Chapter 12

Rose

The next week is a blur of healing and sleeping. I'm careful to take my time with each healing because I watched what happened with Sage and Samantha when they burned out. Because of that, it takes me longer; but I'm pleased with how things are progressing. I've been able to heal four more shifters that were really bad and three that weren't as sick yet. Cade checks in with me often, and so do my new friends Sara and Sabrina. Ava offers to help over and over again, but I don't let her. I'm worried that if I get it, she's going to need to stay healthy so she can heal me. Because as fast as I'm healing shifters, more get sick every day. I can see it weighing on Cade. He's put Amber and Paige into lockdown. I haven't seen them since I first got here.

I'm just finishing a particularly hard healing, though none have been as difficult as Maverick's, when Cade slips inside. "Hey," he says softly. "How's he doing?" he indicates my patient.

"He should wake up any moment now," I tell him and take a deep breath to steady myself before drinking from a bottle of apple juice. I've learned that getting some sugar in my system right away after a difficult healing really does help. I take a few steps back and wait for the shifter to come out of the comatose state he's been in. I've also learned that the hard way after being grabbed by more than one shifter just waking up and thinking they are being attacked. We both watch as the shifter wakes up. His eyes open, and he jerks to a sitting position.

"Easy, Dale," Cade says in a soothing voice. "You're okay. Rose was just healing you." Glowing eyes turn to meet mine, and I resist the urge to step back. They always lose their aggression in minutes; I just have to stay calm. After Dale seems back to his normal self, I step closer.

"Do you feel okay?" He nods. "Go ahead and stand up. Take your time."

He slowly stands. When I'm convinced he's okay, I back away and leave Cade to talk to him. I step out into the hall and nearly run into somebody. "Sorry," I say, taking a step back. I look up in surprise to see Maverick. "Oh." That's all I say. He stares down at me a moment.

"Cade in there?" he asks, nodding at the door.

"Oh, um, yes."

Without another look at me, he walks into the room and closes the door behind him. I release the air trapped in my lungs slowly and take off all my protective gear. Then I make my way down the hallway back to my room. I haven't made it very far when Cade calls my name. I turn around to see him striding down the hallway toward me, Maverick right behind him. I keep my grimace off my face...I think. "Yes?"

"Are you feeling okay?" Cade asks. I am very aware that Maverick's eyes are on me, but I manage to ignore him.

"Yes."

"Good. You've been eating? And sleeping?" he asks.

"Yes," I answer both questions.

"Good. Any signs of sickness?"

I shake my head. "We go through this routine almost daily."

"Okay. Good."

"How are Amber and Paige?" I ask.

"They're both still healthy."

I nod. I ask about them every day. So far, they've been able to avoid this—whatever it is. "Good."

"Are you going to be here tonight?" Cade asks me.

I look up at him in confusion. "Here in the building?" He nods. "Yes."

"We have a pack meeting at seven; I'd like you to be there. Now that Mav's back, I'm going to introduce you to the pack."

I'm careful not to look in Maverick's direction. "Okay. Where is it?"

"Mav will show you the way," Cade says and then walks away, leaving the two of us. I see the look on Maverick's face and know he's not happy about this turn of events.

"Uh, you can just tell me where it is," I say softly.

He looks down at me with no expression on his face, and I'm startled by how very grey his eyes are. I've always mistaken them for black, but they're like a slate gray. They're actually really beautiful. My face heats at my thoughts, and I drop my gaze to the floor. "I'll show you where to go. Be in the dining hall at quarter to seven." He walks away without another word, and I stare after him for a moment before coming to my senses. When I get to my room, I collapse on my bed, setting my alarm for six-thirty. It's four-thirty now, so if I can go right to sleep, I can get a whole two hours.

When I open my eyes sometime later, I blink up at the ceiling, coming out of a deep sleep. A quick glance outside shows it's dark, and my heart rate speeds up as I reach out and grab my phone. 7:30. "No. No, no, no." I jump off my bed and shove my phone into my jean's pocket. I walk as quickly as I can to the dining room. When I see it's empty, my heart drops. I don't know what to do. I'm frustrated and irritated and embarrassed and feel like I'm going to throw up...all at once. When a lady comes out of the kitchen, I stop her. "I'm sorry to bother you. Could you tell me where the pack meeting is? I'm supposed to be there now, but I don't know where it is."

"Sure. I'm heading there now." Thankfully, she's not the type to make small talk. She walks down a series of hallways and then down a set of stairs I've never seen before. I'm thankful she's showing me where to go because I would never have been able to find it on my own. When we get close, I can hear Cade's voice. The doors are open, so I can see the group that's gathered. It's a lot larger than I thought it would be, and I freeze in the doorway, which is stupid because it just draws more attention to me.

"Rose, great timing. I was just going to introduce you to the pack. Come on up here." I hear Cade's words, but I still haven't moved.

"Go ahead, Honey," the woman from the dining hall says and gently pushes me forward. I'm walking before I realize it. It hits me about halfway to the front of the room that I literally just rolled out of bed. My hair's probably a mess, and I'm sure I have drool crusted on the side of my face. I feel my face heat to a thousand degrees, but I keep my face down, focusing on each and every step to the front of the room. Cade motions me up on the small platform, and I do as he says. Maverick stands against the back of the platform, leaning one shoulder against the wall with his arms crossed. I don't meet his eyes and instead focus on not throwing up.

"Pack, this is Rose. She's a healer from the Northwoods Pack. She's been a huge help to our pack. She's already healed almost ten of our pack." The pack stays quiet, and I don't know how to take that. I'm used to the Northwoods Pack that's loud for everything. "She's going to continue healing our pack until we figure out what the threat to our pack is. And believe me, we're going to figure out the threat." There are a couple of growls that punctuate his statement. "I also want to take this opportunity to let the pack know why else Rose is special to our pack." A sick feeling fills my stomach because I know where this is going. I don't look Maverick's way as Cade continues. "I am pleased to announce that Rose is Maverick's mate." There's absolute silence in the room, and I feel like I'm going to throw up. Finally, somebody starts clapping and then others join in. But all I hear is the rushing sound in my own head. Cade turns toward Maverick and must say something because Maverick pushes away from the wall and comes over to stand beside me. And because my brain is already not functioning, it takes that moment in time to notice how much taller and bigger than me he really is. I'm not used to standing beside him. A weird feeling hits me for just a moment, wondering how it would feel to stand next to this man all the time—to feel protected by him. I shake my head slightly, pushing those thoughts away. Maverick is careful to keep his distance, and I feel again like the most unlovable person in the room. Cade says a few more things, and then finally, he tells me I can go sit down.

I step down on wooden legs and look blindly for a seat. Not seeing one, I walk towards the back. I'm almost to the back door when a commotion gets my attention. I look over to see Sara and Sabrina trying to flag me down. I pause for a moment and then walk over to them. I have to climb over a few shifters before I settle between the two of them in a tight squeeze because the three of us are literally sharing two chairs. They both grin at me like this is the most wonderful occasion, and I try to smile back before tuning in to what Cade is saying. Honestly, most of it is lost on me. My eyes keep straying to the shifter standing against the wall behind him once again. I swear one time Maverick looks right at me, but I quickly drop my eyes before we can make eye contact. Cade seems to drone on and on, but finally he dismisses us.

"Hey, Girl," Sara says. "We haven't seen you in a few days. Nice entrance." She grins and I shake my head.

"I had an alarm set, and I slept right through it. I can't believe I did that."

"It's okay. Alpha Cade totally understands something like that. He may hate it, but he gets it." My eyes shoot to Sabrina's, but she just grins. We finally make our way out of the room when it clears a little bit. Just my luck, I happen to walk out into the hallway just as Maverick walks past.

"Nice nap?" he questions pointedly.

I feel my face burn in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I had an alarm set, but..." He's gone before I finish what I was going to say, which is probably good because I would have just word vomited on him.

The girls keep a steady stream of conversation as we walk back up upstairs. When I finally make it to my room, I collapse in the chair and groan. I can't believe I slept through half the meeting. I make a mental note to find Cade and apologize profusely. I'm in bed early again that night, feeling lost and alone and more tired than I can ever remember.

Ava meets me for dinner the next night in the dining hall. "You look terrible."

"Thanks, Ava," I say dryly.

"No, I'm serious. You look terrible. Are you sleeping?"

"Yes," I answer honestly.

"You should let me do some of the healings."

"No."

"I don't know why you're being so stubborn about this whole thing. Just let me help."

I sigh. "No, because if we both get it, we're going to be in a world of hurt with nobody to save us."

Ava rolls her eyes. "We can have Sage come."

It's my turn to shake my head. "Paul's not going to let her near this illness. Besides, she has Stana. She can't take the chance of getting this...whatever it is."

"Fine. Then Sam can come."

I shake my head again. "No. She's in her own pack now. She and Wyatt can't just leave whenever they want; he's the alpha there."

Ava adds. "She's probably pregnant, anyway. I'm sure Wyatt's been actively trying to put a baby in her."

My face scrunches up. "Ewww. TMI."

"You know I speak the truth," she says, and I don't argue with her.

The next two weeks pass in a blur of healing, healing, and more healing. I'm starting to feel like there's an end in sight, and it feels really good. Cade has been singing my praises, and I've been getting to know more people in the pack as I heal their loved ones. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and belonging, not that I'll stay in this pack forever. But for now, it feels really good. And then, of course, because something is actually going right in my life, it all comes crashing down.