Red Ridge Pack 1 Pack of Lies (17 page)

I tried to sit up, but the nurse convinced me to take it slow.

“Allison, I notified your brother. He is checking you out of school and will be here soon to take you home. Teagan, thank you for getting Alli here so quickly. You can head back to class now,” the nurse said.

Teagan gave me a quick smile and told me to send her a text when I felt better, and then she left. The nurse brought me a small cup of Sprite and a few saltine crackers, but I wasn’t ready for either of them quite yet. I assured her I would try to eat something as soon as I got home.

Just as I closed my eyes, Aiden came busting through the door. He walked right up to me and tried to pick me up.

“Aiden! Put me down. I can walk, you idiot. The last thing I need is for the whole school to see my brother carrying me out the door.”

Aiden put me down and then looked around. “What’s that smell? Do you smell that?” Aiden asked as his eyes searched the nurse’s office for the source.

“Smell what?”

“I don’t know. You sure you don’t smell that? Never mind, let’s get you home.”

Chapter 38

Allison

“Do you think you have a fever?” Aiden asked as he reached across the seat to feel my forehead. I shooed his hand away and then really thought about his question. Yes, I thought I might have a fever. I never had a fever before. Mom said that my body temperature would run a little hotter than normal, but I doubt that this was what she meant.

“I’m fine. Just a little off. Leave me alone and drive,” I said.

“But, you look really bad, and you’re sweating like a pig. This can’t be good. Mom told us that weres weren’t supposed to get sick, Alli.”

I didn’t respond. I knew that he was right. I shouldn’t be sick. I never even had a common cold. But what was I supposed to say? He was freaking out enough for the both of us. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and it was easy to see that the wheels were turning in Aiden’s head. Surely, he would call Mom as soon as we got home, and then she’d freak out too. In no time we would probably be at Marcus’s doorstep asking what we should do, and that was the last place I wanted to be. I was pretty sure that going to Cade’s house wouldn’t help my situation.

Without warning, the silence was broken. “You know, I heard Cade wasn’t feeling so great either. Shari mentioned something about Kendall being all concerned about him.”

I leaned my head back on the headrest and didn’t bother to reply. I didn’t want to talk about Cade. Cade sucked. And just the mention of his name made me feel worse.

“Omigod Alli! Do you think this could be some werewolf virus? It could happen, you know. Why couldn’t it? There are those antibiotic resistant infections in humans. Why else would the two of you be sick at the same time all of a sudden?”

He had a point. Cade and I had shared plenty of germs, so I guess it would make sense, but surely we wouldn’t be the only two werewolves to get sick.

“Of course, I wouldn’t get sick. I probably can’t even get sick, right? I’m like a learning-disabled werewolf,” Aiden said with a pouty face.

I wanted to comfort him and tell him that he wasn’t a “learning-disabled wolf”, but I didn’t have the energy to do that, or to tell him to shut up. Not while I was desperately trying to do three things at once: trying not to pass out, trying to look normal, and trying to think of what to say so that Aiden doesn’t run inside and tell Mom that I have a freaky “werewolf virus.”

“Hey Aiden, can we not tell the parents about what happened at school today? It’s just embarrassing,” I pleaded.

“What? Are you crazy? We have to tell Mom. Have you looked in a mirror lately? Look!” he said as he pulled the passenger side visor down, so I could see my pitiful reflection. I had to admit, it was pretty bad. My face was as white as a ghost, and the dark circles under my eyes made me look like I have just lost a boxing match. There was no way I could let Mom and Dad find out. I would never hear the end of it.

“Seriously, Aiden, I’m fine. Give me a day or two, and if I don’t feel better, then I will tell Mom. I promise.”

At first I thought that Aiden understood and that he would keep his mouth shut, for a while at least, but then he slammed his fist on the steering wheel and began to rant and rave.

“God damn-it, Alli! This could be freakin’ serious. Cade is probably the strongest guy in the pack, and according to Shari, he looks like shit. And you… Alli, I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen you look this bad.”

I just sat there. Nothing that I could have said would have calmed Aiden down. He was on one of his rolls, and it was best just to let him tire himself out.

“I know that you don’t want Mom and Dad to know, but that seems a little selfish to me. I mean what if it spreads? What if Mom and Dad get it? What if you die? I would never be able to live with myself knowing that I should have said something. This could really be some serious shit, Alli!”

Finally he shut up, and the rest of the ride home was peacefully silent.

As soon as we pulled into our driveway, I eased myself out of the car and slowly made my way up to my room. I expected Aiden to dart inside and tell Mom that I was infected with the mysterious were-virus, but he didn’t. Maybe he had thought about what I told him in the car and decided to wait. Since I didn’t need to deal with a freaked-out mother, I gladly opened my bedroom door, lay down on my bed, and passed out before I even hit the pillow.

***

“Alli, baby, wake up. Come on Alli, we need to talk,” I thought I heard Mom say, but I was just so tired that I couldn’t be sure.

“Alli, I am really worried about you honey. Wake up and talk to me.”

I opened my eyes and saw my mom sitting on the side of my bed. It was at that moment that I realized that I was soaked with sweat. Obviously, I was getting worse by the hour, and now there was no avoiding telling Mom what was going on. Especially now, that I was dripping with sweat and shivering like I was caught in a blizzard. Even I had to admit that this didn’t look good.

“Alli, look at me.”

I gazed up at her, trying my best to look as if I wasn’t on my deathbed.

“Oh baby, come here.”

She gathered me in her arms like I was six again, consoling me after I took a tumble off my bike and scraped my knee. She hugged me tight and then pulled back, placing her hands on my cheeks to get a good look at me.

“I know this must be horrible. You’ve never felt sick a day in your life, and I hate to see you like this. I wish I could make you feel better.”

“What’s wrong with me, Mom?” I moaned.

She took a few seconds and then inhaled deeply.

“Honestly, I can only think of one logical reason why you would be feeling like this. But it doesn’t really make much sense. Maybe I should call your grandmother.”

“No, Mom. Please don’t get Gram involved. Just tell me what you think is going on.”

“Well, I’ve only heard about it. There should be only one reason why a werewolf would fall ill like this, and it rarely happens these days.”

She stopped talking again and looked off toward the window like she was trying figure out exactly what to say.

“Honey, have you been seeing anyone?” she questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“I know this is not what you want to be discussing with your mom, but this is important. Have you been romantically involved with someone on the estate because if you have, it’s important that you tell me?”

I pulled the covers over my head. This can’t be happening! What could seeing Cade possibly have to do with me being sick? Cade was going to hate me even more if I told my mom. Shit shit shit!

My mom pulled the blanket off my head, and I couldn’t hide the tears rolling down my cheeks. I didn’t even have the energy to try to wipe them away.

“Ahh, baby. It’s okay.”

“No it’s not, Mom. It’s not,” I continued to cry in spite of myself.

“Why are you crying? Baby, you need to talk to me. We can figure this out.”

By this time I sounded like a hysterical child as I sobbed, “But, he doesn’t want to be with me anymore, Mom. He doesn’t want me.”

“Who baby? Who doesn’t want you?”

“Cade.”

“Oh shit, Alli,” my mom said dropping my hand.

“I told you.”

Mom just sat there, staring at the window again, seeming a bit lost for words.

After an extremely long, extremely uncomfortable moment of silence, I asked my mom for a few minutes alone to calm myself down. Without argument, she saw herself out telling me to let her know when I was ready to talk. Something told me she needed some time to herself as well.

I managed to make it to the bathroom to blow my nose and get a cold rag to wipe my face. Shaky and a little unstable, I walked back to my bed to lie down. I don’t know how long I was lying there alone in my room before my mom came back in, but it must have been a while because Mom was wearing her pajamas and she had a cup of hot tea with her.

“Are you ready to talk again, Alli?” Mom asked as she settled herself on my bed.

She looked nervous, almost as nervous as the day when she revealed her secret past to Aiden and me. I knew that I wouldn’t like to hear what she was going to say.
You can’t be with Cade. Cade can’t love you. You and Cade will never work.
I had heard it all in my own head, but I just couldn’t make my heart accept it.

“I feel broken Mom. I know it’s stupid. I have only known Cade a little while, but Mom, I don’t feel right without him.” I barely finished my sentence when my mom reached over and took my hand.

“I won’t say that I understand. I don’t, but from what I have heard from you and the little your brother was able to tell me, it sounds like Cade may be your mate.”

I didn’t know what to make of that. I didn’t even know what that meant. We definitely haven’t “mated,” at least in the only sense of the word that I knew.

“Finding a true mate is a very, very rare event these days. I remember hearing stories about members of our pack finding their mates, but the last mated pair that I know of is your great grandparents. They were the perfect pair, so loving, and caring, and considerate of each other. I remember that they were always smiling and finding ways to touch each other, even if it was just a little tap on the arm.”

“Mom, that sounds really sweet, but Cade and I are not that. He doesn’t want me remember,” I reminded her.

“I really don’t think that is the case. If Cade is your true mate, there is no way for him not to want you. We will figure this out Alli,” Mom said as she stood and started to walk out of my room.

“Just try and get some rest, baby. We will talk more later.”

Chapter 39

Cade

My phone rang, waking me from a much-needed evening nap. I would have let it ring, but when Allison’s home number popped up on the screen, I had to answer it. “Hello?”

“Cade, this is Lillian, Allison’s mother. Can we talk for a bit?”

Oh shit. I cleared my voice, trying to make myself sound as if I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out at any moment.

“Hi, Mrs. Wright. Is everything okay with Allison?”

“Actually no. Cade, if you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling?”

“Um… Okay I guess.”

“You haven’t been feeling ill?” she questioned.

Okay this was weird.

“Well, yeah, I guess I have been feeling a little off lately. Why?”

She paused for a few seconds before she continued. “Cade, I really need you to be honest with me here.”

“Okay… I’ve had a killer headache and been dizzy and nauseous. And…”

“No, no, no. I mean honest about what’s been going on with my daughter,” she said, sounding like a no-nonsense mom.

“Mrs. Wright, I’m not sure what to say. What’s really going on here?”

“Well Cade, she’s sick. Really sick, and as far as I can tell there is only one logical reason why she looks like she has the swine flu.”

I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, but this conversation couldn’t get any more bizarre. I didn’t even notice that Alli was sick. What did it mean that Alli and I were both sick at the same time?

When I didn’t reply, Mrs. Wright said, “I believe that you are my daughter’s true mate.”

WTF! I didn’t even think that happened anymore. She couldn’t be my mate, could she?

“Are you sure, I mean we never… you know? I mean, I never even considered that,” I admitted, a little scared and a little excited at the possibility.

“I’m not sure of anything yet, Cade, but there is a way to find out for sure. Can you come over to the house? I think that you and Allison need to talk.”

“I’m on my way. Mrs. Wright, can we not tell my father about this yet?”

“I think that would be for the best for now, but if you are mates, he will have to know eventually.”

***

I was in such a hurry to get to Allison that I threw on the first pair of jeans, t-shirt, and boots that I saw, grabbed a coat that I wasn’t even sure was mine, and ran out the door without bothering to tell anyone that I was leaving.

As I walked up to her door, my hands were shaking, probably from the cold, and surely because I felt like crap, but mostly because of the uncertainty of what was to come.

Chapter 40

Allison

I was startled out of an almost-asleep state when our doorbell rang. I heard Mom call for the visitor to come on in and that’s when I heard the last voice I ever expected to hear. Without hesitation, I jumped off my bed and ran into the bathroom. One look in the mirror told me that Elizabeth Arden herself could not help me look less like the walking dead. So I just washed my face and quickly brushed my teeth and hair.

Nervously, I opened my door afraid that Cade would be in my room, and at the same time, afraid that he wouldn’t be. Hearing his voice made my skin start to tingle and my heart race. I didn’t know why Cade had this effect on me, but he did. I should have been furious with him for refusing to see the truth; that we belonged together, but as much as I would have loved to march downstairs and tell him to go to hell, the part of me that just wanted to wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck was much, much stronger.