For Their Happiness (8 page)

“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, s
o instead of getting dressed I g
ot 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 aske
d 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 look 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.”