Chapter 60
Lucy
I headed back to the lobby once the interview had wrapped up.
My chest was a swirl of tangled emotions, but there was a blanket of happiness over it all.
Deep down, I’d expected to be told I had no business being here, but everyone I’d met had made me feel the opposite.
I couldn’t wait to tell my guys all about it, but they weren’t on the couch where I’d left them.
I scanned the lobby but still nothing, and the high-powered air-filtration system made it so I couldn’t catch their scents, either.
My heart pounded and my skin felt tight and itchy as I circled the room and peered into the cafe. They wouldn’t just leave me, right? I pulled out my phone, but there were no missed calls. They’d probably gone to the bathroom or something…
I waited a few more minutes, but when they still didn’t show, I dialed King—the one out of all of us most likely to have his phone on. I jolted as a burst of static came through the speaker.
“Hello? King?”
There was no response except for the honking of a horn, muffled shouts, and more static. My heart raced and anxious sweat dripped down my back.
“Lucy? Can you hear me?”
I drew in a ragged breath at King’s voice. “Barely. Where are you?”
“Shit, sorry, baby. I—interview—hospital.”
Most of his words were incomprehensible. I pressed my phone hard to my ear, trying to hear him over the cacophony of background noise. “Did you say hospital?”
More static, and then Leo’s muffled voice broke through. My ear hurt from the loud noises coming from the speaker, but I didn’t turn down the volume as I tried to catch his words.
“We’re almost—once we—checked in—will take a taxi—pick up.”
“What? Leo, I can’t hear you.”
“Shit. Fuck.”
Of course those words came through crystal clear. There was a loud clattering sound and then the call cut off.
I called back right away, but all I got was an endless series of rings and King’s curt voicemail message.
Waves of hot and cold crashed over me, and I felt like I was about to throw up. Maybe I’d heard wrong and King hadn’t said hospital. He could have said Broadway show.
Yep. That seemed likely.
A text from King came through and I fumbled to open it.
King
Wilder passed out. We just got to NYGH. Stay there. Leo or I will come get you
Lucy
What’s wrong with him? Is he going to be ok??
Waiting for a response was agony. My eyes stayed fixed on the screen until it came through.
King
In the ER, running tests.
Don’t panic. I’m sure he’ll be fine
That was not reassuring.
I pulled up my maps app and typed in NYGH. New York General Hospital. Two miles away.
I sprinted through the lobby and out the front door. I had no idea if you could actually hail a taxi like they did in the movies, but I wasn’t about to wait for my guys to come get me.
I stepped off the sidewalk and held out my hand, feeling like the main character from Knots and the City. A few torturous seconds ticked by and then a bright yellow taxi pulled up beside me.
I sprinted into the ER, spinning around when I hit the waiting room and still didn’t see my guys.
I half collapsed on the check-in desk, startling the woman sitting there.
“Just enter your Social Security number—”
“I’m not a patient. My alpha is here. Wilder Everett?”
The woman pursed her lips and typed something on her computer. I clenched my jaw and my fists to stop myself from shouting at her to hurry. My omega was seconds away from a complete meltdown, and that would not endear me to the hospital staff.
Before the woman finished typing, the door at the back of the waiting room opened, revealing Leo.
I choked out a sob and sprinted toward him, slowing just enough so I didn’t take him to the floor when I crashed into him. His arms wrapped tight around me and I pressed my face to the exposed skin of his neck.
“Azizam, I was coming to get you,” he said in stern disapproval. “How did you get here?”
I ignored his question and forced myself to pull away. “How’s Wilder? What happened?”
He kept one arm tight around me as he led me to the back. “We were waiting in the lobby and everything seemed fine until he said he had to go to the bathroom. He got up and then just dropped to the floor.”
I whimpered and he kissed the top of my head.
“We called for an ambulance and they brought him back right away. They’ve got him in a room and are drawing labs. He’s still unconscious, but they said he’s stable.”
My head spun and my scent was a riot of stress and bitterness as Leo guided me down the hall until we got to a small room where King was sitting. He jumped up and immediately pulled me into his arms.
“How the fuck did you get here?”
I whined and twisted my fingers in his shirt. Leo pressed against my back. Having them surround me helped, but I needed Wilder.
“Where is he?”
“They took him down to get a CT scan. They won’t tell us much since we’re not legally a pack, but they’ve reiterated that he’s stable.”
My skin crawled and my omega rose to the surface. “They can’t keep us separated. I need to see him.”
King grunted and pulled me back to his chest, holding me tight even as I struggled against him. “They won’t keep you separated. I will make sure of it. But right now, you need to take a breath and calm down. It won’t be good for him if you’re stressed.”
He moved back to the chair and sat down, pulling me onto his lap.
Leo sat down beside us. “Want to tell us about the interview?”
I shook my head. I couldn’t focus on anything right now.
“You can tell us all about it once Wilder is back.” He caressed my face, and I leaned in to his touch.
“In the meantime,” King said, “you can tell us how you got here.”
The corner of Leo’s lips twitched. “You’re in trouble,” he mouthed.
I barely held in my eye roll. “I took a taxi.”
King’s jaw twitched. “You got in a car with a stranger?”
For some inexplicable reason, his disapproval eased my tension. I snuggled into him and entwined my fingers with Leo’s.
“They had their name on a piece of paper inside the taxi.”
A loud growl ripped through his chest, and Leo and I both laughed.
“Nothing fucking funny about this,” King muttered. His voice was deep and low in my ear, and I just squeezed him tighter.