Chapter 5

Five

"She should have woken up by now," Kara whispered near me. "Did I do it wrong? Did I just kill my grandson's potential mate?"

"She's breathing, Mom, so she's not dead," Silverowl said softly.

"How are they doing?" she asked, her voice moving around me in a circle.

"Despondent. They're only eating because we're using alpha orders to force them. They're just sitting in her room, silently staring at nothing," Leona replied.

Why was it so hard to move my body? My eyes didn't want to open. Everything felt so heavy and unmovable.

Trying to open my mouth to speak didn't work either. Could I whine?

A strange squeak was the only sound made.

"Did you hear that?" Leona asked.

"Ember?" Silverowl whispered. "Ember, can you hear me?"

Trying again, I was finally able to move a finger.

"She twitched!" Leona gasped.

"Thank goodness," Kara sighed.

"Let's try warming her up," Silverowl suggested. "Maybe her muscles are too cold."

Warm, heavy blankets draped over me and I felt a little better.

An hour later, I was finally able to crack my eyes open.

"There she is," Kara said with a smile. "Welcome back, Rubyhare. We've missed you."

"Curse?" I asked, my voice rough from lack of use.

Silverowl held a cup of water with a straw up so I could drink from it. "Mom broke it. You five are all clear."

Clear, but no longer connected.

"Day?" I asked after finishing my drink, my throat soothed a bit from the cool liquid.

"It's the day before your anniversary," Leona answered.

"Come on, let's get you to the dining room to eat," Silverowl said.

I shook my head. "Not hungry."

"It wasn't a request, sweetheart," he said and picked me up.

Jolie gasped and ran over to us as Silverowl carried me into the dining room and set me in a chair. "Ember! You're awake, oh, sweetheart."

Tears filled my eyes, but Silverowl gently moved her to the side. "She needs to eat, Jolie."

Jolie stood, turned, and started making a plate of food for me.

Dan got to his feet, walked over, and dropped to a knee beside me. "I owe you a debt, Ember. Whatever you want, whenever, just ask me. Okay?"

Why? Why did he think I was owed anything?

He patted my hand, stood, and walked back to his seat.

"Eat," Jolie ordered me and set the plate of food before me. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, a waffle, and hash browns.

So, it was morning time.

I tried to lift my arm, to grab my fork, but it was hard. My brows furrowed as I tried again and slowly, my arm rose, shaking so hard that I knew I wouldn't be able to hold a fork.

"It's okay," Silverowl whispered beside me, squatting down next to my chair. "It's going to take your body just a bit to reacclimate is all."

Reacclimate? It was like I had to learn to live again. He sounded confident it would happen. The hole in my chest begged to differ.

"Ember?" Riddick asked softly.

I turned my head slowly, my eyes landing on Riddick and Caleb, both pale and hunched in on themselves.

Caleb raised his head and when our eyes met, the space in my chest throbbed. He raced towards me, shoved Silverowl out of the way, and picked my hands up, pressing kisses along my knuckles. "You're awake. Are you okay?" he reached out and pressed a hand to my cheek.

"She's still a little out of it," Silverowl informed him.

Caleb turned slightly towards Silverowl and growled. Turning back to me, he wiped tears from my face I hadn't realized had fallen. "Can you talk? What's wrong?"

"It's gone," I whispered. "I'm … empty. A shell."

He flinched and nodded. "I know, sweetheart. I know. I … we feel the same."

"Did … did it work?" I asked.

"Yes," he said and nodded. "The curse is gone and we're all safe."

At least I had accomplished that.

"N-Now what?" I asked, my teeth chattering as I started to feel cold again.

Silverowl started to bring me a blanket, but after a warning growl from Caleb, he handed it to Caleb instead.

Caleb draped it around my shoulders, and rubbed my arms over the blanket. "Now, we get you to eat some breakfast, and take a nice, long bath. What happens after that can be figured out then."

"And do you …" My eyes darted to our audience, and I stopped my question. I didn't want to ask him that with everyone here.

"Do I what, Ember?" he asked as he continued to rub my arms.

"Do you think you can help me eat?" I asked. Raising my shaking arm again, I showed that I wasn't yet able to use the fork.

He smiled, one of his blindingly charming, handsome smiles, and said, "Anything for you, my queen."

The statement, so full of love and caring, broke me. Throwing myself out of the chair and against his chest, I sobbed so loudly I worried I might break his eardrums.

He caught me and lifted me easily into his arms. "Riddick, grab her food. Nana, do you need to check her again or can we take her upstairs?"

"You can take her. She needs warmth and emotional support now."

"I know, Nana. We all do," Caleb said and nuzzled my ear. "I've got you, Emmy."

With my head rested on his shoulder, I drew in deep breaths of his scent, letting it fill my lungs.

"We've been so worried," he whispered in my ear. "Nana thought you would wake up just a few hours after the curse broke. We've been anxiously waiting for you to wake up."

"How do you feel?" I asked. "They said you were despondent."

"We were terrified we were going to lose you, Emmy. Of course we were." His hold on me tightened. "I can't imagine how painful that was for you to go through four times. Just once almost destroyed each of us. I got into a fight with both Papa Dan and Emrys. Auntie Leona had to put us all to sleep."

"How does it feel?" I asked. "Are you …"

"Empty?" he asked and nodded. "Yes."

"Cold," Riddick said behind us.

"Worried," Triston said from the bedroom doorway. He smiled and tears built in his eyes. "Hello, sleepy girl. We've been waiting for you."

"She's awake?" Branson shouted from the room and came thundering towards us.

"Shush, you're too loud," Caleb chastised him.

"Sorry," Branson whispered and smiled at me. "Hello, beautiful."

Caleb sat down with his back against the headboard of my bed, set me between his legs, and wrapped the blanket tighter around me, with his arms around me on top of the blanket.

Riddick sat in front of me, stabbed some eggs onto the fork, and held it out for me to eat. "Come on, you've got to eat."

Caleb whispered in my ear in a deep, husky voice, "Be a good girl and eat."

A bit of warmth blossomed within me, but I was still too weak, too numb and cold to do more than open my mouth and obey.

"Good girl." The words were a soft growl that raised the hair on my arms.

They were acting like nothing had happened. Like our bonds weren't gone, destroyed, never to be reformed.

Riddick continued to feed me and I continued to eat.

When I started crying, no one asked me what was wrong or complained. They just continued to feed me and Caleb continued to hold me.

As soon as I finished the last piece, Branson took me from Caleb, letting the blanket fall, and carried me to the bathroom where a steaming tub full of water waited for me.

He set me on the sink counter, pulled my shirt off over my head, helped me stand, keeping an arm around my waist, and Triston pulled the pajama pants I was wearing off.

Immediately, I started shaking and my teeth started chattering together.

Branson picked me up and quickly lowered me into the tub.

Triston and he worked together to pour the hot water over my head, avoiding getting it on my face.

Both knelt beside the tub, watching and keeping an eye on me as I soaked.

"Is it hot enough?" Triston asked.

I nodded and my eyes widened at the ability to perform the movement. "Yes, thank you."

They went silent again and dropped their eyes to their hands in their laps. Were they trying to give me a semblance of privacy?

When my skin started to prune, I wiggled my feet, raised my arms, and moved my legs, happy to see I was finally able to move normally. "So much better," I whispered.

"Are you ready to get out?" Branson asked.

I nodded.

Triston grabbed a towel and waited while Branson picked me up by my armpits.

"I can stand," I said, but didn't fight him.

Once on my feet, Triston and he each used a towel to dry me down. Riddick walked in with a new pair of pajamas, including a pair of fluffy socks. I put everything on, then slowly walked to the sink to brush my teeth.

All three hovered, like they were worried I might fall over at any moment.

Turning around, I gave them a small smile. "I feel much better, thank you."

They all nodded and stepped out of my way so I could exit the bathroom.

Caleb sat on the edge of the bed, playing with the fork. He raised his eyes and smiled at me. "You look better. Much less pale."

Standing in the center of them, circled around me, I finally asked the question I needed to know. "Has this changed us?"

Riddick's head canted slightly. "Physically? Yes. The bond we had is gone."

I shook my head, my breath shuddering as I exhaled. "Us. Us."

Triston reached out and gently took my hand. "Darling, are you asking if our feelings have changed?"

"If our relationship has changed?" Branson asked.

I nodded, unable to look at them, staring instead at their bare feet.

"Our love for you isn't from the bond," Branson said and hugged me from behind. "I've loved you since I woke up in your tiny cabin and you barely batted an eye at a bear trying to maul you."

"Sweetheart," Caleb whispered and dropped down into a crouch in front of me so I had to look at his face, "is this what you've been worried about since you saw me? What you wanted to ask earlier?"

Tears were sliding down my face as I nodded.

He straightened, cupped my face between his hands, and gently kissed my lips. "Our feelings for you haven't changed. If anything, they've grown stronger understanding how much you endured to save us from the curse. What you are willing to do for us." Kissing me again, he whispered against my lips, "And I vow to do everything in my power to never let that happen again. To keep you from experiencing pain ever again."

"We all love you, Ember," Triston said. "Even if we hadn't said so before and were being stubborn."

Branson grunted. "Emotions are hard, but I know for certain that I love you, Ember. Always have and always will."

"Come on," Riddick coaxed and pulled me towards the bed, "we need a cuddle puddle."

They loved me. All four of them.