Chapter 5
Chapter Five
NOVA
Lars wouldn’t let me into the house, and my heart beats faster as I watch people rush out.
“The house is set to blow,” Kane says, turning my body and walking me toward Caleb’s vehicle. “There’s gas everywhere. Hollis is fine, Nova. I promise. Whatever you see…remember that.”
“Why is everyone babying me?” I grumble, my head twisting around to catch a glimpse of Hollis. “I swear, if people begin treating me differently, I’m going to be pissed.”
“Like what?” Kane asks. Unhinged doesn’t mean dumb in any sense of the word, and I can see that Morris is hustling Adira to the car as well.
“Cherished, important, someone who should have been protected from the start? I don’t know what happened when you were a kid, Nova, but know those people greatly suffered and can never hurt you again.
Stay here, I see Lars and Caleb are heading over. ”
Kane jogs over to his pack, the baby doll protected in its carrier. My lips twitch in amusement before I continue to pan the expanse of the front lawn. The house is already beginning to burn as Caleb walks out with a woman in his arms, and Pack Ledger lunges toward him.
My feet are already moving before I can stop them, and I race over to them.
Hollis’ face is mercifully clear of most bruises, and it’s like looking into a mirror. Unfortunately, there are thick streaks of blood still over her face and neck, and her body is protectively curled up as if to keep anyone from hurting her.
My eyes well up because I know this position very well, and I take a cleansing breath with the cold air as I tell myself to get my shit together.
“Fuck me,” Remy whispers, stepping forward to lift her from Caleb’s arms. “While there’s less bruising than last time, we really need to stop meeting like this, Baby Girl.”
Lars’ lips twitch as his gaze takes her in before he glances at Caleb.
“We need to head to the hospital, don’t we?” he asks.
“Yeah,” Caleb says. “She has broken toes too. Turbis was a real piece of work. There’s something wrong with her hip too. She keeps limping. I’ll call Dr. Royal so he can get us in discreetly. We don’t all need to go?—”
“I’m going,” I say in a choked tone. “You’ll have to alpha bark me to not go.”
“What the fuck?” Brice asks, staring at Lars and Caleb with contempt. “She’s your fucking scent match. Start acting like it or Hollis will have your goddamned heads while I laugh. Nova is her fucking twin. If you’re using your alpha bark on her, no one will be able to save you.”
“It was an accident,” Lars groans. “I used it on her at the hospital when I first saw her and she immediately broke through it.”
“Think about why Nova is so good at breaking through alpha barks and get your lives together,” Malcolm growls. “It’ll be a tight fit, but you’re welcome to drive to the hospital with us, Nova.”
I only feel torn for a moment before I nod. “I’ve had worse,” I mutter, shuddering as I remember my punishments as a child. Louisa really liked to lock me in tight spaces when she was pissed at me. She used to say that hiding me away was better than Turbis finding me.
While she wasn’t wrong, I am very particular about where I go.
Brice nods and I follow them to their car, moving to the trunk to get in.
“Absolutely not,” Malcolm says, guiding me to the back seat. “We’ll all fit.”
“But…”
Remy glares at me and I sigh as I nod. As I turn, I look up to see Caleb and Lars hustling to their vehicle. As if they can feel my gaze, they both glance over at me. There’s fire in their eyes as they walk, and I shake my head as I get in the middle next to Felix.
“What is with them?” he asks as Remy sits next to me.
“They don’t know what to do with Nova,” Remy grunts as Malcolm closes his door. “They’re floundering the way we did, but it’s painful as fuck to watch.”
“Well, they better figure it the fuck out,” Brice says as he pulls his seatbelt into place in the front seat.
Malcolm starts the vehicle and guns it as he pulls out, and I jump as the house explodes behind us. There are huge chunks of wood that fall around us, and some fall on the roof as we drive off. I wince as he pulls onto the road and pushes down hard on the pedal.
Everyone is gunning it ahead of him so at least I know we won’t be in danger of hitting anyone. Looking over my shoulder, I watch as the house burns.
“I wonder if Kane will burn down Louisa and Turbis’ home for me,” I muse.
“I think he’d be honored,” Remy says. “He’s the one wearing the baby carrier right?”
“Yes. He has a thing for fire,” I admit. “It’s just up in Michigan.”
“I still think they’d make the trip for you,” Malcolm says. “You make an impression on people.”
Facing forward, I nod as I brush my tears away. Maybe Caleb and Lars deserve an omega who cries less. Hollis is held tightly in Remy’s arms, and I wonder if fate mixed us up.
I bet she never cries.
The drive to the hospital is tense, and Hollis never wakes up during it.
My eyes are continuously drawn to the rise and fall of her chest to remind me that she’s still with us, because she’s otherwise very still.
I keep telling myself that her injuries aren’t life threatening, but the truth is that I don’t know that for sure.
The second Malcolm pulls into the hospital, we’re bailing out at the entrance so he can pull around to get a parking spot.
“I’ll meet you in there,” he calls out the open window as he pulls away.
Walking quickly, the rest of us head inside, and Remy asks the nurse at the desk for Dr. Royal. My fingers rake through my hair, pulling it hard to help center myself. I want to fucking scream, something I’ve never indulged in.
“Nova,” Brice says, pulling my attention. “Stop hurting yourself, please. We’re going to get Hollis all fixed up.”
“This shouldn’t have happened,” I hiss. “I really never thought they’d go after her and not me or I’d have said something sooner.”
“When?” Felix asks, his eyes narrowing on me. “We’ve been out of town until just recently, and you just found out you were kidnapped as a kid. Please give yourself a break. She screamed your name in our heads before she passed out. Hollis knew exactly what she was doing.”
“Are they getting her seen?” Caleb asks, jogging in with Lars.
“Dr. Royal is on his way down, they said,” Remy says, shifting Hollis in his arms.
“Good,” he sighs, his gaze on Hollis. “I fucking hate seeing her like this. What are the odds that she’d get her ass beat twice in a thirty day period?”
“She’s the only one alive,” Brice growls. “I’d say that she’s doing better than the ones who did this to her.”
Just as Malcolm rushes in, the doors open at the emergency room. A doctor with short black hair in a pair of scrubs strides out, long black sleeves underneath his shirt.
“Fuck,” he mutters, looking down at Hollis. “I really need you to stop saving the world for a few weeks, Hollis.”
This overwhelming need to speak takes over me, and I whisper, “She saved me, not the world.”
The doctor glances over me, his eyes hardening when his gaze meets mine.
“Who the fuck are you? Why do you have her eyes?” he growls.
“Down, killer,” Caleb chuckles. “This is Nova. We found her sister.”
“Damn. Sorry. I’m Adrain Royal. I’m going to splint her fingers and see if anything else is broken. You can come back with us,” he says mildly. “I was really taken aback by your eyes.”
If I had any doubt about why I had to wear contact lenses to change my eye color and dye my hair, I no longer do.
Remy and I follow Dr. Royal, leaving everyone else around as Remy carries Hollis in.
“What’s going on?” a familiar voice asks as we walk.
Dr. Royal barely slows down, stating, “Stay in your lane, Stewart. I have patients, and I don’t have time for your heartless bullshit.”
Well, at least it’s not just me that he acts like this with. My scent match is a dick to everyone.
“I’m not being a dick. You’ve got my scent match there,” Dr. Stewart growls, coming closer.
Oh my god. I want to fall through the floorboards. Does he really think that Hollis is his scent match? Did I piss the universe off?
Except…his gaze is on me as he comes to stand beside me.
“What happened to your partner?” he asks.
“You’re too stupid to live,” I announce loudly, making Dr. Royal bark out a laugh. “I’m not responding to dumb questions because I’m allergic to them. You’re getting in the way of getting my sister medical care. Please, go back to pretending you don’t know who I am.”
Dr. Royal continues to walk, and I hurry after because I don’t want to be left behind.
“That sounds like an interesting story,” Dr. Royal says under his breath.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with that,” Remy grunts. “He seems like a douchebag. Is he really your scent match?”
“Unfortunately,” I sigh. “He was working when I came in with my very pregnant, contracting client. He thought I was her significant other and not her midwife.”
“Dr. Stewart was dropped on his head as a child. I’m almost sure of it,” Dr. Royal says. “I’m not one to get in the middle of things, but I say reject him and move on. I don’t think he could take care of a plant, much less an omega. I don’t even know you and I think you could do better.”
“Don’t hit on Hollis’ twin sister, man,” Remy groans. “She might stab you with your own scalpel.”
“This is why I never keep sharp implements around her at the hospital,” Dr. Royal chuckles.
My head is spinning at their banter, and I’m not entirely sure if Dr. Royal is hitting on me or not. My life is babies and moms, which means that I’ve never dated and any willing sexual experience I have had was through a heat clinic.
Purely transactional.
Pushing away their words to examine later, I take a deep breath and follow them into a private room. It’s set away from other clients, and Remy puts Hollis down carefully.
“Are her guard dogs going to stand outside the door again?” Dr. Royal asks.
My lips twitch at his statement unkindly since they’re not currently my favorite people.