by Cecy Robson
He pulled me under the covers, wrapping us with the heavy down comforter as he gathered me to him. My teeth chattered uncontrollably. God, I couldn’t remember ever feeling so cold. I blamed my still-wet hair, the coolness of the room, and my blood loss, but I didn’t panic. I was sure that the comforting heat that surrounded us as mates would warm me and ease the chill.
“Hold me,” I begged him.
Aric stopped moving. “I…am,” he whispered.
Despite the cold that continued to rack my body, it was his words that froze me in place. That familiar surge of heat never came.
The warmth between us was gone.
Chapter 19
My fear that our connection was severed kept me awake for a long while. It was only when Aric’s natural body heat warmed me that my body stopped shaking and I surrendered to sleep.
Aric didn’t sleep. I knew that for a fact. Sometime around dawn, I woke up when the bright sunlight trickling through cracks in the blinds hit my face. Aric’s fingers stroked my curls, just as they had when I first fell asleep. He blinked back at me with tired, bloodshot eyes ringed with shadows.
Thick scruff lined his jaw and deep frown lines etched his forehead. He was worried for us. Well, so was I. Regardless of what I’d said, I was scared senseless.
“I’ll cover the windows,” he told me quietly.
I clung to his waist when he tried to rise. “Stay with me,” I mumbled, my body begging me to keep still.
“Sweetness…”
“Please, wolf.” I adjusted my position, just enough so that the brightness wouldn’t bother me. Almost immediately I returned to sleep.
I wasn’t sure what time it was when I finally woke up. I only knew it was late in the morning. My legs felt rubbery and my gait was unsteady at best, but I managed to reach the bathroom and freshen up. I also managed to down two full glasses of water.
When I returned to the bedroom, Aric hadn’t budged from his spot. He usually woke when I left his side. And while under other circumstances I wouldn’t have given it much thought, too much had happened. I needed to act. I slipped into a pair of shorts and carefully stole away to our finished basement.
I moved quickly, hurrying past our three treadmills and row of workout equipment lining the wall. In addition to the gym, the basement had a small bar tucked into the corner. I edged around it, but I was scrambling faster than my body was ready for. I had to grasp the edge of the bar before I landed on my ass.
Carefully, I eased my way onto a bar stool, taking a moment to rest against the bar before reaching for our landline. As I tried to remember the number I needed, I felt what could only be described as a nudge. Although I wasn’t sure how, I knew who was there even before I lifted my head.
Shah sat between a bottle of tequila and an unopened bottle of scotch. I sighed. “What are you doing here?” I asked, even though I realized he wouldn’t answer.
I glanced over my shoulder, paranoia setting in. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
Shah remained still as, well, stone. “I’m serious. I think you’re better off in the stronghold Makawee created for you.” Again, he didn’t move. Maybe he knew or understood something I didn’t. For a giant crystal, he’d more than proven he wasn’t stupid. “Okay, buddy. If you don’t want to be there, I won’t make you go. You can stay close to me if you’d like, but I need you to hide, okay? I’m not sure what will happen if the wrong person or thing touches you, and you’ve been used enough.”
A creak by the steps had me whipping around. I half-expected some evil creature to be slithering its way toward me.
But no one was there.
And yet I still sensed that I was being watched.
I reached to gather Shah just in case, but he was gone. His absence gave me comfort, in a way. Given my circumstances with Aric and all the trouble that found me last night, Shah wasn’t safe anywhere near me. I only hoped that where he was, he would be. “Thank you,” I whispered.
My attention returned to my task at hand. I took a breath and made a call I hoped I wouldn’t regret, unable to shake the feeling that I was betraying Aric. But he and I needed help, and I didn’t know where else to turn.
“Aric?” Martin’s deep baritone said in greeting.
“No, it’s Celia Wird.”
I wasn’t sure why I threw in my last name. It wasn’t like Aric’s Alpha didn’t know who I was.
“Soon to be Celia Connor,” he added gently. When I didn’t say anything more, concern dripped into his tone. “You’re not well, are you?”
“Not really,” I answered, unable to keep my voice from shaking.
“Gemini filled me in on your condition. Perhaps Makawee could aid you in your healing.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “I need to talk to you about Aric.” I paused, suddenly uncomfortable with what I had to say. It was only because of my desperation to help my wolf that I finally spoke. “Things have been different between us since he proposed. They’re strained—his anger, mine, and our insecurities seem to be eating us alive.” My gaze dropped to my opposite hand. My nail beds were practically bleached from my blood loss. “We share a certain warmth between us,” I said, trying to keep my focus. “I’m sorry, it’s a good thing, but hard to describe.”
“I understand this heat you’re referring to.” His voice faded. “I shared it with my mate; it’s something fairly common among weres.” He waited when I said nothing more. “Is it fading?” he finally asked.
I bit my bottom lip before answering. “It’s gone,” I admitted.
The silence was so pronounced on the other line, it was clear that I hadn’t blessed him with good news.
“It was still there when Aric arrived at the hospital last night,” I continued. “But when we went to bed, I didn’t feel it anymore. Nor did I feel it when I woke up beside him. Do you think it could be related to his prior moon sickness infection?”
“I don’t know,” Martin answered. “There’s not much we know about the infection because no were aside from Aric has ever survived it. The combination of your bond, your rare magic, and Aric’s strength is the only plausible explanation for his recovery.”
“And what if he hasn’t fully recovered?” My heart clenched the more I thought about it. Moon sickness drove weres to murder anything in their path while slowly and painfully deteriorating their nervous system. “Could he be getting sick again?”
Wherever Martin was, he was pacing. I could hear his feet crossing a large room. “If he is, I’m confident you can see him through it, as you did before. But if you can’t, you need to inform me at once.”
My jaw involuntarily clenched. “So you can kill him and put him out of his misery?”
I wasn’t being overly dramatic. That was the order the Elders had given when Aric was cursed with the disease.
Martin’s tone softened. “No, Celia. Aric has proven his strength. And now, with young Daniel’s power being revealed, I have faith we can save him. Whether it’s moon sickness that plagues him or something else we’ve yet to unearth.”
I dropped my forehead into my hand as a wave of nausea caused me to sway. “Then if it’s not moon sickness, what could be happening?” I managed.
“I’m not sure. However, the effect Aric’s condition is having on your connection concerns me. Celia, it should be impossible to weaken or sever a bond without your consent. Try to reestablish it, any way you can.”
—
For a long time, I lay on the worn leather couch beside the bar, thinking about what Martin had said and trying to make sense of what was happening. But every time I had even a small inkling, my head would spin and muddle my thoughts.
The front door opened and closed upstairs before several pairs of feet padded into the kitchen. “Fried chicken or ribs?” Shayna asked.
“Chicken for dinner,” Koda answered. “Ribs for tomorrow, and you for dessert.”
Shayna squealed like she always did when he lifted her for a kiss. She giggled
when they broke their kiss. “Puppy, Emme’s watching.”
Koda laughed. “No she’s not, she’s got her eyes closed.”
“Don’t mind me,” Emme said, likely blushing.
I forced myself to sit, waiting for a moment until my vision cleared enough to stand. With feet that felt way too heavy, I trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen where my sisters were putting away groceries.
Everyone stilled when they saw me. “Hey,” I said.
Koda rushed to my side and clasped my shoulders. He probably thought I was going to keel over. He was probably right.
“Damn, you look like shit.”
“And a good afternoon to you, too,” I answered, trying to force a smile.
Koda glanced over my shoulder then turned back to me, frowning. “Where’s Aric?”
“Upstairs.”
“And where were you?”
“Downstairs,” I answered like a dork.
Aside from demons and their offspring, Koda was hands down the most intimidating individual I’d ever met, and that was when he was in a good mood. He narrowed his eyes. “What were you doing in the basement without him?”
“Ah, nothing.”
“Nothing?” he asked, clearly annoyed that I was lying. His stare demanded an explanation. I wasn’t a wimp, but I definitely pitied Koda and Shayna’s future children then. God forbid they’d miss curfew without a good excuse.
“I’m going to go and check on Aric.” Koda wouldn’t release me. “You know, and make sure he’s all right?” said the freakishly pale girl who hung out in the basement. “So, I’m guessing you should let go of me.” I groaned when he wouldn’t. “Come on, Koda. Don’t give me a hard time.”
Shayna edged her way to us and pried his hands from me. “She’s not feeling well, puppy. Let my sister be with her mate.”
The term stung me. Koda must have felt it, because the tension eased in his stance and he acknowledged me with as much kindness as his scary beast could muster. His gaze and that of my sisters burned hot against my back as I made my way to the stairs. I tried to move as normally as possible. For the most part I managed not to stagger or pitch backward down the steps. Except my body was pissed at having to walk up from the basement and buckled as I opened the door to our bedroom.
“Aric,” I called, just before a swirl of spots clouded my vision.
I never hit the floor. Aric caught me. He carried me to the bed and yelled for Emme. And while I panted heavily and could feel my jugular throbbing, my brain managed to keep me conscious.
Everyone raced into the room, including Taran, who must have been hiding out in her bedroom. Emme touched my face with her small hands. She closed her eyes, but she didn’t surround me with her soft yellow light. “There’s nothing to heal,” she said quietly. “Celia either needs three weeks of rest to recuperate or another transfusion.”
The last thing I wanted was to be confined to a bed, waiting for my body to regenerate its normal blood volume. Something was wrong with Aric, and the super-nasties wouldn’t stop until they found Shah. Nope. Bed rest was so not an option. I rolled onto my side and met my perky sister’s face. “Shayna, you need to give me your blood.”
Chapter 20
Aric wasn’t happy when Koda told him I’d been lurking in the basement. Seriously, those were the big guy’s exact words. “Remind me to kick your ass when I’m better,” I mumbled, to which he actually grinned.
Okay, maybe that wasn’t an ass I would easily kick.
The only thing that saved me was the pathetic state I was in. “You shouldn’t have left our room without me, sweetness,” Aric told me, frowning. “You could have fallen down the stairs in your condition.”
“Sorry, love.”
I was sorry for worrying everyone, but at the moment I was more terrified of what was going to happen to me. Aric had phoned Danny to come over while my sisters prepared to transfuse Shayna’s blood into me. Aric said Danny should be present in case Shayna’s werewolf blood needed to be “tamed.”
Nice. Just nice. My suggestion seemed like a reasonable one at the time.
Danny arrived along with Bren. It was strange having everyone in our bedroom, and the wolves kept exchanging tension-filled glances.
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Emme said as she secured the IV to my arm. “We have diphenhydramine ready in case you have an allergic reaction to the blood.”
“And epinephrine if we need to restart your heart,” Shayna said. “Not that we’ll need it, dude,” she added quickly when she caught my horrified expression.
I looked around in time to see Taran hide an antiquated pair of defibrillator paddles behind her back. What the hell?
“Do you think we’ll need the cage?” Bren whispered to Koda.
“We’ll see how she does,” Koda muttered.
When they realized I’d heard them, Koda averted his eyes while Bren feigned a grin and gave me the thumbs-up.
I started searching for the nearest escape route. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” I said. Hell, the world had saved itself long before I’d ever showed up.
“Don’t worry, Ceel. You’re fine.” Shayna pointed upward. “See, my blood’s already transfusing.”
I took in the makeshift IV pole Shayna had constructed out of old wire hangers with her gift. Sure enough, drops of blood were already running into the chamber.
“Do you feel okay, honey?” Emme asked me gently.
I nodded. I did feel pretty good. In fact, I felt great! It was almost as if I could feel my red blood cells increasing in numbers and new blood circulating throughout my body. I sat up in bed and watched in awe as my sunken thin veins widened and plumped while my pallor dissipated and my golden skin tone returned.
Werewolf blood good.
My muscles relaxed, like after a good stretch. I felt young and energized. I smiled at my loved ones gathered around the bed. They smiled back.
At first.
Almost in unison their smiles faltered. “What?” I asked, feeling something brush against my arms. When I looked down I realized my hair was growing. It spiraled past my elbows, to my waist, and kept going.
“Maybe you should stop the transfusion now,” Danny suggested.
Shayna reached for the clamp, but I snatched her wrist, keeping her still. “Relax,” I said, followed by a spurt of maniacal laughter. “Everything’s fine.”
Our stares were locked, and while I was smiling, Shayna’s eyes widened in apparent alarm.
“Stop the transfusion, now,” Aric said.
Taran dropped the defibrillator pads and scrambled around Shayna. I took hold of her wrist with my free hand before she could touch the tubing. My jaw clenched, my fangs protruded, and a deep growl built in my throat. “I said, everything’s fine.”
“Oh shit,” Bren said.
The wolves exchanged brief glances before they pounced on me all at once. Time went into fast-forward. I don’t know exactly what happened. My mind only recalled a lot of grunting, hissing, and growling. I realized the hisses and growls had come from me when an invisible hand pushed against my chest. My eyes closed from its comforting feel. Whatever it was shoved me with feather-like softness until my back made contact with something flat and solid.
I pried open my lids. Somehow I ended up with my back against the ceiling…floating. Below, the wolves were sprawled on the floor looking like someone, maybe me, had knocked them on their asses.
Aric blinked back at me in shock. In his left hand he held the IV tube and bag of blood. I looked at my arm and grinned. Although Aric must have used enough force to cause a deep gash when he pulled the catheter, my injury was healing on its own. “Cool,” I said a little too psycho-like.
“Dan,” Aric said slowly. “Why is Celia flying?”
“Ah, she’s not flying. I think Emme’s force is holding her up.”
“I’m not touching her, I swear,” Emme mumbled, sounding defensive. Her hands were clamped over her mouth as she stared at me. Damn, she looke
d terrified, but I guessed I didn’t help matters when I began spinning on the ceiling like a super-sized top.
“Everything’s fine,” I said again. “Can I have some more blood?”
“No!” everyone yelled back.
“I meant the force in the blood you gave her last night, Emme,” Danny explained. “Shayna’s blood must have amplified your magic in it.”
“Aw, hell,” Bren said. “She’s got Taran’s blood, too. You don’t think she’s going to start exploding things with fire like she did last time?”
I stopped whirling around. “Only if you make me mad,” I answered, throwing in another nutso laugh.
Everyone stilled. Geez, I was only kidding. “The vamps are right,” I said. “You guys have like, no sense of humor.”
“Taran,” Aric muttered through clenched teeth. “Put her to sleep.”
She nodded, but not before releasing a bunch of swears. It took some doing on her part before her irises could bleach to white and her power could spark. Soft tendrils of blue and white mist emanated from her core and slithered like snakes in the air toward me.
“Ah, ah, ah,” I said, just before spinning like a freaking pinwheel.
And just like that it was naptime for my sisters and wolves.
I watched them sleeping contentedly for a while, but then my fingertips began to itch. I felt the need to climb a tree like my tigress would in the jungles of India, to feel wood scratch beneath my claws. Lucky for me, Tahoe had the perfect forest-like atmosphere my inner kitty needed.
While I didn’t know how to control the bit of power that Emme’s blood gave me, I did give it my best try. Since I continued to hover over the bed, I thought it would be the perfect place to land. I cleared my mind and concentrated on releasing the energy keeping me up. Everything would have been fine had I just tucked in my arm. I landed hard and dislocated it when it banged against the foot of our sleigh bed.