Simon & Rose

by V. A. Dold

  Sharon gave him a brave smile and kissed him.

  His lips went slack before the kiss ended. “I think he’s out,” she whispered to Lois.

  “He is. Why don’t you monitor his conversion progress while I monitor his levels?”

  “All right.” Mark had pulled the sheet to his hips after donning his boxer shorts. Sharon smoothed the sheet and watched him closely. Running her hand up and down his damaged limb she watched his face for signs of pain.

  Several minutes passed with agonizing slowness as Sharon monitored Mark’s every breath. So far so good, he seemed to be resting peacefully.

  When she looked closely, she could see the fine lines on his face smooth out. And when his hair transformed from his slightly shaggy look to a short cropped military cut she grinned and looked at Lois. “I sure hope he likes short hair.”

  Lois chuckled. “I don’t think he has a choice. He can always grow it out again.”

  The raised muscles of Mark’s abdomen rippled and rolled. Rising and then settling over and over. Frowning, Sharon leaned closer. That’s when she noticed a few smallish scars. He must have experienced other injuries he hadn’t mentioned and they were healing as well.

  Then she noticed his heavily muscled arms became leaner. His body was returning to more of a young man’s muscular physic.

  A few seconds later, the sheet began to rustle and move. Slowly, the severed end of his leg began to lengthen. The outline of a kneecap formed. Then a soft groan escaped Marks lip’s and Sharon’s heart stopped.

  Before she could speak, Lois assured her. “Don’t panic, I’m on it.”

  Sharon wanted so badly to reassure herself he would be thrilled with the end results of the conversion, but was afraid to lift the sheet to see what was happening. She satisfied herself with the knowledge that bloodstains didn’t mar the bedding. That had to be a good sign. If he started bleeding she would lose it completely.

  A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead in the lamplight and dampened his hair. Dare she leave for a moment to get a cool cloth?

  Sharon tore her eyes from Mark to see what Lois was doing. She was busy checking his blood pressure and heart rate. That was important, so she didn’t disturb her. Still undecided if she dare leave, she glanced back to Mark, only to find sweat running down his face. She couldn’t sit by as a spectator another minute. Sharon slipped her legs off the bed and moved quickly to disappear into the bathroom and returned with a damp cloth. As gently as possible, she bathed his face and chest.

  His eyes remained closed, and his breath was even, but his eyelids twitched.

  Mark’s dog Rizzo must have sensed his distress. Loud whining and frustrated barking was heard on the other side of the closed door. Sharon wondered for a moment if she should let the dog in before it hurt itself trying to break through the wooden barrier. Before she could decide what to do, Mark began to retch.

  Lois reacted so fast, Sharon doubted if she was completely human. One moment she was monitoring Mark, and the next she was rolling him on his side to clear his airway. Sharon hadn’t seen her move. She was just suddenly there.

  She watched Lois, alarm shrieking shrill sirens in her mind. “Is the retching a reaction to the ketamine or is he in that much pain?”

  “His shifter healing ability must be burning it off faster than we expected. I’ll increase his ketamine drip, but after this I can’t increase it any further. What we’re trying to do is untried territory. And if I give him too much we could do more harm than good.”

  Concern for her mate made her heart ache, she looked down at him lying so quietly and brushed a hand through his hair. Did she just see what she thought she saw? There it was again! His eyes moved behind his lids. Darted back and forth as if he were terrified or in a panic. Rattled, she grabbed for her phone beside the bed, fumbled and juggled it in her rush to call Emma. “I need you and the healers. NOW!”

  “We’re coming.”

  The thunder of fourteen feet pounding up the stairs was deafening in the silence of the room. Emma barely opened the door a crack before Rizzo shot past her legs and into the room. The dog rushed to the head of the bed and pushed her cool, wet nose against Mark’s cheek.

  Sharon stayed at Mark’s head while the healer tea; Emma, Anna, Joan, and Berti spaced themselves evenly around the bed.

  Emma had taken the spot next to Lois. “Tell me if I’m in your way, cher. I can move if you need me to.”

  “No, you’re fine right there.”

  Sharon glanced to her right at Simon. He was very focused on Rizzo, stroking the dog, whispering calming words to her. Her handler was out cold and obviously suffering. It was apparent this was upsetting for her and Simon sensed it. “When he’s out of the woods and recovered,” he paused and looked Sharon straight in the eye, “And he will be. You know that, right?”

  She nodded, hesitant and a bit jerky, but she managed to pull herself together.

  “I’m going to have to call a meeting about training the dogs to handle this kind of situation. Poor Rizzo is beside herself.”

  Emma gave Simon a look. “I’m sure a crowd of people barging into the room where her owner was helpless and in pain didn’t help. Now is not the time to talk about training.”

  “You’re right, Momma. I guess I’m grasping for normal topics of conversation. Seeing my best friend like this is difficult. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry yourself, cher. He’ll be fine in a few more minutes.”

  Sharon was surprised to see Rose. She hadn’t known Simon’s mate was outside with the others. Rose had gone unnoticed, quietly following the group into the room. She stepped up behind Simon and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He reached back to grasp it while keeping his other hand on the dog. Sharon could feel the love between the mated pair.

  Simon glanced over his shoulder. “Mon amour, can you help him? His distress is lashing at me, it must be immense.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Sharon held her breath. She’d heard Rose could influence emotions. Within seconds the sour scent of tension and rancid smell of distress emanating from Mark dissipated. The relief was extraordinary.

  Emma smiled, her eyes remaining shut and hands hovering over Mark’s reforming leg. “Thank you, Rose.”

  Sharon looked closely. There was the barest sliver of light between Emma’s palms and his leg.

  Off to Sharon’s left, the creak of aged leather caught her attention. She watched Cade take Emma’s sacred bag and pull scented candles out along with a box of long wooden matches. He busied himself setting them about the room.

  “Cade, would you please light my herbs, and sweet grass as well?” Emma asked without opening her eyes.

  “Yes. Of course. Is there anything else I can do to help?”

  “No, cher. What you’re doing is more than enough.” With eyes still closed, Emma cocked her head as if listening to unheard voices. “Ladies, concentrate on sending healing to his leg, but also on lessening his pain. If we can help the ketamine do its job, Mark will be less stressed.”

  Sharon dabbed Mark’s face with the damp cloth. He was perspiring again. The temperature in the room had slowly risen several degrees as the healing energy heated his body and the air around him. Her entire attention was on her mate’s comfort when she heard Anna begin to sing a soft melodic chant. All the ladies, including Sharon and Rose, added their voices. Even the men added their deep baritones to the chant. Every pair of hands on Mark’s body took on an unearthly glow. The energy grew until it became a living thing, swirling around the room. The flames of the candles danced, and wisps of smoke from the healing herbs floated upward until caught in the vortex swirling above the bed.

  Chapter 12

  Mark quieted. His breath grew even and deep. Sharon laid the back of her hand to his forehead. He was cool to the touch. “It’s working. Thank you.”

  Emma gave her a small smile. “You’re more than welcome. We all love Mark. None of us want to see him suffer.”

&
nbsp; The minutes ticked by with much less tension. Blessedly, the work of the healers seemed to not only ease Mark’s pain, but sped the conversion process as well. Inch by inch, the shape of Mark’s leg took form, lifting the sheet a little more. Finally, the shape of a foot and toes pushed the sheet ever higher.

  Lois let out a sigh of relief. “I think he’s out of the woods. I’m going to shut the ketamine drip down. It’ll take a few minutes for his shifter abilities to burn the last of it off. Then he can tell us how he’s feeling.”

  Sharon felt like she could finally breathe easy again. She rolled her neck and shoulders. Every muscle screamed from being held tightly for so long.

  Emma opened her eyes and lifted her hands from Mark’s leg. “We should gather the candles and herbs. I’m sure Mark won’t want to wake up to a horde of people staring at him.”

  Cade extinguished the candles and gathered them together while Emma collected her abalone shell of smoking herbs.

  The ladies quietly filed out of the room followed by Rose and Simon leading Rizzo to her bed of blankets in the hallway.

  Now that Mark was out of the woods, Sharon gave Miss Lois a good sniff. What was she?

  Lois glanced at her, but continued to pack equipment. “Half witch, half faerie.”

  Sharon cocked her head and sniffed again. “No kidding?”

  “Nope. My parents’ marriage was expressly forbidden. Of course, that didn’t stop them for a second. My mother was rejected by her coven and became a solo practitioner. My father had a bounty put out on him until Emma had words with the faerie queen.”

  Sharon swept her hand toward the medical supplies. “Is that why you owed Emma, and did this?”

  “Not exactly. I took a lot of grief from witches and faerie alike for being a half-breed. One particular incident got quite heated and I lashed out. The other party was badly injured and near death. Emma healed the nasty S.O.B. and defended me before the queen. Instead of being put to death, I was sentenced to disownment by the realm for twenty years.”

  “What about the other guy?” Sharon asked angrily.

  Lois paused and her shoulders sagged. “It turned out, he bullied and sexually harassed a half dozen other women. They were terrified, but they came forward with their stories anyway. It was all very shocking. What he did isn’t something that happens in the faerie world. He was executed at sunrise.”

  Sharon laid her hand on Lois’s arm. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. If he was guilty, why were you punished?”

  Lois blinked rapidly, but a tear escaped despite her efforts. “Harming another faerie is forbidden. Instead of attacking him, I should have gone to the queen. The worst of it is, I can’t see my parents. If I do, they’ll be cast out as well.”

  “That’s terrible!”

  Lois shook her head. “That’s the way of the faeries.” She lifted one shoulder just a little, and Sharon saw her throat move as she swallowed down another bout of tears. “It’s just as well I’m leaving. I need to put distance between the others and myself if I’m going to find any happiness over the next ten years. It’s too painful to be near them but not a part of them. Once my sentence is completed. I’ll return home.”

  Sharon stared at her, at a loss for words. Finally, she sputtered, “Leaving? Why not stay with the shifters?”

  “I won’t put Emma and Isaac in an awkward position. Taking this type of equipment and a controlled medication like ketamine isn’t exactly allowed. I’ll return everything, but then I’ll have to leave town. Someone will have noticed. I’m sure I’ll be fired, possibly brought up on charges. Regardless, I’ll need to start over where no one knows me.”

  Sharon narrowed her eyes. “Did Emma know about this when she asked you to help?”

  Lois shook her head, eyes wide. “Heavens no. She would have refused my assistance without batting an eye. Once I talked with Emma, I knew there was no other way to get Mark through the conversion. If I didn’t help, Emma would have tried to block his pain on her own. An effort of that magnitude could have killed her, but she would have done it anyway. I didn’t really have a choice.”

  Sharon sighed. “I’m sorry you were put in that position. Thank you for making such a tremendous sacrifice for Mark and Emma.”

  “Like I said, she’s my friend and I owed her my life. This only cost me my job, that was a small price to pay.”

  “Protecting her from herself or not, she doesn’t like to be left out of the loop. If I were you, I’d be worried. She’s going to be very upset with you.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Lois chuckled, her eyes brightening again. “It isn’t often that someone gets one over on her. At least now, she and I are even. I don’t enjoy being indebted to anyone, even my very good friend.”

  Sharon ran her hand over Mark’s spiky hair, relieved the conversion was over. His toes twitched, and his fingers curled into a fist and then relaxed. Both women stared at each other, and then back at him.

  “Mark? Can you hear me?” Sharon asked, gently cupping his cheek.

  His eyes flutter before he finally opened them. “Sharon?”

  “How are you feeling, mon amour? Does anything hurt?”

  Mark swallowed hard and bathed his dry lips. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Would you like to sit up?”

  “Yeah.”

  When he braced his arms and pushed with his legs his eyes went wide and he froze. His body stuck half way between lying prone and sitting. He looked at Sharon, then Lois, and back at Sharon. Then a smile larger than she’d ever seen broke out on his face and he rushed to a sitting position. The room remained silent as he stared at what appeared to be two legs under the sheet. Then he let out a whoop and tore the sheet away.

  He wiggled his toes and flexed his foot laughing the entire time. Then he bent his knee and whooped again.

  Sharon and Lois laughed along with him. His joy was like none Sharon had ever seen.

  He looked at Sharon again grinning ear to ear. “It worked!”

  “I can see that.”

  He glanced past Sharon to see Lois quietly slipping through the door. “Lois!”

  She stopped and turned, a smile of pure joy on her face.

  “Thank you!” He shouted as he jumped from the bed and pulled her into a hug.

  “You’re welcome,” she giggled.

  Simon and Rose rushed up the stairs no doubt having heard Mark whooping it up.

  “How are you feeling, buddy?” Simon asked, grinning at his friend.

  “Excellent!” He pulled Simon in for a hug. That was when he saw Lois struggling to gather all her equipment on her own. Her arms were over flowing with a menagerie of medical items. “Let’s help her get her things to her car.”

  “All right.” Simon chuckled, grabbing half of the stuff while Mark took the other half. Lois just laughed and calmly followed them out the door.

  Mark took the stairs two at a time. He turned his head and yelled over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, babe. Keep the bed warm for me.”

  Simon laughed harder and Lois just shook her head giggling at his antics.

  “I’m surprised you left your mate alone in bed. What were you thinking, man?”

  “I’m thinking, I have two legs again and I’m damn excited to try them out. Besides, I owe this little lady a lot and this is just one small way to repay her.”

  “Good point.” Simon set her equipment next to her car and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, Lois.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Lois glanced around. That was when she saw Emma a few feet away on her cell phone, scowling.

  Emma ended her call and angrily shoved her phone into her purse. “You,” she pointed at Lois, “take that stuff back and meet me at my house. I’ll expect you in an hour.”

  Lois held up her hands. “I had to do it, Emma. You were there when I needed you and this time, you needed me.”

  “We will talk about this in private. One hour. I expect to see you.”
/>   “All right. I’ll try to get there as quickly as I can.”

  Mark and Simon quietly watched the exchange, confused looks on their faces. When Lois drove out of sight, Simon turned to his mother. “What was that about?”

  “Lois did something very foolish and I have a feeling your father’s going to have to throw his weight around at the hospital to keep her out of jail.”

  Simon gaped and Rose sputtered. “What on earth did she do?”

  “She stole the equipment for Mark’s conversion from one of the surgeries and now she has to sneak it back in.”

  “Ah, hell!” Mark growled. “She did that for me and now she’s going to pay for it.”

  Emma sighed. “No, Mark. She did it for me.” When he looked bewildered she continued. “She owed me a favor and used this to pay me back. Don’t fret, Isaac will fix everything. And truth be told, we would have been in a terrible situation without her. I just wish she hadn’t taken the equipment without asking.”

  Simon raised his eyebrows. “I’m sure she had no choice, Mom. The hospital wouldn’t have just given it to her. It’s not like a lending library.”

  Emma narrowed her eyes on him. “Don’t get smart with me. I can still put you over my knee, young man.”

  Rose covered her mouth to suppress her giggle.

  Cade didn’t even try to hide his roar of laughter.

  Anna swatted his arm.

  And Mark just gaped at the lot of them. “Thank you again, Emma. I’m sorry to have cause so much trouble.”

  “Pshaw, you’re never trouble. Although, I think you’ll find yourself in hot water if you don’t return to your new mate.”

  Mark grinned. “Shit. I better go.” He hugged Emma and took off running for the front door of Sharon’s home.

  *****

  Simon held Rose’s hand as they joined his mother in her study. His father was at a meeting with the pack leaders, but he would be home soon. His thoughts were preoccupied with Lois and her predicament. He felt responsible and it laid heavy on his mind. If he and his mother hadn’t asked for her help, she wouldn’t be in the situation she faced.