Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
THISTLE
“That’s it?” I asked.
“What colour?” I said, fumbling the bracelet in a panic. “He’ll be alright, right?”
“Yes.” Ace was already finding the white gem and pressing it to Knox’s neck.
Then honied bourbon hit the air, and Rogue was back at my side. “We need to start CPR?—”
Ace snorted, trying to grab him. “No?—!”
“Get away from him!” Rogue had Ace by the neck and was hauling him up, voice vicious.
“Rogue!” I seized him by the arm. “He’s okay. He’s gonna be o—okay…” My voice shook as he turned to me, and I finally felt Rogue’s side of the bond crack.
He felt wild, like he was on the edge of madness.
I pressed the bracelet into his hand. “It’s poison. Fake death. They took it from me, but he grabbed it before they dragged him in.”
“Fake…?” He just stared at me, uncomprehending.
I nodded, reaching up and cupping his cheek. My heart raced as I felt what he was feeling. Panic. Fear.
I felt tears burn my eyes as his grief flooded me. “I’m sorry. We undid it. He’ll wake up.”
“Wake up?”
I nodded. “He’ll be okay. I promise.”
There was a long pause, and Rogue’s head tilted slightly as he leaned into my touch, eyes still processing. Finally, he nodded, jaw set like he might break a tooth.
“Okay.” He cleared his throat, struggling. “We should… should take him to your nest.”
I nodded.
“Call that doctor in.”
“Waste of time. You should be able to feel his pulse in a few minutes, though it might take longer for him to wake up.”
I watched, heart still too tight, as Rogue picked Knox up in his arms, seeming, for a moment, as if he wasn’t sure where he was going.
I took his arm, leading him up to my room. When we set him down, Rogue pressed his fingers to Knox’s neck. He sagged, a breath of relief leaving him as if it uncoiled his whole body.
“Fuck.” His voice was rough as he cupped Knox’s neck, eyes squeezed shut for a moment. Then he stood, rubbing his face aggressively with his hand as I slipped onto the bed to tuck Knox in.
“Told you it was all pretend.”
“What’s that, Kitten?” he asked.
“You don’t hate him, really,” I whispered, eyeing him with a sly look.
I felt that relief too, though.
It was like I could breathe.
I buried myself into the blankets beside him, taking deep breaths of his scent of ink and antique wood. It was fresh, and alive, not like the souring scent of Alphas who’d died.
We were safe.
We were safe again, but everything wasn’t right. Not yet.
Then Ace came in, and he picked up a box that I hadn’t noticed on the foot of the bed. When he handed it to me, I caught the dull scent of absinthe.
“Planned for better circumstances, but it’s my gift to Knox—and you,” he said.
“Is that…?” My eyes widened as I tilted the box until I saw it. Within was a dull, pale foot, and upon it was the greyish mark of a bite—Knox’s bite.
There were tears burning my eyes as I flung my arms around Ace. “He can bite me!” My voice wobbled, and his arms held me tight.
“He can,” Ace murmured.
He wasn’t much of a hugger, so I sank into it, clinging to him and enjoying the moment.
Finally, when I peeled away, he pressed his lips to my forehead. He was unusually gentle right now. It wasn’t his strong suit, but I sensed just the slightest bit of unease seeping from his end of the bond. As if maybe, for a second, he hadn’t been completely sure there was a way out.
“You and Rogue can stay here. I’ll make sure the security is dealt with. My team came back—said they got a text from one of Knox’s contacts warning them they’d been compromised. Still need to make sure there’s no trace of Carrion anywhere.”
I let him go after a long while, then dug myself a little cove beneath the blankets and curled up in Knox’s arm. “You’re gonna be able to bite me, Daddy!” I whispered to him.
Finally.
I pulled Rogue in close on the other side, feeling the dam break. Rogue’s purr rumbled to life as I sobbed, sending vibrations down my spine.
Almost…
I’d almost lost it all.
But now…
“He’ll definitely bite me when he wakes up?” I whispered. “Right?”
He had to. I couldn’t wait any longer—and we’d fought enough.
“‘Course he will.”
“He didn’t want to last time,” I said, my voice wobbling with worry.
“He did want to, it nearly killed him—it was me he had a problem with. And he’s not had a great track record with family. Struggles to believe in it, even if he loves you.”
I nodded.
“This is going to be round three for him,” Rogue said.
“What?”
“Starting over…” Rogue rubbed his jaw. “Second time was meeting me. Didn’t go so great.”
“First round?” I asked.
“He didn’t come from any place good. He presented late as an Alpha and the first thing that happened was that his brother handed him over to the Ring to pay off gambling debts. The only family he had.”
Oh…
I hugged Knox a little closer.
That wasn’t all that different from my dad.
He hadn’t… deserved that…
Rogue cleared his throat. “Would be… pretty shit luck if his next chance at one starts off on a bad foot.”
I giggled before I could stop myself. Rogue looked at me funny and I fought to straighten my face. “Technically,” I muttered, unable to help myself. “It started off with a bad foot.”