Delilah smacked her in the forehead. “Don’t get sassy. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to offend you. Just so were clear though, I’m your friend, with no additional benefits. And try to rein in the purr next time, otherwise Blake will never let me live it down.”
“What are you talkin’ about, Del; you make me purr all the time. What’s wrong with a little purring between friends?” The sound of Blake’s voice coming through the window made Delilah jump up off the couch, causing Dee to roll off and onto the floor, hitting her head on the coffee table.
Sounding defensive, but not being able to stop herself she responded. “It’s perfectly normal, she’s a cat. She purrs.”
“I’m a lynx.”
“Shh, can’t you see I’m defending us.”
Dee sighed heavily as she sat up rubbing her head, not wanting to become involved with the alpha pair’s antics. “How are they? Awake?”
It had been a week since Justin had attempted to heal Carter. Carter had woken up briefly a few days ago and took some broth before falling back into a deep sleep. He would wake for small amounts of time to take fluids, however they couldn’t keep him awake for longer than five minutes.
Blake’s soothing voice flowed over her, “Carter’s up and wants to see you.”
She knew Blake was trying to calm her by using his powers, but she didn’t deserve it. She’d asked Justin to heal her son not knowing it would hurt him and now she had to live with the fact that they both may die. No one knew what the poison they’d ingested was, but it was obvious whoever wanted to harm her son wanted to make sure he was dead. Blake had insisted everyone be moved to alpha house and additional guardians were appointed to watch the house.
She rose up slowly and just let Blake’s words sink in. She became dizzy. “Carter’s awake, like, not going back to bed?”
“I just got off the phone with lil’ Trev, he assured me that Carter’s healing is complete.”
She looked at the ground and whispered, “And Justin?”
Blake shook his head. “He’s had no response, it’ll take time though. My brother is strong and he’ll be fine.”
Dee was a bit overwhelmed. When Blake called his parents and other brother, Paul, they’d all shown up within a day, infusing alpha house with positive energy and noisy chatter. Paul and Bailey brought their brand new twins and everyone doted on them, which took the pressure off Dee. She felt completely out of place knowing everyone was upset with her for putting Justin in this situation, but how was she supposed to know he might die? Even thinking that way made her stomach roll.
Surprisingly, Justin’s family was nice to her and Carter. They all took turns sitting with her, Carter and Justin, never making her feel out of place. Blake thought it best to keep Carter and Justin in the same room so it was easier to watch over them.
As she walked into their room she saw Mrs. Nunn sitting next to her son reading him a book. Her voice changed with each character adding drama and intrigue. Carter noticed her standing in the doorway and smiled shyly.
“You look a lot better, how do you feel?”
“I’m good, Mama.”
Smiling politely at Mrs. Nunn, Dee crossed the room, making sure to keep her distance. She didn’t want to have to explain why she smelled of cat. Dee sat close to the corner of the room, noticing how Justin’s mother watched her. “Hello, Mrs. Nunn.”
“Hello, I’ll leave you and Carter alone to talk. Please let me know if Justin wakes up.” She rose gracefully from the bed, striding to her son she kissed his brow gently before turning and walking out without another word.
The door was barely closed before Carter hopped out of the bed and ran into her arms. “I’m so sorry, Mama, I’ll never be a wolfie again. I don’t like it when I die.”
Stroking his hair gently she shushed him, “Don’t talk like that, Son, you need your wolf, he’s a part of you. It was an accident. Apparently, these things happen.”
Tears leaked from his eyes as he sat in her lap sniffling. “But, I don’t think I can. My wolfie is broke, he don’t know when not to eats the bunny. I told him it stinked, but he wanted to chase it anyways.”
Taking in a deep breath, she tried to explain a few things to her son. “You didn’t have the most normal upbringing so far. You’ve suppressed your wolf when you should have embraced him. I sent you to live with my parents because it was safe, but they didn’t know how to teach you wolf ways. As cats, they only know about cats. We’ll figure out how to make things right with your wolf, Son, don’t worry.”