Chapter 16 Callisto
Chapter sixteen
Callisto
With an apology to make, I don’t want to go empty-handed.
I mull over my options on the drive back to the prison, but the solution presents itself in the form of a flower stall on the side of the road.
Normally I’d never think of getting flowers for another guy, but it feels right for the moment. Plus, Rickon isn’t like other men.
Inside the tin lean-to, I spot a beautiful bouquet made of three different blue hues ensconced in gray foliage and silver paper.
Ricky’s worn eyeshadow in those shades before.
I pick out a second arrangement with long stems of crimson bell-shaped flowers with yellow snapdragons.
That will do perfectly as a “congratulations on getting through your heat” gift.
They also don’t have a strong fragrance, which will be better for Red’s sensitive nose.
As I drop the money in the honor box, my phone rings. When I answer, the woman on the other end says she’s from the Omega Center. My heart lurches.
“Mr Wren, I’m calling on behalf of Rickon Jones. He wanted me to tell you his omega collapsed in the parking lot, and we’ve readmitted her to the Center.”
My heart lurches. “Is she sick?”
“No.” The woman hesitates long enough for my stomach to twist into a knot. “It appears to be a psychological episode after she received a phone message, but I don’t know anything else.”
Oh, shit. I kick the trestle holding the flower buckets. This is too much for Red. Why didn’t I remember to swap out her phone, since Ray already contacted her once? She’s been through so much; why does she have to suffer more?
“Are you still there?” the woman asks.
“Yes.” I swallow around a thick lump in my throat. “Did Rickon leave any other instructions?”
“He asked you to come, if you have the time.”
“I’ll be right there.”
I dash to the car and throw myself inside, accelerating away in a shower of gravel. Even though I fucked up and Ricky asked me to leave, he still reached out to me in the moment of crisis. He doesn’t hate me.
But the relief wars with my fears for Red.
The drive back into the city’s a blur, my body running on autopilot to get me to the Omega Center. All the car sweeps and ID checks at the gate chafe my nerves raw, but finally I stride down the hall to Red’s room.
The omega sleeps on the bed curled up into a ball, but signs of a struggle are everywhere, including a broken chair and long scratches on Rickon’s arms. He leans on the side of the bed, sweat darkening his silver-white hair.
I set my flowers on the coffee table, right by the couch where we made out, and then walk over. “Ricky?” I call softly, crouching beside him.
He twitches upright, swiping tears out of his lashes. “You came.”
“Of course. What happened?”
He shakes his head, misery in every line of his body.
“I don’t know exactly, but I handed her phone back to her, and she was getting in the car when she flipped out.
She shouted, ‘He’s gonna kill Zack,’ and tried to smash her phone apart on the pavement.
” Ricky shoves upright and gets the broken phone from under a towel on the desk.
“Can you get the OCB to retrieve the card and see what that bastard sent?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
His hand shakes as he passes me what’s left of the phone, and my heart aches looking at the smashed edge. She must’ve been really rattled.
Rickon sits down on the bed and takes Red’s hand, stroking her long fingers over and over. “They’ve put her on an antipsychotic medication that makes her drowsy.” His voice catches. “I don’t know how long . . .”
I step in and clasp his shoulders, silently offering him what little strength I have. “She’ll be okay, Rickon. She’s been through far worse, but this time she isn’t alone.”
More tears trickle down his cheeks, and he scrubs them away with jerky movements. After gulping in a big breath, he pats my hand. “I’m sorry I sent you away last time without talking things over.”
I tighten my grip and swing him around to face me. “You’re not the one who needs to apologize. I crossed a line I shouldn’t have.” My voice breaks, so I clear my throat and point to the table where I left the flowers. “I was actually on my way to find you when the Omega Center rang.”
His green eyes open wide. “Those are for me?”
“The blue ones are.” I release him and retrieve them, sitting in the chair by his legs as I stare at the blue tones.
“There aren’t many men in the world who’d open their arms to a feral, but you took it in your stride.
” I hold the flowers out and lift my gaze.
“When I said you couldn’t handle his bond, I was just stupid.
And shocked. But I’m really sorry. You’re the bravest man I know, and if you think you can handle it, I’m certain you can. ”
Rickon takes the flowers with both hands, gazing down into the blooms like I’ve handed him a lifeline. He sniffs back tears and nods. “Thanks,” he whispers. He pokes a finger into the flowers, stroking the petals. “What beautiful colors.”
“They reminded me of your eyeshadow.” His choice today is a barely-there lavender that has smudged, no doubt when Red fought him.
Rickon grins and a touch of color comes back into his pale face. “By the way, Red reckons we should write letters for all our apologies. Like her sorry note.”
I chuckle. “Not a bad idea.” I’d probably be less clumsy if I wrote it down.
Rickon turns the edges of the silver paper down so show off the blossoms better, and the movement reveals his red-streaked arms.
“Have you had those scratches looked at?” I ask.
He lifts his arms, eyeing the narrow gouges as if it’s his first time noticing them.
“I’ll get some swabs,” I tell him. Of course he’s in no state to take care of himself.
A nurse brings me what I need, but when she offers to take over, I decline. I can’t do much for Ricky these days, so I’ll take whatever opportunity I get. He rolls his sleeves up out of the way so I can wipe the scratches with disinfectant.
He hisses at the sting.
“The nurse said these will heal best uncovered,” I tell him. “They don’t seem as deep as I first thought, but you still might want to get a doctor to look at them.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” he says.
As I set the swabs back on the tray, Red squirms and moans in her sleep. Rickon strokes her side, and she settles.
“She really is a handful,” he muses, the loving gaze telling me he doesn’t mind one bit. “I’m just broken up that she has to go through any of this. It’s not fair, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rickon sighs and clutches his flowers to his chest. “Do you know if Zack’s okay? She was really worried.”
“He’s in solitary until tomorrow, and I’m working on a deal with his cellmate to watch his back after that, so he’s safe for now.”
“That’s good news,” Rickon whispers. After a long pause, he says, “I get why you were worried about me bonding with a dominant alpha. I read about it, and if he has a big reaction, it’ll translate to anyone he’s bonded.
” He rests a hand on his belly. “I think that might be part of the reason I froze so much at the courthouse. His rage was really intense.” The slender alpha frowns.
“Everything was haywire that day, so I couldn’t really think about where the shock came from. ”
I lean my elbows on the bucket sides of the chair and study him. “It probably was part of it, but I’m sure that bond means the world to Zack.”
Rickon’s shoulders relax, and a soft smile lightens his grim expression.
“When he asked to bond me, he told me he knows we’ll always be pack, and he wanted to feel the same with me as he does with Red.
It was so clumsy, but beautiful, you know?
” He looks up, lips quivering and moisture glinting in his red-rimmed eyes.
My heart aches. Zack deserved to bond with Rickon because he made those guarantees. He didn’t give him the runaround, didn’t claim he was too busy. He was simply desperate to know how Rickon feels.
“Even if I do get caught up in his emotions some time, I think it’s worth it to know what he’s feeling.” Rickon strokes his thumb over his shirt tenderly as he turns to stare out the window. “When you said I couldn’t handle the bond, I thought you were calling me weak.”
“Fuck no, Ricky!” I cry. “I was just thinking on the drive about how you walked right up to Zack in the truck when he arrived because Red needed you. That’s not weakness. You’re braver than all the alphas twice your size.”
He snorts. “Maybe it’s precisely because I’m my size that I could do it.
” His words are a little cryptic, but when I think about all that he’s been through, I realize it’s shaped him into a valiant person without turning him abrasive.
I bet Zack, who’s so intuitive, could sense Ricky’s angel heart. Or his sexy body and subtle scent.
“Maybe you just won him over with your beauty.” The words tumble out before I’ve thought it through.
Ricky’s mouth quirks with a faint smile, and the desire to touch his lips swims through my chest. I shove out of my chair and grab the other flowers, setting them where Red might see them when she wakes. Gives my hands something to do so I don’t run away with my thoughts.
“They said she’ll be pretty out of it for a bit,” Ricky says softly as I take his bouquet and set them in the water jug.
“Okay. I’ll duck over to the OCB office then.” And dig into my caseload, which right now feels like a black hole. But as I turn away, Red stirs.
“Hey, Red,” I murmur as she blinks awake.
But she doesn’t answer me. Simply stares at the wall, not moving, not asking about Zack. She doesn’t even respond to Ricky when he leans over her. It’s devastating to witness.
A barb drives deep into my heart. After everything Red’s endured, has the threat to her beloved alpha finally broken her? No. This has to be because of the medication; she’ll come back to us.
I wet my dry lips. “I’ll drop this thing right off and come back, Ricky.” A quick flash of the phone out of Red’s line of sight clarifies what I mean.
He nods, gratitude blazing in his eyes.
I’ll bring my laptop back here so I can be close by. I don’t want to leave them to endure this alone.