be the same for me?” His friend had gotten really sick before the couple decided to bond. Aric hated being ill, but he just didn’t see how mating would ever work out for the likes of him. What woman needed his shit?
“You’re already symptomatic, with the sore throat and fever, which seems to accompany the start of the mating urge. The longer you put off biting your female, taking her as your Bondmate, the sicker you’ll become. Of course, if you
“Isn’t there a chance I could just wait it out? Get well?”
“Based on what I’ve seen so far, and what Nick has told me as a born shifter who’s lived with his wolf a lot longer than all of you have…” She sighed. “It doesn’t seem likely.”
Deadly calm settled over him. There was no point in stressing about the future when he’d just learned he didn’t have one. “Listen to me and listen good,” he said in a low voice. “Rowan is not to know what’s going on with me. I won’t have her pushed into mating with me like Kira was with Jax. You understand? Rowan is a good woman and she doesn’t deserve to be saddled with this life, or me.”
“Aric, it’s not such a bad existence—”
“No. You tell Rowan, or anyone else, about this and I’ll leave. For good.”
“Nick will know, eventually. No one will have to inform him.”
“He’s different. But the same rule applies to him.”
“Try telling that to Nick,” she said drily. “He’s not bound by the same oath of confidentiality as I am.”
“I’ll deal with that when and if he confronts me.”
Melina fell silent for a moment, studying him, suddenly looking older than her years. “I honestly hope you reconsider before it’s too late.” He didn’t answer. “Okay, I’m going to get that culture, and when it comes back clear, I’ll release you.”
“Thanks.”
She left to get the kit she needed, and he sat there staring out the window once again. Only he wasn’t nearly as excited as before about the prospect of getting out. He was simply trading one prison for another, this time being held hostage by his own body. With a sigh, he slumped in his chair and covered his face with one hand.
Melina returned. “Let’s get this done so you can get going.”
In less than a minute, she’d swabbed inside his throat with the end of a long stick and taken it away. In fifteen more she was back, announcing that as expected, he had no viruses or bacteria to account for the sore throat and fever. His blood work was fine, too. He was healed from his time in captivity.
“One last thing,” she said, leveling him with a firm look. “When you find yourself unable to perform on the team, remove yourself from duty or I
“How long do I have before I get to that point?”
“I wish I had a firm answer,” she said grimly. “The pace of decline seems to vary. But it will happen, unless you talk to Rowan. Explain to her.”
“I can’t.” God. Losing his team and his place among them would truly be the end of him. When that happened, he would shift and disappear into the Shoshone, let nature take its course.
Melina signed his paperwork, no doubt believing that when push came to shove, he’d change his mind and bite Rowan, risk turning her into a wolf, to save his own hide. The doc was wrong. He wasn’t that big an asshole, no matter what people might think.
After she left, Aric pulled his clothes out of the small closet across from the bed and dressed in sweats and an Alice in Chains T-shirt, trying to ignore the slight soreness in his muscles. How long would he be able to hide his condition from his friends? Not long enough, knowing those guys. They were too damned perceptive.
On his way out, he stopped to see Micah despite his hurry to put the infirmary behind him. Easing into the room, he was struck by the awful stillness from the man on the bed. The drugs were doing their job to keep his friend quiet. He’d almost rather see the guy go for his throat again than this. But either way he was suffering.
Aric went to stand by the bed and rested his hand on the side rail, not sure what to do or say. Nothing seemed adequate, so he settled for what he was best at—the blunt truth.
“Hey, man,” he told his sleeping friend. “This is a load of bullshit, huh? But I happen to know you’re too tough to let this keep you down. Don’t let those assholes win, you feel me? Get well for your sister and your team. Everyone is pulling for you. And when you get out of here, we’ll go kick some ass.”
That was about as good a pep talk as he could manage. Especially with his sudden emotions threatening to strangle him. Damn it, he might not even be around by the time Micah recovered. But his friend didn’t need to know.
“I’ll be back, buddy,” he promised.
He started out, waving to Noah and the bigger nurse, and kept going, trying to decide what to do. He probably should inform Nick he’d been sprung, but he didn’t want to see the boss just yet. The man was too weird with that PreCog shit, and if he didn’t already know what was up with Aric, being alone with him might prompt a vision. Or something. No need for him to find out sooner than necessary.
He wasn’t hungry, either, and didn’t feel like watching TV. The last thing he wanted was to be alone in his room. That left the gym. Might be a good idea to get some exercise while he still could. Blow off some frustration.
Liking this idea, he jogged straight there, glad when he arrived that he wasn’t the least bit winded. So what if he was a little sweaty and warm? That wasn’t too remarkable when he’d been running. Slowing, he walked inside and took a look to see who was hanging around.
Jax and Zan were sparring on the mats, going at it like two warring gladiators instead of best friends. They appeared to be enjoying themselves. Hammer was doing bench presses, working on the stomach that already boasted an eight-pack, being spotted by Ryon. But it was the sweet thing doing sit-ups in one corner that got his undivided attention.
Rowan wore black spandex workout pants and a matching sports bra, both of which showed off her sleek, toned body and generous breasts. She was no small, scrawny woman like Kira. No, sir, she was built like a brick shithouse, every muscular, kick-ass inch. He practically drooled watching her abs scrunch and her hips flex every time she sat up.
He’d been observing for at least a couple of minutes before she noticed and eased up one last time, then reached for a hand towel at her side. She wiped her face and then tossed it down, elbows on her knees.
“Are you spying on me?” Good-natured humor laced her tone.
“Nope, flat-out ogling. Spying implies I have something to hide.” He almost winced at his choice of words.
“
Yeah, including himself. Just not the way she might think. “I guess you’re right about that.”
“The doc cleared you to be out running around?”
“Do you see a posse chasing me this time?” he pointed out.
“No.” She grinned. “How about going a round on the mats, then? I still want my sparring match and none of those guys would cooperate.” She flicked a hand at the others and made a disgusted face.
Damn, she was sexy. The thought of
“I’m not some helpless female,” she said with a hint of challenge.
“We’re not regular guys, though. But in the spirit of fun, I’ll take you on.”
“Human to human?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want things to be more uneven than they already are.”
She shot him an evil little smile, and the glint in her brown eyes gave him pause. “Let’s do it.”
He offered her a hand up and she took it, getting to her feet with a bounce. Together, they walked over to the mats and Aric yelled at the two combatants. “Give it a rest, knuckleheads. The cop wants to kick my ass.” He said the last with a touch of sarcasm, as if to imply she’d need a lot of luck.
All four of his buddies hooted with laughter, Jax and Zan pushing to their feet and getting out of the way, wiping sweat from their faces. A round of encouragement ensued as the jerks gathered, for Rowan to smear him all
