Chapter 20 Red
Chapter twenty
Red
Callisto holds the door open as I stride into the hospital lobby, my heart in my mouth.
We left immediately, but it still took sixty minutes to get here with rush-hour traffic.
Probably cracked my teeth from grinding them in fury at the delay.
Once the nurse at the front desk looks up the information and gives us a floor and room number, I break into a run, and my alphas chase after me.
The fuzz deadening my brain barely stops me from throwing myself at the man and scratching his eyeballs out. If I had the energy, I’d do it, but Callisto gets us signed in before I detonate, and we endure a halfhearted body search, and then I’m finally in the same room as Zack.
His unrestrained barley scent fills the air as I cross to the bed where my wild alpha rests, handcuffed to the railing.
He lies on white sheets, arms akimbo, the hospital gown barely covering his powerful body.
Dark bruises mottle his face, and a bandage covers his swollen nose, but his chest rises with even breaths.
My alpha’s really here. Covered in bandages, head shaved, but alive.
The moment Calli read those messages, an irrational part of me feared Zack was dead, but now the chilling terror fades away.
“Ohm-ga!” my alpha cries, eyes widening as he thrashes bedding out of the way to sit up. His deep alpha voice sends tingles exploding through my belly.
“Zack!” I gasp out.
He opens his arms, and I dive into his embrace, one leg up on the bed, angled over his knee. His alpha presence jolts through me, splintering another crack in the mask shutting me out from the world.
His grip tightens, stronger than ever, and his heart beats vigorously under my ear through the bandages and hospital gown. A glorious purr vibrates into me.
A garbled mix of rage and joy makes my ghost shell shiver, fragile as crystal.
I punch my alpha’s shoulder with a trembling hand, and then stroke him all over.
“Fuck, Zack. I missed you. They cut your beautiful hair! And why didn’t you fight back, you dummy?
Don’t let anyone hurt you!” I choke on the words as relief pours through me in a cooling tidal wave.
I lean back and clasp his solid jaw between my hands, hissing at the black bruising around his eyes and the split lip. The idiot grins at me, happiest I’ve ever seen, and leans in for a kiss. I drop my mouth to his, and the last fragments of numbness crumble to dust.
“Missed ohm-ga,” Zack rumbles against my lips. “Missed Red.” He dives one hand into my hair, holding me in place for a longer kiss.
My name on his clumsy tongue sends heat pulsing through me.
“Fuck, I missed you too,” I say, trembling with relief.
In a single rough motion, I strip my shorts and underwear and climb him. Zack gets the picture, his dick already hard from our kiss, and it springs through the flap in his boxers with a little encouragement.
“Well, fuck me sideways,” a deep male voice says from the next bed over. “That really is Red Jones, the actress.”
Callisto stalks over and zips a curtain between the beds, oozing irritation, but I ignore the interruption. Only Zack matters right now.
Beaming, Zack holds me with one hand around my waist and bucks his hips, lodging his thick cock up inside my pussy.
I gape at the sudden stretch, unable to breathe for a moment as my body adjusts.
My alpha presses his mouth to mine again, suckling my lip like he’s ravenous.
He kisses along the side of my neck, and then nuzzles under my collar to find the bond mark.
His tongue traces the divots, making me gasp.
I missed him more than I can put into words, so I show with my body, clinging to his neck and writhing.
Zack hisses, and stiffens.
I freeze. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s got two broken ribs,” Callisto whispers.
“Shit!” Guilt floods through me. What was I thinking, when he’s clearly injured? “I’m sorry, Zack,” I mutter, trying to climb off.
Zack growls, and his fingers dig deeper into my hip, locking me in place. “No,” he says simply before kissing my scar.
I giggle, his message loud and clear. “All right, love, I’m not going anywhere. But how about you lie down?” Wrapping himself around me like this must be agony.
Gently I press his shoulder until he lies back on the bed, stormy blue eyes never leaving mine.
I straddle him properly and brace my weight on the upright sides of the bed so I can thrust slowly over him.
Zack rumbles with pleasure, and his death grip on my hip relaxes.
He runs his fingertips in gentle circles over my stomach, teasing a fluttery warmth beneath my skin.
“Ohm-ga in heat?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No,” I say through soft pants. “Finished. But it will happen again in the future.”
He gazes up at me, eyes roving my face and the scarlet ponytail spilling over my left shoulder. “Zack worry.”
I melt a little more inside. “I’m sorry. We tried to warn you, but something went wrong. I don’t like my heats but—” I flick a glance over my shoulder at Rickon who waits to one side, a tender smile on his face. “We got through it okay.”
Zack follows my gaze and lets out a huff. “White Mine. Come.” The alpha command in his voice slices through me, making me shiver even though he ordered someone else.
Rickon balances his hands on the bed and leans in to kiss Zack.
I love the twitches in Zack’s throat as he tips his head up for the kiss, growling when Rickon tries to pull away. Rickon chuckles and deepens the kiss. They’re so fucking gorgeous together.
I whimper and thrust harder.
Zack’s breathing rasps as they finally part. He stares up at Rickon; then the sides of his mouth quirk up. “Ask, Rickon.”
He groans in reply. “Zack, you’re injured. One of us is enough for today.”
Zack’s upper lip draws back, and he rumbles. “Clothes off. Now.”
Alpha dominance spills over us, tangling in my senses, and I throw my head back with a shocked gasp. Zack’s alpha presence has poured out wildly ever since I first met him, but it’s like he understands how to wield it now. And it’s unbelievably sexy.
“I don’t think he wants to take no for an answer,” Callisto says, grinning as he holds the edge of the curtain, trying to both protect our dignity and not watch.
“All right, all right,” Rickon grumbles, his cheeks flushing pink.
Zack flips his head on the pillow, intense gaze transferring to Callisto. I wonder if he’s going to send him away, but after a moment, Zack softens. “Quiet, Cal-ee,” he orders, adding a faint growl that vibrates between my thighs.
I laugh.
Rickon strips down, his body pale under the lights. If a nurse walks in now, they’ll get the view of a lifetime. My first alpha walks confidently over, not seeming to care that Callisto’s watching—his gaze locks on his pack alpha.
I lean to one side as Rickon climbs into the bed and gingerly lies down on Zack’s handcuffed arm. Luckily he’s skinny and can slide right in. He snuggles into his broad side and Zack wriggles his hand around until it rests on the bond mark on his lover’s hip.
Zack closes his eyes and lets out a heartbreaking sigh.
Relief pours through the bond, coupled with something far richer.
Like love, but grander. Perhaps it’s something only a pack alpha knows how to feel.
I’m so caught up in the sensation, I forget what I’m doing, but my alpha reminds me by thrusting up.
His face contorts with pain, so I take over again.
With Rickon pressed against us and Zack’s thick cock working through me, and Callisto’s scent joining theirs in the room, I come apart in moments, whining and riding Zack’s dick fast as I crest. It’s been less than a week, but it feels like years, and I take what I need from my alpha.
Zack roars and stiffens, digging his fingers into both of us as he orgasms. Our union’s fast and fiery, just like Zack himself, and so satisfying after time apart and an eternity of worry.
I slump, leaning my body weight on the bed rails and Rickon instead of the injured alpha.
As I relax, Zack looks up at me, grins, and thrusts again.
I whimper as the knobbed edges of his knot ram up into my drenched pussy with teasing intention. “Zack,” I say breathlessly. “I’m not sure now’s the time—”
My feral ignores my feeble protest, locks his grip around my ass, and wedges his knot inside me in one giant thrust. I whine as heat explodes through me in a second shocking orgasm, gripping Rickon so tight I dent his skin.
Uncontrollable shivers race through me, chattering my teeth between panted breaths.
A delighted smile tugs on my mouth, the first in days. We’re stuck together for a while now.
Zack’s determination tells me he hasn’t lost his fighting spirit. He’s every bit our pack alpha, and if anything, prison seems to have matured him. Which is a frightening reminder of how much danger he’s in.
Footsteps patter as a nurse rushes into the room. “Is there a problem? The monitors are going crazy—” She gasps as she catches sight of us. “Good grief, he’s a patient! Now’s not the time for shenanigans.”
“He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” I say with a grin, diving my nose into Zack’s neck.
He smiles, and then a beautiful vibration runs through me as my pack alpha purrs again.
Callisto grabs the discarded blanket and throws it across our snuggled bodies crammed into the hospital bed. “Everything’s fine here,” he says, staring the nurse down.
She huffs under her breath, checks the monitor, and glares at me. “He’s got broken ribs and needs to avoid all strenuous movement.”
“Roger that,” I say, stroking my lover’s chest. “We’ll take it from here.”
Scowling, she spins on her heel and marches away, muttering about patient dignity.
Rickon chuckles. “Claiming your territory, Red?” he asks in a whisper.
I slap him lightly and then sober up. “What happened, Zack? Who attacked you?”
His purring barely pauses. “Prison alphas. Ray order them.”
A jolt runs through me. I lift my head and trade looks with Callisto, dread clutching my throat. “This was his warning.”
Callisto nods grimly.
“Was nearly more than a warning,” a deep voice says from beyond the curtain. “But you can thank me they didn’t get there.”
I hook my thumb toward the curtain and lift an eyebrow in question.
Callisto sighs and swishes the curtain back to reveal a bald, tattooed alpha in his late forties sitting in the next bed over. “This is Keith Alhedy, Zack’s cellmate.”
“Call me Al,” the man says, alpha presence oozing out of him in response to the scent of sex in the air. “That’s what your boy knows me by.”
“Control yourself,” Callisto snaps, brow furrowing with irritation. “Or I’ll get you moved to another room.”
The alpha feigns hurt. “Aww, is that any way to treat your newest client? Your precious Zack would be horsemeat if I hadn’t found him.”
I glance at Callisto, expecting him to rage against the man’s reference to Zack as his anything, but surprisingly the lawyer keeps quiet.
“Got bloodied for my troubles too.” Al grunts and points to a bandage on his forehead.
“Then it seems we owe you a lot,” I say.
“You do,” the inmate brags cheerily. “But Mr Wren here’s promised to take care of it.”
Callisto crosses his arms and scowls, but when I meet his eyes, he nods slightly, telling me he’ll make sure Al’s rewarded.
Rickon works his head out of Zack’s armpit so he can speak clearly. “If you’re sharing a cell, I’m pretty surprised Zack didn’t take you out first.” He makes a good point, considering the amount of dangerous prime alpha pheromones the guy’s got going for him.
Al chuckles. “You and me both, but the man-child and I made a deal.”
Zack stirs. “Deal. No challenge, no attack.” He rises on one elbow and stares down at Rickon. “Zack sorry, Ri-ckon. Sorry pull leash and broke outside rule. Sent prison. Not do it again.”
Damn, he’s getting so good at putting sentences together. My heart squeezes at his simple sincerity.
Rickon reaches over and cups his bruised face. “I forgive you, Zack.” His voice quivers like he’s about to cry. “I know you didn’t mean to.”
Zack nods emphatically. “Listened to Rick-on. Not kill. Not fight.”
My breath catches, and I straighten up. “Is that why you got hurt, because you didn’t fight back?”
Zack slumps in misery. He lifts one fist in the air and stares at it, lightly flexing his fingers. “My fight kill weak alphas easy. Zack not kill. Go home.” He snuffles a little, breathing difficult, and glances at Callisto. “Cal-ee deal say no fight.”
Callisto sighs and smacks his hand to his face.
A frustrated groan boils out of me, and I slap Zack’s shoulder. “Stupid! Always defend yourself! How are you going to come home if they kill you?”
His eyes widen in shock, and he looks from me to Rickon, and then to Callisto. “Fight okay?”
Rickon squirms free until he’s upright, and he takes Zack’s calloused fist in both his hands. “Zack, remember the rules say no attacking people?”
Zack nods.
“Well, that applies to everyone. The other alphas aren’t allowed to fight you either.”
Zack scowls. “Did fight. Five and more.”
The bastards ganged up on him? I growl under my breath. “And if that happens, you can defend yourself by fighting back. The law says it’s okay to defend yourself. Right, Callisto?”
Our gazes swivel to the lawyer, and he nods tightly. “Self-defense, yes.”
“You can also fight so long as you don’t get caught,” Al adds, flashing a dangerous smile.
“Don’t confuse him,” I order, and Al puts his hands up as far as the handcuff allows in surrender.
Zack rumbles, and his eyes widen. “Defend? Defend is fight back?”
I grab his wide jaw and turn his face toward me. “Zack, if someone attacks you, don’t let yourself get hurt again. Fight back. Understand? Prison is dangerous and Ray’s trying to hurt you, but as long as you survive, we’ll get you out as soon.”
A beautiful expression breaks over his face, like the dawn arriving after a moonless night. “Ohm-ga cares for Zack.”
My throat closes around a thick wad of emotion, and I hug him as gently as I can. “Of course, my tiger. This ohm-ga loves you so much it hurts.”
Rickon throws his arms around both of us, and we sandwich Zack between us. When his beard stubble tickles me, I turn my face and find Callisto gazing at us. The longing in his puppy-dog eyes is unmistakable.