Chapter Twenty
Asher tucked the blankets around Caleb's shivering body, his guts twisted in a mass of nerves and worry. He'd thrown up three more times since that first. Asher demanded he go to bed and refused to leave him until he knew Caleb was sound asleep. For the longest time, Caleb slept, but while making soft, sad noises, like tiny whines. Asher had had no desire to leave his side. There were four strangers in his home though.
Not strangers, Caleb's old pack mates. Just because your old pack mates were pieces of shit, doesn't mean his are. They came looking for him. Finally.
Once Asher was sure Conner, Stella, Glenn and Zeke weren't going to try to steal Caleb from him, he could have relaxed. Except, then Caleb had gotten sick. Asher walked out of the cabin where the other three shifters remained around the fire. Zeke was on the forest line in a sleeping bag, fast asleep.
"How is he?" Stella asked.
"Sleeping."
"He needs to see our doctor, our pack master, Felix. Felix has delivered every baby in our pack and in Luke's. He'll know what to do."
Asher clenched his hands. He heard the truth in Stella's words. Asher couldn't risk his hatred for mainstream society to harm his mate. At his core, he knew he wasn't overreacting. Nausea at this stage in the pregnancy could mean so many things. What if by waiting, he hurt his baby? Hurt his mate? Asher swallowed the growl that threatened to rip from him at the thought of his mate in pain, from anyone's hand. He nodded, sizing up the other three shifters. Would they be enough to fight against a coyote attack? Glenn was a little on the small side, only slightly older looking than Caleb. But Conner was clearly an alpha and Stella looked as fierce as they came. He wouldn't trust them with Caleb's life, because that responsibility was solely his, but he could trust them to fight if the need arose.
"The sun is going to rise soon. I'd like to leave around then." Asher turned from them, he had a lot on his plate now. He needed to unload the sled and get the goods stowed away safe from predators while also packing up for a trip away from his home. This would be his first trip away from the homestead that wasn't to Riverside since he first arrived. Asher wasn't looking forward to it, but his mate's pained cries echoed in his mind, confirming that he was making the right choice.
When Caleb woke up, he looked pale and shiny. "Asher?" he called out weakly. Asher was there in a moment. "I still don't feel good," he mumbled into Asher's chest.
"I know baby. I'm taking you to the doctor."
"To Brady?"
Asher laughed quietly. "No, baby. The real doctor, your pack master, Felix."
Caleb sat up and winced. "Is he coming here? You don't have to bring me to him. I'll be fine."
Asher crawled up on the bed and held Caleb in his lap. He stroked his hair back off his clammy forehead. "My sweet boy, I would go anywhere for you. I'd live in a glass house in the middle of Tokyo if I had to, for you."
Caleb made a sweet noise, like a purr. He sank into Asher's embrace, boneless and content. "Perv, people would see us have sex."
Asher kissed his forehead. "At least then they would all know who you belonged to."
"And you," he replied.
Asher couldn't see how anyone in the world could look at him and not know he belonged, body and soul to Caleb.
They left the homestead the following hour. The wild wolves had made themselves scarce since returning but popped out as if to say goodbye right as they were leaving. "Will they be alright?" Caleb asked sweetly. Asher carried him, not quite able to put him on the sled that he'd brought just in case and completely unwilling to let him walk.
"They are first and foremost, wild animals. They don't need any one to survive."
"You are so clearly talking about yourself," Caleb said with a smirk.
"Wrong," Asher said, bowing his head and inhaling Caleb's scent. Their baby's scent was still there. A small comfort to his ragged nerves. "I couldn't survive without you," he said.
"If I ever need to diet, I will just spend all my time around newly mated couples," Stella said.
"Because we are so sweet it curbs your appetite for sugar?" Caleb asked softly over Asher's shoulder.
"No, because you all make me want to throw up," Stella called back, though she was smiling so Asher knew she wasn't serious.
"The children were able to tell us very little regarding the coyotes that attacked you," Conner said, coming up beside them. "Our pack members have had some trouble with them a while back, I am not sure if Caleb told you a member was attacked by what we thought was a rogue coyote. He was beaten severely. It turned out the coyote was not acting alone though when he was caught trying to accost a homeless man with his pack nearby."
"I doubt that was his whole pack," Asher replied. "The coyote pack on the mountain numbers in the hundreds. Caleb told me about your pack mate after he was almost attacked a second time. The rogue coyote as you called him is the pack master's brother. The two coyotes that attacked Caleb and your youth were killed, as well as a lone coyote that found our camp."
"That is four of their pack members. I doubt the coyotes are very happy with us."
Asher didn't miss the pronoun, us. Already, Conner included him and Caleb in their pack. Asher didn't have plans to stay off the mountain any longer than was necessary. Stay away too long and the forest was likely to reclaim the space he'd carved out. "There is something more going on. This sort of departure from their regular behavior is indicative of an underlying reason none of us have discovered yet. There is a reason why this string of behavior is so odd. Coyotes live on the fringes, taking only what they can to survive. Maybe they are tired of living at that level?"
"Or possibly they are just greedy for more," Glenn said with acid in his voice.
The six of them walked through the day and when night fell no one wanted to stop. Asher was anxious to get Caleb to their doctor. He hadn't thrown up any more but he also hadn't eaten more than a bite or two of dry bread either. Glenn and Stella shifted into wolves so that they could scope out the way ahead.
When they finally stepped onto hard cement, Asher's heart raced. They were moments from getting into a car and making the rest of the way down to The Den. Asher slid into the back seat, settling Caleb beside him. His mate was paler than ever and felt cold to the touch.
"Can you hurry?" he asked Conner, fear spiking his system.
Conner nodded and their tires peeled out as they pulled out of the parking lot and onto the narrow road.
Out of nowhere, Caleb shot up, looking around wildly. "Asher?" he called out frantically.
"I'm here, baby," Asher replied.
"Asher?"
It was as if he couldn't see him, his blue eyes were glassy. Asher would have bet anything his mate was delirious. "Caleb, baby, I am here. I am right here."
Luckily, Stella sat next to the other door in the backseat because Caleb launched over there as if he wanted to open the door and escape.
"You can't keep me from him!" Caleb yelled before Asher hauled him back to his lap, restraining his movements. Caleb strained his gaze upward to see into his face. His skin was pale and perspiration gathered on his upper lip. "Asher?" he moaned quietly, sadly, before his eyelids fluttered shut.