Song of the Guardians (13 page)

"Dump them in, but try to keep most of the ice around her body," I said, holding Emma steady in the still water.

Luna undid the ties and leaned over the edge of the tub, carefully placing the ice along the sides of Emma’s body. Goosebumps pricked under my fingers. A long, mournful wail escaped Emma’s lips as she thrashed in the water. I stared, horrified, and tried to hold her in place, my hands going numb from the ice cubes that hadn't melted yet.

When Emma stilled, Luna crouched beside me. "That’s good, isn’t it?" Her scent filled the air, a mix of fear as well as an attraction to our alpha. Any other time, I would’ve shifted to challenge her, but my scent was probably the same as hers. "Shivering means we can get the fever to break, doesn’t it?"

I hope so.
"I don’t understand why she’s sick. She’s bonded with two of us, and the rest of the pack surrounds her. How can she get sick?"

"Because she let it happen. She hasn’t been sleeping, and she barely eats. It doesn’t matter how many of us are with her. If she doesn’t take care of her own body, then she’ll get sick regardless."

"It came on fast, though."

"Most illnesses do." She cocked her head. "When was the last time you were sick?"

I looked back as far as I could, but I’d never been sick, not for as long as I could remember. Certainly not as long as I’d been a guardian.

"The world is different now," Luna said, breaking the silence. "Maybe that's why she’s sick. There’s more in the air to infect her."

"No," I said, shaking my head. I glared at the she-wolf. "She was fine. Nothing was wrong with her until after you invited yourself back to the house."

"What are you talking about?" Luna snarled. "Why is this my fault?"

I spoke through my teeth. "After Zarrius died, she said we should go home. But then you had to open your big mouth and ask if she meant you as well."

"She’s the alpha, Tucker. What did you expect to happen? The pack always goes where the alpha does." Luna got up from the tub, pausing before stepping into the bedroom. "Besides, you were the one who told me to find her. You told me to protect the child. Those were your exact words. If it wasn’t for me, she would have never found you."

"She wouldn’t have become the pack’s alpha, either."

"What about the Earth, Tucker? Were you just going to leave her behind?"

"I would’ve made it back to the house."

"When?"

"Stop, both of you."

At first, I wasn’t sure what I’d heard. It was Emma’s voice, but I couldn’t tell if it was a memory or if it had actually happened. I checked the body inside the tub. Emma’s lips hadn’t moved, and her eyes were still shut. Luna was back beside the tub in an instant, her eyes searching mine.

"Emma?" Luna asked warily, looking at her.

"Please... don’t argue." Emma’s voice was so weak, I barely heard it.

"Oh, thank God," I breathed around the words. Emma was still warm against all the ice. "The fever isn't breaking."

"It will take some time," Luna said.

Emma shivered, her teeth chattering around her words. "Cold."

"I know, sweetie." Luna corrected herself a moment later. "We know, but we have to break the fever."

"Nightmare."

I frowned, squeezing one of Emma’s hands. "What nightmare?"

"Luna knows."

Emma’s body tensed beneath my touch, then went limp, shuddering in the now frigid water. I winced around the biting pain in my fingers, refusing to let her go or to remove her from the tub.

"What nightmare, Luna?" I asked.

"The Earth’s death," Luna said, pulling a towel off the rack. "Let’s get her out of the tub and under some warm blankets."

I tested my fingers, surprised when they still compressed against Emma’s skin. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but once I did, I lifted Emma out of the tub. Icy water rolled down my arms onto my naked body.

Once Emma was out of the water, Luna dried off as much of her as she could. The she-wolf averted her eyes, doing her best to remain submissive toward me.

As I watched her drying off Emma’s arms, I couldn’t help staring at Luna’s breasts, a little smaller than Emma’s. They shook as the she-wolf rubbed at Emma’s bare skin, and I looked away when Luna stared back at me.

"You can admire me later." She draped the towel over Emma. "We need to get her settled first."

I bowed my head, happy for the distraction. "You can tell the pack it’s safe to come up. We’ll need as many warm bodies around Emma as we can get."

Luna dipped her head, then she was gone.

T
ucker

Emma fell in and out of dreaming, waking for a few minutes at a time. She jumbled her words when she spoke, none of which made any sense. She was like that for almost two days, and during that time, neither Luna or I slept. Bleary-eyed, I smiled when Luna entered the room wearing one of Emma’s nightgowns. She sat on the foot of the bed, her voice silent even though I knew her thoughts were not.

We had more than enough time to catch up while Emma was asleep. Luna had explained the nightmare to me the first night of Emma’s fever. The idea of a dying Earth reaching the pack seemed impossible, but the longer it took for Emma’s fever to break, the more I started to believe it.

It might not have been about the Earth itself, but something had definitely taken hold of the pack. Our routine circled around Emma and her nightmares. The pack went out to hunt one pair at a time, returning with whatever food they could find. None of us wanted to be away from Emma any longer than that.

And when Luna asked if she could stay, I couldn’t say no.

"How is she?" Luna asked.

I sighed, exhausted. "Same as always." I curled around Emma’s form, lifting an arm so Luna could join me.

The she-wolf lay on the other side of Emma, turning over to face me. "You should get some rest," she said, her eyes seeming as weary as I felt.

"So should you," I argued, taking Luna's hand in mine. "I just wish she’d wake up."

Luna fought back a yawn. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but lying with Luna and Emma now seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Luna and I hadn’t done anything, but I couldn’t deny my understanding of Emma’s attraction toward her.

"How’s the pack doing?" I asked, trying to stay awake.

Luna stirred, about to doze off. "As worried as we are, I bet. They don’t ask about her, but that’s probably because they don’t have to."

I nodded. Guardians rarely had to talk to one another, capable of reading each other’s thoughts similar to how we could share our memories.

"She’s lucky to have you," Luna murmured, weaving her fingers with mine.

"She’s lucky to have the entire pack," I said, unlinking our fingers to rest my hand on her hip.

Luna smiled and pressed her lips against my forehead. "You need rest. The pack will wake us if something happens."

I shoved my arm under the pillows and closed my eyes. I saw nothing else.

* * * * *

E
mma

When my eyes finally opened, it was too bright to see, and once my ears had popped, the house was quiet. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was back in the ward, if I’d ever left, or if I was dead. The last thing I remembered was the dream, ice freezing my skin, then my fever breaking during the night.

I was lying on my back, in dry clothes, and the sheets were clean. Someone must’ve woken up with me during the night to remove my damp clothes, but I couldn’t remember. Small snapshots that could’ve passed as memories popped into my head—Tucker and Luna fighting, Tucker and Luna watching over me, Tucker and Luna being Tucker and Luna.

I turned my gaze to see whose head was resting on my chest. Luna stirred in the crook of my arm, her blonde hair knotted and in desperate need of a good brushing. I tested my body and took a deep breath. The she-wolf didn’t move, so I reached my free arm across the bed, patting the other side of the mattress.

Tucker’s side of the bed was empty, the blankets bunched against me to keep me warm. I moved again, touching Luna's cheek and brushing the hair away from her eyes when she opened them.

"Hey." My voice was dry.

Luna smiled. "Hey, yourself." She lifted her head to kiss me on the cheek. "How do you feel?"

"Like I ran into a wall."

"That was me," Tucker said as he made his way out of the bathroom, completely naked. "I may have dropped you on your head." The mattress compressed under his weight when he crawled in beside me, and I tried not to stare.

"So that’s why I have a headache," I groaned. "How long have I been out?"

Tucker and Luna exchanged glances.

"What?"

"Four days," Luna said after a long moment. "You kept mumbling in your sleep, but this is the first time you’ve been lucid."

"Your fever broke about a day and a half ago," Tucker added, smoothing my hair back against the pillows. "Your skin feels better than it did."

"I bet I look like shit."

A sly grin crept across his face. "Only a little."

"Not that you look any better."

"I was about to get into the shower when I thought I heard something." Tucker shrugged.

"I was next," Luna chimed in, cuddling back down against me.

I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you naked too?"

Luna smiled, her eyes playful. "Can’t you tell?"

I winced around the throbbing in my head.
Four days.
Four damned days.

"Have you done anything at all since I’ve been asleep?" I asked.

"It depends on how much you want to know," Luna teased before glancing at Tucker. "We made up."

"I figured as much. I hope you didn’t do too much without me."

Tucker laughed. "I can’t tell if this is Emma talking or whatever’s left of the fever."

"I’m hurt you would think that." I yawned. "And I’m so tired of sleeping, it isn’t even funny."

"You’ll probably feel a little out of it for a few more days," Luna said, hugging an arm around my waist. "You shouldn’t do too much until you’ve had something to eat."

"And some rest," Tucker added.

"I’ve slept for four days, and all you can think about is how much rest I need?" I threw my arms in the air in mock disgust. "Geez, it’s almost like you guys don’t want me around."

"It’s nice to see you have your energy back. But you really do need to rest. I’ll have the pack cook up something for you to eat." Tucker kissed me on the lips before rolling off the bed.

"Now, where do you think
you’re
going?"

"For a run. I haven’t been outside in days and could use the fresh air."

My eyes followed Tucker well after he was gone, and the weariness I saw in his gait worried me. "I want you to go with him."

"Mmm?" Luna frowned. "What about you?"

"I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon, but he shouldn’t be alone. He looks exhausted."

Luna tilted her head. "We all are. Even the pack hasn’t been sleeping right."

"Go after him, will you?"

"Are you sure?" Luna gave me a playful glance. "We have the room to ourselves."

I smirked and pushed Luna away. "Go on. Besides, unless you and Tucker feel like doing all the work, I’m not going to be much help."

It was easy to see Luna didn’t want to leave, but I’d made a very valid point, and to be honest, I could’ve used the quiet. After kissing me on the forehead, the she-wolf rolled off the bed. And as she padded out of the bedroom, I couldn’t help staring at her ass or the way her hips swayed back and forth.

T
ucker

A cool wind pricked at my skin as I opened the front door. It was strange, though. Ever since Luna had shifted back into human form, I felt more comfortable when I didn’t have my clothes on. And by the look of it, so did she. Perhaps it was because we’d been wolves for so long, or because of how open Emma was to all of us.

No matter the reason, I’d been itching to shift ever since Emma’s fever had begun. I’d kept the shift at bay before, not wanting to leave her side, but now that she was awake, I was free to run. And Gods, did I ever need it.

Concentrating on my other form, I sucked in a deep breath of air, coughing from the chill as I lowered onto four paws. The shift felt more natural now, more real. Truthfully, the night I'd seen Luna in Emma’s arms, I'd been envious of the she-wolf’s ability to shift at will. I’d only ever shifted to be with Emma, and the effects of suffocating that other part of me, the part I’d been for so long, was staggering.

Stepping away from the house, I delighted in the sun on my back, its warm fingers digging through my fur to reach the skin underneath. The ground was harder than I remembered, like it was covered in ice. But looking between my paws, there was no frost, ice or snow against the sides of the house.

After taking a handful of steady breaths, I filled my lungs, the cold intoxicating me like a drug. While breathing in the icy air as a human made my lungs to ache, it did the opposite when I was a wolf. Reenergized, if only for a little while.

The pines called to me, urging me to run under their shade. I accepted their invitation, howling into the sky in submission to everything I was. Panting at the air as it rushed over my tongue, I headed east, far from where I’d last seen Zarrius, and farther still from any human.
Emma’s human. You’re human.
No, that was only half of who I was, and Emma was better than any of the others.

She was our alpha, my mate and the head of the pack. She only wore a human skin. Everything else about here screamed guardian—wolf.

"Tucker, wait up." Luna’s white form chased after me.

I slowed my pace so she could catch up. A howl billowed up through my chest, and she joined in. She met my gaze, and I sent her an image of Emma, my question of where she was hung in the air between us. Luna replied with a second image, of Emma and the pack. She was safe.

I bowed my head between my paws and closed my eyes, using my mental map of the woods to find my way. And as Luna ran at my side, I couldn’t shake the ache around my heart, a pain for what we'd once shared, along with the fact that Emma could never run with us as a wolf.