Chapter 9

Rose

My mind dissects the information Paul gave me over and over. The questions circle in my head for hours. What would be poisoning an entire pack? My mind pings from environmental causes to natural causes, to things in the building—the pipes, copper, lead poisoning...on and on my mind goes. Every once in a while, when I'm not careful, Eli's words come to the forefront of my mind.

You're okay just letting your mate die? I'm glad he doesn't have to be mated to you. You're pathetic.

Every time I think of those words, I want to curl into a ball. For hours I've been pushing those words from my mind, but I can't anymore. I let the weight of them sit on my mind, and I carry that weight. Is this who I am now? Who I've become? I think of Maverick. I haven't had a lot of run-ins with him, but I've heard the stories from everybody else in the pack. I've heard how he went after Talya on her mating day, how he eggs on Max all the time, how he constantly threatens Emma in front of Garrett, how he goes at it with Raechel and pretty much any of the females in our pack. He's a jerk, arrogant, and an all-around terrible person.

But does he deserve to die?

That's the question that has been pinging around in my head for the last few hours. I've been able to push it aside until now because the fact of the matter is Maverick is an awful person, but he doesn't deserve to die. If Ava and I leave tomorrow morning, he will do exactly that. There's no medicine that can cure these shifters. They've already tried everything. Cade told me that Maverick has held on the longest of anybody, and he thinks that's because I've been healing him enough to keep him alive. I roll over, trying to shake the awful feeling I'm feeling right now. If Ava and I head back, we're condemning this pack to death. I don't know if I can live with that on my conscience. Eli's words ring out in my head again.

You're okay just letting your mate die? I'm glad he doesn't have to be mated to you. You're pathetic.

I throw back the covers. "Enough." I don't think about what I'm going to do next. I throw on clothes and my sneakers and leave my room. I don't take my phone because I don't want to chicken out and call Sage and let her talk me out of it. I walk through the quiet building in the darkness of pre-dawn and let myself focus on only one thing—healing Maverick. I don't think about what will come after that, whether I'll leave or not, or whether I'll heal anybody else... if I even can heal anybody. No. Stop. I shift my focus. I'm healing Maverick because it's the right thing to do. With that thought solidly in my mind, I make my way to the other end of the building. If the shifter on duty is surprised to see me, he doesn't say anything. He simply nods at me as I walk past. I don't stop outside Maverick's door once I'm covered in protective gear; I can't allow myself the opportunity to talk myself out of this. I'm healing Maverick because it's the right thing to do. I step inside the room and take a deep breath, immediately regretting it. It smells like sickness and death in here. I walk over to his side, not looking at anything else in the room. I close my eyes and release the breath in my lungs. I'm healing Maverick because it's the right thing to do. When I release the breath, I reach out and put my hands on Maverick's chest. I don't let myself think about the fact that I can feel his ribs even more today. All I focus on is healing Maverick. I send my power into his body once it's built up a little and I can feel my fingers tingling. I'm regretting not asking Sage how to heal someone's blood, but I'm going to have to just try to figure it out on the fly. I immerse myself in Maverick's body, letting my mind map out the different arteries and organs in his body. I isolate the aorta artery first, the body's largest artery--going to and from his heart and direct my attention that way. I find the main artery I'm looking for and isolate it and then send the full force of my healing power into that artery. I push my power into the artery and into his blood, mentally following that artery as it winds its way through his body. When I lose it in some of the twists and turns, I go back to his heart and begin again. Eventually, I get it and send my power all the way through the artery until it comes back to his heart. Once that process is done, I do it again. Then I find the next largest artery and do the same thing, cleaning one artery at a time.

I have no thoughts of time, no knowledge of how long it's been. I only focus on healing the blood and purifying it one artery at a time. When somebody touches my shoulder, I nearly jump out of my skin. I lose contact with Maverick's body and whirl around.

Cade puts his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you. You didn't hear me."

I put a hand over my pounding heart. "It's okay."

If he's surprised that I'm in here, he doesn't show it. We both know I'm supposed to be leaving this morning; but neither of us brings it up. "How's he doing?" he asks with a nod at Maverick.

Not willing to give him false hope, I answer honestly. "I haven't seen any improvement yet." Sadly, that's the truth; but I'm not going to give up yet. I'm not giving up hope that I can turn this around and save at least one shifter before I leave. "I'm going to continue," I tell him softly.

He nods and steps back. "I'll stay out of your way but call for me if you need me. I'll hear you." I nod and turn back to Maverick, but his words stop me. "Thank you, Rose."

I don't look at him or acknowledge him in any way, but I heard his words. It gives me the courage and strength to keep going and finish what I've started. I stare down at Maverick a moment. I wasn't lying; I really don't know if this is doing anything for Maverick. I can't see any improvement. It's so different from a normal healing; it's hard to know if there's any progress being made. I'm used to instant results in a healing—taking the pain away, healing a broken limb, healing a malfunctioning organ. I've never done something as tedious as trying to clean the blood of a person. I don't think there are any markers to show if this is actually working, but I refuse to give up. I'm going to at least finish, so I can say I tried. That's the best I can do. I may not heal him, but at least my conscience will be clear when I leave. I'll know I did everything in my power to try and didn't just leave him to his fate. With that in mind, I close my eyes and blow out a breath before reaching out and touching Maverick and isolating another artery. I begin the process again. I'm not sure how long I send power into him when somebody touches my shoulder again. I don't react as strongly this time, and I try not to show my frustration. I must not be successful because Ava puts her hands up.

"Cade asked me to bring you something to eat." She shoves a small plate into my hand and a cup of juice.

"Paul always made sure Sage had something to eat during a healing," Cade says quietly, and I realize he's still in the room. He's standing in the furthest corner, giving me plenty of space. I swallow down my complaint. "Thank you." I take a drink of the juice and take a few bites of bacon. Once the juice hits my system, I realize I really do need it. I'm feeling a little depleted. I throw back the rest of the juice, finish a piece of bacon, and eat a half a blueberry muffin. "Thank you," I say honestly to Ava and to Cade.

"How's it going?" Ava asks without looking at Maverick.

I look down at the man in question. Now that it's lighter out, I can see again just how much weight he's lost. Not wanting Cade to hear that I'm uncertain whether this is really helping or not, I keep it simple. "I'm still cleaning his arteries, sending my power there."

Ava doesn't say anything, not that I expected her to; and I turn back to Maverick. I'm feeling some extra energy from the juice and the muffin. I block out Ava and Cade and close my eyes. I say a silent prayer that this works and then send my power back into the artery I was working on before Ava interrupted me. After that artery is cleaned, I start on the next one and the next one after that. Just like before, time becomes obsolete. I have no idea how long I've been healing, whether it's been a few minutes or a few hours. I just keep locating the next artery and sending my power into it. I take a few minutes to send healing power into his heart, just in case it's been weakened from whatever has been in his blood. I do the same with his kidneys and lungs. I've just finished with his lungs when something suddenly grabs me. Before I can understand what's happening, I'm pulled and rolled to the side, and there's a massive weight on my chest. I hear shouting, but I can't process it. I close my eyes, trying to pull myself back to reality since I was yanked from my healing so abruptly. My head is spinning, and I'm confused. When I open my eyes, I stare directly into dark ones. I freeze, and then I become aware of other voices.

"Maverick, get off her! She's trying to heal you!"

Cade's voice penetrates my brain from somewhere far away. Maverick stares down at me for a moment, and I can see the confusion in his eyes. He drops his head slightly and takes a deep breath, causing me to go still. Then suddenly, his weight is off me, and I can breathe again. Cade's face is nearly right in front of my own. "Are you okay?" I nod because I'm not able to do more than that. I meet Ava's wide eyes across the room, but she doesn't say anything. "Let me help you up," Cade says, putting out his hand. A low growl sounds from behind me, startling me and I practically jump up off the bed. Cade's eyes glow as he looks at the man behind me, and I'm sure he's communicating in his head with Maverick. I stand to my feet and take a moment to compose myself before I turn around. Maverick stands to his feet and then immediately sits down on the side of the bed. I make a move to go towards him, but Cade puts a hand out, stopping my progress. "Give yourself a minute, Mav. You haven't been vertical in a while."

Maverick looks up at Cade, not me. "What happened?" His voice is gruff and hoarse, and I look around the room for water. I snag a water bottle from the dresser and bring it over to the nightstand and set it down, being careful to keep my distance from Maverick.

"You got sick and have been on death's door for days now." Cade points his chin at me. "She healed you. Saved your life."