KARA/CAROLINE

We ended up having to stop three times after I sped up, so the extra needle budge didn't help. Catherine was fine all through the bendy road off the mountain, but for some reason that extra dash of speed on the freeway caused her stomach massive issues.

Maybe it was just the new nerves of Blake going berserk when he found out we ran off.

Watching her puke for the third time was even making me woozy. She just laughed at me. Sure I was a veterinarian, but that didn't mean that I wanted to watch someone puke every fifteen minutes.

I ended up slowing back to the speed limit, but the damage was done. We got some lunch and changed into dresses at the two hour mark and she finally felt better enough to take a turn at the driving. So off we headed to Grand Junction.

We both stared around the homes and buildings that made up the large city. The GPS guided us to an older part of town and pointed to a tan stucco home with wide white trim and a red door. The home was small, maybe only two bedrooms, and worn like no one was able to take care of it in a year or two, but the overall feeling was a sweet place. I tried to imagine a teen Brock coming home after school, but I didn't really know what he looked like beyond basic height and build.

Catherine parked around the corner and turned expectantly. "Ready?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Yep. Let's get this done."

I opened the car door and stepped out, the long blue dress swaying in the slight breeze.

Catherine got out and stood tall in her magenta short dress, her chunky ankle boots making her seem that much more impressive. She giggled and started walking the sidewalk. "Excited Sister?"

I laughed. "Yes... Sister."

Our plan was that we were now some whatever kind of church missionaries, and we wanted to talk to them about faith. When we got inside we open with a hymn, BS some speedy class after that and leave.

I twisted to the small decorative mailbox that was screwed just beside the door. It was labeled: Brock. I grinned and stepped up to the red door, giving a good knock.

When no one answered after the first knock, I started to worry that we just drove half the day only for them to be gone. But as my inner wolf's awareness broadened, I knew she was home. The healer was inching out and testing the waters.

"She's home," I spoke quietly to Catherine, my eyes closed to get a feel on her.

Mrs. Brock was as bad as I imagined. Stuck flat in bed, breathing hard and pained, even though she too had oxygen. The drugs and chemicals of chemotherapy were playing havoc around her system. The cancer was in her blood and deep into her bone marrow. Leukemia. And she was at her last length of rope. She was close to the last knot of her life coming unraveled.

Catherine knocked and this time an older man with a stained white shirt and full belly opened the door. His beard was shaggy and greying. I could feel the pain in this man, the toll it was taking on him to care for his wife. I checked over the gold band at his finger. It had to be Mr. Brock.

Catherine grinned. "Hi! We wanted to talk to you about faith!"

He snorted, stopping her prepared speech. "And who are you? Normans? We already had your kind around and we don't need your message again."

"One always needs a message of faith and healing," she answered unperturbed.

"Ain't you two a little old to be missionaries?" He said rather grouchy, looking us up and down. Too bad Catherine didn't look pregnant, that would have been rather funny.

"No sir," she said cheery. "Missionaries can be all ages."

He sighed and braced himself against the door frame. "Look gals, my wife is real sick today. We can't have no' visitors. She's tired. She needs rest."

I cut in, my voice lower and more formal, like I was talking to a family about their sick animal. "Sir, we don't wish to intrude. We want your wife to be healed just as much as you do, but maybe we can just offer a song of prayer to help her. We could even sing it right from here."

He groaned. "Go ahead. I won't stop 'ya. And when you're done, could you please get on to yalls' next project and leave us alone?"

"Yes sir. Sorry to disturb you sir."

And with that he closed the door.

Catherine looked on in anticipation. She had heard me singing loads of times before, but she had yet to witness me trying to pull healing magic through the music. Blake was not willing to allow his pregnant mate on the excursions to the other packs.

In hindsight, that probably should have been a factor in us choosing to drive over state borders, but what's done was done.

I sang one of the gospel songs I learned from a movie, pulling the healing I could from the universe, letting the energy flow through me from whatever higher power gave me the rights to this gift.

♪ Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee.

E'en though it be a cross, that raiseth me.

Still all my song shall be

Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee. ♪

While the music danced on the wind, I felt Brock's mother's consciousness stir. The body that had caused her so much pain for so long was now beckoning her forward in peace. When that vessel was healed as much as I could do, I glanced at Catherine giving her the look that said we're done. It was Mr. Brock's turn to help heal her mind.

I stepped down her porch and Catherine followed. Both of us silent in our own thoughts as we reached the car.

We got in and Catherine started driving us away, not pulling out her phone to make sure we weren't going to get lost in the massive city.

After we drove for a few minutes, eventually finding the way to main street she spoke in a hushed whisper. "I mean you always sound so beautiful when you sing, but that was something different."

"Different? How?"

She looked at me with a gentle smile of awe. "There was something like life. I don't know. I always get tingles when you sing, but that was just unreal. Like we were floating in clouds or something. Like some deity was singing through you, just ethereal. Just wow Kara."

I pinched my lips together to hide the smile and stared out the window. "It's not me, it's magic."

"Oh, it's still you. It's just so much more than I was prepared for. Now I get why Willyboy is being so protective. You are awesome."

I gave a slight chuckle. "Okay okay. I do enjoy singing. I'm glad you think my voice is pretty, but it's not something I can really control. It's a gift."

She nodded and pulled into a gas station. "I get it." She finally seemed to lose her awed air and squealed. "We did it!"

I laughed. "Yep. Mrs. Brock is healed. Her next doctor's appointment should go very well."

A wide grin crossed her face. "I'm so glad you're my friend."

"Thanks," I said shyly and then got out to pay for the gas and send a quick text to William.

We had just eaten dinner and changed into our regular clothes back on the road for another two hours of driving when Catherine looked at her phone screen to see who was calling.

Blake.

"Nuts." She then went pale faced and hiccupped. "Pull over!"

I did as I was told, even on the freeway. Luckily it wasn't very busy. She opened her door and let dinner fly onto the shoulder.

I stared ahead and tried not to breath in the smell. Her constant morning sickness was even making me nauseous by now.

She rinsed her mouth out with a bottle of water and spit, then looked at the still ringing cell like it was the worst kind of poison. She gave one last tense glance at me and then hit the answer. "Hey Babe," though she tried to be her cheery self, there was no escaping the wobble of her words.

I imagined his angry face as I tried to bring my wolf awareness out to hear his words through the phone as well.

"Catherine Lynn. Where are you?"

"Uh, hi Babe. We're on I-70."

His voice was not a shout, but so much more scary. "That is not buying paint."

We both looked at each other in horror. We forgot the paint!

"Um, oops! We forgot. We went to see someone and we were going to buy paint while we were there but then it was just such a cool experience that we didn't get any. But hey! We're on the way home now!"

The loud sound of his growling exhale reverberated through the phone speakers. "Buttercup. Do you have any idea what this is doing to my wolf? I'm about ready to wolf out and run after you. There's this imperative that I keep you safe!"

Her teeth clenched in a frown. "Blakey, I'm so sorry. I'm coming home right now."

"We're going to need to talk about this later, but I'm going to have to go run this off. Will you link me when you're close to the lake turnoff? We can probably reach by there. I'm most likely not going to be able to shift back until you're in pack borders."

She looked sheepish and sat back into the seat, closing the door. "So sorry Babe. We'll be home soon."

"Drive safe," he stated flatly and then hung up the phone.

She glared at the screen. "He hung up on me!"

I gave a sorrowful shrug and then started the car back in gear. "We did sneak out and waited for them to find out on their own."

Her voice quavered. "I shouldn't have left. I didn't mean to make him mad."

"He's not mad. He's fighting his wolf because he loves you and wants to protect you." I reached over and grabbed her hand. "And, well, we did kind of make that a little hard."

She nodded and squeezed my hand back. "Yeah. Guess we should have told them."

"We know for next time." My eyes got wide and sure. "No worrying a daddy wolf!"

She chuckled, blinking back tears. "Or, I guess I should have just turned off my phone."

I laughed and pulled my hand back to the wheel. "That would have worked too."

When we got to the Fish Lake turn at sunset, Catherine didn't have the chance to link him that we were close.

One walnut colored wolf was standing proud and at attention off the side of the road, golden eyes blazing to me. A silver wolf, thinner and streamlined, paced back and forth behind him and when his eyes hit the car, sat back on his hind quarters and let his head fall to the ground like relief.

"They're waiting for us," I told Catherine, turning down the radio.

Her head popped up and she looked around until her eyes caught on the animals. "Pull over!"

"You're going to puke again?!" I nearly shouted.

She rolled her eyes. "Duh Carol, they're here for us."

I shook my head and put on the blinker though there were no other cars on the road and parked near the two.

We watched as the two shifted and I almost had a pang of jealousy that Catherine was watching William, though I knew that was absurd. She wouldn't be checking out William, and especially not while Blake was right there. I certainly wasn't watching Blake.

Stupid.

I flicked my head a bit to clear the image and when Blake was fully dressed, she raced out of the car and into his arms. My inner wolf wasn't peeking out to see what they were saying to each other though, because William was coming around the car to my side.

He opened the driver's door and simply stated, "scoot over. I'm driving."

I grinned and started moving. "Big bad wolf can't handle a woman driver?"

His bright white teeth showed a sliver through his smile and sat down in the driver seat. "Not right now, I can't." He leaned over and I met him for a kiss. "Please don't do that to me again. Let me know before you're going out of pack borders next time. I'd appreciate it."

With a raised brow tease, I reminded, "Last time I went to leave I tried to let you know. You got all huffy with me and pushed me out."

He tempered with an unhappy exhale. "I remember, and I'm sorry about that."

I relented. "And I'll be better about letting you know.... when I'm not trying to be sneaky," I winked.

He chuckled. "I guess that's honest."

"Yes sir," I grinned and kissed him again.

He reached over and threaded my fingers with his and we waited for Catherine and Blake to stop arguing.

He gave a snort of a laugh, which I was sure came from Blake and Catherine's expense. He had to be able to hear what they were saying.

A moment later, his eyes were still on them. "And especially don't do that to me after we have pups on the way."

I looked over to the couple. "Is she getting in big trouble?"

He nodded with a grin. "I didn't have to fight him, but he was messed up for the last hour. I finally had to come out here to let him know how close you two were."

"Is it going to be that hard for you when we have kids?"

He looked over to me strong and I glanced back. "Probably worse with how the absolute submission already has us connected." His face then gleamed down at me. "But maybe not, I can at least get a general direction on you when we're apart. Built in find-a-friend."

I laughed and leaned to his shoulder, my eyes gazing up under my lashes. "I hope the latter. I was going to say maybe it was time to try for a family, but if you're going to go berserk if I ever need to go to the grocery store, maybe not."

He pulled from under me enough he could see my face full on. His was now hesitant with a hint of a smile. "You're ready?"

I sat up and nodded, a full grin over my face.

"I love you," he said with so much affection, it nearly crushed me, and he leaned over and pulled me into the deepest kiss yet.

After a few pleasurable seconds, I pulled away giggling and swatted at him. "I didn't mean right here though."

He laughed and sat back in his chair. "Then we better get home ASAP."

He laid into the car horn, powerful eyes on the other couple.

"William!" I laughed and held my face buried in my hands.