Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2)

by Theresa Hissong

  “Is he going to have to be sedated?” Liberty asked.

  “I’m afraid so,” the alpha replied. “Are you going to be able to stay with your sister when Winter won’t be able to be at her side?”

  “I’ll be there,” Liberty promised. “Just tell me what I have to do.”

  “Let’s get everyone into place,” Talon said, kissing the top of Liberty’s head. “It’s going to be a long three days.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nova watched Winter’s eyes change. The blue faded slowly as the glow of amber bled into place. She reached up and traced his brow with her fingertip. His head turned, and her mate pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand. His mating scent drifted from his body as a soft purr rattled in his chest.

  “If you can tell the healer you are in pain, please tell him,” Winter whispered. “Don’t fight through it.”

  “What is going to happen? How does this work?” Nova shifted on the bed nervously. She was trying to be strong for what was coming, but she was honestly scared to death. She’d never tell Winter that she was, because if she did, he would change his mind.

  “You will take my blood,” he said, turning over his wrist. “You will drink it until I pull away, not a second sooner.”

  “When will I know that I’ve had enough of your blood?” she asked.

  “When you start screaming in pain,” he choked out, his eyes blinking rapidly to clear the wetness that had gathered at the corners. His hands cupped her face and he stared meaningfully into her eyes. “I mean it, Nova. Do not try and make it through the pain. You have to scream…do anything you can to let us know you need medicine.”

  “I promise,” she whispered.

  The healer entered the room, a black bag clasped in his left hand and a stethoscope around his neck. He moved to place his bag on the dresser, but didn’t speak.

  Nova’s heart raced as the realization of her decision struck her. She looked into Winter’s eyes and found comfort in his amber gaze. His panther was close, wanting out. There was peace in knowing that not only did Winter love her, but in some strange way, his panther did too.

  “My two protectors,” she whispered, cupping the side of his face. When she stroked his cheekbone softly, his panther purred, making Nova smile.

  “Always,” he promised, leaning forward to kiss her lips.

  “Ms. Raines?” Harold announced, coming toward the bed. “Has your mate told you about what will happen?”

  “Yes,” Nova said, leaning into Winter’s side.

  The healer pulled out several syringes from his bag, all filled with some sort of clear liquid. He placed them side by side on a white towel he had already laid out on the top of the dresser.

  “Whenever you are ready,” Harold said, his voice calm and sure.

  “I’m ready,” Nova replied, her voice stronger than she actually felt.

  Winter took a deep breath and raised his wrist to his mouth. The sound of tearing flesh was the only sound in the room. Their eyes locked, his amber to her brown. His other hand tangled in the hair at the back of her neck, tightening his hold so that she was rendered immobile.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, a lone tear leaking from her mate’s eye as he pressed his bleeding wrist against her lips. “Drink, Nova.” His sharp command was spat with his canines present, blood still dripping from the tips.

  The coppery warmth slid down her throat and she closed her eyes tightly. She could feel the blood as it landed heavily in her stomach. Swallowing again, she whimpered when a dull ache started in her stomach and branched out to her sides.

  “More, Nova,” Winter snarled. “Come on, little one.”

  Nova’s eyes flew open as the first true pain hit, causing her arms to seize and her legs to draw up against her chest. Winter still held her even though she was in sort of a sitting fetal position.

  “Drink, Nova!” Oh, God! This hurts so bad! What have I done?

  She bucked against his hold, but she didn’t scream. The blood was making her arms warm, her face felt flushed. Her muscles twisted and cramped.

  “Don’t stop,” he snarled, just as the pain struck.

  The pain was excruciating and like nothing she’d ever felt. The broken wrist she’d had was nothing more than a small bruise compared to the feel of a million knives piercing her body. She tried to scream, but Winter only urged her to drink more of his blood.

  A commotion sounded by the door and she tried to cast her eyes sideways, but her vision blurred. A prick at her arm barely registered as Winter removed his wrist, pushing her back onto the bed. He immediately wrapped his body around hers as she screamed.

  There was no conscious thought as to what time it was as she cried out in agony, the pain only subsiding after the pin prick to her arm. How many times was the healer going to give her pain medicine? And why wasn’t it working?

  Her screams echoed through his mind, overlapping as they sounded throughout the house. He hadn’t left her side since she’d taken his blood. The females had come by every hour to bring him some water. The food they’d brought for breakfast sat cold and untouched on the nightstand at his back.

  Liberty had to be removed from his home after the first few hours. She’d gone into a bit of distress at hearing Nova scream, and the healer had told Talon to take her home. Winter, on the other hand, was barely holding on. His panther was so close to taking over, he could feel his beast just under his skin, rolling with anxiety.

  He remembered the pain, the begging for death. If there was some way to take this pain from his mate, he would do it. Feeling her body jerk and shiver, her skin swapping from hot to cold, was killing him. He’d shed so many tears in the last half day, he didn’t think he had any more to shed. They still had over forty-eight hours to go before she would shift for the first time.

  “Harold!” Winter barked when Nova began to twist and turn, a garbled sound of agony bubbling out of her throat. Her eyes opened for about two seconds. Small amber and blue flecks floated in her brown eyes, signaling that the panther was forming and taking over her body just as it had done to his not so long ago.

  “Give me her arm,” the healer ordered, leaning over Winter’s back. He pressed the needle into her skin right below the last injection. Only this time, the skin healed immediately upon the withdrawal. There was no little red spot where the skin had broken. That was another good sign. She was healing quickly.

  “I need to cut off her cast,” Harold said, walking over to his bag. “She should be healed enough now.”

  Winter held her as the cast was removed. He rubbed Nova’s arm and wrist as he settled her back into a position that seemed to keep her from fighting him. On her right side, she was calmer, a little more relaxed. At least, she was until the medicine wore off and she’d begin jerking around in his arms again.

  “Winter,” Talon’s mother announced at the door. “We came to bathe your mate and change out the sheets. Why don’t you go down and have some food while we take care of her?”

  “No,” he growled, flashing his canines at the alpha’s mother. “I’m not leaving her.”

  “Okay,” she sighed, holding up her hands in defense. If anyone knew what Winter was going through, it would be Talon and his own mother. It hadn’t been but two months since they had done the same thing with Liberty. “You need to at least eat the food we bring you, son.”

  “I will bathe her,” he said, nodding toward the bathroom. “Place your supplies in there and leave us.”

  “She should be okay for a few more hours,” Harold said, gathering a newspaper he’d been reading while he held vigil in a high back chair in the corner of Winter’s room. The healer followed the matriarch of the Shaw family out as she left the room, pulling the door closed.

  Winter stroked the strands of hair back from Nova’s face. Beads of sweat dotted her brow, her eyes were closed as she rested for a short amount of time.

  Every human changed differently. They’d found that Nova would still for the first hour aft
er a dose of pain medicine, but the next three hours, she would scream and tense up as the blood created a new life inside her. Winter’s muscles ached from the constant hold he’d had on her strengthening body. With each hour that passed, his mate was getting stronger.

  He reluctantly released her and slid off the bed, looking over his shoulder as he entered his bathroom just to make sure she was okay. Mrs. Shaw had left a plastic tub, cloth, and a bar of soap on the counter, but he had no desire to give his mate a sponge bath. He was going to care for her completely. She still hadn’t showered from her encounter with Perry and Winter wanted that son of a bitch’s scent washed off of her skin.

  He turned on the water in the large tub, checking the temperature. It wasn’t too hot or too cold by the time it was almost full. He set her shampoo and conditioner on the edge of the tub and walked back into the bedroom. She wore his favorite gray shirt, but it was stained with dirt and sweat. He stripped her of the shirt and her pale pink panties, tossing them in the hamper by the closet door. His lounge pants followed.

  His panther rumbled as he lifted her carefully from the bed, carrying her toward the awaiting bath. The water was soothing to his own muscles as he nestled Nova against his chest. She was so tiny curled up in his arms. His mating scent was heavy in the air as it mixed with the steam from the bath. After several minutes of just relaxing, he inhaled deep and finally caught a bit of Nova’s natural scent.

  “I love you, little one,” he whispered against her hair as he moved the soapy cloth over her body. She would occasionally twitch. Her eyes would flutter open, revealing more blue and amber, but her stare was still glazed over. He knew that she wasn’t seeing anything, but she could possibly hear him.

  “You are twelve hours in,” he told her, using a cup to wet her hair. He continued to talk as he washed her, informing her of everything he knew. He just hoped that his voice soothed her as her body accepted his blood. “You are already showing signs of advanced healing. Your cast was removed and I haven’t left your side.”

  He rinsed the conditioner from her hair and toed the switch for the drain, only standing up once the water had receded about halfway. He held Nova against his chest as he wrapped a towel around her body. Once he had her in the bed, he used another towel to wring out the excess water in her hair. He walked back into the bathroom to get her brush, stopping off to grab himself a clean pair of shorts.

  When he returned, Winter spent the next twenty minutes combing out her hair and praying the next two days would fly by so he could have his mate back. He dressed her in another one of his shirts and a clean pair of cotton shorts she used to sleep in.

  He settled down, holding Nova against his chest, and closed his eyes, drifting off to a light sleep. Now, they would spend their time waiting for the moments when the medicine would wear off and they would start all over again.

  An ear shattering scream echoed throughout the house as Nova’s body twisted in agony. Winter jerked awake, his arms circling his mate to hold her still. There was no need to call out for the healer, because he would’ve heard the scream from his own cabin across the property.

  The door opened and Winter rolled slightly to see who had entered. Savage, Booth, and Dane were sitting outside the door. Winter nodded as the healer closed the door, shutting out his brothers who were there guarding him and his mate. Or were they there to come take him away when he snapped?

  Harold injected Nova again and reached for his stethoscope. Winter held her still while the healer listen to her heart between the shouts of pain. It took about ten minutes for the spasms to slow and her breathing to even out.

  “She’s doing fine. She actually held out a little over two hours before the pain returned,” Harold explained, returning his things to his bag. “I’m worried about you, son.”

  “I’m fine,” Winter snapped.

  “You need to eat,” the healer replied. “If you get weak, you won’t be able to protect her from herself as she grows stronger. You know this.”

  “I know,” he sighed.

  “The females have made a huge lunch,” he stated, not giving Winter a chance to argue. “Is there a Guardian you’d like to sit with her until you return?” The thought of another male in the room with his mate sent his panther into a snarling frenzy, knowing that they would have to touch her if she started thrashing around in pain again.

  “I can leave a pair of my gloves if you’re worried about one of them touching her,” Harold offered. The doc always used a thick latex glove whenever he had to touch a mate to examine her or to deliver young. He’d been a healer for so long, he never accidently touched a female without the gloves on.

  Winter reluctantly slid out of the bed and walked toward the bedroom door. When he opened it, three of his brothers were there, asses planted in the hallway. All three of them jumped up as soon as they realized it was Winter at the door and not the healer.

  “How is she?” Savage asked.

  “In and out,” he sighed. “I need to eat. I need one of you to stay and protect my mate.”

  “I’d be honored to stand in your place while you grab some food,” Dane offered, stepping up to hold out his hand. Winter took it in his strong grasp. Even though Dane had teased him before over the fact that he could touch Nova, the Guardian was all business. And for that, Winter was thankful for his friendship.

  “Harold left a pair of his gloves on the dresser,” Winter told him. “I’ll be back soon.”

  He didn’t even look back as Dane entered the room, closing the door just enough for privacy, but not all the way. His brothers clasped his shoulder tightly as he walked into the living room and saw everyone gathered for support. It was the moment he finally realized he had a real family…one where he was destined to belong with a once human female as his mate.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Winter hovered over his plate, eating the large steak the females had made for him. He’d already cleared a few baked potatoes covered in cheese. He ignored most of the whispers and listened for any sounds or movements from his bedroom.

  His panther was agitated he’d left his mate in their bedroom with another male for as long as he had, but Winter knew Dane would protect her with his life. Nova and the Guardian had become good friends over the past few weeks and he would never demand she stop talking to him. If something were to happen to Winter, he knew Dane would step up to make sure his mate was taken care of for the rest of her life.

  “Eat as much as you can,” Savage said, taking a seat next to him at the table. “You are going to need your rest, too. Things are going to go from bad to a raging shitstorm in the next twenty-four hours.”

  Winter knew from his own experience that the first day was painful, but the second and third days would be when Nova’s body would start changing. Her limbs would thicken, the panther would be alive inside her, fighting its way out.

  Their animals were really the ones in charge, their human body was only the cover for their true nature. The panther ruled over all. His strengths and predatory nature were a part of them, and during the change, the beast trained the human body to respect that.

  “If I have to be sedated,” Winter paused, trying to control his temper. “Please put me next to her. I want to be the first person she sees when this is all over.”

  “I will honor your wishes.” Savage nodded. “Anything else?”

  “No,” Winter replied. “I…”

  A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the house and everyone tensed as Nova’s agony shot through the cabin. Winter rushed to the bedroom, knocking over the chair as he went. When he entered the room, Dane was up on the bed, his gloved hands were pressing down on Nova’s forearms, holding her in place. Her hands had shifted; sharp, lethal claws had replaced her human nails. Blood seeped out of her human fingers and Dane had a gash across his cheek.

  “Get him out!” Dane snarled, looking over his shoulder at Winter.

  “What?” Winter barked, moving toward the bed, but Savage was there to
stop him. Other hands touched him, yet he didn’t know who held him, because his worry was focused on his mate. “What’s going on?”

  “Go!” Dane ordered, his eyes glowing.

  Nova thrashed, her head rolling from side to side. Winter pushed a Guardian away so he could have a direct line of sight to the bed. Everything happened slowly, like moving through muddy water, but he saw it...the one thing Dane was trying to hide from him.

  “Nova!” he snarled.

  Her eyes opened when her head rolled toward him, and the first thing he saw was that her eye had turned blood red and the entire right side of her face had been clawed, almost as if she’d tried to remove her own skin. Her other eye was glowing amber.

  “What’s going on?” Winter demanded, pushing another Guardian. His heart thundered in his chest and his panther demanded to be released.

  “Get the healer!”

  “Get him out of here!”

  “Nova!” Winter cried, his body vibrating. He felt the pain she was feeling deep in his chest. A sharp pinch registered in his arm and it only took a second to realize he’d been given a sedative. This one was much stronger than the one that’d been given to Nova. This dose was amped up for a Guardian in distress, because he was about to lose his mind…he was about to go feral, seeing his mate harmed.

  As his body slumped to the floor, Savage was in his line of sight. His lips moved but Winter couldn’t hear what his brother was saying. He closed his eyes and let darkness take him.

  The hands on the clock in Nova’s mind started to move, only ticking at a snail’s pace for an unknown amount of time before gaining the needed speed to right itself with the universe. Pain occasionally licked at her bones, and her face ached as if she’d been struck again. The pain she was feeling now was nothing compared to the horrible pain she’d felt some time ago. No, that pain was excruciating and she only prayed that she hadn’t screamed too loud when it was at its worst.