Shadow Walker (26 page)

“Just helping Casey. You know…we’ve rearranged that place three times…and she is
still
not happy. I’m pretty close to locking her in the dark room for a while and see if she comes out in a better mood.”

Dean laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got to admit little sis has been more of a grouch of late.”

“I think we’ve all noticed,” Peyton said, wiping some putty off of his hands then hanging the rag from his tool belt. “She’s still trying to get settled. Merging her old life with the new will take some getting used to. Let’s give her the space and time to do it.”

Amber grunted. “I’ve been tempted to slip some chill-out powder into her coffee at the next available opportunity.”

“Now, now,” Braedyn said, turning away from hanging a piece of sheetrock. His hands and face were covered in white dust. Pulling a rag from his pocket, he wiped at his face. “She’s coming around. It’s been difficult going through all of her things. Deciding what’s worth keeping and what to get rid of. It’s not an easy process for anyone. Let’s be patient.”

Amber smiled and nodded, turning around to see the work that had been done in the last day. “You guys have come
so
far. It’s amazing.”

Peyton shrugged. “If you get the right guys together it isn’t. Some of these boys have done construction their whole lives. It’s been a while so they look for any chance they can to do it. They even go out and look for Habitat houses just to help in their spare time. Four of my guys stayed in Louisiana for two years helping rebuild after Katrina.”

Amber smiled when Dean slid his arm around her. Looking at the rag tag crew assembled, she realized they all had hearts bigger than their machismo. It just took the right person or job to show it. “You guys keep this up and we’ll be done by what…the weekend?”

Dean grinned. “That’s the plan anyway. Four more days.” Winking he kissed her cheek then vanished back into the kitchen.

Her smile slipped when he was out of view. She’d tried to watch him over the last few weeks, but he’d been so busy with the house, coming in late at night and leaving again before the sun was even up. Unable to just come right out and ask how he was feeling and knowing from experience the pain started within the week preceding the first shift only added to her frustration. They were all worried about what was coming. She turned to Braedyn and Peyton.

“We’re keeping an eye on him,” Peyton said with a shrug.

“He’s been working so hard out here. I can’t tell if his aches and pains are from this or…” She sighed and looked at Braedyn.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he tried to console her. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll do what we have to, right?”

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she nodded. “Yeah.”

Braedyn nodded and slipped his mask back on before grabbing another sheetrock board and getting back to work.

“Things will work out,” Peyton said with a wink. “I still have plans of walking you down that aisle sometime in the near future. My gut feelings aren’t wrong hon.”

Laughing, she tugged him down and kissed his cheek. “Here’s to hoping you’re right Peyton.”

Dean stood out on the soon to be completed rear deck. It was near ten p.m. and all the other’s had either gone home, or to wherever they were staying until the job was done. He looked up at the moon that was nearing full. The ache that began in his limbs had started to gain intensity. Grinding his teeth, he tried to massage the pain from his forearms. He’d doubled his efforts on the house, trying to convince himself the aches were from all the hard work.

Everything had gained intensity. His sense of smell was keener, things looked vibrant…and sounds…stuff he’d never heard rang loud and clear. He rubbed his palms together. It was a cold night, but it wasn’t the weather he felt. If anything, Dean thought he’d been running a fever off and on throughout the day. Once more he wiped his forearm across his forehead, mopping away the perspiration there.

Working late like this made him feel awful because he knew Amber was waiting for him. Since beginning work on the house, he’d tried to distance himself some. It was the anxiety of what was to come. With the pain, his fears grew stronger.

If he became a wolf…what would happen to them? There was no way the fates would condone a wolf and a tiger. But then again, Dean didn’t give a damn about what the fates, or anyone else, wanted. He loved Amber, and she was all he wanted. Fates be damned. Damn whoever was the deciding factor.

Sitting down, he dangled his legs off the porch. The house had been a good distraction. Enough so he would be exhausted when reaching Amber’s tiny bungalow. At the moment not even his empathic abilities seemed to be up to par. She wore her emotions like clothing, and it was so easy to read her, but of late, there’d been nothing.

Groaning, he rubbed a hand down his face and let out a deep breath. He needed to go before Amber called and sent his sister or Braedyn to check on him. Leaning his head against one of the support beams, he closed his eyes.

In just a few minutes.

* * * *

Amber frowned when she looked at the time. It was nearly midnight, and she knew there wasn’t much left to be done on the house. Aside from painting, which wouldn’t be until the day after tomorrow because the sheetrock wasn’t all hung and puttied in place. He also couldn’t do that alone. Stepping out onto the tiny front porch, she looked across the valley toward where Braedyn and Casey’s small ranch was and the new house being built next door.

Picking up her cell, she shook her head and shoved it in her back pocket. There was no use in bothering them. Flashing the clothing from her body and shifting into the Tigress, she made the journey through the snowy valley where the new home rested. Trying to stay near the edges to avoid the deepest drifts made her wish she’d driven instead.

When she reached the property, all the work lights were off. With a frown, she rounded the house and saw Dean sitting on the back porch. Flashing back to human form, Amber approached him.

He was asleep.

She placed a hand on his thigh and whispered, “Dean?”

Startled, he raised his head. “Oh…I’m sorry. I just meant to sit down for a minute. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He gave her a sheepish grin.

There was a sheen of perspiration across his brow and a pasty look to his complexion. “How long have you been out here?” she asked, reaching to feel his face. “Dean, you’re burning up.”

“Yeah…I’m not feeling entirely…too hot.”

“Come on, let’s get you back to my place.” Amber helped him slide down from the porch and carried most of his weight while they made their way around to his pickup. She put him in the passenger seat and closed the door. Rushing around, she got in the driver’s seat and started it up and turned the heat on. “How long have you been out there?” she asked again.

Dean frowned, resting against the seat. “I don’t know, maybe a little after ten.”

Sighing, Amber shook her head. “It’s after midnight now. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get pneumonia. From the looks of it, you’ve got something pretty damned close to it right now. I shouldn’t have let you work so late the last few weeks. It’s been too damned cold and the electric and heat weren’t working properly until yesterday.”

“Ugh…d-don’t turn on the heat,” Dean groaned, rolled down the passenger window, and leaned against the frame.

Amber glanced anxiously over at him. “Maybe I should take you to Braedyn and Casey’s—”

“No, just get me in bed. I’ll be all right.” He closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

It worried her seeing him this way, and she pushed the old truck a little harder than she should through the ice and snow packed road. Whatever damage the truck received could be repaired, she only hoped Dean could be mended with such ease.

She pulled the truck to a stop in front of her bungalow and helped him inside. Tossing the blankets aside, Dean laid on the bed and she helped strip him down to his boxers. His skin was burning hot to the touch. Covering him with a sheet, she went in search of a fan. Then brought a dishtowel filled with ice and placed it over his forehead.

“Dean?”

He mumbled nothing intelligible.

Her heart slammed in her chest. “I’m going over to the shop to see if there’s anything I can grab that could help.”

Another slurred reply came.

Biting her lip, she dashed from her porch. The shop was maybe five yards from her door. After fumbling with the knob a moment, it finally dawned on her that Aquene had locked up after she left this afternoon. Growling with impatience, she flipped through her key ring to find the right one to unlock the door. With a shaky breath, she turned on the lights and studied the shelves.

“C’mon, c’mon…this is what you do Amber. Get your shit together,” she mumbled to herself.

Nausea, fever…did he have the flu? She scanned for the bottle of Flu-Gone that had been on the shelf recently. Aquene kept a stock of homeopathic remedies along with what they made. Turning too abruptly, she bumped a shelf and knocked over a few of the bottles.

“Dammit,” she hissed and dashed for the broom and dustpan to clean it up. While she was knocking remnants in the trashcan, the back door opened.

“Amber, is that you honey?” Aquene asked, sounding concerned.

“Back here. I’m sorry, I knocked down a few bottles.”

Taking one look at her, the native woman frowned. “What is the matter?”

Shaking her head, Amber struggled not to break down. “Dean’s sick. I went over to the new house and found him passed out on the back porch. He’s in bed now, stripped down to his shorts. I’ve got a fan on him and a towel with ice…” Tears filled her eyes.

Aquene took her by the shoulders. “Shh girl, calm down. You go back and sit with him, and I’ll fix something up. Is he nauseous?”

She nodded, wiping away the tears that fell. “I was trying to find the Flu-Gone and…” A small sob escaped her. “Oh…Aquene…”

Squeezing her shoulders, Aquene pulled Amber close for a moment. “Oh, honey, it’s going to be all right. Now you go and sit with him. I’ll be over there in a little while. Just calm down and relax. He won’t be able to if you don’t, remember the boy’s an empath.”

“You should be in bed…”

“You hush now…this is what I do. I am the pack’s medicine woman. You go be with him, and I’ll be in when I’m finished.”

Amber headed for the door and looked back. Aquene was scanning the shelves and pulling down a few bottles while grabbing the mortar and pestle.

What she feared more than anything was nothing on those shelves would cure what ailed him.

* * * *

Once more, Amber found herself at Dean’s bedside holding his hand, worrying.

His fever had risen, and he was unconscious.

She was forced to reevaluate her feelings for him again, when just hours before she was readying herself to walk away. Seeing him like this—so soon—broke her resolve.

Angry, she wiped the tears from her eyes when she heard the front door close.

Aquene paused in the doorway. “Has he gotten any worse?”

Amber sniffed and wiped her nose. “I can’t wake him.”

The old woman set her jaw and sighed. “Help me raise him and get some of this into him.”

Needing no more prodding than that, Amber was sitting on the bed, lifting Dean’s head and shoulders. Aquene squeezed a syringe filled with medicine into the corner of his cheek.

“Now lay him back down.” She felt his face and neck and shook her head. “I left some more in your refrigerator. He needs two full teaspoons every three hours.”

Laying him back down, Amber was afraid to look at Braedyn’s mother. “You know what’s wrong with him, don’t you?”

“I do,” she said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’ve seen it too many times. I am sorry.”

Amber turned to face her. Panic welled in her chest, and she waved away Aquene’s caring hands and stumbled into the kitchen. She stared at the table, holding onto one of the chairs for leverage.

“Honey—”

“You’re wrong, Aquene. Casey healed him.” The tears poured freely down her cheeks.

“Maybe there are some things even the Silver Wolf cannot heal.”

“But then we… The house…” Amber shook her head and gripped the back of the chair with so much force she could feel the wood begin to separate beneath her hands.

“You shouldn’t let it change the way you feel about him, child.”

She turned to face her. “Are you
mad
? A tiger and a wolf?” Shaking her head, Amber staggered away. “Aquene…we can’t.”

The old medicine woman nodded. “I’ve seen others go through this and never turn. The poison can somehow burn itself out, or maybe there was no available spirit for them at the time. But you can’t lose hope. You love him, and he loves you.” She sighed and patted her arm. “Call me if he gets any worse. Impossible as it may seem, try to get some rest, too.”

Seeing Aquene to the door, she hugged her. “Thank you.”

The old woman gave her a gentle smile and caressed her cheek. “No, thank you. You’ve helped me far more than I have you these last few years. Now you settle back and watch over him. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Amber watched Aquene head back inside her house before closing the door. The five words she’d dreaded thinking of since seeing Dean in the hospital came to mind. Five words she’d hoped to never have to think about or say.

Dean was going to change.

Amber sat by Dean’s side throughout the night, refilling ice when necessary and wiping the perspiration from his face and chest. Aquene, true to her word, came back first thing the next morning with another concoction they had to force Dean to swallow. He still hadn’t awakened.

“Sometimes they don’t regain consciousness until just before they change,” Aquene said, laying a hand on his burning brow. “Have you called Casey yet?”

“No, I didn’t want to wake them.” She gave a dry laugh. “I kind of have a track record of waking Casey in the middle of the night.”

Aquene gave her a gentle smile. “You know she wouldn’t have minded.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve done all I can for him. Just keep giving him what I gave you last night.”