Chapter 115: Fever
Edrick
As I drove Moana home from the hospital, I was too stunned by everything that had happened to even notice that I was holding her leg until we finally pulled up to the curb. I paused for a moment, my eyes searching Moana in the passenger seat as my heart pounded in my chest, before I finally pulled my hand away and got out of the car.
While we took the elevator up to the penthouse, however, I couldn’t help but want to be as close to her as possible. Knowing now that she was my mate, I didn’t want to let her out of sight for even a moment.
“Moana! Daddy!” Ella exclaimed as the elevator doors slid open. She practically leaped up off of the couch and flew to us. Moana, with tears streaming down her cheeks, crouched and pulled Ella into a tight hug. “I was so worried about you,” Ella cried into Moana’s shirt. “I cried and cried all day!”
“It’s okay, love,” Moana said. “I’m okay, and so is your daddy. He’s my hero.”
Ella smiled up at me then. At some point, I would have to tell her the story of how her big, strong dad saved Moana, but for now, I needed to make sure that Moana was okay. Not only that, but I felt my own temperature beginning to rise. I had begun to feel sick from the exhaustion in the hospital room, but somehow managed to hold myself together. Now, however, I felt like death.
And of course, the nanny noticed this when she looked up at me. So did Ella, but Moana quickly sent her away to be with Selina again, who was standing in the doorway with relief washed across her face and tears in her eyes.
“You look like hell,” Moana said, taking me by the arm. “You need to lie down.”
I shook my head, but Moana persisted and pulled me toward my bedroom. Even when she had just been through hell herself, she was still fully focused on others. I loved that selfless side of her, but at the same time it made me worried that she wouldn’t get enough rest of her own.
When we made it into my room, I watched as Moana scurried over to the bathroom. I heard the bathtub start to run, and when she reemerged, she stared intensely at my dirty clothes.
“You should get out of those wet clothes and take a hot bath,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, but even chuckling sent me into a coughing fit. “Don’t you need to get clean, too?” I asked once I finished coughing. I gestured to her clothes, which were even more dirty and wet than mine. As I did so, Moana blushed and stared at the floor.
“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll go change and take a bath myself.”
She went to scurry past me then, but suddenly, my own instinct took over and I stopped her. Our bodies were close as she slowly looked up at me. Even now, covered in dirt and mud, she looked beautiful. I wanted to kiss her so badly… But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Not yet. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to reveal what I knew about us now, and I wanted her to tell me about her lineage herself.
“Um… Stay with me,” I said quietly, taking a step back and averting my gaze as I felt my face go red. “You can use the bath first.”
Moana’s face turned an even brighter shade of scarlet pink. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but promptly shut it again and instead nodded. I watched then as she turned on her heel and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
The primal part of me wanted to follow her. Now that I knew that she was my mate, I wanted to be as close to her as possible at all times… And I had to admit that I wanted her badly now, more than ever. But I knew that I had to control myself, so while she bathed I went to her room and retrieved her robe and nightgown for her. I returned just as I heard her stepping out of the bath.
Next, she made me bathe. I wanted to keep my eyes glued on her at every moment, but I knew that I needed to listen to her, so I did as she asked. And when I was finished, I stepped back out into my room in my pajamas and saw her sitting on a chair next to the bed. She had a worried look on her face, but I couldn’t get over the way that her red hair cascaded down over her shoulders in her robe.
Suddenly, however, I felt myself become weak. I staggered a bit where I stood, leaning against the doorframe as my vision began to flicker in and out.
Moana suddenly jumped up and ran to my side.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
I shook my head, holding my hand over my face as I tried to steady myself. “I’m fine,” I replied. “Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”
Moana frowned. I felt her come up beside me and put her arm around my waist just as I started to teeter again, and she somehow supported me while she led me over to my bed. She peeled the blankets back, then guided me onto the bed. I felt weak as the room spun around me; why now? When I only wanted to take care of Moana, why did it somehow turn out that she would have to take care of me?
“I’m sorry,” I said as I felt her pull the blankets up around me. I shut my eyes, trying to shut out the feeling of the room spinning around me.
“Just rest,” she replied, almost sternly. “I’ll be right back.”
I tried to stop her, but it was too late. I heard the door open and close. As I laid there with my eyes shut, I felt horribly guilty for making her take care of me at a time like this… But at the same time, there was something endearing about it. To think that this kind, sweet woman was actually my mate brought a bit of a smile to my face.
And yet, I still didn’t understand it. I had thought that she was human all along. How could it be?
Suddenly, Moana returned. I cracked my eyes open to see her approaching with a tray, which she set down on the bedside table. On it was a cup of tea, a thermometer, and a washcloth in a bowl of water. I watched silently as she wrung out the washcloth and placed it on my head, then took my temperature.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the thermometer a moment later.
“Your temperature is really high,” she said, taking it out of my mouth. “Shouldn’t we call a doctor for you?”
I shook my head. “Werewolves get much higher temperatures than humans during a fever,” I explained. “I’ll be fine in the morning. Besides, you’re the best doctor I could ever need.”
Moana’s face turned red as she sat down on the chair beside me. I closed my eyes again, relishing in the feeling of the cool washcloth on my forehead, and felt my heart skip a beat as I felt her slender hand slip into mine.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask her, but there was only one that I could manage to get out just then.
“Will you sleep with me?” I asked. I cracked my eyes open to see Moana’s shocked face. “Please. I can’t sleep well without you.”
Moana was silent for a moment. I half expected her to refuse, but instead she stood and took the washcloth off of her face. Without a word, she walked around the bed and slipped her robe off before pulling the covers back and climbing in.
She laid on her side, facing away from me on the edge of the bed, just like she used to do during our old sleeping arrangement. But I wanted more than that; I needed to feel her. I rolled over and wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, feeling her body pressed up against mine. She trembled a little at first, probably from her nerves, but quickly relaxed as I nuzzled into her hair.
And within moments, I felt myself slipping off to sleep. Just before I drifted off, there was one last thought on my mind.
Why did she have not only this powerful ability to make me sleep when nothing else worked, along with her intoxicating scent that made even the Rogues go away?
