20. Saint
Chapter twenty
Saint
I stand up, the itching antsy feeling bothering me. And then it transforms like a bubble popping.
“OLI!” I scream his name so loud the bar goes silent. The few customers and staff in here freeze in place. “OLI, NO!”
“What’s wrong?” Eric shouts. “Is Crow okay?”
I ignore him, clutching my chest, trying so hard to draw air into my lungs.
“Go, we’ll look after things from here,” Eric shouts. “We’ll take care of it, just go.”
Hunter jumps the bar, rushing towards me, keys in his hands, his face is white as a sheet. He grabs my arm and spins me around, and I move, following his silent direction.
All I can feel is the reverberations of his fear, and now this giant black hole where he should be.
Everything is hazy. I can’t feel him. I can’t feel her, but they were together, and if he’s in trouble, so is she. And the bond, so much panic, pain, fear, grief, and now nothing. I’m cut off from both of them.
A void.
A hole.
Terror and agonizing fear.
“Hunter, please,” I hiss as he weaves through traffic, moving far too slowly.
Hunter puts his foot down as we drive towards the reservoir. I’m really glad that we send messages to each other, letting the others know where we’re going to be.
When we get onto that road that leads to the reservoir, my fear spikes, and all I can do to stay in the seat and not lunge through the window, trying to make the car move faster.
I’m terrified of what I might find.
We get around a bend, and up ahead are lights, blue and red, flashing across a hellish landscape. The sirens are so loud, and my brain can’t take in what I’m seeing. I can’t see it enough to make sense of it.
Metal twisted in the road, like the hand of a giant has plunked it down and put it there. The fire engines are spraying the cars down, leaving water and foam all over the road. But one twisted metal frame is a smoldering wreck.
I can’t see the colour of the cars. I can’t tell.
“Saint, calm down!” Hunter shouts.
I realise he’s stopped the car, and I’m losing it. I’m crying, and I can’t stop. This is my worst nightmare. I race towards the lights, but I’m caught by two police officers.
“The guy, the omega…my pack!” I manage to stutter out.
The police exchange looks. “Are you the alphas? Is this your pack?”
“They were going there…Oli Crow and Bethany Raines. Oh, shit, oh, fuck.” I look at the vehicles, mangled in the middle of the road, and double over, breathing hard and gagging. “Are they alive? Please, are they alive?”
“I’m sorry, alpha, but we can’t answer that. You need to go to the hospital.”
“What happened?” I howl. “How did this happen?”
I whip around, but Hunter grips my shoulders and holds me still.
“The number plate of the car is EFY321M, and it’s registered to Dale Hunter. Is that my car?”
The cops exchange a look and nod shortly.
“Which hospital?” Hunter asks in a numb voice. He sounds so far away.
“Melrose Ewen.”
I turn and sprint for the car, Hunter just a few feet behind me.
The drive takes us forever, but then we’re in the hallway with a doctor up against the wall.
“Oli Crow is in surgery right now.”
“He’s alive?” I bark out, my chest tightening.
“Yes, at the moment, he’s critical. He turned the vehicle to protect his passenger, so he took the brunt of the damage.”
I close my eyes. “And our omega, Bethany Raines?”
At this, the doctor’s expression closes off.
My stomach sinks, and I have to fight the urge to cry out. “Is she dead?”
“I’m not at liberty to say, Alpha. You aren’t officially a pack or family.”
“What?” Hunter breathes. “She’s been living with us, she’s ours-”
“But not yet in paper, not recorded, there are no bonds. I have to follow the law, so I can’t release that information.”
The doctor escapes and leaves us standing in the hallway feeling helpless. I’m not good at this part. I need to do something, organise something. But I force myself to follow Hunter to a pair of plastic seats and drop heavily into one.
Hunter cradles his head, his shoulders shaking. I put a hand on his back and intently watch everyone who walks past, hoping that it will be someone with information.
My brain is a frazzled mess, and all I keep thinking is how did this happen?
And then I see someone I don’t expect to see. Kelly Raines is tall and golden bronze with a thick mane of hair tied in a man bun. He walks with two men on either side of him. He radiates power and calm, the sort of alpha who would be a leader even amongst alphas.
I stand up, and his eyes flick to me. All the power of a man who can have anything he wants, do anything he wants, is there in his eyes as he sizes me up, and then it’s gone. He holds out his hand.
“You must be Saint. My cousin Ryn called me since I was the closest. I got here as soon as I could. These are my pack mates, Ezy and Gael.”
I duck my head at them but stay focused on Kelly.
“They won’t tell us anything,” my voice breaks on the last note, and he reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder. I don’t deserve it.
We don’t deserve their kindness.
“I’ll find a doctor and find out.”
He walks away, and I turn to watch him. He’s nothing like the surfer I’ve been told to expect. I’d expected someone more laid back, but Kelly is more like the alphas I’ve met running multimillion dollar companies.
He returns a few minutes later with a doctor, who looks at us and smiles.
“I’ve got family permission now. I can tell you that Bethany is fine. She has a concussion and a sprained wrist and will be a bit banged up and bruised…but your alpha Oli kept her safe. Remarkable. He must have had a mere second to choose. That’s what a pack is made of.”
I stare at the doctor, hearing the words like they aren’t ripping my world apart.
She loves us, and we…we love her. I grasp my chest, feeling the magnitude of our stupidity.
“I need to see her!” I demand.
Hunter echoes my words and reaches out to grasp my hand.
The doctor nods and leads us into a ward. He points to a room, and I look at it and back at him. I’m scared to go in, terrified to stay out. I force my feet to move.
Hunter’s beside me, and it’s only because of that I’m able to keep it together.
We get past the curtain, and I see her. She’s bruised and looks so tiny in the bed. She’s asleep, but as soon as I see her, I reach out and grip her hand, holding it tight. I’m careful not to jostle her other arm, which is already wrapped up.
“Are you sure she’s all right?” I turn my head, anxiously watching the doctor as Kelly moves in, staring down at her face intently.
“She’ll be fine. She’s in excellent hands,” The doctor says with a smile.
“And Oli? And news about him?”
The doctor inhales and holds it. “Not yet. They are still working on him.”
I put my head down, burying my face in her hand, needing her scent to ground me.
“Saint,” Hunter says, his voice strained. I tighten my hold on his arm and pull him towards me.
“He’s going to be fine. Crow is a fighter. He survived everything.”
Kelly glances at Ezy and Gael, who silently slide from the room, leaving the three of us together.
“I believe my mother is on the way, and I’m not ready to face the mess I left behind yet. Tell Bethany when she wakes up that I’m glad to see how well she’s doing. Next time, I’ll make sure she’s not injured when I visit.”
Kelly leans down and whispers something to his stepsister, and then, with a smile, he exits the room.
An hour later, the Raines explode into the room. Auggie has red-rimmed eyes, Wayne grabs Hunter and demands explanations, Sol takes her other hand so gently it makes my throat tighten, and then the old beta starts to hum.
I recognise Ryn, but there’s a blond about the same age who is arm in arm with Auryn.
“Lia,” Charles says. “That’s Lia. Those three, Locke, Ryn, and Lia were close growing up. My boys were older, but Bethany was best friends with my son Raider.”
I stay silent.
“Kelly was here.”
It’s not a question. I glance at him. His eyes close in pain.
“Damn kid. I always miss him. Did he look all right?”
“He has two people he calls pack, Ezy and Gael, but they look good, strong, solid. He’s a kind man, you can see it in his eyes,” I admit, wanting somehow to lessen the pain in this alpha’s eyes.
For some reason, this makes Charle’s eyes tear up. “Good…that’s good. What about Oli?”
I shake my head. We’ve had no word yet, and every moment is killing me.
Charles puts a hand on my back.
“Alpha Raines, I am so sorry-”
“No!” Charles says, cutting me off. “None of that. She loves you, and I can see how you feel about her. Besides, that young man fighting for his life saved her. The doctor who called us told us what the police said. He turned the vehicle to protect her.”
I swallow hard, loving Crow so much in this moment, acknowledging that I’ve loved that alpha since the day I met him. He’s been my brother, my best friend, my lover, my family, my companion, and my teammate.
I look at Hunter, seeing the knowledge in his eyes, too. Hunter…who has been my shadow, a step behind me, watching my back, looking after us, feeding us. Hunter, who always seems to know what we need before the rest of us do. Why didn’t I realise what this was?
“It’s going to be okay,” Charles says and pats my back.
“How do you know?” I ask him.
“Because I will allow nothing less. I am, after all, Charles Raines. Nothing and no one can stop me.”
I exchange a puzzled glance with Hunter, but he soon refocuses on Bethany’s face.
She wakes up twenty minutes later. Wayne and Auggie squeeze in on the other side, while Hunter, Charles, and I take up one side, and Sol the end of the bed.
She looks around, and her eyes find mine.
“Bethany, you’re all right. It’s okay. You’re safe now.” I try to keep my voice as low and comforting as I can.
She blinks, and I hate the swollen bruises that are forming. She moans and opens her jaw gingerly.
Her fingers cling to mine, growing in strength as the moments tick by. She searches the room, and then looks back up at me, her eyes wide with panic.
“Where’s Crow?” her voice comes out a croak. “Where’s Oli?”
I open my mouth, but I don’t have words.
“Where’s OLI?” she shouts, her voice breaking. She starts sobbing and pulls her hands free of mine. She grabs at the IV lines, ripping them out of her arms.
Wayne and Hunter grab her at the same time, trying to protect her injured arm, but she thrashes, crying out louder.
“He’s alive? Tell me he’s alive!”
“He’s fine. He’s going to be just fine,” Wayne says, and I look at him sharply. If Crow doesn’t make it, she will never forgive him, and I can see that he realises it.
“Hunter, get in the bed,” I snap. “Omega, stop. You need to calm down.”
My bark drags her into obedience. Even if she wanted to, she has no way to fight me. The doctors arrive in a rush, and we all step back while they put her IVs back in. I see the doctors whisper, and then a drug is pushed into the line.
Hunter crawls up on the bed, wrapping himself carefully around her. “I’m not going to leave you. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyes are so swollen she almost can’t see, and her lip has split and is oozing again.
“He will be alone. He can’t be alone,” she whispers.
I glance at the others and nod. “He won’t be. I’ll be with him.”
She lets out a low, sad little whine, and then collapses into unconsciousness again.
“Saint-” Hunter begins.
“I’ll bring you news if I hear anything.” With only a slight hesitation, I lean down and press my lips against his ear. “I love you, Hunter.” It’s the first time I’ve ever said it to him, but it’s the truest thing I’ve ever said. I refuse to acknowledge his surprise, just quickly leave the room. Charles catches me by the arm outside and hauls me back.
I’m suddenly in the arms of a mature alpha. He hugs me. All the strength and warmth I’ve been missing all my life. All my childhood of being the protector and being strong, and this is what was missing.
This is my darkest moment, but I’m not alone.
“It’s going to be okay,” He says and strokes my back.
I find myself clinging to his shirt, the material clenched in my fists as I sob into his shoulder, and this alpha, the father of my omega, holds me and keeps all my shattered pieces from collapsing.
“Come on, let’s go sit and wait for your alpha to get out of surgery.”
We walk together, but he stays close, and he fields all questions and interactions, and when we get to the waiting chairs outside the emergency department, he sits beside me, his giant hand wrapped tightly over mine.
We wait for hours, but finally, close to midnight, a surgeon comes out and smiles at us in exhaustion.
I stand up and reach for Charles. His hand finds mine and tightens. I stare at the surgeon, trying to discern any news from his facial expressions, but I don’t know. I can’t tell.
Oh, god. Please. Please.
The surgeon stops in front of us.
And smiles. “We saved him.”