12. Mack
Chapter 12
Mack
A scream wakes me up suddenly, and I jolt up in the massive nest bed looking around. There aren’t any other sounds until the door comes slamming open and two moderators storm toward the bathroom door.
I shove my brother in the shoulder. He’s the heaviest sleeper I’ve ever met. He nearly smacks me in the face as he startles awake. I don’t have time for him to get out of his cranky-ass mood to wake up as I follow the moderators.
“What the fuck. What happened?” I ask as they open the door.
My eyes widen in shock as I witness Jonah flat on his ass, consoling a crying Shiloh.
“I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so so sorry,” Jonah says, petting her wet hair.
“What happened?” I ask again, and no one answers me.
I approach Shiloh. She’s facing the other direction. But I can tell she’s crying from the way her back is shaking. She’s still completely knotted with Jonah, and I realize he must have fallen carrying her out of the shower.
“Shiloh, what hurts?” the moderator asks, kneeling on the shower tiles, water soaking his khaki pants, as she swats him away.
He doesn’t look deterred, like he expected her to do that.
“Fuck, is she okay?” Jonah says, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more worried in my life. He honestly looks like he’s close to crying himself as the moderator approaches again.
Shiloh shoves the man away and clutches herself close to Jonah’s naked skin.
I feel wholly hopeless as I stand there and decide I need to do something. I grab a few of the luxury towels folded under the vanity and place one over Shiloh’s back, and another over Jonah’s shoulders.
The moderator is a simple man, wearing a Heat Haven polo, now dampened khakis, thin black glasses frame his ordinary face. He grabs a walkie and presses the side button, speaking into the device.
“I need Dr. Goss to report to the Lunar Suite ASAP,” he says.
“Copy. I’ll be there in three minutes,” the voice relays on the walkie.
“What happened?” I ask, hoping someone fucking responds. I place a reassuring hand on Jonah’s shoulder, while rubbing Shiloh’s back.
I’m relieved she isn’t swatting me away.
“I was just carrying her out of the shower. I must have tripped over the electrolyte bottle. We’re knotted together,” Jonah says, shaking his head. “I’m so much bigger than her and fell backwards. I think I landed on her ankle. Fuck, shes so small. She won’t stop crying. I’m so so fucking sorry,” he says, kissing the side of Shiloh’s head.
She doesn’t seem to hold any resentment.
“It was an accident,” I tell him.
“You think it’s her ankle?” the moderator asks Jonah.
“I think her right leg…had to have been her ankle or her calf,” Jonah says, and it’s like guilt is seeping out of him.
The moderator doesn’t try to touch Shiloh, but monitors the situation as we wait for the doctor.
Ease fills me as I see a man approaching the bathroom, but it’s just my blurry-eyed older brother, who blinks rapidly at us all. It takes a few moments for his brain to connect the dots, but once he realizes the situation, he quickly wakes up. He’s on the floor next to me in a moment.
“Is she okay? What happened?” he asks.
Jonah actually looks like he’s going to have a breakdown, so I take mercy on him and repeat everything he just said. The massive Alpha is holding Shiloh like she might just fall apart, or maybe he’s holding on to her so he doesn’t. I honestly can’t tell at this point.
Cole runs a hand through his disheveled hair, and it’s clear he doesn’t really know what to say.
Thankfully, we don’t have to say anything, as Dr. Goss finally walks into the room. The moderator moves out of his way, standing in the corner of the shower.
“Hi Shiloh, do you remember me? I admitted you to Heat Haven,” the doctor says, and Shiloh says nothing, just keeps her face buried in Jonah’s chest.
The doctor leans forward and inspects her legs without touching her. As soon as he attempts to touch her leg, her arm reaches back, and she smacks him.
“Fuck. I’m so sorry,” Cole says on her behalf, rubbing her back, trying to soothe her.
“It’s okay. I expected as much. I’m not a part of her heat. I’m a threat and she’s hurt.”
“Can you give her the same medicine you did earlier?” I ask, needing to hear from her what’s wrong and what we can do.
“No, unfortunately, not this deep into her heat,” the doctor says, looking at her leg on the opposite side of us. His expression isn’t promising and my mind is already running through the worst-case scenarios. “If you can all hold her as still as possible and distract her so I can get a good look,” he says.
I move to the other side, trying to give the doctor enough space, as I grab her hand. I’m filled with relief when she lets me, but when I see her tear-stained face and watering brown eyes, I almost fall apart.
“Hey, baby. We’re going to make it better.”
Her gaze looks past me, eyeing what the doctor is doing, and I grab her face. I have no fucking clue what I’m doing, but I force her to look at me.
“Look at me, Shiloh. You’re doing so good, you’re being so brave. I know you’re in pain, but we’re going to take care of you, okay?”
I think Jonah is whispering more apologies against her neck, and Cole looks like he’s just as lost as me. I don’t look back at the doctor and maintain eye contact with Shiloh.
When a grimace takes over her face, she tries to look away from me. Jonah and Cole have her in such a tight grip she can’t move, and my heart breaks as more tears stream out of her pretty eyes.
“We’ll take care of you. We won’t leave you alone. You’re doing so good.”
She sniffles, and the doctor pulls away, and Jonah and Cole loosen their grip on the Omega.
The doctor looks at all of us. Shiloh looks like she wants to spit on him.
“Are you okay?” Dr. Goss directs at Jonah and he nods.
“My ass is bruised, but I’m fine,” he says, and I’m not sure if he would even admit that he was hurt.
“Can I speak to the two of you in the nest?” the doctor says, and Cole and I share a look.
Jonah holds Shiloh tight. I rub a hand down Shiloh’s back and squeeze Jonah’s shoulder before following the doctor into the nest.
The doctor’s posture is rigid, and he’s rubbing the back of his neck as me and my brother stand before him in only our underwear.
“I’m going to give it to you straight. I’m nearly positive her ankle is fractured. It’s already bruised.”
“What do we do?” Cole asks.
“She needs an X-ray. She needs to be sedated.”
“For just the X-ray?” I ask.
The doctor sighs, and he looks completely defeated as he shakes his head. “Normal sedatives don’t work on Omegas in heat. It needs to be medical grade, it will knock her out for the rest of her heat. This will mean that her next heat will approach sooner, especially, since she seems to have a series of unfulfilling heats.”
“There’s no other option?” Cole asks, and I imagine he feels the same way I do.
All Shiloh wanted was to have a good heat, and not be medically sedated. It was a complete accident, but we both know Jonah won’t handle this well.
“I’m afraid not. We have to give her medical treatment and that involves her being coherent enough to discuss her pain or to do the medical procedures as needed. If untreated, she could injure it further during heat. Heat Haven has no other choice but to step in and make this decision. I know it’s not what you or Shiloh wanted, but it’s the reality of the situation.”
“Fuck. Fuck!” Cole nearly shouts as he paces in the nest.
“We’ll inject the sedative and take her to the medical center. You’re, of course, welcome to accompany her and stay with her through her sedation. I’m sorry that it’s not better news,” he says solemnly.
“Do we tell her?” I ask, glancing back at the bathroom.
My heart is breaking for my pack mate and Shiloh. This isn’t what anyone wanted, and I worry about the ramifications when she comes out of sedation.
“I don’t think it’s wise. She’s in pain and volatile. She might have a panic attack or an episode if she thinks we’re taking you away from her. The silver lining is I don’t think her heat was going to last more than a day, so the effects of an incomplete heat shouldn’t be so severe. It also goes without saying that her body seems relatively used to an unsatisfying heat,” he says, hanging his head.
I can tell the doctor cares, and it’s the only reason I’m not losing my shit on him. He wants what’s best for Shiloh. Cole, however, is still pacing and looks like he would like to strangle the man.
“Okay. I’ll go make sure she’s calm,” I say.
The doctor nods as he leaves the nest to go get the tools required to put her into sedation.
“This is exactly what she didn’t want,” Cole says quietly enough so Jonah and Shiloh don’t hear. “I told her. I fucking told her we would take care of her, that she wouldn’t have to be sedated. I promised.”
“It was an accident. There’s no way we could have seen this happening.”
“I know that. I fucking know that. I know Jonah would never mean to hurt her and he probably hates himself right now and I don’t want to make it worse, but I’m pissed. She deserved better. She trusted me,” he says, and I’ve seen my brother worked up tons of times, but I know what this is about.
Instead of bringing up the past, I wrap my arms around my brother, and hug him tightly.
He hugs me back, his body going slack against mine. Cole’s always taken care of me. In some ways, he’s felt more like a father than an older brother, but right now, I seem to be the one holding us together.
“We’ll take care of her. This isn’t anyone’s fault. It will be okay,” I console him.
He squeezes me tightly and smacks my back.
“We always get through everything together, we’ll get through this,” he says, taking a deep breath and walking back into the bathroom.
I take a minute in the nest, collecting myself. I’ve never been the pack member who’s held us together like this, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I feel more capable than I ever have.
Maybe I’m ready for the next step. Maybe I can take care of Shiloh. I throw on a pair of sweatpants, a shirt, and my sneakers so that I can accompany Shiloh wherever they take her.
That is, if she’ll want us after this.