Cheyenne cleared her throat. “And this way, you won’t have to pay as much.” The other woman blushed, and Aimee wanted to crawl into a hole and die right then.
Of course, the others knew about her financial struggles, and before Dawn had mated Mitchell, she’d been in her own version of dire straits. But as much as she loved the fact that her friends cared more than her family seemed to these days, it still stung.
“I…see.”
“No, you don’t,” Dhani said sharply. “Because none of us see. It was a risk to bring you here, but Walker is a damned good doctor, and we knew you’d be in good hands.”
“Thanks,” Walker put in dryly, and Aimee had a feeling she wasn’t the only one feeling out of sorts.
“But,” Dhani continued as if Walker hadn’t spoken, “we want to know why.”
“I lost my job, didn’t I?” Aimee put in, her mind catching up to what the others were saying. She knew they were trying to talk about something else, but she was a few steps behind and trying to figure out what the heck was going on. “That’s why Billy mentioned drugs.”
Dawn reached out and gripped her hand. “Yes, but don’t worry. We’ll find you something else. You already told us Billy is an asshole, but back to what Dhani was saying, honey. You’ve been keeping secrets, and I know I’m not one to talk, but we’re here if you need us.”
Aimee looked around at her friends and Walker and sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong. No one knows what’s wrong.” She looked down at her hands. “But I’m dying.”
Cheyenne and Dhani each cursed, while Dawn shook her head.
Walker was the only one who spoke aloud beyond those muttered curses. “Why do you say that?”
She met his gaze, her hands shaking. “Because I’m getting weaker, and they don’t know why.”
He frowned, his eyes not leaving hers. “Then we’ll have to figure it out for ourselves, won’t we?”
Aimee did her best not to let the promise in his voice allow a small kernel of hope grow within her. She’d wished all her life for things—stability, a roof over her head, a steady job, health—and she and her family had never been able to hold onto any of it.
It was as if she were truly cursed.
Dhani cleared her throat, and Aimee pulled her gaze from the wolf who hovered over her and looked over at her friend. “So, when Walker clears you, we’ll take you to Dawn’s house to rest for a bit.”
Aimee frowned, ignoring the pulse in her temples that told her the pain meds were wearing off. “What time is it? Shouldn’t you guys be at your jobs? I don’t want to take you away from what you should be doing.” She’d tried to hide how tired and worn she was over the past few months because each of her friends had other things in their lives that were important, and she hated pulling them away from them.
“It’s after six,” Cheyenne explained, running a hand down Aimee’s cheek, a frown on her face. “I closed up early, and Dhani’s done teaching for the day.”
“And I work in the den now,” Dawn put in. “The other maternals understood that I needed to be here.” Dawn was a maternal, which she’d told Aimee was a wolf whose first imperative was to protect and care for children. She now worked at the daycare center in the den and cared for the children of the wolves on patrol or those who worked at any of the other small businesses within the den walls. Apparently, each den was pretty self-sufficient, something Aimee was only just learning, and a tidbit she wasn’t sure many of the human population was even aware of.
Walker came up to her and deftly took out her IV so she didn’t feel a thing. Since she knew he was decades older than she was, he had to have some practice at that. “You have a sprained wrist and a small cut on your forehead, but other than that, your fall didn’t take much out of you. You should be able to move over to Dawn’s when you feel up to it. As for what’s going on inside? Well, that’s something we’ll just have to figure out together because, Aimee? I’m not letting it take you. Whatever it is, we’re not letting it win. Understood?”
Aimee felt Cheyenne and Dhani stiffen beside her at Walker’s tone, but it was the look on Dawn’s face that worried Aimee. Her friend was looking at the Healer as if she’d just figured something out, yet Aimee had no idea what it could possibly be.
The only thing she knew was that she had no job, and that meant she might not be able to make her rent. But, in the end, she wasn’t sure it would matter anyway because no matter how many words Walker used to try and comfort her, she knew the truth.
Whatever was wrong with her that the doctors couldn’t find wasn’t going away. And with each passing day, she got closer and closer to losing her battle. And though she had slowly started to come to terms with that over the past few months, when she stood by her friends and looked into the Healer’s eyes, she knew she’d been lying to herself.
She had people to fight for, people to live for.
But she was afraid that no matter what she did, it would be too late.
Chapter Three
Walker frowned at the leather-bound book in front of him before leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose. Wolves didn’t need glasses since their eyes self-corrected themselves thanks to their healing abilities, and Walker was able to fix anything their wolves couldn’t, but right then, he saw double.
He’d spent too long going over old books that didn’t tell him a damn thing when it came to the two things he searched for. He wanted to know more about mating bonds and their history to see if there was anything he could do to make them easier to sense. Things had been easier for potential mates before everything changed with the addition of a human-made shifter, and he was afraid that wolves were missing out on their futures because of it. Short of going to the moon goddess and begging, he wasn’t quite sure what he could do.
And though his siblings could hear the moon goddess’s words, Walker had never been able to. The only time he’d ever come close was when he was having horrible nightmares over the course of Brandon’s mating. His triplet had somehow been connected to the failing wards surrounding the den, and nightmares had plagued the three triplets. Kameron had been growly, not wanting to talk about it. While Brandon had leaned on his two new mates, Avery and Parker, to pull through.
Walker had written down every single dream he could remember so he could try and figure out what it all meant. In the end, they’d discovered that the three of them were reincarnations of the three original hunters who had been turned into shifters after the first hunter was blessed—or cursed if you wanted to think of it that way—by the moon goddess.
Their connection to the past had helped Brandon save his mates and restore the wards, and the nightmares that had plagued Walker ceased. Brandon had told Walker that the fact that they were reincarnations of the first set of shifters gave them stronger connections to their wolves. Knowing the magic and prophecy behind such a thing meant that they knew a part of themselves they hadn’t before, but Walker wasn’t sure it signified anything outside of the knowing.
Discovering where they’d come from was nice to know when he thought about the connection the three triplets shared with one another, but other than that, it was just another type of magic that was layered into his wolf and his Pack. The idea that his past incarnation had once been fully human didn’t help him heal, but it did give him perspective.
Perspective that would hopefully help him find out more about the mating bonds and perhaps…perhaps save Aimee’s life.
His wolf pushed against his skin at the thought, claws stabbing the edges of his fingertips. He wasn’t such a dominant wolf that he constantly had control issues like some. He wasn’t middle of the Pack either, nor was he a submissive. He was just a high-ranking wolf whose strength and control came from his Healing powers. The fact that his other half had become so aggressive just then to where he’d had to fight for control and keep from partially shifting at simply the thought of what was going on with Aimee told him something. It was more than just wanting to hel
p a friend.
He had a feeling the issues he was researching might just be connected.
He let out a shuddering breath.
There was something about Aimee, and it wasn’t just the way she made his wolf feel. He had to figure it out, and soon, if how she weakened right before his eyes was any indication. He was afraid if he weren’t quick enough in discovering what he could do for her, she’d fade away completely.
His wolf growled, and he stood up from his desk, too agitated to study any more. Maybe he’d go for a run and let his wolf out so he could breathe again. He’d be able to center himself so he could find a way to help this human woman who meant so much to the newest member of his family.
A female who was beginning to matter in his life, as well.
He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d known from the moment he spotted her going through the wards at the nearest den when he was there to aid others in Healing, that there was something different about her.
Then she’d passed out going through the wards, and he’d caught her, bringing her close to his skin, her scent blending with his. She’d told him she was fine, that it must have just been a touch of lightheadedness, but now, he wasn’t so sure. Hell, he hadn’t been sure then either. Going though wards pulled on magic, that much was known. Humans with no connection to magic wouldn’t feel a thing as they slid through the barrier. Cheyenne had walked through with permission from Dawn, who had been part of the Central Pack at the time and she hadn’t felt anything beyond a prick of sensation along her skin—at least according to her. She’d remained upright and had rushed to Aimee’s and Dhani’s sides when the other two women hadn’t faired so well.
Dhani had looked slightly lightheaded but had shrugged it off. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, other than the fact that, for some reason, she was more sensitive to magic than most people—those like Cheyenne.
Aimee, on the other hand, had fallen into his arms. She’d obviously taken the brunt of whatever magic had slid through the wards and landed within her. At the time, his wolf had reached out, trying to Heal, but since she wasn’t wolf or Pack, there hadn’t been anything he could do.
And nothing had really changed in that regard since there was still nothing he could do for Aimee outside of human medicine, and she’d already exhausted most of their efforts before he was even aware that she was sick.
He growled low and forced himself to take a deep breath. He needed to run this energy off, or he’d end up growling at a pup or someone who didn’t deserve it. In order to focus his talents as a Healer, he had to be the calm one, the seemingly laid-back one.
So he’d find a way to keep that façade now that Aimee was so close.
Aimee.
This sudden pull had to do with her, but he didn’t know what it meant exactly. Was it because she was sick and his wolf needed to Heal? Or was it something more.
Perhaps it was a mix of both.
Instead of dwelling on something that would only fracture his control even more, he stripped off his shirt and toed off his shoes. He’d either shift here and go for a run in the surrounding woods, or he’d leave his jeans near a familiar tree. But the fabric of his shirt was a little too much on his sensitive skin at the moment.
He went back to mark where he was in his books just in case things got moved around since he was still at his clinic, and people could come in and out even though his office was off-limits. Once he’d done that, he headed out of his office, exited the clinic, and walked out into the paved area where people were still strolling since it was only early evening. He didn’t have any patients, and if any came in, he’d feel them tug on his bonds as Healer, and Leah, his sister-in-law, who was a water witch and healer herself, could help. While he’d only been the Talon Pack Healer for a little over three decades, he’d been through his share of wars and battles. He was glad to have the help, even in a time of peace.
That thought made him frown. Were they at peace? Everyone knew that Blade was up to something, along with either the entire Aspen Pack—or at least some of them—but Walker wasn’t sure what their next move would be. It wasn’t like with the Central War when they’d brought a demon to Earth and slowly pecked away at the Talon’s allies and close friends, the Redwoods. And it wasn’t like when Walker was younger, and they’d dealt with the totalitarian hierarchy of his father and uncles. Hell, even the war with the humans after the Unveiling where the secrets of shifters and witches had been revealed to the world was different than this. With the latter, they’d dealt with a frozen point in time when they were unsure how to proceed because wolves hadn’t wanted to seem too aggressive and end up hurting more people in the end. However, with this, Walker wasn’t sure any of them knew exactly what would happen next—only that something was coming.
Walker made his way to the forested area, nodding at shifters in both human and wolf form along the way as he thought about everything going on around them. He wasn’t one to plan battles or even fight in them like his brothers and cousins. It had always been his job to stand on the front lines but to help those in need and aid those who fell. It was his job to care for his Pack and use every ounce of himself to make sure those that fell got up again. And because of that, his connection to his fellow Packmates of all dominance levels was slightly different than what the rest of his family had with them. He was the Pack’s Healer, and that meant his people could always trust he would be there for them and that he wasn’t at such a level that might intimidate. Every single wolf felt loved by their Alpha, Beta, Heir, Omega, and Enforcer, but there would always be a sense for some that they weren’t truly comfortable alone with those in that hierarchy due to their power. Walker’s magic was slightly…softer. So, as he walked past groups of people, they smiled easily at him and never once had to lower their eyes because of their wolves. That was how Healers worked, even if he didn’t try.
Shaking off the odd thoughts that his mind tended to go toward, he made it to his favorite tree to shift behind and snorted when he saw that he wasn’t the only one in need of a run tonight. Max and Kameron each leaned on different trees, their faces expressionless except for their eyes. Kameron looked curious with a touch of ice, while Max…well, Max just looked angry. That, however, wasn’t anything new—at least since the accident—with how much his cousin seemed to hate the world.
They’d almost lost Max in the final battle with the humans after the Unveiling. And while his cousin might still be standing to tell the tale, he wasn’t whole—physically or emotionally. His body still bore the scars on his torso and legs that may never fade away, even with Walker’s Healing abilities, because when Max was hurt, his body had gone into shock. Max had also lost part of his right arm below the elbow and was still learning how to live again as a human and a wolf.
“Mind if I join you?” Walker said, his voice calmer than he felt.
Kameron unfolded his arms and stood straight. “We heard you coming, so we figured you’d join us.” He narrowed his eyes at Walker. “You okay? You’ve had your head stuck in books most of the day, even when I came by to check on you.”
Though Walker was the eldest triplet, Kameron had taken the role of older brother—the fact that the three of them were younger than all of their other siblings and cousins notwithstanding. That meant that Walker was used to the way Kameron constantly checked on them all. If they weren’t near enough to each other to do a physical check, then Kameron would either call or tug on the Pack bond that his brother had as the Enforcer.
“I’m fine,” Walker said quietly. “Just need to think a few things through, and a run should be good for me.”
The others gave him a nod, and Walker wasn’t surprised that Max hadn’t said anything. It was rare for his cousin to speak these days after what had happened to him. Knowing all three had their own reasons for this run outside of the full moon, he stripped out of his pants and knelt down to begin his shift.
The familiar agony slipped through him as he tugged on the bond to his
wolf. His bones broke and reformed, his muscles and limbs tightening and reshaping. Fur sprouted along his body, and soon, he was no longer man, but wolf. His human self was still at the forefront, his wolf half giving him time to get adjusted to his new body until it was time to run. Though with what Walker wanted to think about during the run, he might let his wolf hang back just a bit more than usual so he could focus.
The others were already shifted by the time he was done, and Walker did his best not to check on Max. It was taking time for Max to get used to running on three paws, and his cousin hated when Walker watched him as Healer to see if there was anything he could do. Shifters could heal most everything, but they couldn’t regrow limbs.
They set out at a steady pace, Walker letting his wolf creep slowly to the forefront of his mind so he wouldn’t have to worry about fallen branches and things to trip on. His senses were stronger in this form, his body more alert.
Max and Kameron trotted on either side of him, each of them running for their own reasons, while Walker let his mind wander. The pads of his paws pounded the ground as the three of them increased their pace, and he finally allowed his mind to turn to the problems at hand. The barest hint of the moon shone through the clouds, sliding over his fur, and he almost stumbled as his thoughts came together.
A curse.
That was what he felt whenever he was near Aimee. The taste of magic on the air when she came by, the overwhelming sense that something was off without any human medical reason for it.
He stopped where he was and knew the other two wolves around him would circle back in a moment. But Walker knew. He was now certain what was wrong with Aimee. As a Healer, once he could taste the magic, he knew.
How could he fix it? He had no idea. But now that he’d narrowed it down to a magical cause, he might be able to find a cure even though she wasn’t connected to him through Pack bonds. If he had to, he’d find every witch he’d ever met and ask her if she knew how to save Aimee. Because she was important to Dawn, his new Packmate, and that meant she mattered.
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