Chapter 43
Mirabelle
“Are you—are you doing okay, Rowan?” I ask, peering over Rage’s broad shoulder to the other bed.
“Mhmm,” Rowan says, his eyes blinking back open. “Just—just a little tired, Sugar.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Like a bitch. But the others will be back with help. I’ll be fine.”
He’s lying. He doesn’t know whether he’ll be fine. His anxiety is seeping through the bond like my blood was seeping past my fingers earlier.
But when he reaches over and grabs the TV remote and starts flicking through channels, probably to try and distract me, I choose to offer him a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say. “Just hang on until Griffin and Ash get back,” I say.
He has to be fine. The world wouldn’t be cruel enough to give us everything we’ve ever wanted and then take him away from me.
“How’re you feeling, big guy?” I ask, reaching up to squeeze Rage’s shoulder with my good arm. “Things got pretty intense back there, didn’t they.”
A low growl leaves his chest, and his lips curl back in a snarl at my mention of what happened earlier.
“Thank you for saving me,” I murmur.
He offers me a single nod before leaning in and brushing his lips against my forehead.
I sink into the touch, my eyes fluttering shut.
The physical contact eases my frayed nerves. I know it’s silly, and probably only in my head, but the simple touch seems to ease the sting of my shoulder.
I start to doze off in Rage’s arms from the stress of the night, my eyes fluttering shut to the background of the TV.
I wake to the sound of keys jiggling in the lock.
Rage lets out a low growl, his eyes locked on the door, all his muscles tensing up like he’s ready to toss me onto the bed and defend us from any attack.
“It’s us,” Ash says as the door swings open.
My shoulders deflate in relief at the familiar sight.
“Sorry it took us so long, Shortcake, we just had to get rid of Jett’s fuck ass car,” he says.
“Hey, Sweetheart,” Griffin says, setting down a pile of what look to be clothes and shoes down on the armchair in the corner of the room.
“Did you find help for Rowan?” I ask, perking up.
They pause, glancing at each other.
“What?” Panic makes my heart flutter.
“We did. She’s outside, actually. But we wanted to check with you. She’s an omega. That okay with you?”
I blink, tilting my head. They’re acting like they think I’m going to yell at them.
“An omega?”
“Yeah. She’s older. Has three kids. But she’s unbonded. I know omegas can get... territorial sometimes. Just wanted to make sure that was okay with you.”
“Is she nice?”
“I mean, I never spent enough time with her to really get to know her, but she’s not mean, if that’s what you’re asking,” Griffin says, his brows drawing down in confusion.
That’s when it hits me. A tiny pang of jealousy twinges in my chest when he mentions he knows this omega.
From his time before?
“I don’t like her like that, never have, never will,” Griffin says, not dropping my gaze. “I promise, Sweetheart. You’re the one for me.”
Man, I could get used to hearing that.
“Okay,” I say, flashing a reassuring smile at him.
“Cool, Ash, you can go get her,” Griffin says as he steps up to where I’m curled in Rage’s lap on the bed. He nods down at me. “Can I?”
Rage’s arms tighten around me as he stares down Griffin. Even though no words are spoken, I feel like the looks they’re giving each other communicate a million words.
I reach out through the bond Griffin and I have, tentatively pushing through to the other side. It’s grown weaker with distance. I also think he’s trying to keep some of himself blocked off from me.
When I get through, I realize why.
Inside, he’s barely holding himself together. There’s a whole whirlwind of emotions I can’t even unravel.
Getting the information we needed from his family must’ve been terribly difficult.
“Hey, Rage,” I say, squeezing his bicep and smiling up at him. “Let me give Griffin a hug. It’s only fair. You’ve gotta share me, remember?”
“You don’t have to talk about yourself like you’re something that has to be shared,” Griffin says.
“Well, I’m all of yours. And you’re all mine. But there’s four of you and one of me. So you guys kind of have to share.” My smile remains bright. There’s some hesitation leaking through the bond from Griffin, but I don’t understand what part of what I just said doesn’t make sense.
Rage turns his intense gaze down at me. I reach up and cup the scarred side of his face. His expression is written plain as day for me to see. He doesn’t want me to leave, but I think that’s because he’s afraid I’m never going to come back to him.
“I’ll be right back,” I say.
He finally offers me a single nod.
Griffin takes a seat on the foot of the bed next to us and opens his arms for me.
“Hi,” I say, sliding into his lap.
He leans back for a second, ripping off the t-shirt he’s wearing with a single hand.
“Whoa! What’s that for!” I say, my hands flying to his now-bare chest to steady myself.
“Sorry, I just realized I didn’t want to wear that fucking shirt any longer than I had to,” he grumbles, his arms wrapping around me and tugging me close to his body.
“Oh.” Now that I’m closer to him, I realize the faint hint of mold lingers on where his skin met the fabric of that dirty t-shirt.
Jett.
Yeah, I’m glad Griffin tossed that shirt to the floor. If we weren’t short on clothes, I’d want to throw it away. Maybe burn it all together.
Maybe we should still do that, even if we’re short on clothes. I can just borrow clothes from them, if it means getting rid of anything that belonged to that terrible man.
He’s dead now.
Thanks to Rage.
Well, thanks to all of them, really.
And now we have this amazing opportunity to figure out life together. Nothing has ever been more exciting. Sure, it’s a little scary, but I’m not alone.
Griffin shifts me on his lap, clinging to me desperately as he continues to bury his face in the crook of my neck. I rub my cheek along his skin, scent marking him so the only scent on his skin is my own.
“That trip must’ve been hard, huh?” I say, noticing the knuckles on one of his hands are a faint pink.
They’re not bloody, like they are after training, but I’m pretty sure Griffin still hit something. Probably someone.
“It was,” he says, his voice strained.
“Well, it’s not going to be hard anymore. You made it back! And you got everything we needed. Good job, Griffin.”
He lets out a soft chuckle, his hot breath tickling my skin. “You’re amazing, you know that Sweetheart? Didn’t know someone as nice as you existed. My family sucks.”
“They really fuckin’ do,” Ash says, coming in through the door. “Griffin’s actual kid brother is an asshat, so looks like we lucked out with you, kid,” he says to Rowan.
Rowan offers him a strained smile in return.
I stiffen in Griffin’s lap, eyeing the omega who enters warily.
Her hair is tied up in a messy bun and she’s wearing a large baggy t-shirt, but there’s just something about the way she carries herself that leaves me a little intimidated.
Maybe it’s her makeup.
It’s flawless. Smooth skin, red lips, glitter around her eyes. Her scent is a sugary sweet maple syrup.
Even though Griffin reassured me he’s had no sort of interest in a woman like her, I can’t help the wave of insecurity that washes through me.
“Hi sweetie,” She says, smiling at me. The lines around her eyes are a testament to how she must smile a lot. I don’t have memories of my time before the facility, but it’s distinctly... maternal. “My name’s Roxie. What’s your name?”
“Hi,” I answer. “I’m Mirabelle.”
“Nice to meet you, Mirabelle,” she says, putting down the plastic bags she’s carrying down onto the floor. “Looks like you’ve had a pretty rough night. I’m going to wash my hands real quick, but you should fill me in on what I need to look at first.”
I think I like her. She should probably ask Griffin or Ash, but she’s making a point to talk to me before my guys.
I like her.
I’ve never been the type to fight with the other omegas at the facility. There were a few girls who were like that, but I didn’t like wasting my time fighting over small things. But I’ve also never had something I think is worth fighting over.
So I’m glad she’s not making this difficult.
“Well, Rowan’s the most hurt,” I say. “He got shot in the leg.”
“And what about you, Sweetie? I see some blood on you.”
“Oh, well, I was cut with a knife, but you should look at Rowan first,” I insist.
“You sure?” She says, digging through the bags and pulling out a couple first aid kits.
“I’m sure,” I nod, glancing up at Griffin to make sure I’m doing the right thing.
He nods and sends a wave of reassurance through the bond, easing my frayed nerves. I can wait as long as I need to if it means Rowan gets helped first.
“Hey Rowan,” Roxie says, leaning over him. “Gonna start taking all of this off so I can actually see what I’m looking at.”
“Sure, thanks,” Rowan says, nodding weakly.
“How long ago did this happen?”
“Maybe two hours?” Griffin answers.
“Well you being conscious and alert with me right now is a good sign. If it hit something super important, you would’ve bled out in minutes,” Roxie says to Rowan. “This will hurt like a bitch, though. The only pain relief I have is pills, and those’ll take a while to kick in.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Rowan nods.
She hands him a couple pills and Ash appears with a small plastic cup of water a second later.
“You’re being awfully helpful,” Rowan grunts to Ash before throwing back the water and pills in one go.
“You keep talkin’ like that and I won’t do jack shit for you,” Ash grumbles.
Despite his protests, he keeps a watchful eye on Roxie’s every movement.
I think with the chaos of tonight, I can see a world where I get upset over the attention he’s giving her, but luckily, no part of his body language shows any sort of interest. If anything, he looks like he doesn’t trust her at all.
“I dunno if you want to watch this, Sweetheart,” Griffin murmurs into my hair.