| |
Sheila was burning up, but there was no pain. Beads of sweat slid between her breasts and her hair stuck to her skin. Panting, she fought to take a breath of fresh air. Instead, she felt flames running down her throat. She shifted position, trying to find something cool to ease the heat.
“Shush. Here, take a sip.”
Something touched her lips and, thank the Mother, cool water wet her parched lips. Sheila drank greedily.
“Easy. Easy.”
The male speaking to her crooned the words like he was speaking to a child. Sheila wanted to protest his treatment of her, but he had the water; the perfect, cooling water.
“Enough, Sheila, or you’ll be sick.”
Sick? She was already sick! He took the water away. “I’m hot,” she protested weakly.
“I know.”
He swiped a cold cloth over her forehead. Sheila moaned. It felt so good!
“Is she really sick? I didn’t think shifters can catch viruses.”
It was the man speaking. His scent, his voice, his presence, everything called to her. He was like a beacon, showing her the way home.
“This is not normal for a shifter, Logan. I do not know why she has a fever this high.”
“Can this kill her?”
“I don’t know. If the fever won’t, the lack of food will. It’s been seven days since she’s here and all she has had for nourishment are my vitamin cocktails. She needs to eat something solid to keep up her strength. My medicine is good, but it won’t keep her alive forever.”
Sheila felt the woman’s annoyance but also her desire for the male. The cat inside her mind snarled. He was hers! Logan. Yes, that was his name. Logan.
“Yes. I’m here.”
Had she spoken his name aloud? Fingers glided over her sweaty face. Sheila turned into his touch. The vibrations of a purr rising from her chest startled her into opening her eyes. Icy blue eyes looked down at her; a frown line between his eyebrows.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi. How are you feeling?”
“Hot,” she croaked. Her throat felt like she had swallowed a fist of sand. She tried to look around, to take in her surroundings, but was too weak. Logan sat on the mattress next to her hip. He looked down at her with concern. Was she so bad off? He used a washcloth to clean her face of sweat. The fabric felt like jagged rocks against her skin.
“You have a fever. Does anything hurt?”
Sheila shook her head weakly. “No. I-” The sudden pain gripping her stomach cut her off. The scream ripped through her like the agony did her belly. Curling up on herself, she fought to breathe. What was happening? Was she dying? It felt like something was shredding her from the inside out.
“Sheila! What’s wrong?”
She heard Logan’s frantic voice, but she couldn’t respond. Terror, pain, fury; a million intense emotions washed through her, cutting off her ability to think and speak. The onslaught was so great it felt like she was about to explode.
So much suffering! So much pain! The fire burned inside Sheila’s chest and expanded until the world became something else. Her vision expanded. Everything turned to shades of gray, but she could see the smallest detail in the wood furniture across from her.
However, what caught her attention, better said, her cat’s attention, was the male scent. Her clawed hands reached for him. Sheila saw Logan from a distance, as if she was watching him through somebody else’s eyes. He grabbed her wrists, preventing her beast from touching him. The female hissed and lunged for him. He held her back easily.
No! She was going to hurt him! Panicked, Sheila rushed to the forefront of her mind, shoving the other entity back. The primal cat hissed at her. Sheila ignored it. Her vision returned to normal.
“Logan, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“Hey, it’s fine. I’m okay.”
Sheila started crying. The fear pummeled at her. “What is happening to me?” She watched Logan shook her head.
“I don’t know. I think your cat is trying to emerge, but it’s not like the normal shift. You shouldn’t have a fever and you shouldn’t be in so much pain.”
“Where’s Eva? Is she safe?”
The sudden question and change of topic seem to startle Logan.
“Yes, and yes. She’s two doors down the hall from you. Why?”
“I want to see her. Is she conscious?” The fear she was feeling was slowly being buried by sheer terror. Sheila’s breath quickened. Logan cupped her face.
“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?”
“I-I can’t... it’s... too much.” She fought for the next breath. Her heart was beating so fast she could feel it against her ribcage.
“Too much what?!”
“Pain! Fear! Terror!” Sheila screamed the words.
“Why are you scared, Sheila?”
Logan stood over her, the tip of his nose almost touching hers.
“I’m not,” she whimpered, fighting to think. Those weren’t her emotions. She wasn’t terrified, just scared. The pain she was feeling could be hers, but she wasn’t sure. Was she channeling someone? It seemed Logan had reached the same conclusion.
“Karla, go check on Sparrow and Eva.”
The rustling of clothes was the only response to his command. Sheila breathed through the feelings that weren’t hers. Logan didn’t say a word, but his jaw was tight. They stared at each other, waiting. Not two minutes later, Karla rushed into the room.
“Logan, Sparrow is awake again.”
Logan jumped off the bed, rushing out.
“Wait,” Sheila reached for him weakly, her hand falling limply on the spot he was a second ago. The healer followed him, leaving Sheila alone. Through the now opened door of her room, she could hear the commotion down the hallway. Groaning and ignoring the invisible belt squeezing her chest, she crawled out of the bed. Dizziness hit her the moment she tried to stand.
“Wow!” Sheila sat back down, bending over. The ringing in her ears intensified, but she breathed through it. It was at that moment she realized that her breath was fiery hot. Was she really sick? She hadn’t heard of a shifter catching a cold before.
The dizziness slowly passed, and the ringing in her head faded away. However, she still felt terrified and her breathing was quick. Carefully, she stood, relieved when her legs didn’t buckle under her. Moving like an old woman, and using the walls and every piece of furniture she encountered as a crutch, Sheila shuffled her way out of the room and down the corridor.
It seemed to take forever to reach the room from where the voices were coming from. Panting and sweating like she ran half the day during Nicky’s crazy training program, she leaned against the wall. The door to the room stood ajar. Voices came from inside, but Sheila couldn’t understand the words. The harsh wheezing of her own broken breaths impaired her hearing.
Leaning into the wall for balance, Sheila peeked into the room. The girl she and Eva had rescued was cowering in a corner. Sheila had a vague memory of biting the young woman, but she didn’t know if it was real, or just a fever-induced dream. Sparrow hissed and swiped at anyone daring to come into reaching distance. She didn’t have claws, but she was acting like she did. Strange.
“Sparrow, you’re safe, baby. Come back to us. This isn’t you. You know me. I’m Logan, your brother. This is Patrick, your pride mate and friend.”
Sheila entered the room quietly, leaning her back on the wall to stay upright. The poor girl was too terrified to acknowledge him as family or to listen to anything he had to say.
“Please, Sparrow.”
Logan had his hands in front of him, trying to reason with a feral. Sheila knew it was in vain, but she also understood Logan’s reasoning. She was his sister. He had to try to save her. Too bad no one could. Feral meant the girl was beyond saving. The animal had gone wild and buried the human side.
Patrick took a step closer to the feral girl.
“Sparrow, darling, you know me. Scent me, sweety. Remember.”
But the girl was too far gone. The young woman emanated pure terror. It made Sheila’s own cat hiss in anger and protectiveness. Her vision changed to shades of gray. Her sense of smell enhanced as the feline inside her rose to the surface. Sheila allowed it. She couldn’t fight the girl’s feelings, her animal, and her own exhaustion. At that moment, she wasn’t strong enough to handle all that was thrown at her. Her father would be disappointed.
Her father, her mother, and her little sisters. Were they okay? Where they-?
The scream ripping through the room broke Sheila’s wandering thoughts. Her pride mate was in danger! Focusing, the cat inside her saw two large males holding down the feral girl. Her pride mate. She had claimed that girl! How dare they touch what was hers?!
Reacting on instinct and screaming a challenge, she leaped. The move propelled her through the air, landing on the backs of the two males. The Alpha cat dug her claws deep, ripping into skin and muscle as the momentum moved her forward.
“Ah!”
“Fuck!”
Both males screamed, moving away from Sparrow. Sheila’s cat crouched over the traumatized girl. Her pride mate! Hers! She snarled through a human mouth that was half shifted. The glare and growl she gave the retreating males was a clear warning to stay away. The larger male, the Alpha, said something. Sheila’s human mind translated.
“Sheila, she’s my sister. I won’t hurt her.”
Family. She had family, too. “And they didn’t even know if I’m alive or dead.”
The human half of Sheila provided that information and the cat calmed slightly. But the fear coming from the shaking girl was fueling the cat’s temper. She needed to take care of her small pride.
Guiding Sparrow to the corner where she obviously slept, she sat on the wrinkled blanket. She gathered the girl in her lap, rocking and rumbling deep into her chest.
Sparrow shook and whimpered like a kitten, rubbing her face against Sheila’s neck. She was looking for comfort from her Alpha in a primal way, though she couldn’t shift. From across the room, the males stared at them. Sheila blinked, and her vision returned to normal. Her sense of smell faded, but not all the way. Was it her imagination or was she smelling Logan’s pheromones from all the way across the room?
She expected the men to leave, but no. Logan did something unexpected. Undressing quickly and with no shame, he shifted. The tiger was majestic. He padded calmly and silently towards her, holding her gaze. He was the Alpha of the pride and she had marked him. Did that mean anything to him? The tiger reached her, rumbling a greeting. Then he rubbed his body all over her and Sparrow, scent marking them. Sheila pushed her fingers through his thick fur.
“I’m sorry for attacking you,” she whispered. The tiger rumbled, rubbing his face against hers. His whiskers tingled, and she chuckled. But her chuckle turned into a sob.
“I don’t know what’s happening to me, Logan. I’m scared.”
The rumble he let out almost woke up Sparrow. Sheila shushed her and rubbed the nose of the huge feline.
“She needs rest, so be quiet. I can finally feel my heart and I think my blood pressure is back to normal. She was so scared she was about to give me a heart attack.”
The tiger rumbled again, but quieter. He settled next to her and Sparrow, licking her hand, then Sparrow’s. Thinking of those moments when her feelings weren’t hers and she was out of control made her panic rise. Sheila swallowed back her tears and fears.
“Logan, I want to contact John Black, Alpha of the Dark Claw Pride. My father.”