Page 34 of Healer's Call

“Not yet.” His words are solemn.

“Why didn’t you say something?” I ask even as I walk after him.

“You were busy trying to ignore me, and that idiot was trying to keep you there.”

"Wyatt’s not an idiot,” I mumbled.

“You sure about that?” he asks, and I ignore him.

“When did she get sick?” I ask as we walk quickly through the building.

“Don’t know. Cade reached out after our meals came.”

I glance up at him, tucking this information away. So, he wasn’t being a jerk just to be a jerk. Now that I know what’s going on, I can see how his actions were out of worry—not that it excuses him being a jerk. When we get to their apartment, Maverick says a few words to the shifter on security, and I knock on the door. Cade nearly rips the door off its hinges when he pulls it open. “Rose,” he says in relief. “Come on in.”

I follow him into the apartment. My eyes seek out Amber and Paige. I walk over to the bedroom door that’s open and seeAmber lying in bed, but I don’t see Paige anywhere. “Paige?” I ask Cade.

“As soon as I realized Amber was sick, I sent her with a pack member to another apartment.”

“Was she exhibiting any signs?” He shakes his head. “Okay, good. I’ll check her when we’re done here.” I put my phone and wallet down and approach the bed Amber’s lying on.

She rolls over and faces me and frowns. “You should be wearing protective gear.”

“Oh.” I didn’t even think of it in my rush to get here. “It’s okay. I’ve already had it.” I don’t really know if that makes a difference, but it is what it is. I’m already here; I’m already exposed. Cade obviously is too, but I don’t say anything. “All right. What are we dealing with?”

“She slept in this morning because she said she said she wasn’t feeling good,” Cade says. He shakes his head. “I should have realized what it was, but I didn’t. I took Paige with me and let her sleep. Every time I checked on her, she was sleeping, so I just let her sleep. Paige hasn’t been sleeping great at nights, so I figured she was just tired from that. But when I came back a little while ago, her muscles were spasming.”

I nod, knowing exactly where this is going. I look over in time to see a shudder pass through Amber. Her eyes are wide when she meets my eyes. “It’s okay,” I tell her in a calm voice. “It hasn’t been long. We’ll get you healed and back to normal in a jiffy.”

“What do I do?” Cade asks.

Knowing he needs a job and needs to feel close, I tell him, “Go on her other side and hold her hand. This won’t take long; I really don’t think it’s had time to take hold.” Cade goes to the other side of the bed and pulls her into his arms and kisses her temple. The scene is so tender, it makes me swallow and look away a moment. When he’s settled, I move close. “You know what to expect because you’ve been through this when Paige wasborn.” Sage was here to help heal her during the birth process. “Just try to relax as much as you can. This will be over soon.” I pull up her shirt and close my eyes and take a deep breath. I let my power rise to the surface. When my fingers start tingling, I touch her stomach and let my power flow into her. I direct the healing towards her heart and find her aorta. This is how I’ve been healing each person that gets this poison in their system. I begin the process of healing her blood. Surprisingly, I find that it’s already taken a strong hold. I mentally tuck that away. That means that once somebody is already at the stage of muscle spasms and involuntary shivers, the poison is already taking over. I try not to think of what that means and keep focusing on healing her.

Chapter 18

Rose

As always, I don’t know how long the healing takes. I do know it takes much longer than I thought it would. Finally, when I’m satisfied that her blood has been completely purged of the poison, I let the last of my healing power dissipate and pull back. I blink as reality comes back into focus. It always takes me a moment to get my bearings after a healing. I feel a hand at my elbow. “Sit.”

I step back and sit in a chair near Amber’s bed. When my head clears, I look up and realize that it was Maverick who got me to a chair. “Here.” I look down and see a bottle of apple juice with the lid off. “Drink.” I don’t say anything in response to his one-word commands. But I do take the juice and drink about half the bottle. Once the sugar hits my system, my head begins to clear. I take a deep breath and meet Cade and Amber’s anxious eyes. “She’s perfectly healed,” I tell them gently. Amber breathes a sigh of relief and Cade wraps her up tight in his arms. Feeling like this is a private moment between them, I stand to my feet. I make the move a little too fast and the room spins for a moment, but Maverick surprises me for the second time and steadies me with a hand at my elbow.

“You good?” he asks in a low voice. I make the mistake of looking up at him and am unprepared for the concern I see clearly in his eyes. When I blink a moment later, it’s gone, leaving me to wonder if I only imagined it.

I nod. “Do you want me to check Paige?” I ask them. They look at each other and have what is, I’m sure, an entire conversation in their heads before Cade nods.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll go get her.”

“Of course.” Turning my attention to Amber, I ask, “How are you feeling?”

“Really good. I forgot how good I feel after a healing,” she says with a smile. She reaches out and snags my hand. “Thank you, Rose. You have an incredible gift.” Her voice is solemn. I nod because I know she’s right.

It only takes a few minutes for Cade to come back. A big smile comes over my face when I see the big man holding his little girl. She smiles hugely when she sees her mama. “Hey Baby Girl,” Amber says, taking her from Cade’s arms.

“Momma.” Paige snuggles up next to Amber, and my heart softens even more. I look at Cade uncertainly, but he motions me forward. It humbles me that he trusts me with his little girl. I step close to the bed and lean down so I’m more on her level.

“Hi, Paige,” I say softly.

Amber sits up in bed and pulls Paige onto her lap. “Paige, you remember Miss Rose?” Paige gives me a shy smile.

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