Page 15 of Healer's Call

“You’re saying my pack is being poisoned?” Alpha Cade’s voice is fierce, and I decide in that moment that he’s just as terrifying as Garrett. I keep my eyes downcast as I listen.

“Yes.” There is no doubt or hesitation in Paul’s voice. “I don’t know how or from what yet. I’m still running tests, and those tests are going to take a little bit. I’m also going to need some samples from some of the shifters that have passed,” he says quietly. My fists clench and unclench at his words. I’m not looking forward to getting those samples, but I know I will do whatever is necessary. When Paul finishes speaking, the room stays absolutely silent.

Garrett’s voice comes over the line. “Upon Paul’s recommendation, I believe we need to pull Rose and Ava from your pack and bring them home.”

I don’t look up, but I feel Ava startle next to me. I can feel her gaze on my face, but I don’t turn my head. Paul jumps in at this point. “If they were to come into contact with this, whatever it is, they will be dead in hours.” I swallow hard, and the silence grows thicker, if that’s even possible.

“You want to take away the only chance we have of surviving this thing?” Cade’s voice is low and nobody can miss the menacethere. “You would condemn our pack to certain death?” Cade shoves his chair backward.

“Cade,” Amber says in a warning tone.

“And if this was your pack,” Cade nearly snarls. “Your mate and child at risk? I don’t see you sending your healer away.”

It’s quiet on the other end for a moment. “With all due respect,” Paul begins. “My mate is mated to me, and I can stabilize her power through our bond. Neither of the healers there are mated, and they’re also not nearly as experienced as my mate.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Doc,” Ava mutters.

“The healers are coming back here. It’s not up for discussion.” Garret’s voice is final. “Rose and Ava, be ready to go tomorrow. The jet will be there by late morning. Max is dealing with something, so I will send Kyle and Madison and Blaine.”

Cade smacks the table, and I jump in my seat. He ends the call and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. Amber stands up a moment later and leaves the room without a glance in our direction, leaving us with just the intimidating enforcer. I can feel his gaze on us, but I keep my head down. I slowly slide my chair back and stand to my feet, still keeping my eyes averted. “Which one of you is Maverick’s mate?” he asks in a low voice. It’s gritty, like he doesn’t use it a lot.

I’m not going to answer, but Ava does for me. “She is.” I’ll have to remember to thank her later for that.I walk to the door, keeping my attention on the floor and nearly fall into a large chest. I make the mistake of looking up at the intimidating enforcer.

“So, you’re okay just letting your mate die?” his words are more of a growl.

“I’m just following orders,” I tell him without looking at him. “Excuse me, please.”

He finally moves and I walk past him and out the door. “I guess it’s better this way.” His words give me pause. “Mav will die without ever knowing his mate could have saved him and chose not to.” I turn to him, agape at his words. “I’m glad he doesn’t have to be mated to you. You’re pathetic.” He stalks off, and I stare at his retreating back, feeling like I just got kicked in the stomach.

“Time to go pack again,” Ava says as she walks past me. It takes me a minute to follow after her. My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I silence it when I see it’s Sage. I don’t think I’m up to hearing from her and Paul right now. The walk seems to take forever, but we finally make it back to our rooms. Ava slips inside hers without a word to me, and I step inside mine and lock the door behind me. Feeling numb, I kick off my shoes and walk over to my bed. I drop onto my bed and stare up at the ceiling, thinking through everything that has transpired in the last twenty-four hours.

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 thatMaverick 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...ifI 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 healsomeone’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.

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