Chapter 37 #2
“There’s no such thing as too emotional for what you’ve been through,” he says. “Take nice, deep breaths, baby.”
Nodding, I drop my head back on the pillow as I do that.
“I don’t want to stop though,” I admit.
“I can feel your anxiety about this,” Shiloh says. I can hear his surprise by that, but the truth is that bonds can sometimes be deeper when there’s deep emotions around them.
We all are sharing our relief in being together again, and we don’t want to squander away a second of our time.
“Ansel, switch with us?” Abbot asks, kissing my fingers before standing.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
I can feel through the bond that he’s anxious about this. Bellamy and I aren't anywhere near being at full strength, but I don’t want to wait anymore. I need it.
“You’re the boss,” he says with a weak smile as he moves to take Ansel’s spot.
“Damn, I never thought I’d hear those words,” Ansel teases me as he sits beside me. “Can I chase away your nightmares after this?”
“Is that possible?” I ask. His finger rubs against my wet cheek and he shrugs.
“We won’t know unless we try, and you need rest, Princess. I’ll gladly slay whatever monsters I need to.”
Knowing he’s right, I incline my head in agreement. My stomach flip flops with what feels like anxiety and nausea, and I sigh. There’s no fucking food in there. Just chill out.
“I need you,” I murmur, squeezing the hand holding my face.
“Do it,” Ansel growls, making me sigh as I lift his hand and find a place next to Bellamy’s bite.
I hear Bellamy whimper softly as our other alphas bite him, and I realize that he’s already completed the bond with them while I was talking with Ansel. Sinking my teeth into his forearm, I hear Ansel blow out a sigh of relief.
Soon, all of our bonds will be completed. We just need Cassidy to pull through surgery.
“She will,” Ansel growls under his breath.
Squeaking in surprise, I release him quickly, and he shakes his head.
“I can’t read your thoughts, but it’s pretty obvious who you’re worried about, Princess,” he says.
A knock on the door makes Ansel snarl in annoyance, and I reach out to touch his shoulder in reassurance. The only people who could be out there are a doctor or a nurse. I have every reason to believe it won’t be a police officer.
There are too many people who would make sure that won’t happen. I’m not naive. I know exactly what kind of people my alphas are. They’re the best ones, even if they ignore pesky laws like not killing people.
“One second!” Abbott yells, standing lazily and walking to the door before leaning on it. “Finish the bond, Ansel. Whatever is on the other side of the door will keep. Cassidy would agree if she were here.”
“Looks like rest is going to be a while,” Ansel says apologizing, his thumb wiping a drop of blood from my lips.
Three bonds burn fiercely inside of me, and I grin at him with a nod. Standing, he lifts the hand without an IV in it and completes the bond with his bite. The window to the main hallway has the blinds drawn so no one can see, giving us a modicum of privacy.
I’m pretty sure the nurses would probably prefer we not bite each other while we’re injured, but respectfully, fuck that.
My body feels boneless as I relax completely with a moan.
“Such a good princess,” Ansel growls as he kisses his bond bite.
He sits back in his chair with a lazy smile, almost back to the alpha I met on dates and hanging out. This kidnapping has left indelible scars on our souls, and he may always be on the edge of going feral. My tears are drying on my skin as I feel a fiery sense of happiness inside of me.
We fought for this, and will continue to forever. We won’t let anyone take this again.
“Let’s do this,” Abbott says, opening the door to a doctor who appears surprised he was told to wait. “Come in, please.”
Abbott lopes over to the open seat beside me, and the five of us watch as the doctor enters.
“Pack Tremaine?” he asks tentatively.
The bites bleed slightly on our skin, and I know he can probably see them. However, that’s none of his nevermind.
God, I think the southern phrases are starting to infect my speech.
“That’s us,” Abbott says.
“I’m Dr. Marsden. I’m here to see how everyone is, and then I have news about Cassidy,” he explains.
“I’m existing," I say honestly. “What do you know?”
Ansel snorts under his breath, and Bell nods.
“Yep. ‘Existing’ sounds as good a word as any. We promised we wouldn’t lie,” Bell says, getting as comfortable as he can on the mound of pillows behind him.
“Okay then,” Dr. Marsden says, looking out of his depth.
“I still need to begin with what we’ve found in the two of you and your conditions.
Bellamy, you have a lot of stab wounds, and there are also burns all over your body.
We also found a brand type of burn in a very sensitive area, as well as tears around the anus and that suggest that you had non-consensual sex. ”
“That all sounds correct,” Bellamy says, all emotion gone from his voice. “None of that is a surprise to me.”
“Can you tell me how you received those things?” he asks.
“Nope,” Bell grunts.
“We were not responsible for these things in case that’s your next question,” Shiloh says, leaning forward in his chair. “Any other questions?”
The doctor shifts in his feet before he turns toward me.
“You’re both very dehydrated,” Dr. Marsden says, as if looking for an ally. He won’t find one in this room.
“Respectfully, dehydration we can handle at home,” Abbott replies. “We have a family doctor, and he takes wonderful care of us. There are other pressing reasons they’re here.”
“I mean, there’s an antibiotic in the IV drip to treat any possibility of infection or STI,” the Dr. says loudly.
The door is still open behind him, and I think I just died from embarrassment. Ansel stands with a glare, and I wince, sure that he’s either going to read him the riot act or murder him.
It could honestly go either way.
“My omegas are people with feelings,” he growls. “You should not only treat them with respect but with professionalism. If you can’t do either of those, I can have you relieved of your job immediately.”
It’s giving “do you know who the fuck I am” and I’m not mad about it.
Dr. Marsden pales and apologizes as he closes the door to shut out his next words from the hallway.
“I’m so sorry,” he says again. “I just need to be clear that this is serious.”
“Noted,” Ansel grunts, sitting back down as he waves at the doctor to continue.
“Since we understand that you all could have died, I’ll go on,” Dr. Marsden says. Oh goodie. “Winter, you’re pregnant. Did you know that?”
“I…what?” I squeak out, my free hand pressing to my stomach. “Is the baby okay? I was fucking electrocuted for days!”
“Yes. I’m not sure how, but the baby inside of you is a fighter,” he says gently.
I can feel shock through the bonds, and a bit of smugness from Bellamy.
Did you know?! I ask in shock through the bond.
Not for sure, Beloved. It makes sense though. You’ve never been one to puke as much as you have been.
Fuck. A baby.
“Holy shit,” I whisper. Abbott puts his hand over my stomach, squeezing my hand gently.
“Is that a good holy shit?” he asks carefully.
“I’m worried about how bad my body is beat up,” I say honestly. “I can’t believe the baby is okay.”
“Then we’ll work up to a good holy shit,” Ansel says, unbothered.
He literally just feels neutral about the situation, as if he’s simply happy to sit with it. Glancing around Ansel’s body, I meet Shiloh’s wide grin before he winks at me and smooths the smile away.
That’s for me and me alone.
“Okay then,” I breathe, laying back.
“I’m going to assume that there’s no need to terminate if you don’t believe the baby belongs to someone it shouldn’t?” Dr. Marsden squeaks out, as if worried he’s about to be shot.
While I’m sure my alphas are loaded with weapons, I doubt they’ll use it on him. As my alphas growl, I shake my head.
“No, I don’t believe that’s necessary,” I say. There’s no way that’s possible when I was already feeling odd before the auction. “Ah, how long have we been asleep?”
“Just a few hours,” Abbott reassures me.
“Is there anything else, or can you tell us about Cassidy now?” I ask.
I’ll figure out how I feel about the pregnancy when I can think. Right now, I’m kind of in shock.
“Ah, Cassidy is out of surgery now,” Dr. Marsden says, tripping over his words.
Honestly, I am not scary. He needs to get it together before one of my alphas eats him. Bellamy covers a chuckle with a terrible cough, while Abbott’s lips twitch in amusement. They all can feel our emotions.
This’ll be an adjustment. Bellamy and I tend to hide often. We won’t be able to do that anymore.
“The knife did some damage, but she should heal well,” Dr. Marsden says quickly. “She’s currently under sedation while she recovers. Anyone who is mobile in this room and not on an IV can go see her.”
I make a face at the distinction while Abbott shrugs. “I’ll video call you in,” he mutters under his breath. “We’ll make it work.”
Ansel blows out a breath at the news, and his relief makes me feel lightheaded. Closing my eyes for a moment to center myself, I struggle to hold in a whimper. Fuck, this is weird.
“Is there anything else?” Ansel asks, rubbing my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Princess. Do you want some water?”
“Ugh, if you think it’ll help,” I moan softly.
“Are you nauseous?” Dr. Marsden asks worriedly. “I can get you some anti nausea medication added to your IV. It won’t affect your baby.”
“Dizzy,” I grunt. One word answers are all I can manage.
A straw is tapped against my lips, and I part my chapped lips to take a sip. It’s cold and delicious, making me moan softly. God, it just highlights how fucked my body really is. I can’t believe there’s a tiny person that survived all of that alongside me.
“Alright then,” Dr. Marsden says. “As I was saying, Cassidy is fine. However, I wanted to confirm how long this has been happening?”