Chapter 13
Rose
I pace outside Maverick’s door, trying to get up the courage to knock. I’ve just decided this is a terrible idea, beyond terrible. I start to walk away when the door opens suddenly. “Did you lose your nerve before you even knocked?” I spin around, startled, and see Maverick leaning against the doorframe watching me. “Do you want to come in since you came all this way?” he asks dryly and motions inside.
I dig deep for courage and walk past him. He doesn’t move out of the doorway, causing me to brush up against him as I walk past. The smell of him makes me lightheaded and not because he smells so good. He does, but that’s not why it’s making me dizzy. I pace the room, trying to calm my nerves. I notice absently that his room is larger than mine, and I wonder about that. Is it because he’s the beta? “Why are you here, Healer?” he asks, interrupting my train of thought.
“Cade told me to come here,” I say as I turn to face him. He scowls—typical. When I don’t say anything, he crosses his arms and leans against the wall, looking so very relaxed while I’m feeling the furthest thing from relaxed. I catch the smirk on his face and finally bring myself to say why I’m here. “What were your first symptoms?”
He loses the smirk and straightens. He watches me a moment with that intense look. “Why are you asking?”
“Just answer the question, Maverick,” I say with a bravery I don’t normally feel around him. Just then, an involuntary shiver runs through me.
He curses swiftly and closes the distance between us. “When did you start having muscle spasms?” he asks in a low voice. I don’t answer. “When?” he demands.
“A few days ago,” I finally offer.
He curses again. “You should have told me.”
This makes me laugh, and I do. “So you could do what?” I ask. “Ignore me? Oh wait, you’ve already been doing that.” I clench my teeth together when I feel another shudder ripple through me.
“Don’t do that,” he orders.
“What?” I ask, totally not in the mood for this guy. In fact, I’m not even sure why I came here, other than the fact that Cade made me promise to talk to Maverick about my symptoms.
“Don’t grind your teeth and try to stop the shudders. Just let them come.” He reaches out and puts his hand on my arm before cursing yet a third time, this time with my name. “You’re hot.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, feeling oddly invincible in this state.
“You’re burning up,” he says, either not hearing my comment or deciding to ignore it. Probably the latter . “Why didn’t you stop?”
“Stop?” I ask in confusion. I’m not trying to play games; I’m really having a hard time keeping track of the conversation. “Is your room spinning?” I ask. Another shudder wracks my body, and this one hurts. Suddenly, I’m pulled up into Maverick’s arms. I want to ask what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, but everything hurts, and I’m just so tired. I drop my head against his chest. I absolutely can’t hold it up anymore; it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. I hear him rumble something; I can feel it in his chest, but I miss what he said.
“Healer.” I manage to pry my eyes open. “Have you been eating?” His face is near mine, but it’s blurred around the edges. No, not the edges. His whole face is blurred. Or no. I cock my head. There’s two faces. He says something again because I can feel the rumble in his chest again, but I can’t make out his words. Only moments later, I’m laid down on something soft. It feels really good. I roll over and curl into a ball, but before I can close my eyes, somebody rolls me back over. I want to snap at them, but I’m just too tired. “Healer.” I manage to open my eyes, even though they feel so heavy. “How many days...” His words trail off, and I close my eyes. I’m not sure what he wants, but I can answer it after I’ve had a nap. The sound of the door opening somehow pulls me out of my sub-conscious state.
“Where are you going?” I manage to ask.
“To get the blonde healer,” he says or more like growls at me.
That makes me wake up instantly. I stand up, closing my eyes to let the dizziness pass. I feel a hand at my elbow, and I look up into Maverick's eyes. “No.”
“No what?” he repeats.
“Don’t get Ava.”
“Why?”
“Because she can’t get sick; I can’t expose her.” And then it hits me, and I gasp. “Oh my goodness.” Tears come to my eyes, and I take a step back. “I’ve exposed you. I’m so sorry. You'll get it again.” I take a step backward but only manage to stumble into the bed. I look up and meet his dark eyes. I cock my head to the side. “Aren’t your eyes slate gray?” What we’re talking about suddenly hits me again, and I stare up at him. “I’m so sorry I exposed you again.”
“It’s fine,” he says in a low voice.
“No, it’s not fine.” I start toward the door. “I can’t believe I came here. I don’t know what I was thinking. Cade told me to come talk to you after I called him. I don’t know why. I should have never come here.” I turn to face him and nearly lose my balance as dizziness overtakes me. He grabs my elbow and steadies me. “I’m so sorry, Maverick.” He leads me back to the bed.
“Sit down before you fall down.”
I look up at him as his face swims in and out of view. “I’m so sorry, Maverick.”
“I’m fine,” he growls. “You just need to focus on yourself.” With that, he leaves, slamming the door behind him. I stare at the closed door before curling into a ball. After shivering for a few minutes, I finally cave and climb under the covers. Warmth settles around me as does the scent of Maverick’s cologne. It wraps around me and makes me feel safe and secure, which is dumb, I know. But right now, I just need it...just for a little bit. I just want to sleep for a little bit, and then I’ll wake up and get back to healing. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.
I’m on a table. A cold table. I feel the chill of it soak into the clothes on my body, leaving me colder than I’ve ever been in my entire life. I try to look around the room, but I’m strapped down. I can only turn my head a few degrees either way. Panic races through me as reality slams into me.
I’m with the vampires. The thought hits me, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I hear screams all around me, and I struggle against my bands. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t get free. Then I hear Kimberly scream for me, and I fight against my bonds. I struggle and struggle but can’t get free. “Rose!!!” She screams over and over. I fight with everything I can, but it makes no difference. The tears stream down my cheeks in silence. Inside, I scream in anguish at the fact I can’t save my young friend; but I don’t make a sound. She screams and screams, and then suddenly it goes silent. A chill runs through my body that has nothing to do with the table I’m strapped to. It hits me why she’s suddenly silent, and the tears come in earnest. Still, I make no sound. I don’t know that I will survive this terror.