Chapter 32
Asteady beeping sound was the first thing that hit me as I started to wake up. Then it was the pain.
My entire body was sore, my chest and throat burning and dry as if I’d wandered the desert alone for weeks with no water.
I felt the urge to cough but was too weak to manage it.
“There you are,” Mom’s voice was watery, like she’d been crying.
“Mom?” That single word sent me into a round of coughing.
“Here, drink,” Dad’s voice came next before a straw was pushed to my lips. I took a tentative sip, the icy water soothing but fucking painful. I stopped after only a few small drinks.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I looked at them, then myself. My skin was clean, but felt grimy. Most of the issue coming from my lungs, apparently. “I remember…”
“A fire,” Mom said gently as she wheeled her chair closer and squeezed my hand. “I’m so sorry, my boy. I should have stayed closer, not gotten so worked up over this stupid chair that we didn’t come by enough. I almost lost you.”
“My pack? My omega?” I asked as I shoved myself up to sit, looking at my dad for the answer.
Pop moved closer on my other side, so both alphas were there with me. Fuck, was the news that bad?
“No,” I whispered in horror, tears welling in my eyes. I tried to feel through the bond but it was empty. “Please.”
“They’re alive, son,” Pop said as he squeezed my shoulder. “Not out of the woods, but alive.”
“Dani?”
“She’s under sedation. She got the brunt of it from what the officers and fire marshall explained,” dad answered. “Burns on her legs, but pretty bad damage to her throat and lungs. The CO levels were insane and they were worried it might have lasting damage on you all.”
“Henry,” I said, shaking my head. “He did this.”
My monitor started beeping as my heart rate picked up. That was enough for the staff to burst in. They looked just as relieved as my parents did as they swept into the room.
“Good to see you with us, Mr. King. I’m Dr. Abrams," a man in a white coat said. He was bald and had kind eyes. The type of eyes that burned with empathy.
“How are they?”
“Let’s make sure you’re alright first—” he started but I cut him off.
“Is my omega awake?”
He sighed, but met my gaze head on. “No, unfortunately. We’ve done as much as we can to help ease the pain and promote healing, but sleep is currently what her body needs.”
“And my son?” Mom asked. Her dark blue eyes, the one that matched mine, pleaded with him to give her good news.
“You and the other two alphas were lucky,” he said. “The door was closed until they rescued you, meaning the damage was far more minimal. You’ll recover but there has been some minor damage to your throat and lungs. We’ll talk treatment plans but for now I need you to rest, Mr. King.”
I wanted to argue but my dad’s hand squeezed my shoulder, warning in his eyes. “We’ll make sure everyone is checked on. Trust us. You can’t help her if you make things worse.”
He had me there, but my alpha was unsettled. Demanding I get up and seek her out.
“Someone better wheel me in there. She needs her pack,” I said firmly. The doctor sighed, but nodded. “I don’t care the cost, get us a room big enough for the pack. We should be together.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, though he didn’t look happy.
“I’ve got it,” Pop said, following him out of the room. Knowing my dad, he’d have us in a room within the hour.
I rested back, letting my family support me in the moment.
“What happened? Who is Henry?”
I looked down at Mom’s hand in mine before giving it a squeeze. Her presence was always a calming balm to my anger.
“Thanks for coming, Mom,” I said instead. Tears welled in her eyes again and she sniffled.
“I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner, but this won’t be one off.
I think it’s time for me to start living again.
Being closer to my baby and maybe some fresh country air is just what I need,” she said, giving Dad a look.
He just smiled indulgently and nodded. “Plus, I need to meet this strong omega of yours.”
“She’s perfect,” I found myself saying as I laid back. “But he’s trying to take her from us.”
Then the story spilled out of me. The words flowing so easily now that I’d relaxed, commenting on every single thing Henry had done and the scope of the damage he’d caused.
Something beeped and I looked over to see that Dad had stopped a recording app. I raised a brow but he just shrugged.
“I’ll get this to the cops. They’ve been waiting to get in and ask questions, now you don’t have to repeat it. Though, I can’t promise they won’t ask a few more questions," he said as he gave me a nod and walked out to give them my statement.
Now I was even more glad I’d spoken up.
“Take another drink, sweetie,” Mom offered, holding the straw to my lips again. This time I drank again, the pain less now that the nurses had come in to give me my next round of meds. Whatever it was had me feeling a bit like I was floating and the pain was fading bit by bit.
“Get some rest. When you wake up we’ll have you where you belong,” she promised.
With that, I didn’t bother to fight, giving into the peaceful exhaustion pulling at me.
My eyes blinked open as a breeze blew past. Not a breeze, I was being wheeled briskly down the hallway.
“What’s going on?” I croaked, wincing at the fire burning in my chest.
“Don’t talk yet, we’ll explain in just a moment. Almost there,” a nurse reassured me. Something in the way she said it was both amused and exasperated. “Someone in your pack is quite insistent.”
My pack. The fire.
Oh god.
“Dani?”
“Alive, Jackson. They’re all alive,” she said diplomatically.
Alive, but not well. That much was obvious.
A shudder ran through me, part from pain and part from the reality of what happened. As my mind woke up, more of the memories were coming back.
Dani dropping.
Waking up to someone tying me up. She smelled like flowers and gasoline. When she saw I was awake she laughed, saying something before dropping something on the floor and rushing out.
Screams.
Smoke.
Pain.
Fear.
“Breathe, alpha. It’s alright. We’ve got you. You’re safe now,” the same nurse said. Her voice was loud and commanding, but edged in genuine kindness that had me wanting to listen.
A beta, but a strong one.
“In. Out. Your lungs took enough damage, let's not make it worse,” she urged as they finally rolled me to a stop.
“There you are,” Griff said. His voice was shredded and followed by a groan. But he was alive.
I glanced at him, before turning the other way to see Dani and Cy both in their own beds. Both asleep.
“Cy freaked out when he got here and had to be sedated. HIs alpha went into a rage to get to her,” the nurse explained. “She’s sedated to heal.”
“How bad?” I asked. Desperation had me reaching for her, fingers holding her scrub top before she could shut me out.
She patted my hand and held my gaze, giving me a rundown of her injuries.
Injuries that were only there because of us.
Henry was at fault, but we’d brought her to his attention.
Fuck.
“Pop took my statement to the cops. They’re running through all the info. Our cabin had cameras and they have footage of Henry and his sister entering,” Griff said.
I released the nurse who backed out of reach now, giving me a warning look. Then she was moving toward the others, checking their vitals.
The steady beeping from both monitors had me calming slightly.
Movement at the door drew our attention. Griff’s parents were coming in, Cy’s family behind them. Or part of his huge family. Just his mom and his six dads coming in. They all looked worried.
It wasn’t lost on me that Dani and I both didn’t have our own families here.
That was okay, the love in this room was strong. Griff’s mom wheeled herself right to my bedside, holding me tight and promising everything would be alright. My chest ached for a different reason now, clinging to her hug like it might keep me sane.
She didn’t protest, she just continued to mother me like she always had.
“Sorry,” I muttered when I had it together enough to let go. She just let out a small watery laugh of her own.
“No, sweetheart. I’m sorry we haven’t been around, but that’s going to change,” she vowed.
I took her in. She was stronger now. Her hair was done, her face lacking the dark circles her car accident had brought on.
It had shattered a few bones and landed her in that chair.
Right now it didn’t look like the prison it once did.
“It sounds like you guys need us out there,” Pop confirmed. He was the hardass out of Griff’s two dads and I couldn’t deny it would be nice to have someone else around to help look out for our girl.
“We do,” I agreed. “Tell me they have Henry behind bars?”
“They’re searching for him,” Pop promised. “Just a matter of time.”
That had to be enough for now.
“There are two officers outside your room just in case,” his other dad tacked on from Griff’s side. “You guys are safe here.”
“My turn, my turn,” Cy’s mom said. She was outgoing and exuberant usually, now she was subdued. Face puffy from tears as she crushed me in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Tell me they’re going to be,” I begged as I hugged her back.
“Sounds like they’re both fighters,” she promised, a sniffle telling me she was crying again.
“They are,” Griff answered for me. “Dani’s vitals are stronger now and Cy’s sedation will wear off soon. They said his lungs are clearing up, too.”
“Those steroids and antibiotics are really helping,” Allen, one of Cy’s alpha dads, agreed. He was the most like Cy, not just in looks, but personality, too.
“Good,” I said, relieved to hear it from more than one person.
They were going to be alright.
We all were.