Chapter Fifteen

Eric

Freshly out the shower in the morning, I pad down to the kitchen to get water from the fridge.I need to go get breakfast and then grab some food for Cassie, too. This has become our new routine.

Jeremiah is in the kitchen cooking. I yawn and greet him as I pour myself a glass of water. Jeremiah mumbles a greeting back and focuses on the meal.

I look closely at Jeremiah. He looks more tired and stressed than I am. His face is pinched and ashen. The whole experience has been more draining for him even though I have been the one taking care of Cassie.

It's been a few days since Cassie showed up at our door. It has not been easy dealing with the change. Everything has moved so fast. She has been sick and in need of special care. She is no longer the Cassie I used to know. She almost seems like a stranger to me now.

Her physical appearance has changed drastically. I was confused at first when I saw the white streak in her hair. I didn't know what to think about it then. I still don't know what to think about it now that she has a full head of white hair.

"She's still sleeping?" Jeremiah asks me, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Yes." I pull out a chair to sit at the kitchen counter. I had gone to take my shower only after making sure of that.

Jeremiah sighs, cleans his hands with a towel, and leans against the counter. "I'm worried about her. I'm not even sure she is going to eat this meal I'm preparing. She hasn't been eating too well."

That's true. She hasn't been eating well.

I have had to feed her all these days. She often spits out the food. It is becoming worrisome.

She has also been acting animalistic. No matter how I try, I can't understand what is going on in her mind.

"She is changing right before our eyes," Jeremiah laments.

It is like he's read my thoughts.

"Yes. I still don't know what to make of her white hair," I say.

"I don't either. Maybe it could be an effect of using the banned blockers for that long," he says.

"It could be that. She was exposed to so many toxins," I add.

"Yeah. That could be it. She has been throwing up so much, maybe she is expelling those toxins out of her system that way," Jeremiah says.

I grimace as I remember all the bowls of vomit I have had to clean and throw out over the past few days.

Jeremiah notices my expression and shakes his head. I scowl at him, he raises his hands in mock surrender and turns back to the food he is making.

I have been the one taking care of Cassie since she showed up. Not that I am complaining, but a little help wouldn't hurt. But, Jeremiah cannot be around Cassie for too long without both of them losing their cool.

Between myself and my brother, I am the right person to take care of Cassie. I am a Beta, so I am unaffected by her pheromones. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is very affected, so he avoids Cassie.

It has been quite hard to avoid it, but we have been doing our best. Cassie has been in Jeremiah's room, and according to Jeremiah, she has spread her pheromones all over it. They stick to my clothes every time I go to her, and the scent on my clothes alone is enough to drive Jeremiah crazy.

So, we had to come up with a solution. Every time I come out of the room, I have to take off my clothes and dump them in a bag Jeremiah has placed by the door. That is still not enough as her pheromones stick to my skin. So, I also have to rush to the bathroom and take a shower to wash it all off.

It is quite a lot of work, but it has been important to prevent Jeremiah from going into a rut.

I wouldn't want to experience that with everything else that is going on.

From what I know, only a powerful Omega can cause my brother to go into a crazed rut.

Cassie must be a very powerful Omega.

She was a powerful Omega living under our noses, and we couldn't tell because of those damn pills.

No wonder she used to have to take so many of them.

She must have needed them to contain her true nature.

Cassie has become a mystery to me. But there is no way I will give up on her. She is our issue to deal with.

I come out of my thoughts to see Jeremiah hunched over as he stirs the pot. I can tell that he is as troubled as I am. We both don't understand what is happening to her.

"I am really worried about her. There have been several times I have seen reason leave her eyes. There are only a few moments when she is herself. Other times, she is just like an animal," I voice.

Jeremiah turns to face me. He nods but says nothing.

"I know what it is like it is like to shift. I have had my wolf for a long time, unlike her. So, I know when to let my wolf be in control. I am always present when that happens. But with Cassie, it's like she disappears, and it's just her wolf. It scares me," I finish.

Jeremiah's eyes glow with understanding. He presses his lips together and says, "Yes, I understand you. Who would have thought that she wasn't shiftless after all."

I nod.

"It's just taking her wolf some time to come out since it has been blocked for a long. I am a bit worried about that. But we can't take her anywhere else because of her pheromones. It will be too dangerous to do that. So, let's just give it time." Jeremiah pats me on the shoulder.

We have no other choice. I know this, but it hurts me to see Cassie like this. She is currently in a very dangerous place, and there is little we can do.

She turns into an animal and all I can do is watch her. She'll sniff me all over, climb on my body, and hold onto my face in curiosity. But when I look into those pale blue eyes, I don't see Cassie. She is lost to her wolf and it terrifies me to see that. She's also gotten really attached to everything soft. Like blankets and pillows. Jeremiah says she's "nesting".

Whenever she comes back to herself, she is in severe pain. Her wolf often tries to come out. I have watched several times as her bones shift underneath her skin. I'd think she is about to shift, only for her the process to halt. She is usually in so much pain during those times.

It is always terrifying to watch, but I stay with her regardless. I could never let her deal with all that alone. I often make use of warm towels over the shifting bones to help numb the pain, but that's never enough.

Whenever I think it's over and she is lying comfortably on the bed, it starts again. It has become an unending marathon for her. The pain is too much for her. If there is any way I could take it on, I'd willingly do so.

Cassie also can't seem to stay in clothes. She is naked all the time. Any clothing we put on her, she shreds off her body. I only manage to keep her in her underwear for my own sanity. If we let her have her way, she'd be wandering around naked in the house. If that was the case, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on helping her.

I am often surprised that she has the energy to rip off her clothes the way she does. But, I understand that she does it out of necessity. She gets uncomfortable with the heavy sweating and vomiting. We had to accept that but it's not easy seeing her half-naked.

Cassie is unable to do anything for herself. So, I do everything for her. I bathe, shower her, and brush her teeth. I dress and feed her. I have become quite familiar with her body because of all of this.

I try my best to fight my urges, but Cassie makes it so difficult. She is super sexual, and I suffer for it. She has attacked me several times, jumping, crawling, and grinding on my body. She never speaks, just tries to have her way with me like an animal in heat.

For a Beta, it takes everything in me to stay sane. I cannot start to imagine what it would be like for Jeremiah if he had to take care of her. There is no denying that it would have been bad.

"Let's hope she expels the toxins. Hopefully, things will get better then," Jeremiah tells me again.

He seems to be doing so well at reading my thoughts.

He turns off the gas and dishes a plate up for Cassie.

"You shouldn't give her too much," I inform him when I notice the portion on the plate.

"Oh! Sorry about that." He reduces it and drops the plate on the counter. "I will see you later then. Be careful." He gives me a sympathetic look before heading out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, I will be fine," I mutter.

While I take care of Cassie, Jeremiah has taken to locking himself in his study all day. It's either that, or risk a feral showdown.

I sigh as I walk back up to Jeremiah's room with Cassie's food. I hope she eats most of it.

She should be up by now.

If it was Jeremiah going up, he would have sensed Cassie's pheromones on the stairway. But, it is just plain old me.

When I was younger I used to feel left out that I couldn't perceive pheromones.

My insecurity was heightened by how I was bullied in middle school by my classmates. There were three Alpha wolves who felt I was a stain on their class. I was the only Beta wolf boy in the class. The bullying had been so severe that I had to tell Jeremiah.

He wasn't pleased that I had let it go on for so long without letting him know. But he dealt with it. I don't know how he did, but the boys never messed with me after he had "a little talk" with them.

I have outgrown my insecurity about being a Beta. Also, nobody can get away with bullying me now. It's a death wish to pick on me now.

Although I can't sense pheromones, I can smell body musk due to being a wolf. When I'm close to Cassie, I often get a faint scent of roses and berries.

Is that what Jeremiah perceives? But a heightened version?

I get to the door of the room. I take a few minutes to steel myself because I never know what to expect with Cassie. She could be calm, in pain, or feral. As much as I am determined to be there for her, I still get spooked by her condition.

There is also the fact that she turns me on faster than anybody I know.

After taking deep breaths, I open the door. I poke my head in first to see her sitting at the edge of the bed. She is wearing only a black bra and panties I had put on her the previous night. Her exposed skin glints under the blue light I had left on. Her head is bowed, and her face is covered with her white hair. I can't see her face, but I can tell she is calm.

I enter the room fully and close the door behind me. All of a sudden, she doubles over, and I quickly understand what she needs. I drop the food on the table and run to move the vomit bowl closer to her. She reaches it before me and starts puking. I hold her hair back and caress her neck as she pukes.

She is burning up!

She has a fever.

She needs to get cool!

I keep caressing her neck until she stops puking. I clean her mouth with a rag and rush to the bathroom.

"I'll be back, Cassie," I tell her, but I don't wait for a reply.

I grab a towel and a bowl of water and head back to her. She is still at the edge of the bed, gazing at the closed window.

Does she want fresh air?

I don't like that we have to keep her inside. But, it is for her own good.

I dip the towel in the bowl, squeeze it out, and mop her skin with it. She shrinks from my touch but doesn't move from her spot. I keep at it for a while as she sits there, catatonic. All of a sudden, she becomes feral. She turns to me and I can't find Cassie in her eyes. She grabs my hands and starts sniffing my neck.

Oh no. Sexual Cassie is back.

She falls on me and straddles me. My back is on the bed as she grinds hard on my crotch. I swallow hard as she licks my neck.

"Cassie, stop it!" I grit out.

But she keeps at it, ignoring me and not saying a word. She starts scratching at my clothes with heightened speed. I want to run out, but she has me pinned down. I'd have to push her off me and I don't want to hurt her.

As she keeps touching me, my dick gets harder. I can't deny that I want her. I have always wanted her. But this is not right. She is not in her right mind. She does not need me aroused. She needs me to take care of her.

Oh lord!

"Cassie, stop!" I finally manage to get her off me and she whines like a pained pup.

How do I overcome this?