Chapter 46 Flora
Flora
It was still light outside, so I hadn’t been gone for long. But my hope was thin, at best. I was still on that bed. I was still cold and away from my alphas. And I was still at the mercy of an unhinged, psychopathic stalker.
When I tugged at my foot, I winced as the harsh metal of the cuff scraped against my ankle. It was already starting to bruise, and putting weight on it was going to be a nightmare when I could. Standing was still out of reach right now, though.
I knew Lyle would come back. He had been gone for a while, and I wanted to find something to defend myself with. What the hell could I use from the damn bed, though? It wasn’t like I was going to get the drop on him somehow and be able to suffocate him with the blanket.
I doubted I had the stomach for that, anyway.
Looking around, I shifted the covers, lifted the pillow, tried to yank on the slim metal bars of the small bed, but nothing was going to help me.
I couldn’t toss the chain at Lyle, and I wasn’t able to reach the desk across the room, which might have had something I could conceal and use to hit him.
My gaze dropped to the floor, where my shoe sat.
Sighing, I reached for it and held it close to my chest. “It’s better than nothing.”
As soon as I sat against the wall, I heard the click of the lock.
My pulse leaped into my throat, and I swallowed down the rising bile.
The floor outside creaked under footsteps, and I shoved the shoe under the covers.
I was shaking, adrenaline and cold haunted every inch of my body, and I forced myself to act as neutral as possible when the TA strolled in.
“I thought we would try this again.” Lyle held a small plate with a piece of toast on it, and my stomach flip-flopped, growling despite how much I was not eating that. “See? You’re hungry. I can take care of you better than those thugs can.”
“I…” But I let my words trail off, thinking of the shoe beneath the covers. So, instead of rejecting the toast outright, I held up a shaky hand, staying quiet.
“There. That’s so much better.”
Lyle stepped closer, offering the plate, but only a little.
I’d have to scoot to the edge of the bed if I wanted it.
Damn him. Still, this was my opportunity, so I gathered what courage I had and shifted forward, careful not to reveal the shoe.
I kept my eyes down as I lifted my left hand for the toast. Lyle grinned. It looked all wrong and menacing.
After taking the plate, I began to rest it on my lap as Lyle stole a lock of my hair and brought it to his nose, inhaling deeply.
“All mine now,” he whispered, and I forced down a scream as a tear slid down my cheek.
Come on, Flora. It’s now or never.
With Lyle distracted, I put my other hand under the blanket, slowly—so fucking carefully—removing the shoe from its hiding place. Sucking in a deep breath, I drew my arm back, preparing myself for the worst.
And then I smashed my sneaker into his face.
“Ahh!” Lyle reeled back, stumbling away from me as his glasses snapped and fell onto the floor. “You bitch!”
I still held the shoe, so I threw it as hard as I could at him, landing another blow to his cheek.
But Lyle was quicker than I expected. He surged forward, wrapping his hands around my throat as he tackled me to the bed.
His thumbs pressed into my windpipe, and my body screamed.
He was going to strangle me. Every part of me knew that this would kill me, and panic—pure fucking survival instinct—kicked in.
I flailed and kicked, but even a skinny guy like Lyle had a physical advantage over me. His face was red from where the shoe had landed. I stopped pulling on his hands for just a second, so I could reach up and jab my fingers into his eye.
Again, Lyle jerked backward reflexively, and with the air rushing into my lungs again, I shrieked. I screamed my fucking head off, praying that someone would hear me.
It was only a second or two, though, and then Lyle was on top of me again, pinning me to the bed before slapping me across the face. Pain blared through my cheek, burning intensely.
“If you won’t behave, I’ll treat you like the animal you are.” Lyle tore at my sweatshirt, and I shouted, desperately trying to smack his hands away. “You’ll be mine, no matter what you do, omega!”
“Flora!”
I glitched, freezing in place as the sound of my name ricocheted through my brain. I knew that voice. I’d know it anywhere. When I looked past Lyle, who also turned over his shoulder, I saw him.
Bear.
Spencer and Chase were right behind him, and the three of them shot across the room like cannonballs.
They were trained, working together as a unit.
Bear hauled Lyle off me, throwing him into the wall with such force, the wall cracked.
Spencer and Chase were on him in a second, Spence driving his fist into Lyle’s face twice before Chase grabbed my kidnapper by the shirt and tackled him onto the ground.
One more punch, and Lyle was unconscious.
“Is he…” My voice sounded small, and I hated it.
But Bear wrapped his arms around me, stroking my hair. I buried my nose in his chest, inhaling his pumpkin bread scent, letting it relax me.
“He’ll never touch you again, little omega. It’s over.”
Safe. I was safe.
“Can we get out of here?” As much as I was enjoying the long-lasting grounding hug, I wanted to be anywhere other than that room.
Bear held me firmly against his chest. “Don’t worry, little omega. As soon as the police are here and Spencer hands him over, we’ll leave.”
I wanted nothing more than to be out of the building that smelled like mildew and desperation.
The urge to scream, shout, and stomp my feet like a toddler was overwhelming.
Or maybe I just wanted to stare at the wall?
Still, we needed to make sure the police arrested Lyle.
If he escaped, it was only a matter of time before he would start this entire thing all over again.
I needed to know he was behind bars, or I’d never feel safe.
Hell, even then… I wasn’t…
My hands twisted in Bear’s shirt. I desperately needed nothing more than to clamber under his clothing, shoving our skin together, to ground myself with his presence. It hadn’t even been that long, but after everything Lyle had done…
I reached up to my neck. It was bad. It hurt. But I didn’t want to think about what that meant. “Nest,” I whined in a small voice.
“Soon, baby. We’ll be back in your nest before you know it,” Bear soothed, running his hand over the back of my head.
“The police are here,” Chase announced, walking into the room, eyeing me intently. His hair was messed up, and there was a gun shoved into his waistband. “How are you?”
“I-I don’t…” I stammered, but nothing else came out.
“That’s fine.” He nodded, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Spencer is handing Lyle over to them now.”
I didn’t let go of Bear when we got into the car and drove away. I wanted Chase and Spencer as well, but my bond with Bear was screaming, demanding proximity. Thankfully, the car was full of their combined scents, which immediately eased some of the deep panic attacking me.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice slightly muffled, given that my face was pressed firmly into Bear’s chest.
“Hospital,” Chase said from his spot next to me.
“But I want to go home,” I whined. It had been a long, awful day. The last thing I wanted was to go to a cold hospital full of overly bright lights that smelled like chemicals. I wanted my nest, wanted to be surrounded by the scent of my alphas. Safe, warm, and protected.
“Soon,” Chase assured me, his hand resting on my thigh, his touch reassuring.
Spencer should have been touching me as well—all of them together would have grounded me more.
And everything felt too distant, fuzzy around the edges.
But when I looked closely, trying to figure out what I was feeling, I was met with excruciating pain.
Retreating was instinctual. I couldn’t process everything right now. I just… couldn’t.
Nuzzling back into Bear’s chest, I did my best to block out any conversation, which came surprisingly easy. And at some point, I passed out.
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting on a gurney, grumbling as the kind female doctor shone a flashlight into my eyes. She smelled like freshly cut grass with a hint of lemon; it was clean and comforting, sure, but it wasn’t my alphas.
Still, I held Bear’s hand in a vise-like grip as she checked me over. Chase was hovering nearby, looming over the doctor while she worked. Spencer wanted to stay with me, but when he heard that the police were there and were asking to speak to me, he excused himself to take care of it.
“Considering what you’ve been through, you’re doing okay.
I’ll bandage up your ankle, and we’ll do some imaging of your neck.
But, other than that, you need to rest and drink plenty of fluids while you recover from the effects of being drugged.
It really could be a lot worse, so that’s positive.
It looks like your alphas got to you before any major damage was done. ”
“No other injuries?” Bear asked as Spencer slipped back into the room, his eyes raking over me, trying to assure himself I was really okay.
The doctor smiled indulgently at my pack mate. “No, some rest for her throat and neck, a little antibiotic ointment on that ankle, and she’ll be fine. I’ll give you my card, so you can call me if you have any questions.”
“Thank you,” I said, but it was just a reflex. I was a million miles away.
“Now… There’s one thing. This gentleman here”—she nodded at Spencer—“brought a bottle of what you were drugged with for us to examine. I’m not worried about any long-term issues, but may I ask; are you on heat suppressants?”
“I am now,” I stared at the floor. “I was taking them regularly, but he… the person who did this… he, umm”—I gestured to my disheveled self—“swapped them out for sugar pills.”
“Excuse me?” The doctor’s mouth opened in horror.
“Trust me, we were all infuriated,” Spencer growled. “We got her another prescription as soon as we found out.”
“I started taking them after the… heat happened,” I added.
“So, you did have a heat, then?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah, that was how we figured out the pills had been swapped.”
“Ugh, I hate people. Umm, well…” the doctor groaned. “Unfortunately, all this starting and stopping of suppressants isn’t good for you. You’re going to have another heat again. Soon, most likely. Your blood tests back that up. On the bright side, it should be a small, mini-heat.”
I stared at the doctor, who offered a sympathetic look and reached for my hand. But I pulled back, shaking my head.
“But I… I did that already. I don’t… Is that even safe?”
“If you have your pack with you.” The doctor looked around. “And you take it easy during your healing so you’re as strong physically as possible, I think you’ll be okay. But you can always call me—or another doctor—if things don’t feel right. Trust your body.”
My head was spinning, but I found myself nodding. “Well, at least that will give me a chance to bond with the rest of my pack.”
I looked at Chase and Spencer, and I think I smiled. But I couldn’t be sure. Everything still felt… far away, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Spencer pushed off the wall he had been leaning against. “We don’t need to decide that now, princess. You need to rest first.”
I frowned. “I know that. But after I rest. It’ll be good then. Unless… We love each other, don’t we? And want to be bonded… unless… unless that’s not what you want?”
Were we over now that my stalker situation had been resolved? Did they still want me? Bear and I were bonded, so I was part of their pack, but in that moment, after all the adrenaline crashing, I wasn’t sure.
My shaking worsened, and tears leaked down my face. I didn’t even know why I was crying. They’d just rescued me. I was incredibly grateful. But I couldn’t control my reactions.
“Hey,” Spencer soothed, quickly coming up to my side and taking my hand, “that is most certainly what I want. You’re mine, Flora, and I don’t mean that in some horrible way. You’re a part of this pack, and we love you. Being bonded to you would—”
His words cut off as a hungry growl left him, and he had to shake it away as Chase and Bear laughed, Chase quickly adding, “I’ve wanted you to bite me for ages, honeybee. We just wanted to make sure you were ready. So, since you are, it’s a non-issue.”
“When the heat hits…” I trailed off.
“We will be there for it, happily and with eager, bitey teeth.” Chase grinned, and a second later, I was thoroughly surrounded by my alphas.
My muscles relaxed. I still didn’t know exactly what I was feeling. There was so much to process and unpack. But it felt possible, thanks to the men standing around me, something that no one but the three of them could do.