ground swayed beneath me and I felt my knees give. Liam caught me, his big hands gently grabbing me by the hips to steady me.
“You’re not okay. I wish you’d stop saying that.” There was a sharp edge to his words. “Let me help you to Ruby. She’s closer than my cabin.”
I flashed him a cocky grin. “Are you trying to tell me I’m too heavy to carry all the way to your cabin?”
“I didn’t think you wanted me to carry you. I will, though.” His eyes burned with a sense of satisfaction I hadn’t been expecting. “I just meant that you were probably ready to lie down and rest.”
“I am.” No truer words had ever been spoken. “And, I don’t need you to carry me. I can walk.”
“I can make you a bed in here,” Rayna offered. “I can even take care of you while you recover. It’s the least I can do.”
I untangled myself from Liam. “Thanks, but you don’t have to. I’m just gonna head to Ruby.”
If I didn’t lay down soon, I’d pass out. Sleep was desperately trying to pull me under. My legs shook as I walked away, but I ignored the sensation. What I couldn’t seem to ignore was how every joint in my body ached as though the sickness had settled in them as a punishment for not expelling it the way it wanted.
Liam’s arm looped around my waist, and he tucked me into his side. “Stubborn.”
My lips quirked into a tiny grin, but I didn’t speak as we trudged along. We were halfway there when I couldn’t take another step. My joints hurt too bad.
Liam lifted me into his arms without a word and carried me the rest of the way. I didn’t ob
ject. Instead, I laid my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. Exhaustion coursed through me, too potent to fight, as a fever raged inside me. My mind drifted as I wondered if this was how the sickness would work the rest of its way out of my system. I was fine with that. Having a fever was so much better than puking.
The familiar creak of Ruby’s door sounded and my eyes fluttered open.
“How did you get in without the key?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
It was in my pocket. There was no way he’d been able to retrieve it without me feeling. I would have woken. At least, I thought I would have.
Liam’s cheeks tinted pink. “There’s a trick to the door. If you jiggle the handle just right while pressing at a certain area midway down, it opens when it’s locked. It’s an old RV. Some things work and some don’t.”
“Well, that’s a false sense of security,” I yawned.
“You never needed security here. You were always safe. And you always will be,” Liam insisted as he moved through the door to lay me on the bed. His words had warmth blooming through my chest.
I did feel safe here. Even with a lock that was only for show, and the very real threat that Ezra’s pack could come for me this very second.
“Rest,” Liam insisted. “You’re going to need it.”
I slipped off my shoes and wiggled my way beneath the thin blanket. Liam turned to walk away, but I reached for his hand. “Stay. Please. Until I wake.”
Now that I was lying down and the nausea I’d felt had dissipated, I didn’t want to be alone.
His brows furrowed as though he was trying to understand what I was asking. When it finally sank in, the brightness of his bear’s eyes shone through. “Okay. I’ll stay.”
I leaned back against my pillow and closed my eyes, allowing sleep to pull me under. The sound of Liam situating himself at the table was the last thing I remembered hearing.
Chapter Six
When I woke, Liam was at the table still. His feet were propped up on the bench seat opposite him, and there was a mug of something in one hand and a tattered paperback in the other.
I stared at him, soaking in his rugged good looks. Also, it was pretty hot to see someone so sexy reading.
“It’s not nice to stare,” he said in a rich, low tone without looking my way. His voice startled me, but I tried not to let it show as I sat up in bed.
“It’s not nice to go through people’s things either,” I countered as I stretched my achy muscles. I couldn’t believe I still hurt. Why hadn’t I healed myself already? “Isn’t that my copy of The Great Gatsby?”
Liam glanced at me, a smirk twisting his lips. “In my defense, your backpack was in the middle of the floor and I tripped over it, causing its contents to spill out. Since it’s my favorite Fitzgerald story, I couldn’t resist reading it again while I waited for you to wake.”
He liked to read. Interesting.
“How long was I out for this time?” I asked, noticing how scratchy and dry my throat felt.
I stood and crossed the tiny RV to the cabinet near the sink to grab a glass. I filled it with tap water and then chugged its contents.
“A day and a half,” Liam said.
I glanced at him, trying to decide if he was joking. He didn’t seem to be. Shit. Ice trickled through my veins, slowing my heart. “I’d hoped I wouldn’t be out for more than a few hours this time, like maybe I was getting stronger with the recovery aspect since it wasn’t my first rodeo using the magic for something.”
“So, I take it you didn’t believe me when I said you could be out for a while after healing Tobin?” Liam set my paperback down and folded his arms over his chest while he glared at me.
I ignored him and took another swig from my water. My muscles were starting to loosen up. They were probably so sore from being immobile for so dang long.
A day and a half? I couldn’t believe I’d slept that long. I glanced around, searching for my cell. It was on the floor near the bed. I scooped it up, needing to see if Penny had called or text even though I knew she probably hadn’t.
Nothing. My chest tightened. This was one situation where no news could be lethal.
Liam’s eyes were on me. He knew why I’d rushed for my phone, but he didn’t say anything. I was glad.
My stomach grumbled painfully, reminding me of how long I’d gone without food. Liam slipped from the bench seat and stepped to the mini-fridge. He opened it and I realized it was fully stocked. There were a few glass containers of food, sodas, bottles of water, and lots of fruit and veggies.
“Did you move in?” I asked, the words sounding way harsher than I’d intended. I had meant it as a joke, but it hadn’t sounded like one at all.
“No.” Liam chuckled. “Rayna cooked while you were sleeping. She did a little grocery shopping for you too.”
“Oh. Wow. She didn’t have to.” I took a step toward the fridge to better see what was inside. A thing of ripe strawberries caught my eye, and I reached around Liam for them.
“She knows, but it’s what we do. We take care of each other in this clan. We’re family. We always express gratitude for the things others do for us, and this is how she chose to express it to you.”
I didn’t know what to say. Gratitude was rarely ever expressed to anyone except my mom’s boyfriends in my household. It was something I was unfamiliar with. So, I said nothing. Instead, I opened the strawberries and rinsed them in the sink.
“For dinner, you should warm up some of Rayna’s salmon and rice. It’s in the top container with the black lid,” Liam said as he rummaged around in the mini-fridge more, pulling out a pack of lunch meat, some cheese, mayonnaise, and spicy mustard. “It’s a clan favorite.” He grabbed some lettuce and a ripe tomato before reaching into the cabinet beside me for a loaf of bread. “For now though, let me make you a sandwich to go with those strawberries. I hope turkey is okay.” His eyes were serious and penetrating when he glanced at me, as though making me a sandwich was a bigger deal than it was.
“Turkey is fine, but you don’t have to make me a sandwich. I can make one myself.” I dried my hands on a rag and eyed him.
“Making you a sandwich is the least I can do after everything you’ve done for me and my clan,” he insisted.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. All this gratefulness and politeness from everyone was grating on my nerves. I wasn’t used to it.
I was a waitress, which meant I knew the truth about people—they were rude.
For the first time, I wondered if all of this was for show. The kindness. The politeness. That maybe Liam was only behaving this way because the survival of his clan rested on my staying here.
He needed me, and so did they.
As I headed to the table, my gaze drifted to him. His expression let me know that the thoughts swirling through my mind were wrong. Being the Mystic wasn’t the only reason Liam wanted me to stay. I could tell as I gazed into his honey-colored eyes that he had actual feelings for me. He cared about me as a person. I wasn’t just a pawn he needed to win a game. I wasn’t a godsend to save his people. I was Tris, the girl who came in the night with bruises on her face but never once asked to be saved.
I was me, and he saw all that.
“You could have run for the hills the second you learned you were the Mystic,” Liam said, his eyes never wavering from mine. “You could have called me batshit crazy and hightailed it out of here when I mentioned shifters were real.”
“But I didn’t.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “No, you didn’t. Instead, you stuck around.”
I popped a strawberry in my mouth, thinking to myself that I’d done so because I didn’t have any place else to go. My desire to survive had been what made me stay.
Even as I told myself this, I knew it wasn’t true. I’d stayed because I’d wanted to because I was part of something bigger than me—bigger than anything I’d ever dealt with before—and I liked it.
“Did anything happen whi
le I was passed out?” I asked, needing to change the subject because this conversation, and my thoughts, were going into deep, mushy places I didn’t feel like exploring. “Anyone from Corbin’s pack find their way here?”
Liam resumed making my sandwich. I watched as he smoothed mayonnaise and mustard across two slices of bread. His silence, and the tension in his features, answered my question.
I leaned forward, my heart kick-starting in my chest. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“Someone came from his pack, yes. They didn’t get to the campground, per se. We caught them while on patrol near the road.”
“Was anyone hurt?”
Liam shook his head while placing cheese on my sandwich. “Just a few marks, but nothing his body can’t heal by itself quickly.”
“Good, I’m glad no one was hurt badly,” I said, not understanding why he seemed so upset. If no one had been severely hurt, then what was he so distraught about? It hit me as I watched him add a few slices of tomato and lettuce to my sandwich. He was hiding something. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Liam’s hands froze. He exhaled a slow breath before glancing at me. “I wasn’t going to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry, but there was a crow. One who saw you heal me on the trail. One who knows what you are. Word is spreading that you’re the Mystic, Tris. It’s also spreading that you’re unclaimed and unmated. That you’re fair game.” His eyes burned with the brightness of his bear as he held my gaze. “I’ve sent word to the crows, and a few others in the surrounding area, letting them know that you’re off-limits.”
“Off-limits?” I wasn’t some play toy. “What does that mean?”
“That you belong to my clan—to me.”
Electricity rippled through me from his words and the tone he’d used, reminding me of what it felt like when we touched. I wanted to argue that I didn’t belong to anyone. That I wasn’t an object, I was a person. One with free will and rights.
CAPTURED: GEM CREEK BEARS, BOOK TWO Page 5