Author: J.D. Tyler

Then the soothing effect seemed to wear off. He was so hot he could barely draw in air. His knees gave out and he collapsed onto the floor of the shower stall, barely able to raise his head. Without his mate, his so-called gift had finally turned against him.

"Oh, God." Help me.

But there would be no reprieve this time. To ease the pain, he imagined Rowan's sexy face, how gorgeous she'd looked as he made love to her. How lost in the pleasure of their bodies joined.

At least he'd gotten to say good-bye, if only in their dreams.

Nick surfaced from sleep, wondering if he'd heard his cell phone-how long ago? He wasn't sure. Middle of the night calls never boded well, and he had a feeling he should check. Wasn't like he'd get more sleep if he ignored it. So he rolled over and grabbed the thing off his nightstand.

One call, from Rowan at three fifteen. It was three twenty-five now. Gut clenching, he turned on the lamp and pressed the button to play her message.

Nick, it's Rowan. I know it's after three in the morning, but I have this bad feeling something's wrong with Aric. I had this dream and-well, it's stupid, but call me back anyway when you get this message. Doesn't matter what time. 'Bye.

Cursing, he jumped out of bed, completely awake now. Foreboding slithered through him and he knew this was no false alarm. Quickly, he threw on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and stuck his feet in his tennis shoes without bothering with socks. Then he jogged from his quarters down the hallway to Aric's room, pausing only long enough to pound on Jax's door.

The man opened a long minute later, wearing boxers, smoothing his goatee and peering blearily at Nick. "Boss, what the fuck?"

"I think something's wrong with Aric. I need your help."

Jax came awake, eyes wide. "Give me twenty seconds."

"Tell Kira to go get Mac and Melina," he called after Jax.

In no time the RetroCog was back. "Kira's throwing on some clothes. They'll be right behind us. Think we should get Zan?"

"Good idea."

One more stop, and the three of them were running down the hall to Aric's room. Time was of the essence. He felt the urgency, pressing down. He didn't bother to knock but punched in his override code to access the door. Then he ran, his men behind him.

The sound of the shower relieved him, but only for a moment. There were no splashing noises, like someone taking a shower. Just a steady stream. No other sounds.

Then he yanked open the stall door and saw why. Aric was sprawled naked on the floor, unconscious. Dark auburn hair streamed over his face, stuck to his chest. Steam rose from his body as the water hit, fogging the glass.

"Jesus Christ," Zan cried, jumping in. He turned off the water and placed a palm on his friend's chest. "He's fucking burning up, from the inside out. I can't-God, I can't heal this. His temperature is out of control."

Jax tossed in a large towel. "Wrap that around him. Can you carry him without getting burned?"

"Yeah, I can neutralize the heat, as long as he doesn't burst into flames."

It was a distinct possibility. Nick watched as Zan tucked the towel around Aric's middle, then grasped him under his knees and behind his back, lifting his friend into his arms. Aric's head lolled back, lashes dark against his pale cheeks.

Goddamnit, they were going to lose him-unless they got Rowan here, fast.

They met the women in the corridor, and the group hurried toward the infirmary. When they got there, a rumpled-looking Noah met them, obviously having been dragged from his bed as well. Mac stopped Nick from following Zan into the room where they were getting Aric settled.

"Let us help him. You'd only be in the way right now."

"But he's-"

"I know," she said gently. "Let us do our job."

Blowing out a breath, he relented. "Sure. I'm sorry."

Squeezing his arm, she disappeared into the room. In moments, Zan emerged, having been booted out to wait with the rest of them.

"If that snarky bastard dies," the Healer ground out, "I'm going to play nonstop country music over his grave as punishment. What the fuck is wrong with him, Nicky?"

Everyone felt his pain. The desperation of possibly losing a great soldier. A good friend and fine man. They deserved to know.

"Rowan is his mate, remember? And he let her go without telling her-and more important, without claiming her."

"I can't believe we let the dumb-ass do that," Jax croaked. "He saw what happened to me!"

"He doesn't feel like he deserves Rowan because of what happened to Micah and the team. He didn't say anything about Beryl, and she ended up hurting all of you. Half your number are still missing, and he blames himself for that, too."

Zan punched the wall, leaving a dent. "What a bunch of shit! Nobody blames him! Why can't he wrap his stupid brain around that fact?"

"Now what?" Kira asked.

Nick took his cell phone from the pocket of his sweats. "We get a certain cop here, pronto. I'm sending the jet to L.A. Who wants to pilot?"

"I'll do it," Jax volunteered. "My license is current."

Kira spoke up. "I'll go with you. I'm betting she's going to need another woman to talk to about the mating thing."

"Good idea," Nick said. "Go. I'll tell her to meet you at our landing strip east of the city."

The couple left and Nick went to the waiting area to make the call. Zan followed and sat across from him, silent. Nick waited, not surprised when she answered on the second ring.

"Hello? Nick?"

"It's me. Rowan, listen to me-you were right. Something has happened and I need you here right away."

"Oh, God! It's Aric, right? What's wrong with him?"

"Jax and Kira are on their way in our jet, and they'll explain when they arrive. Pack your stuff and be at the landing strip in two hours. Can you do that?"

"Of course. Give me directions and I'll be there." Her voice had calmed, taking on that cop tone he'd come to know so well.

Right then he knew without a doubt that Rowan would do whatever she could to save Aric. She loved the man. There was hope.

He gave her directions to the strip and hung up, slumping in his seat. He and Zan didn't speak. They just listened to the clock tick on the wall, and prayed that Jax could get Rowan back here in time.

Rowan showered quickly, got out, dressed. Opting for simple, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and went with little makeup, applying only enough so that she didn't look like a corpse at almost six in the morning.

Next she repacked her duffel with clothes for a good week or more. Then she called Dean and left him a message, telling him what she knew. Which wasn't much.

A call to her sergeant was next, and boy, was that one as fun as a colonoscopy. He wasn't amused to learn that she wasn't coming back on shift this morning as scheduled. His ominous tone as he spoke the words "We'll talk when you return" didn't bode well. It hit her that she might not have a job to come back to.

And then it occurred to her that she really didn't care.

The one thing that mattered was Aric, and something terrible had happened. All she could think of was getting to him. After watering her plants, she scooped up the bills from her table and stuck them in her purse. She'd mail them from Wyoming.

Then she was on her way, leaving L.A., and she had the strangest notion that she wouldn't be back. But she'd have to return, wouldn't she? She chewed on that all the way to the strip, and some more as she waited for the jet that would whisk her to Aric.

Finally it appeared, dipped low and came in for a smooth landing. The craft taxied to the end of the runway, and the pilot didn't even bother to shut it off. Instead, the door opened and Jax popped out, jogging over.

"Here, let me help you with that," he said, taking her duffel and slinging it over one shoulder. "Come on. There's not one minute to waste."

She trailed him, panic beginning to eat at the edges of her self-imposed calm. What could have happened? What could be so bad? And why would they come after her in the middle of the night? She didn't see how she could help, grateful as she was to be able to get to him quickly. Jax tossed her bag in, and held out a hand to assist her into the plane.

"In you go. Kira rode along with us. She thought you could use some company, and an explanation."

Relief swamped her. "I appreciate that, more than you know."

"Oh, I have some idea." With a kind smile, he climbed in and shut the door, heading for the pilot's seat. "Buckle up."

She took a seat next to the petite blonde and snapped her seat belt in place. Normally she hated takeoffs, but this one barely phased her. She was much too upset to think about the plane ride.

Kira smiled warmly at her, but Rowan could see the worry shadowed in her eyes. "Hey. I thought you could use a friend."

"I could, thank you. You know, I don't have many girlfriends," she mused. "I guess it's because I've worked for so long in a male-oriented environment. Most women don't warm up to me because of it, especially the cops' wives."

"They think you're out to prey on their men?"

Rowan laughed humorlessly. "Something like that."

"Well, they're stupid bitches, then. Anyone can see what a great heart you have."

"Thanks. So tell me, what's wrong with him?"

Kira was silent for a long moment, then met her eyes. "He's sick, Rowan. I mean, deathly sick."

"He... he could die?"

Kira's eyes filled with tears. "Yeah. I just hope we make it in time."

Rowan felt the blood drain from her face. "With what? How? He seemed fine when I left him!" But had he, really? Now that she thought about it... he hadn't seemed like himself. There was also that fever the doctors had been concerned about.

"You know about wolf shifters' mates, right?"

"Some. The other day, I didn't want to leave Aric. The idea alone made me sick, and it physically hurts to be apart from him. Before I left, Micah told me to ask Aric if he felt the same pull I did. So I asked, and he denied it. Christ, it still hurts."

Kira took her hand. "Honey, Aric lied to you. He felt drawn to you, like you did to him."

"That's what he said in my dream. What does it mean?" She blinked, making the connection at last. Damn, she was dense. "Wait, are you saying we are mates?"

"Yes. And he's known it all along."

The truth ripped through her, the pain almost too much. "Why would he lie? Does he not want to be tied to a cop? Or he doesn't want any mate?"

"Nothing like that. He doesn't feel worthy of your love, of being your Bondmate."

Rowan stared at her. The light shone through. "Because of Beryl and what happened to Micah and the team."

"Exactly. He feels like he should pay, and to him that means denying his mating. When a wolf shifter doesn't claim his mate within a certain amount of time, he gets sick. Jax got sick because he didn't want to push me into mating before I was ready, the idiot."

"Hey, I heard that!"

"Anyway, what Aric is going through runs deep. He honestly feels he's doing the right thing, and is unworthy."

God, this was messed up. "How does he claim me?"

"He bites you. Pretty simple, or it would be if he was conscious. They'll have to try to rouse him so he can do it."

She didn't want him to die. No matter her remaining doubt about them as a couple, she would not let that happen.

They fell silent for a few minutes. Then Rowan looked at the hand still holding hers and felt the tears well up. "Thank you for being here. It helps."

"You're welcome," Kira said softly. "But there's one more thing you need to know. After you mate, there's a good chance you could turn into a shifter, too."