Healing Their Mate (The Love of a Shifter) (13 page)

It was late in the afternoon when Jonas and Reece walked into the room.  Ash and Pelton were getting the paperwork they would need ready for the group when all the members showed up. 

Reece and Jonas waited and watched as Jansen taught River more about healing. 
“Your breathing is the most important part of healing.  You already have the gift but clearing your mind is how you make it work.  You see the pain and what is in them then you make it better.”  Reece and Jonas walked over and stood beside River.  She smiled when she saw her two mates. 

“
Hey,” River said enthusiastically.  She was happy to see them.  Then she frowned at the expression on their faces.

“
What’s wrong?” asked River then Reece composed his expression.

“
Nothing, baby.  I was thinking about something I needed to do, but it can wait until tomorrow.  Ready for our date?” Reece asked as Jansen looked at him.  Reece could tell the man was studying him.  Reece extended his hand out.  “Hello.  I’m Reece Ramsey.”  Jansen shook Reece’s hand then looked back at River. 

“
She is your mate too?” Jansen asked.  Reece smiled then looked over at River who was blushing.  “Yes she is.  I understand you are helping her learn about her gift?” 

“
Yes.  She is a very powerful healer and has other powers but nothing has come out yet.  I will need to work more with her.  If you don’t mind?”  Jansen waited for Reece to respond. 

“
Sure, but that is up to River.”  Reece watched as River smiled.  He knew that River didn’t want to be told what she was going to do.  She needed this job and he wouldn’t dare keep her from it or from learning about her healing abilities.  Healers were hard to come by and needed in their world. 

River loved it.  They let her make the decision.  She didn
’t think they would do that. 
Maybe, just maybe, this could work
. 

“
Thank you and yes, Jansen, I would love for you to continue teaching me.  I really would.” 

Jansen nodded. 
“If that is all, I think I will go eat with the rest of the group.” 

Reece and Jonas watched as the man walked over to Ash and Pelton. 
“He is a very big, big man,” Reece whispered. 

Jonas laughed. 
“Yes he is.”

“
Before we leave.  I have a question for you both.  I was hoping that maybe you would help me…”  They could tell that River was scared to ask them something. 

“
You can ask us anything, angel,” Reece suggested.

River smiled. 
“I was hoping you would say that.  Well, I called Mary last night and she is sick.  Really sick.  She needs to be with someone and I thought that since I can heal that maybe we could go get Mary and bring her here.  She can have my bed and I can get a cot to sleep on until I can find us a place to live.”

“
River, don’t say that.  She is your friend and we know you love her.  She will always have a place to stay in my home with you as well.  I know we are taking this slow but we have talked,” Reece said then motioned toward Jonas.  “And we want you to live at my house with us.  And Mary too.”  Reece held his breath.  Finally, she smiled.

“
I still want to take this slow, but if you don’t mind if at the moment Mary stays in my room with me here at the Lodge,” said River. 

Jonas smiled because she said at the moment, which was not
“no.”

Reece kissed River on the lips then kissed her on the tip of her nose. 
“Whatever you want, angel.  Let me make some arrangements and we will go and get Mary,” Reece advised.

“
Mm.  You see I need to get her tonight.”  Reece looked over at Jonas.  Who looked over at Jansen Vega.

“
Hold on a minute,” Jonas suggested then walked over to where Jansen was talking to Ash and Pelton.

River looked back at Reece who was staring at her. 
“You are always staring at me like you could eat me.” 

Reece chuckled. 
“If I thought I could get away with it, I would have you on this table and eating you all up.” 

River blushed as she looked down at the floor.  She could feel her body as the moisture pooled between her legs.  When she looked back up, Reece had his head ti
lted back and sniffing the air.  Shit, she forgot how potent their nose was.  He could smell her arousal.  River watched as Reece breathed in.  His eyes were closed then opened as they looked at her.  He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.  She could see what he was thinking.

Jonas walked back over and inhaled deeply.  When his eyes looked at her, she could see they were changing to a yellow color.  They burned into her.  She looked away suddenly, trying to stop herself from coming.  These men were potent to her system.  She wanted them but now wasn
’t the time.  She needed to get to Mary. 

“
I…we need to get to Mary.”  River shivered as she stepped back into Jansen Vega. 

He grabbed her by the arm so she didn
’t fall to the ground.  Reece and Jonas started to growl when Jansen removed his hand from her arm.  “Oh…thank you, Jansen.  Sorry, I didn’t know you were behind me.” 

“
No problem.  Are you ready to go?” asked Jansen.

River narrowed her eyes.  She didn
’t understand until Jonas spoke.  “Yes we are ready.  We will go get the Lodge’s van so Mary can lay down in the back.” 

River smiled at how thoughtful Jonas and Reece were being.  Falling in love was what she was feeling and she didn
’t know if she wanted to stop it.  She knew she probably already loved them.  They made it so easy for her to love them. 

“
Tomorrow we can go on our date.  Let’s get some supplies first then we can head out.”  Reece grabbed River by the hand as they started walking out of the room.

*****

Reece and Jonas had thought of everything.  They had a make shift bed in the back with the softest pillows and bedding.  Then they had the staff make enough food for the trip up there then for the trip back.  As soon as the trip started, the men began to come up with a plan for danger.  They would scout the area out first.  River didn’t know that more people were following them.  She found out that Levi and five more of Reece’s clan was following in another vehicle.  They would scout the area out before contact was made with Mary. 

Reece waited patiently while the second group recon
ned the area.  Her hands nervously shook as she thought about Mary getting hurt because of her. 

“
She will be okay, angel,” whispered Reece. 

River smiled as she looked over at Reece and Jonas who were staring at her. 

“How are you kin to Mary?” Jansen asked.  He sat in the back of the van with his legs stretched out.  He looked uncomfortable, but you would never know it.  He never said anything or showed any emotions.

“
We're not blood kin, but I do consider her my family.  We worked together.  You know when you meet someone and you instantly have a connection to them.”  River looked over at Jansen.  “That was how Mary and I were.  Mary has been like a mother to me.  She took me into her home when she didn’t even know me.  She is the sweetest person I have ever met.  I owe her everything.”  The van was quiet as they watched River talk about Mary.  She raised her eyebrow at how quiet everyone was. 

“
Do you have any family nearby?” River asked Jansen, changing the subject. 

“
I have family near but none that I claim,” Jansen sadly said without any emotion on his face. 

River put her hand on top of Jansen
’s hand.  “I’m sorry about that.” 

Jansen looked down at River
’s hand.  He could see how sweet and innocent she was and that she meant what she said.  She was sad for him. 
How odd
, he thought.  She didn’t even know him but here she was showing him how sorry she was for his loss.  She was a healer and a kind soul.  Jansen knew that he would do whatever he had to do to help keep this woman safe. 

“
My Prime.”  The handheld radio came to life.

“
Go ahead, Levi,” Reece answered as he looked over at River.

“
The coast is clear,” Levi responded. 

Reece watched the smile come on to the love of his life
’s face.

“
Going in.  Watch our backs.”  Jonas drove down the road that Mary lived on and pulled up in the driveway.  Before River could jump out of the van and race to the front door, Jonas stopped her.  “Let me go first, baby.” 

River looked startled as she looked around for danger. 
“I thought they said it was clear.” 

“
He did but we will need to be careful.  Okay?  We don’t know about the inside.”  Jonas rubbed River’s hand as he placed her behind him then Reece got behind her.  They cautiously walked over to the door and knocked.  Jonas put his ear to the door and frowned.  She watched as his nostrils flared.  He pushed River back into Reece’s arms then kicked the door in.  He ran into the house going down to the end of the hallway until he came to the bathroom and rushed in.  River was right on his tail as she stopped bringing her hand up to her mouth.  Mary had fell and was lying in the floor where blood had pooled around her body.

“
Mary?” River yelled as she rushed to her side.  Mary’s eyes fluttered open then closed again, passing out when she realized it was River.  Relief was evident on her face as she lay in her own blood on the bathroom floor. 

“
Let me get her up and into the bedroom, baby.”  Jonas motioned for Reece to get River out of the bathroom so he could pick Mary up.  Jansen came around River and helped Jonas pick the unconscious Mary up from the floor.  Reece pulled River back, allowing the men to pick Mary up.  River started to cry as she watched how motionless Mary was.  Grasping her mouth so she didn’t break down, River shook as she remembered her past.  Mary would be taken from her now.  She would have nobody.  Fear pulled at River as she watched as they carried her into the bedroom and laid her gently onto the bed.

Jonas looked over at River who was panicking from all the fear she was feeling.  Her eyes widened as she realized Mary was almost dead.  Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at the woman who was once filled with life and now her face was ashen.  She had lost a lot of blood.  She looked like she was going to die. 

“River, you must get control of yourself if you want to heal her.  Let it all go like I taught you.  Take deep breaths and clear your mind,” Jansen calmly spoke to River, waiting for her breathing to calm down. 

River blew out her breath as the tears fell from her eyes.  She closed her eyes breathing in deeply.  Then she crawled up the bed and sat down beside Mary.  Drawing deep inside her, River calmed her breathing, allowing her body to relax.  Breathing in and out, River placed her hand on top of Mary
’s lower stomach.  Keeping her eyes closed, River concentrated allowing her mind to believe she was going to heal Mary.  When she opened her eyes, she could see the cancer inside of Mary’s stomach.  It had spread to two other places, wrapping itself around her stomach. 

“
Now look at her head.  She hit it and it’s bleeding a lot so you need to start there first,” Jansen advised calmly. 

River looked at her head and saw where she had hit her head hard and a huge gash was on the side of it.  River put her hands over the gash then concentrated. 

“Remember we want this to close up so think about that,” Jansen advised. 

River closed her eyes and thought about the cut closing like a doctor would perform as he used a needle and thread.  When River opened her eyes
, the cut started closing.  It appeared to be knitting together.  River couldn’t believe she was the one doing this.  She was actually healing Mary. 

Reece and Jonas walked over to the bed and watched as River healed Mary
’s head.  Jonas watched fascinated, as River’s hands appeared to glow.  It only took River a few minutes to close the gash on Mary’s head, but the cancer would take more time.  Pulling her hands back, River breathed out the breath she had been holding.  She looked up at Jansen and smiled.  For the first time Jansen smiled back at her. 

“
Now let’s work on the cancer.  Do you see it?” Jansen asked, satisfied that River was a natural at it. 

“
Yes, I see it,” River answered.

“
Now this time you will need to remove the cancer then throw it out the window,” Jansen added.

River placed her hand over the biggest place she could see then tried to pull the cancer out of her stomach just like Jansen explained for her to do.  Closing her eyes she allowed her magic to slip into Mary
’s stomach.  The magic was white as snow as it twirled itself around the first black mass.  River watched as the white magic slowly absorbed the black mass.  Sweat dripped from River’s face as she poured all of her energy into Mary.  As the mass disappeared into the white magic, River inhaled sharply as she grabbed the magic, pulling it out.  Reece and Jonas watched as River pulled a white glowing light from Mary’s stomach.  Her hands glowed as she pulled the white mass out of Mary. Jansen walked over to the window, opening it up.  He pushed the screen out, waiting for River to pull the magic out.  River slowly grabbed hold of the white magic then got up and went to the window and threw the magic outside.  Flashes of light flew out the window as the black mass dissolved into the ground.  Reece and Jonas watched in shock as River turned back around and blinked swaying from the spent energy she just used.  Reece and Jonas jumped up holding River as she dropped to her knees gasping in air.