Chapter 18

Rose

As always, I don't know how long the healing takes. I do know it takes much longer than I thought it would. Finally, when I'm satisfied that her blood has been completely purged of the poison, I let the last of my healing power dissipate and pull back. I blink as reality comes back into focus. It always takes me a moment to get my bearings after a healing. I feel a hand at my elbow. "Sit."

I step back and sit in a chair near Amber's bed. When my head clears, I look up and realize that it was Maverick who got me to a chair. "Here." I look down and see a bottle of apple juice with the lid off. "Drink." I don't say anything in response to his one-word commands. But I do take the juice and drink about half the bottle. Once the sugar hits my system, my head begins to clear. I take a deep breath and meet Cade and Amber's anxious eyes. "She's perfectly healed," I tell them gently. Amber breathes a sigh of relief and Cade wraps her up tight in his arms. Feeling like this is a private moment between them, I stand to my feet. I make the move a little too fast and the room spins for a moment, but Maverick surprises me for the second time and steadies me with a hand at my elbow.

"You good?" he asks in a low voice. I make the mistake of looking up at him and am unprepared for the concern I see clearly in his eyes. When I blink a moment later, it's gone, leaving me to wonder if I only imagined it.

I nod. "Do you want me to check Paige?" I ask them. They look at each other and have what is, I'm sure, an entire conversation in their heads before Cade nods.

"If you don't mind, I'll go get her."

"Of course." Turning my attention to Amber, I ask, "How are you feeling?"

"Really good. I forgot how good I feel after a healing," she says with a smile. She reaches out and snags my hand. "Thank you, Rose. You have an incredible gift." Her voice is solemn. I nod because I know she's right.

It only takes a few minutes for Cade to come back. A big smile comes over my face when I see the big man holding his little girl. She smiles hugely when she sees her mama. "Hey Baby Girl," Amber says, taking her from Cade's arms.

"Momma." Paige snuggles up next to Amber, and my heart softens even more. I look at Cade uncertainly, but he motions me forward. It humbles me that he trusts me with his little girl. I step close to the bed and lean down so I'm more on her level.

"Hi, Paige," I say softly.

Amber sits up in bed and pulls Paige onto her lap. "Paige, you remember Miss Rose?" Paige gives me a shy smile.

"Hey Big Girl." I'm rewarded with a big smile. "Can I see how big your hands are? I want to see if my hand is as big as yours?" After a moment, she holds her little pudgy hand out to mine. "It's so big!" I tickle the palm of her hand to get her used to my touch. She giggles and pulls her hand back. "Hey Paige," I say, keeping my voice even and easy. "Does your belly hurt?" She gives me an uncertain look. I lean forward and whisper in a conspiratorial voice. "If I show you my belly, will you show me yours?" She stares at me with wide eyes. "Ready?" I ask. "Three, Two, One." I lift my shirt quickly and show her my belly and make a big show of pulling my shirt down. She giggles. "Now, can I see your belly?" Not giving her a chance to say no, I continue. "Three, Two, One." After a moment, she pulls her shirt up real quick. I reach out and tickle her belly, making her squirm and giggle. "You're so silly. Can you hold up your shirt again and this time I'm going to feel your belly and make sure it feels okay—make sure there are no owies in your belly. Is that okay?" She gives me a nod, and I smile at her. "Okay. I want to check that belly. Ready? Three, Two, One." Right on cue, she lifts her shirt, and I lean forward and put my hands on her belly. She squirms a little. "Is that ticklish?" I ask, smiling at her. "I'm just going to feel your belly and see if there are any owies." I close my eyes and send a wave into her and direct it right to her aorta valve. Because she's so much smaller, it takes me only a few minutes to check her out. When I don't find anything that leads me to believe she has the poison in her system, I pull my power back. I blink as the world comes into focus again. "You did so good! You're such a big girl!" She beams at my praise, and I face the anxious parents. "I didn't see anything that gives me cause for concern." They both breathe a sigh of relief. "If you want me to, I can check her every few days." I feel a tug and look down in surprise. Paige is on her knees in front of me; she puts her arms out. I look at Amber in surprise, and she gives me a warm smile.

"She's a people person." I stand up and after a moment's hesitation pick her up. I can't help but smile at her. She is so adorable with her big brown eyes and dark hair. She reaches out and puts her hands on my cheeks and grins.

"Pretty."

I can't not smile at her. "You're pretty too, Little One." I tickle her belly, and she dissolves in a fit of giggles, making me smile even more. Eventually, she turns around and I let her back down on the bed where she crawls back over to Amber.

"Mama."

I smile at the two of them. "I'm going to let you have some time. If you have any concerns, just reach out," I tell Amber and Cade.

Amber hugs Paige close, laughing at something she said or did. "We will. Thank you, Rose."

"You're welcome."

I walk over to the door and pause when Cade stops me. "Thank you, Rose. I can't tell you how much what you're doing means to me and to my pack." He looks back over at Amber and Paige. "They're my whole world."

"I know," I say softly.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your dinner."

"Oh, it's fine. I didn't like my sandwich anyway."

He laughs. "Well, make sure Mav makes it up to you." I don't comment on that. "Oh, and I'm supposed to invite you and Mav to dinner sometime soon. We want to get to know you a little better."

I nod. "Okay."

"I'll let you know when," Cade says. I nod and step out, taking that as my cue to leave. "Mav and I need to catch up on some stuff."

"Sounds good." I turn and walk away from his door, ready to crash in my room for the night. But first, I need to see if Sam and Wyatt and Ava made it back. I'm busy thinking about that and nearly run headlong into two guys I didn't even see coming.

"Whoa," one of them says as he reaches out to steady me.

"Sorry," I immediately apologize.

"No need to be sorry," the guy that caught me says. "I'm Jacob. I've been wanting to meet you."

"Oh." I don't really know what to say to that.

"And I'm Daniel," the other guy says.

"I'm Rose," I tell them as I shake their hands.

"We know," Jacob says. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he asks with an easy grin.

"Oh, I was just heading back to my room."

"We'll walk you," Jacob says.

His words give me pause. "You don't need to do that."

"We want to, don't we, Dan?"

Dan grins. "Yeah."

"Uh, okay." I'm not really sure what else to say. "It's this way."

"So where are you from, Rose?" Daniel asks as we walk.

"Wisconsin."

"How do you like Florida?" That's from Jacob.

"It's nice."

"Have you seen any alligators yet?" Jacob asks.

I stop. "Alligators?"

They both grin. "Yeah," Daniel says. "They're everywhere down here."

I look between the two of them. "Are you teasing?"

They laugh. "No. Seriously, we get alligators everywhere down here," Jacob says.

My face pales. "It's okay," Daniel rushes to say. "Just stay away from the water sources, and you should be fine."

My eyes are still wide. "What do you do if you see one?"

"Run."

"But not in a zig-zag fashion. That's old advice."

"You just run fast."

"But if it catches you, don't let it drag you into the water."

My eyes widen at each new thing they say until they're both laughing. "Your face."

"Can I just carry a gun?" I ask, totally serious.

They both try to keep their expressions straight. "You have a gun?" Jacob asks casually.

"No."

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" Daniel asks.

"No."

Jacob bites his lip. "Maybe just stick to running."

By this time, we're to my apartment. "Okay. Well, I won't be getting any sleep tonight. Thank you." They laugh like I'm hysterical. "Okay. Bye." I step inside and close the door behind me, making a mental note to look up how to run from alligators and not get eaten as soon as possible. I'm not sure about this Florida thing. I'm deep in research on alligators when somebody knocks on my door. I open it to Sam and Ava. "Did you know that alligators can climb trees?" I ask in a rush.

Sam raises her eyebrows. "Hello to you too."

I grimace. "Sorry. Come on in. Where's Wyatt?"

"He's with Alpha Cade. Now, why do you know that alligators can climb trees? And is that true? Because if it is, that's amazing," Sam says.

"And terrifying because then there's no way to escape them," I tell her.

"Is that something you feel you're going to be doing?" she asks in confusion.

"There are alligators everywhere in Florida," I explain as she and Ava sit. "And they want to drag you into the water with them. If one comes after you, you just run. They can only run about ten miles per hour. Don't run in a zig zag line; that's antiquated advice. Just run straight but run fast. And whatever you do, don't climb a tree."

Samantha and Ava stare at me with wide eyes. "Okay, then," Samantha finally says. "I hit my alligator knowledge quotient for today."

"This is a real thing down here," I tell her but look at Ava. "We need to be prepared." Ava looks about as thrilled about the idea as I do.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not planning on staying here then," Ava says.

"You're leaving?" I ask in surprise, and she immediately looks guilty. It instantly clicks. "Are you going back with Sam and Wyatt?" When she doesn't immediately say anything, I add, "It's okay if you are, Ava." Even though I'm panicking at the thought of being left here by myself, I'm not going to make her stay here if she wants to go back.

Ava glances at Sam and then back at me. "I was going to go back with them."

I nod and force a smile. "That's totally fine. Thanks for coming with me in the first place." I look over just in time to see Sam try to hide a yawn. "You're probably exhausted."

"Wyatt's on his way," she says somewhat sleepily. "Sorry, it must be the traveling. I am toast."

Somebody knocks on the door, and I open it, smiling when I see it's Wyatt. He gets a tender expression on his face when he sees Sam. "Hey, my Sam, you look beat. Let's get you to bed."

"I'm not—" her words are cut off by a huge yawn.

"What were you saying?" he asks with a grin as he pulls her up. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close. "We'll see you ladies tomorrow."

After they leave, Ava turns to me. "I won't leave if you don't want me to."

I give her what I hope is a genuine smile. "I want you to do what you want to do." She looks undecided, so I add, "You don't have to decide tonight. Why don't you sleep on it?"

"Yeah." With that, she says goodnight and leaves. I crash in bed a few minutes later and am asleep within minutes.