Chapter 28

Chapte r 28

Rose

The next morning, I'm up early, despite the late night. It‘s partly because there's a shifter that needs healing. Amber texted me last night about it. But the bigger reason is that I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about everything that went down—from seeing Maverick in the fight ring to him actually talking to me. I also can't get over the words he said. I would never be with another female. Being the overthinker that I am, I can't stop considering his words and what they meant. Does that mean he would only be with me? Or does that mean he wouldn't be with any female? Or does that mean he's already with a female, so he's not looking for another female? These thoughts continue to torment me, and that's why I didn't get any sleep last night.

The positive side is that now I'm downstairs early, so I can eat breakfast without having to talk to anybody. I make myself a hot tea and grab a biscuit with honey and butter and some bacon and turn around to find a seat. I just sit down when Cade and Maverick and Eli walk in. I immediately duck my head and hope nobody will notice me. No such luck . Cade turns and walks right over to me.

"Rose, how are you?"

I look up at him and try my best for a relaxed smile. "I'm good, Cade. How are you?"

"I heard you had quite a night last night."

I freeze and then hazard a glance at Maverick. He scowls at me, and I look back at Cade quickly, wondering how I should respond. "Uh, yeah. It was...interesting."

"While I appreciate you keeping an eye on one of our finest pack members, maybe leave the spying to somebody else from now on, yeah?"

I hear the amusement in his voice, but I still feel my cheeks flame. "Of course." I keep my head down.

Cade chuckles. "In all seriousness, thanks for everything you're doing for our pack, Rose."

I nod, still too embarrassed to look at him. "I'll be right there," I hear Maverick say. The chair across from me pulls out, and Maverick folds his large body into it.

What is he doing? Panic builds in my chest. Certainly he doesn't want to chat.

" We need to talk."

I look up at his ominous words; I can't not. I force myself to look him in the eye. "What about?"

He crosses his arms over his chest and stares at me. "I'm not interested in a mate." I keep myself from flinching. Barely. "So, if you want to be with one of the other males here, that's fine." His words are harsh, and I drop my head.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Maybe if I tell myself that enough times, I won't. I just need to wait until he's gone.

"Did you hear what I said?"

I nod. "Got it." I'm proud of the fact that I can speak at all.

"If you're going to be with one of the other males, just...don't be obnoxious about it."

My gaze lifts to his. "Excuse me?"

"If you're going to be with another male, pick a male from this pack. Don't go with a male from the Northwoods Pack." He scowls as he says the words. "And don't be all in everybody's face with it. No public displays."

Anger swiftly rises to the surface, quickly quelling whatever sadness I had. "Oh, so you don't want to be with me, but you're going to tell me who I can be with and what I can and can't do?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Any embarrassment I felt dissipates as my anger continues to rise. "Well, guess what, Maverick? That's not how it works. If you decide you don't want anything to do with me, that's fine. You can reject me, reject the bond or whatever you have to do, but you don't then get to tell me who I can date or what I can do." I lean forward. "You lose that privilege if you don't choose me. And you know what? There are some really good men in the Northwoods Pack."

"Don't," he growls.

"There's Blaine," I tick off on my finger. "He's got the whole broody thing going on, but I bet beneath all that muscle, he's a real teddy bear. Then there's Carl. He's kind of quiet but really nice. Jamie is more out-going; he likes to flirt. Maybe he..."

"Stop," he growls at me.

I ignore him. "Oh, there's also Logan. Supposedly, he's a really good tracker."

"No," he says.

My anger and hurt crest. "No, Maverick. You don't get to say you don't want me—" To my horror, my voice breaks. I shove my chair back and grab my plate. I need to get out of here before I have a full breakdown. I try to walk past, but he snags my wrist.

"Healer." His voice is low. "Look at me." I don't. I just want to escape. "Please." His voice is soft and earnest and so unlike him that I lift my gaze to his. "It has nothing to do with you." I laugh.

"That's what a guy always says. Everybody knows it's absolutely not true."

He frowns. "Well, in this case, it is."

"Rooose," somebody calls out. A heavy arm drops around my shoulders, and I stiffen in response. I don't like it when people touch me, especially without my permission. And yes, I realize I'm being hypocritical because I am enjoying Maverick's hold on my hand...the hand he hasn't dropped yet.

"How's my favorite healer doing?" Jacob asks with his heavy arm still on my shoulders.

"I'm good, Jacob. How are you?" If he notices my voice is soft and uncertain, he doesn't say anything.

"I'm better now. Want to eat breakfast with me?"

"She already ate," Maverick growls out. "Get your arm off her shoulder; she doesn't want it there."

"You gonna make me?" Jacob asks, grinning from ear to ear. When Maverick stands up and shoves his chair back, Jacob finally drops his arm and backs away grinning like a fool. "Okay, okay. Next time, Cupcake." He winks at me and walks away, joining a group of guys.

"Does he always bother you like that?" Maverick asks. I glance up at him and see his gaze still zeroed in on Jacob. I shrug, unwilling to get into it with him. At this point, I just want to escape to my room. He glances down at me, still frowning. "Want me to talk to him?"

"I'm up for grabs, remember?" Without another word, I walk over and drop off my dishes and then make my way up to my room. I'm halfway up the stairs when I remember I have a healing I'm supposed to do this morning. I take a deep breath and head back down the stairs. Thankfully, Maverick is no longer in sight. I make my way to the apartment number Amber sent me last night, giving myself a pep talk on the way. You're a healer; this is what you do.

By the time I get to the apartment, my mind is back where it needs to be—far, far away from Maverick. The shifter in bed is much sicker than I had assumed based on the message Amber sent me. I stare down at the male shifter as my mind races. This will be the second time I've healed him, and if it's as it seems, he's much worse. And yet, Amber only texted me last night which means either nobody realized he was that sick, which would be unusual. Or the second time comes on much faster, and the shifter is much sicker. My stomach tightens at the thought, and I focus on healing him. It takes much longer than my other healings, but I finally finish. I'm kicking myself, though because I didn't bring any juice with me. I haven't for a while now because my healings have been happening faster after the person comes down with symptoms. This one is different in that it's the second healing. I manage to get out the door and down the hallway before black dots start to cloud my vision. My stomach gets that sick feeling, and the world around me spins.

"Whoa." A hand catches me around the elbow and keeps me upright. "What happened?" I recognize Maverick's voice, but my world is still spinning. "Hey," his voice is gentle, more gentle than usual. "Talk to me. What's going on?" His other hand settles on my other arm, keeping me on my feet.

"Healing," I manage to get out.

"Okay." His voice is oddly...soothing. Soothing? That can't be right. " What usually helps?"

"Sugar. Rest."

"Okay. Let's get you both. Come on." He puts a hand on my lower back and starts walking with me down the hallway. The further we go, though, the more sick I get. The spots start getting worse, and I know what's coming. If I don't get juice now, I'm going to pass out.

"Mav." That's all I get out before my legs give out.

Strong arms catch me and lift me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I am aware of the fact that Maverick is carrying me. But I'm not coherent enough to enjoy it, though I wish I was. My world continues to spin around me, and I try not to be sick. The next little bit is hazy to me. Eventually, I get some sugar in my system, and my surroundings begin to come back. I blink in confusion when I see Ava sitting in the chair next to my bed.

"Welcome back," she says without smiling.

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. All I know is that I was sleeping soundly in my bed when somebody started banging on my door. That was Maverick. He told me you needed me and then disappeared." She pins me with a look. "So, want to tell me what happened?"

I sit up, grimacing at the lingering headache. "I did a healing this morning. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I got too depleted." I frown remembering. "I don't understand why it was so bad; it should have been easy. The shifter just started having symptoms. I don't understand why it would be so aggressive so fast?"

"You keep thinking on that, and I'm going to go back to my room."

"Thanks, Ava. Sorry Maverick grabbed you." She must hear something in my voice because she stops.

"What happened?"

I'm too tired to even pretend that nothing happened. I sigh. "Maverick sat me down this morning and told me that he doesn't want a mate and that I can be with any of the males in this pack but I can't show any PDA."

"What a jerk!" She shakes her head and sits back down. She stares at me, and I keep my head down. "As soon as Cade feels like he has a handle on what's going on and our job here is done, we'll get you out of here and back to the Northwoods Pack."

I look up and meet her eyes. "Yeah. That will be good."

"Until then, I can kick him in the—"

"Ava!"

"What? He deserves so much worse."

I don't say anything because I think I kind of agree, and I don't want to be like that. I don't want to be jaded and hurt...any worse than I already am. I'm trying to get better, and I don't want something like this setting me back. What I want to focus on instead is that Ava is sitting here, talking to me, concerned about me. That's huge, and that almost makes me happy for everything that went down with Maverick. Almost .