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  Chapter 12

  “So,” Ryan said, sitting in the chair opposite my bed in my room. Everyone had gone to bed, Jerry getting the other bedroom in the suite, and Bolton going to ‘his room’ to get ready for bed. He was really putting some things together to keep in my suite of rooms. “Catch me up on what your mom was saying on the plane. I know something is going on that I missed.”

  Ryan, being the type of person he was, didn’t like to miss things when he was doing his job, and he considered it his job to know about me and keep me safe.

  “The short version is that my wolf has left me, so I’m basically a human wolf and not a were anymore.” I said. I really hoped it didn’t change what he thought about me.

  “Why? How is that even possible?” He said, completely perplexed by the fact.

  “We really don’t know.” I got comfortable on my bed, sliding back and resting on the headboard. I was hurting, really not feeling well and getting extremely tired. “There are no references of anything like this in the histories, so everything is just speculation. It seems that, though my wolf agreed with me about letting my mate be happy, she left me. Slowly, over the past couple of years, I have lost all of my extra abilities except for shifting and this Omega effect. We think that is because it is part of my DNA that can’t be changed.”

  Ryan must have been able to tell how I was feeling, because he went to the nightstand to retrieve my medication and handed it to me with a glass of water. “Maybe I’m slow, but spell it out for me. What exactly does that mean?” He asked as I swallowed the pills.

  “It means I can no longer heal as quickly; I heal almost as slowly as a human now. I have lost the sensitive sight and hearing. In wolf form, you saw that I am smaller than I used to be and I can’t run as fast as the rest of you.”

  “So that’s why you have made up those different excuses?”

  “Yes. I hate feeling like I’m lying to people.” I said looking down at my hands in my lap. “My parents, Billy, and Becca all know, but I can’t tell anyone else.”

  “You haven’t really lied; you have just left out details.”

  “Yeah, but now it’s all pointless.” I said, slurring a little. I could already feel the medicine taking effect. “He’s coming tomorrow, so I won’t be able to avoid him anymore.”

  “I’ll try to help as much as I can.” Ryan said as I drifted off.

  ==================================================================

  I woke up feeling awful the next morning. I felt weak and cold, though I was sweating. I got up, put the plastic covering over my splint and went to take a shower. That took any energy I had woken up with, so instead of getting dressed I got back into a fresh set of pajamas and lay back down.

  “Ryan.” I called softly. I knew he would hear me without me yelling, and I didn’t want to draw too much attention from others.

  “What’s wrong?” He asked after coming in and taking a look at me. I must have looked kind of bad; judging by the look he gave me.

  “Can you get me four aspirin, please? I’m not feeling well this morning.”

  He came over and felt my cheek before heading to get the pills for me.

  “You feel like you’re running a fever, are you hurting again?” He asked as he sat on the side of my bed.

  “No, not really. I’m just tired and cold. I could barely make it through the shower.” I answered.

  “Maybe one of us should lay with you and share our body heat?” Bolton asked from the door.

  I had forgotten that he was staying in our rooms. I nodded to him. “Anything to get rid of these chills.”

  “Do you mind?” Ryan asked Bolton. “I’m going to talk to Billy and let him know to inform the Alpha that we’ll be in here for most of the day.”

  “I forgot that I was supposed to be going out with the females today, can you ask Bethany to stop in here?”

  He nodded as he left.

  Bolton made his way over to the bed. My teeth were chattering with the chills running through my body. It was almost worse that when I had gotten the flu last year.

  Before Bolton could climb in beside me, I stopped him. “Please wait until Bethany comes and leaves. I really don’t want anyone getting the wrong impression.”

  He looked disappointed, but nodded as he went and sat in the chair Ryan had sat in the night before.

  “Bolton…” I tried to think of a way to say what was on my mind without hurting him. I knew he had already been through so much.

  “There’s no need to say anything.” He said quietly. “I really wasn’t eavesdropping, but I did walk into the suit last night when you were talking with Ryan.”

  Realization hit me. He knew!

  “Don’t worry!” He rushed when he saw the look on my face. “I would never tell anyone your secrets. But at least I know now that we will never have a shot, huh?”

  “I’m sorry, Bolton.” I regretted making him feel like we did, though I hadn’t meant to. “You are a good friend, and I didn’t mean…”

  “You didn’t.” He said cutting me off. “It was just wishful thinking on my part, and I knew that. I mean, even if you hadn’t already found your mate, then that’s what you would’ve been out here to do. You would have eventually, so I knew I didn’t have a real shot. If friends are all we can be, then that is more than enough.”

  “Thank you.” I said as someone knocked on the suite door.

  I heard voices and realized that Jerry must have been in the sitting room. That meant he heard the conversation, too. I would have to ask him about it later. Right then Bethany, Becca, and Billy, carrying Jazzy, walked into my bedroom.

  “Wow!” Bethany said as she looked at me. “I’ve never heard of a sick werewolf. I was offended at what I had perceived as a lie, but I see it wasn’t. Please accept my apologies.”

  “No need, Alpha.” I said.

  “Please leave off with the formalities and just call me Bethany. If you feel better when you wake, then please come find me, and we’ll still do something.”

  “Thank you. I will.”

  She left and as soon as she shut the door Becca rushed over to the bed. I knew she would over react when she found out. She had not been around humans enough to know that not every

  illness brought death.

  “I’m alright, Becca. I’m just going to sleep a little more and then I’ll be good as new.” I reassured her. “Go ahead and tell the girls that we’ll go with Bethany later, okay?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’ll come and get you as soon as I wake up.” I said, scooting back down in the bed to go to sleep.

  “I spoke with Alpha Jackson, and he was livid.” Billy said before they left. “He probably thought the same thing as Bethany, but hopefully she’ll calm him down once she vouches for you.”

  I was finally able to sleep once everyone left. The chills had actually gotten better once I had taken the aspirin, so Bolton didn’t have to lay with me.

  When I woke back up, it was early afternoon. I still felt groggy and chilled, but I got out of bed, took another quick shower, and went with all of the females to the mall. When they voted on what to do, shopping had been the consensus.

  “So,” Bethany said with a sly grin on her face. “Are you girls looking forward to finding your mates?”

  “To tell you the truth,” Jenette said shyly. She was one of our wolves. “I really don’t want to find a mate right now. I mean, I’ll be happy if I do, but I mainly came on this trip to be able to travel a bit. I’ve never left the pack territory before.”

  “I know what you mean,” Shannon agreed. She was the twin and only other female of Diamondback’s pack. “I want to be able to stay with my brother, so I haven’t really traveled any. He’s happy with no mate. He just goes through humans like there’s no tomorrow. I’m mixed on it. I want a mate, just not right now. I don’t want to be having pups and such. I want to train and fight.”

  Bethany gave her a look and she turned to loo
k at another rack of shirts.

  “Just you wait, girls.” Becca added. “I’m sure Bethany can vouch for the benefits of having a mate.”

  “Yes. It’s like you were never truly whole. Like they are the piece that you never knew was missing in life. No matter how wonderful your life is, it’ll only get better by a thousand percent once you find that one person.”

  I had stayed silent and thank goodness, nobody said anything about it. I knew how perfect my mate was. I could only dream of how it would be.

  I started sweating and getting extremely tired after a couple of hours, but didn’t want to say anything because the girls were having fun. Luckily, or unlucky for me, Alpha Jackson called and told Bethany that Trent and Nikki had arrived, so we all decided to head back.

  I fell asleep in Bethany’s car, but Becca woke me as we pulled up to the pack house. I saw a group of wolves from our pack and theirs standing with Trent, Nikki, and Alpha Jackson, who didn’t look too happy. I got out of the car, but was hit with a wave of dizziness. I held onto the car door until I regained my balance.

  Nikki saw me and came running with a smile on her face followed by Trent. I tried not to look at him and just concentrate on Nikki.

  She enveloped me in a hug saying she was so happy to see me, but she quickly pulled back looking at me in concern.

  “Are you alright? You’re burning up.” She said, her voice laced with concern.

  I tried to answer but my tongue felt thick in my mouth and my vision was going dark. As I turned to her, I again lost my balance and began to fall. The last thing I saw was Trent’s amazing blue gray eyes widen in realization, as he caught me, before all fell dark.

  Chapter 13

  I had the feeling of floating. I knew I was probably being carried, but I felt so spaced out I really didn’t know what was happening around me. I was still shrouded in darkness; the only thing I was aware of was Trent’s voice. I couldn’t decipher anyone else’s or tell what else was being said, but I heard him. His voice, though hard with command, was a balm to my body and soul.

  “What do you mean you don’t have a pack doctor?! What kind of pack doesn’t have a damn doctor?!” I heard his angelic voice yelling. It didn’t sound right coming from him. He’d never spoken anything but kind words in the years I had known him.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll be moving her as soon as she’s able! We are guests on your land and are supposed to have protection, safety, and security yet you can’t even provide medical assistance. We will be on the next plane if it won’t hurt my mate!”

  I wanted to help Trent feel better. I felt real bad that this was my fault, but I had no control over my body. I couldn’t feel anything physically and didn’t know what was going on, but I had to do something. It wasn’t right that anyone suffer because of me.

  “No, Crystie. You don’t worry about us, baby. You have to wake up for me. I’ve waited too long for my mate; I can’t lose you now.” I could hear the anguish in his voice, but could still do nothing.

  What did he mean that he’d been waiting for his mate? What about Nikki? I could hear the sincerity in his voice and my love for him grew, which I didn’t think was possible. I was confused though. I had done all of this for him and Nikki.

  “I know you’re with me still, baby. I can feel you.” Trent said. He sounded closer now, maybe speaking in my ear? “I love you. I have waited for you. The only reason Nikki and I were marrying was to help me be strong for the pack after my ascension to Alpha. Nikki is my best friend, but we have never felt like that toward each other.” He laughed a little. “In school we decided to pretend we were together because of the girls trying to date the next Alpha and the boys going after her. I wanted to save myself for my mate and she only loved her mate. When he was killed, she didn’t want anyone else. If I had known you were my mate back then…” His voice broke, and I regretted my decision to avoid him for the first time since I was sixteen.

  “I love you, Crystie. Please wake up and come back to me.”

  I loved this man so much, and I had done nothing but make us both suffer. I was so stupid. Instead of deciding things on my own, I should have given him the choice; like everyone else told me to. What I had thought was the right thing had not been.

  I remembered the trip to Spain my parents had taken me on to meet the King. Alpha Parker, his mate, and Trent had come with us, leaving the pack Beta’s family, including Nikki, home to care for and protect the pack. I was younger and hadn’t understood the power I had that projected my feeling out to others, and I had been friends with all of my generation in the pack, including Trent. This trip was one of the first times I started understanding my power.

  It was funny thinking back on it. I was upset because my pet, a pug named Bella, had been hit by a car and died not long before the trip. Trent picked up on my depression and when I tried to make him feel better, he didn’t know why he was sad. We played until I had him laughing again, but then I would think about my little Belle and it would make me sad again; in turn making Trent sad. The two of us went in circles like that the whole trip; me getting depressed, Trent following my mood, me cheering him up, then the depression again. Daddy had finally tried to explain what was happening and though I tried to understand, I was too young then to really get it. The King had said it had made our visit very interesting. At least between my dad and the King’s Omega, a little girl’s feelings wasn’t able to spread too far.

  Though I didn’t quite understand everything that had happened, I knew I had caused it somehow. That was when I started backing away from my friends and pack mates. Becca was the only one who wouldn’t let me go too far from her. She had always been closer to me than the others, but I didn’t realize until I tried to let her go just how much I meant to her. She was outgoing, but she told me one time that I was the only one who actually understood her. She valued me because I saw her as more than the bubble brain she appeared to be to others. It’s not that they made fun of her. It was the opposite actually, she was friends with everyone, but I was the only one that took the time to know her and it had meant a lot to her.

  “What do mean ‘an infection’? How can she have an infection?” I was brought out of my musings when I heard Trent talking to someone. I still couldn’t hear anyone else or respond in anyway, but his voice would always be able to reach me. “What can we do?”

  I wanted so badly to know what was happening when I felt the sensation of floating again. I guess my curiosity was picked up on by Trent.

  “Bolton thinks you have an infection, and looking at the state of your arm I agree. We are going to take you to the hospital, love. Hopefully the humans can help you as to where this messed up pack cannot.”

  I felt bad for the Diamondbacks. It really wasn’t their fault I was more human than wolf. Yes, I got a bad feeling about them, but this was not their fault. Again, as was the usual lately, I felt bad for causing all of this mess.

  I started losing awareness. It would seem as time would have passed each time I would hear my wonderful mate’s voice. I felt weaker and weaker, and each time I would hear him I would have to struggle to hold on to whatever he would say.

  Then it started getting easier again. I was able to stay with him for longer periods of time. I cherished those times. I didn’t really understand how much I was missing by denying myself my mate.

  “I really wish you would wake up.” He said at one point. “When you left to go on this trip, I didn’t like it. I didn’t know why; I knew every wolf needs to go at some point. I guess it was my wolf trying to tell me you were mine. For as long as I remember, I always felt better by being near you. I thought it was just you being an Omega. I don’t know how I could be so blind. I don’t deserve you.”

  I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you, I thought.

  “Crystie?!” Trent said, excited. “Come on, baby. Talk to me again!”

  Had I said that out loud?

  “Yes you did, honey.” He answered. “Come on, Crystie. Open those b
eautiful eyes.”

  I tried, and slowly but surely I opened my eyes the handsomest pair of blue gray eyes I had ever seen. I had to blink a couple of times to adjust to the light, but never turned from Trent.

  “Hey.” I croaked. I started coughing from my dry throat, and Trent nearly kicked his chair over; standing so fast to be able to go get me some water. He came back quickly and helped me sip the water through a straw.

  The door to my room burst open and everyone came rushing in. My parents were there along with Becca, Billy, and Jazzy. Jerry came in afterward followed by Ryan, Bolton, and Nikki.

  It took several minutes with everyone taking turns to hug me, some like my parents and Becca were crying, and welcoming me back to the land of the living. I came to find out that I had slipped into a coma for a week and a half. At one point they thought I wasn’t going to make it. I had gotten an infection where the bone had broken through my skin. The Starlight pack doctor, though very competent, was not used to having to use antibiotics since werewolves didn’t get infections.

  Through all of that, Trent stayed by my side, not letting go of my hand. He had the biggest grin on his face and his eyes looked all teary as he never took them off of me.

  “Can I speak with Crystie for a little while, alone?” He requested.

  They all either hugged me or patted my leg as they said goodbye. When they all left, Trent pulled his chair back over to me and sat down. Taking a good look at him, I saw that he was tired. He had dark circles on the bags under his eyes. His clothes and his hair were disheveled, probably from getting what little sleep he had been getting in the chair he now sat in.

  I reached out hand palmed his cheek in my hand. “You need rest.” I said, still somewhat weakly. I was already getting tired from the visit with everyone.

  “I will, I promise. I just wanted to talk to you.” He said. As exhausted as he seemed, I could still see and feel the love coming from him. “So…How did I get so blessed as to have you as a mate?”