Wanted: Fevered or Alive

by Long, Heather

  “We’ve been paying attention,” Mariska said as she began to free the pins from Olivia’s hair. “Jason always tells you how far something is the moment you enter an unfamiliar room.”

  The simple action had become so natural, it surprised her that the others had noticed.

  “He’s different with you,” Cody said. “More likeable.” The gruff assessment sounded like a compliment, so Olivia decided against pursuing why Cody hadn’t thought Jason likeable before. She understood that his aloofness was a product of his gift, as was Cody’s penchant for growling when he was displeased or annoyed or in any way disagreeable.

  She giggled. And the wolves both paused. The wolves. She already thought of them that way—they were people, but they were animals, too. Friendly animals. Well, maybe not to everyone.

  Mariska nudged her toward a chair. “What’s funny?”

  “I’m sorry, I was thinking that I have gotten used to the idea that you’re both…” She dropped her voice, unwilling to be overheard beyond the room though she’d heard no one outside the door. “…wolves. Cody growls a lot when he’s talking. It’s a rough sound, but it’s not unpleasant.”

  “Hmm,” Mariska chuckled, a teasing note adding an extra layer to her words. “He does do that. I used to think it one of his least attractive qualities.”

  “Not anymore, I’m guessing.” Olivia didn’t need her eyes to hear how Mariska’s briskness turned softer when it came to her husband—or was he her mate? Maybe he was both. Either way, it wasn’t her place to ask such a personal question.

  Cody grunted. “It depends on her mood.”

  She couldn’t help it, Olivia laughed and Mariska’s smile echoed in her voice. “Rightly so. Some days you are simply too grumpy to put up with.”

  “Hmm.” Instead of sitting, Cody continued to prowl the room. He’d gone from the window to the door and back again.

  “Is something wrong?” She tried not to sink into the sensation of Mariska brushing her hair. Olivia’s mother used to do that for her, and the patient stroking of the brush through her curls soothed her rapidly fracturing nerves and made her want to cry all in the same moment.

  “No, he is wrestling with a question he wishes to put to you,” Mariska explained calmly. “We’ve discussed it between us these past few days and we are agreed that you should know.”

  Her stomach plummeted and Olivia was suddenly grateful she was sitting. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s nothing wrong,” Cody grumbled. “It is a difficult thing to put into words.”

  “Not for some people,” Mariska’s voice carried another smile and that helped Olivia, but only a little. “Olivia, do you know how I became a wolf?”

  “You were sick? I mean, isn’t that how all the Fevered were changed?” Jason had explained the illness to her. The same fever that swept through the town and killed so many and changed so few.

  “Not everyone.” Cody’s pacing ceased and she was aware of him in front of her. “Mariska wouldn’t have been changed had I not bitten her.”

  “Several times,” the other woman murmured with no small amount of amusement, then continued soberly, “I did not get as sick as so many others, but I did have a fever and I did change. The sensation was subtle at first, but I was stronger and I was healthier and in time, I could shift into a wolf.”

  “Because Cody bit you?” She wanted to ask why he’d bitten her, but thought it might be imprudent considering they were apparently confiding something private to her.

  “Yes.” Nothing in Mariska’s tone suggested fear or upset. If anything, she sounded quite content.

  Uncertain of what else to say, Olivia went silent and considered the revelation. Neither wolf said anything for a long moment, but Mariska continued to brush Olivia’s hair and bit by bit the tension knotting Olivia’s back and shoulders began to ease.

  “I wanted you to know,” Cody said abruptly. “Because I would be willing to bite you as well. To change you.”

  Her heart seemed to thud to a hard stop for a moment and her chest squeezed. “What?”

  Mariska sighed. “Not the best way—”

  “It is the only way to say it.” Cody cut her off. “You are a good person, Olivia, but your blindness is a vulnerability. If I bite you and you change, it could heal your eyes.”

  Mind still stuttering over the idea, Olivia scrambled for something to say. “Why would you think so?”

  “Because when I shift, I heal even the most life threatening of injuries. I’ve been shot, stabbed, and nearly skinned—the process of shifting from man to wolf and back again, heals those injuries. It could fix your eyes.” Her mind continued to reel with the news, but Cody continued. “I do not ask you this lightly, but you have a strong spirit and a determined one. You could make the transition. I will not lie, it could be difficult, but I can control your wolf as I can control Mariska’s until you manage it. You will be stronger. Tougher. Your body will match your spirit.”

  The absolute kindness in the offer struck Olivia and she felt the tears gathering in her useless eyes. “You can’t know that it would turn me. Does not the fever kill far more than it changes?”

  “Yes,” Cody agreed. “Mariska was the second person I changed. We are each of us changed by the fever, not all of us can give it to another. What I do is a different type of fever. At least so my father believes. He is the wisest man I know.”

  “I—I don’t know what to say,” Olivia admitted. “What if you were to change me and I remained blind? Noah said nothing was wrong with my eyes. He did not find illness or injury. I am blind, it is how I was born. What if I were a blind wolf?” If she could even begin to wrap her mind around such a thing.

  Neither offered her empty comfort. “It is a possibility,” Cody conceded. “I do not think it would be your fate. The change forces the body to adapt. I think it would restore your vision.”

  “Or it could enhance even further that which is already sharp in you,” Mariska suggested. She’d stopped brushing Olivia’s hair and rested her hands on her shoulders. “But we will not try to coerce you, we simply wished you to know the offer existed.”

  “You didn’t tell Jason.” It wasn’t a question. Jason would never allow it because of the lack of certainty. She didn’t have to guess at his reaction, she knew he would say no. He wanted her safe, and he’d only suggested Noah because a healer couldn’t hurt. Having heard both Mariska and Cody shift, she knew everything about the change would be painful.

  “No.” Mariska agreed. “We decided—well, Cody decided—it was your choice first and foremost, but also we know he would say no and it should be your choice. You should have the option.”

  How did one answer such a life-altering proposition? Did she even want to be a wolf? No matter what Cody and Mariska believed, she would never agree to anything of the sort without consulting Jason. Still, that they thought so much of her… “Thank you.” She searched carefully for the right words. “I am truly touched by your generosity, but I can’t say yes.”

  “You don’t have to.” The ease of Cody’s response spoke to its truth. “Should you ever change your mind, you have only to ask.” He touched her cheek once. “You’re part of our pack, wolf or not.”

  The tears she’d been fighting slid out. “Well, I don’t mind a brother. I’ve never had one of those.”

  Mariska laughed. “Oh, you shouldn’t have told him that.”

  “Why?” Olivia sniffed.

  “Because it means I get to threaten another Kane about taking care of a sister.” Cody’s good cheer made her laugh again.

  “Be nice to Jason. I love him.” She warned.

  “Oh, I will be very nice.” He didn’t sound remotely worried about her statement. “It will be fun.” After that enigmatic statement, Cody left the room so Mariska could help Olivia draw a bath and, an hour later, Olivia snuggled into the bed, a wolf on either side of her. They’d both changed and settled in to sleep.

  While it wasn’t how she’d ever i
magined it, the offer, the company—even the wolves—seemed an utterly right way to spend the night before her wedding.

  Chapter 11

  Jason, Wedding Day

  “Ready to bolt yet?” Sam dropped into the seat next to him and Micah took another. They’d sent Scarlett to help get Olivia ready and Cody kept an eye on the women. Jason’s attention remained fixed on the exterior of the hotel. He hadn’t been able to sleep most of the night. Instead, his brothers kept a wary eye out alongside him.

  “You have time to get cold feet,” Micah supplied helpfully. They’d eaten together earlier, and both had gone out of their way to detail his opportunities to ‘leave’ Olivia if he needed to take them.

  “No,” Jason replied flatly, refusing to rise to the bait. “Find another topic of conversation.”

  Micah laughed softly. “You’re not nervous at all, are you?”

  “I think he is, but he doesn’t want anyone—least of all himself—to realize it.” Something in Sam’s tone snagged Jason’s attention and he withdrew his scan of the street to focus on his older brother.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” His older brother wore a calm, even expression—the look he often adopted when he had to deal with argument in town and ruffled feathers needed calming.

  “It means marriage is final. Once you commit, you’re responsible for her for the rest of your lives. You don’t get to take it back, you don’t get to decide elsewise later. That’s it. Her enemies are yours—”

  “Olivia doesn’t have enemies.” He didn’t dismiss the rest of the statement, but that one was patently ridiculous.

  “No,” Micah leaned forward and his easy cheer evaporated into the same studious look Sam wore. “But you do. We as a family do.”

  “I am aware.” Had they changed their minds about Olivia? The loss of their support would injure, but he wouldn’t abandon her. “We’re doing everything possible to make her safe. What is it you really want to know?” They were too honorable to keep pursuing this ridiculous line of questioning.

  Consternation rippled across Micah’s expression. “Are you marrying her because she needs protection or because you love her?”

  Worry. They were worried about him. A glance at Sam revealed a similar sentiment in his eyes. “You deserve a measure of happiness, not another duty for the family.”

  Something tight inside him eased. It wasn’t about Olivia, for his brothers. It was about him. “She is the only woman I have ever loved,” he spoke honestly, and felt the corners of his mouth curve. “All I ever wanted was for her to be happy, I have no idea why she would choose me and decide I am the one, but I will not let anyone or anything keep us apart. I gave her my word, but she has had my heart since the day I met her.”

  Awkward silence stretched out between them. Sam leaned back in the chair, folded his arms and looked satisfied. “Good.”

  Their middle brother shook his head. “Did it hurt something in you to say that out loud?”

  “No,” Jason said with another faint smile. “Did it hurt either of you to ask me?”

  Sam chuckled and shook his head, but Micah scowled and adjusted his hat. “You play everything to close to the vest, little brother. It’s our job to look out for you.”

  “Then take care of her and make her welcome.” Jason returned his attention to the front doors. “We need to get on the road as soon as we’re done.”

  “Agreed. I didn’t think you’d want to stay here.” Sam nodded. “A couple of hours more and we’ll have you newlyweds on the way to the ranch. It will take another three days to return.”

  “My patience isn’t in question.” The need to be with Olivia was a slow burn inside of him that he kept contained, shackled in the ice that slid through his veins. Restraints he’d long since imposed for her protection. Three days was nothing when compared to the years he’d waited for her to grow up—years he hadn’t even realized he had been waiting and less still when stacked up against the months he’d believed her lost forever.

  “We’ll take care of her,” Micah said suddenly, serious and intent. “We’ll take care of both of you.”

  “We’re all right then?” Jason asked the question before he could rethink it. “The three of us?”

  “You need to not keep so many secrets.” Sam glanced toward the stairs and the quick smile lighting his face told Jason Scarlett descended them. “You’re our brother. No one gets to you—or her—without going through us.”

  All three brothers rose and Jason turned. Nothing prepared him for the sight of Olivia. They’d put her in a cream dress with a black vestment. Her black curls had been pinned up and she even had a deep red flower in her hair. Cody escorted her, her hand safely tucked in the crook of his arm and her walking stick in her free hand.

  Scarlett beamed as she made her way to Sam’s side and slid her arm through his. “Doesn’t she look beautiful?”

  Even Mariska wore a proud smile on her face and Cody’s normally taciturn expression had warmed. Micah murmured something in response to Scarlett’s declaration, but Jason didn’t listen. Olivia held his full attention. The nibbling worry in his gut vanished, as did the exhaustion he’d earned by staying vigilant all night. He fully expected Masterson to strike—the man was out there somewhere.

  But thoughts of killing had no place around Olivia and her tremulous smile wrenched something free around his heart. Cody paused a foot from Jason and gave him a stern look. “You’re going to take very good care of her.” It wasn’t a question.

  “To my last breath.” Jason had no problem swearing to the oath and the wolf nodded once, transferring Olivia’s hand from his arm to Jason’s. As a group, they left the Inn. Micah had already made arrangements with the Justice of the Peace. They’d head to the livery and pick up the horses as soon as they were done.

  “They said the dress was beautiful,” Olivia confided as they made their way down the boardwalk toward the office housing the Justice of the Peace. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s lovely,” but only because of the woman in it.

  “I can’t believe they made me a dress.” The happiness brimming in her voice made him wish he’d thought of it. “Scarlett and Mariska told me that everyone had a hand in it, since we weren’t marrying at the ranch. Your father, included.”

  That surprised him. “Oh?”

  Olivia held up her hand and he saw a lace handkerchief tucked into the sleeve. “This was your mother’s.”

  He didn’t recognize it, but the jolt awakened an old longing. He had almost no memory of his mother, just an impression of a woman’s smile and a soft voice. Miss Annabeth had told him once that Miss Molly had sung lullabies to all of her children, so maybe that was what he remembered of her. Of all of them, only Sam had a clear image of their mother. Micah, too, had been young, but he could remember more like her scent and a tale or two of things she’d said to him.

  Not he or Kid for that matter. Jason could at least remember that glimpse, Kid had even less.

  “Jason?” Olivia’s quiet voice tugged him back to the present.

  “It’s all right,” he told her and covered her hand on his arm. “I didn’t expect my father to send that for you.”

  “You miss her,” she declared with that same piercing insight that was so unique to her. “I wish she were here for you.”

  He smiled. “She’s always with us. Pa never let any of us forget her or what she would have thought. That’s what his gift is for, to remind me that she would have approved of you.” It was also Jed’s way of extending his approval and perhaps to ask forgiveness for his attitude in recent weeks. If he could find a way, he would make it up to his father—the distance he had put between himself and his family. Their pain and worry had never been the goal, and a part of him had always accepted his place on the outside of that familial warmth.

  “I’m nervous,” Olivia whispered and he had to strain to catch the two words.

  “So am I.” The admission cost him nothing, but the tremulous smil
e on her face lit him up.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I’ve never been a husband before.” This early the streets weren’t crowded, but more people were moving and the dusty road boasted several wagons and horses with folks making their way about town. Jason scanned them all. The division of mental labor was no burden, not with Olivia on his arm. “You may have to educate me.”

  Her laughter filled the air and earned several glances from strangers and their party alike. His chest tightened at the sound, it was as beautiful as she was. He wanted her to laugh all the time.

  “We will have to learn together.” Olivia squeezed his arm. “I’ve never been a wife, after all.”

  “You will adjust much better than I. You already know how to give me orders.” She’d always been so confident in telling him what to do.

  “Hmm,” but her amusement didn’t waver. They arrived at the office and Micah ducked inside to see if the man was ready for them. Jason moved Olivia away from the street edge. Cody and Mariska took a watchful position between them and passersby while Sam and Scarlett settled in to wait on the opposite side of the door.

  They were all looking out for he and Olivia—their vigilance touched Jason in the most unexpected way. It let him relax, a fraction and focus on the woman next to him and not the potential for danger. The warmth of her hand beneath his and the radiance on her face filled him with the most inexplicable sensation—hope. Maybe they could have a future together, a long one. He’d never been able to look beyond the next assignment, the next challenge, the next battle, but in this moment…

  All I need is one clean shot.

  The words hit him and sliced across his concentration like a razor. Shifting to block Olivia automatically, Jason closed his eyes and trailed the menacing thought. Cody edged closer to him.

  “Where?”

  “Across the street,” Jason found the man’s mind and slid right into it and locked up his muscles. He had a rifle. “Rifle.”

  Cody vanished, crossing the street while Sam ushered Scarlett and Olivia inside. His brother’s hand came down on his arm, but Jason shook his head. He saw Cody enter the room through Masterson’s eyes, but he continued searching through his thoughts. Quinn was definitely not working with them. Masterson’d lost track of Blade after Blade trailed them from the ranch. Masterson had headed back to San Antonio to try and get word to MacPherson.