To Feel Again [Welcome To Wolf's Peak]

Chapter Nine - Niko

Niko

I came awake to the pleasant warmth of a body tucked against my side. I buried my face in the side of his neck without opening my eyes and inhaled. The scent of my mate always filled me with a sense of comfort but this time I was the one offering him comfort.

Ginny had been home sick from school earlier in the week because she had a tummy bug and Owen seemed to have picked it up from her. My poor baby had been vomiting off and on all day until he'd finally fallen asleep at around quarter past six this evening. I'd called in sick to the fire house for him and they'd asked me to get him to call them when he was feeling better.

Owen stirred against me and his eyes fluttered open. "Hi." His voice was scratchy and caused him to cough briefly. He reached over to get the glass of water sitting on his bedside locker and gulped down half the glass before clearing his throat and trying to speak again. "I need to call into work I'm already late for my shift." He made a move to get out of bed but I stopped him with a hand on his chest. 

"I already called them, they want you to phone them when you're feeling better so they can put you back on the schedule." I kissed his forehead feeling the burning heat of his temperature against my lips. "I'll get you some more medication and a cool cloth, just stay there."

I got up, trying not to jostle Owen since that would make him queasy again. I went to the en-suite bathroom and found the bottle of pills he'd used hours earlier in the bathroom cabinet and then dampened a face towel to place on his forehead. I was pretty clueless when it came to taking care of a sick human but he'd assured me that he didn't need to see a doctor.

I returned to the bedroom to find him propped against the headboard, the sheet pooled at his hips to show his bare chest. A sheen of sweat glistened on his skin and I frowned with worry. It hadn't been there when I'd gone into the bathroom. Maybe he was getting worse. Was it time to call a doctor now?

I placed the pills on his outstretched palm and watched him gulp down the remainder of his water. When he placed the glass back down and relaxed against the headboard with a sigh I remembered the cloth in my hand and sat on the side of the bed, turning slightly to face him and began to run the cool wet cloth over his face and neck. "Feels nice," he mumbled wearily with his eyes closed. 

"Are you sure this is just a bug? Ginny didn't get all hot and sweaty like this." Ginny had vomited and cried for two days but on the third day she'd been back to her normal self. She hadn't run a temperature like this.

Suddenly Owen started to shiver and reached for the covers. "It's cold in here, can you check that the heats turned on?" He burrowed under the covers until he was covered up to his chin.

"Baby, the heats been on all day and you're burning up. You shouldn't be cold." I bit my lip anxiously and dug in my pocket for my phone. I was worried, this couldn't be right.

"Can I have more water?" Owen peered up at me through lethargic eyes. Shit! I needed to call someone quickly.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't fall asleep till I return." I had a bad feeling about letting him sleep any more than he already had.

I jogged down the stairs, glass in hand and placed it on the counter once I got to the kitchen. I opened up the phone book on my phone and scrolled down to the number for the pack doctor. I might be clueless when it came to human health but the doctor was used to treating some of the human mates within the pack.

"Niko, what can I do for you?" the doctor sounded too cheerful given my state of distress and Owen's seemingly deteriorating health.

"I need your help, Doc. My mate's sick. He says it's the bug that his sister had but she wasn't as sick as he is. He's burning up but he says he's cold. He slept for hours but he was still sleepy when he woke up. Is that normal for a human? What do I do? How do I help him? Do you need to come over here? Should I bring him to the clinic at the pack house?" I paced the kitchen as I spoke. I was too restless with worry to sit or stand still.