Page 20 of Healer's Call

“Yeah, he might be having a hard time with things; but his wolf will be pushing him to mate you,” Sabrina says.

I grimace and chance a glance at Ava, whose eyebrows are nearly to her forehead. “Uh, yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

“We need to get going,” Ava says, finally coming to my rescue.

“Yes,” I say breathlessly. “It was nice to meet you both.”

“It was nice to meet you both too,” Sara says. “We’ll hang out soon.”

“Yes, soon,” I repeat back and then follow Ava. We’re almost to the exit when somebody calls my name. I turn around, trying and probably failing to keep a pleasant expression on my face.

“How are you feeling, Rose?” Alpha Cade asks as he approaches. “I’m sure that healing wiped you out.”

“I had a long nap and am feeling much better. Thank you.”

“Good. I wanted to tell you. Maverick is going to be away for a few days, so if you don’t hear from him, that’s why.” Unsure why he’s telling me this, I just nod. “He thought he would heal best being in his wolf form for a few days.”

“Okay,” I finally say because I feel like he wants me to say something.

He runs a hand over his head. “Garrett called and wants to know when to send a jet.” His words are calm, but I pick up on the distress beneath them.

I take a deep breath to try and steady my nerves. “I told you I would come help heal your pack. I don’t plan on leaving until I finish that obligation.”

I can almost see the weight come off his shoulders. “Good.” He takes a deep breath. “That’s really good to hear. Thank you,” he says earnestly, looking me in the eye.

“I’m not sure what to tell Garrett, though,” I tell him honestly.

“I’ll handle Garrett and run interference; don’t worry about him.”

“Thank you. Who do I heal next?”

Chapter 12

Rose

The next week is a blur of healing and sleeping. I’m careful to take my time with each healing because I watched what happened with Sage and Samantha when they burned out. Because of that, it takes me longer; but I’m pleased with how things are progressing. I’ve been able to heal four more shifters that were really bad and three that weren’t as sick yet. Cade checks in with me often, and so do my new friends Sara and Sabrina. Ava offers to help over and over again, but I don’t let her. I’m worried that if I get it, she’s going to need to stay healthy so she can heal me. Because as fast as I’m healing shifters, more get sick every day. I can see it weighing on Cade. He’s put Amber and Paige into lockdown. I haven’t seen them since I first got here.

I’m just finishing a particularly hard healing, though none have been as difficult as Maverick’s, when Cade slips inside. “Hey,” he says softly. “How’s he doing?” he indicates my patient.

“He should wake up any moment now,” I tell him and take a deep breath to steady myself before drinking from a bottle of apple juice. I’ve learned that getting some sugar in my system right away after a difficult healing really does help. I take a few steps back and wait for the shifter to come out of the comatose state he’s been in. I’ve also learnedthatthe hard way after being grabbed by more than one shifter just waking up and thinking they are being attacked. We both watch as the shifter wakes up. His eyes open, and he jerks to a sitting position.

“Easy, Dale,” Cade says in a soothing voice. “You’re okay. Rose was just healing you.” Glowing eyes turn to meet mine, andI resist the urge to step back. They always lose their aggression in minutes; I just have to stay calm. After Dale seems back to his normal self, I step closer.

“Do you feel okay?” He nods. “Go ahead and stand up. Take your time.”

He slowly stands. When I’m convinced he’s okay, I back away and leave Cade to talk to him. I step out into the hall and nearly run into somebody. “Sorry,” I say, taking a step back. I look up in surprise to see Maverick. “Oh.” That’s all I say. He stares down at me a moment.

“Cade in there?” he asks, nodding at the door.

“Oh, um, yes.”

Without another look at me, he walks into the room and closes the door behind him. I release the air trapped in my lungs slowly and take off all my protective gear. Then I make my way down the hallway back to my room. I haven’t made it very far when Cade calls my name. I turn around to see him striding down the hallway toward me, Maverick right behind him. I keep my grimace off my face...I think. “Yes?”

“Are you feeling okay?” Cade asks. I am very aware that Maverick’s eyes are on me, but I manage to ignore him.

“Yes.”

“Good. You’ve been eating? And sleeping?” he asks.

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