Chapter 23
I’d been drifting in and out of sleep, not allowing myself to pass out in the short time that passed between them leaving and Kyan walking in with an older Beta woman. She approached, face stiff, hands clasping a briefcase in front of her.
“Let’s see what we’re working with,” she announced, heading directly for the bed. I sat up, and the towel slid down, baring my body.
Kyan straightened, a growl leaving his lips.
The doctor stopped mid-step, but my focus was on Kyan as he pulled the knit sweater over his head.
He wore a dress shirt, the collar of which lifted as he took the knitted garment off.
In a few strides, he was next to me, pulling it over my head.
I didn’t bother fighting him and stuck my hands through the sleeves.
I breathed in as if I could get a hint of his scent.
Kyan retreated, nodding at the doctor and standing near the door, arms folded across his chest. As she approached, I rolled the long sleeve to my elbow and stuck it out.
She placed her briefcase on the bed and popped it open. Neat compartments divided the inside, each with a flap to keep whatever contents in each section. She began to unwind the bandage. My mind wandered as she checked my arm, prodding and humming.
I met Kyan’s squinted, focused gaze.
“Does this hurt?” She pressed into my palm, and it sent a zap through my arm. I bit my lip mid-whimper.
“Careful,” Kyan snapped, the order abrupt and startling. The doctor jumped from the volume.
“What’s going on?” Elias’ familiar voice echoed.
The door swung open to show Sinclair and Elias hovering in the hallway. They’d been there the entire time?
Unbelievable.
I didn’t bother saying anything.
“She might have a deep enough cut to damage some nerves in the wrist.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, stealing my breath away. I looked at Kyan before I could control my reaction. His eyebrows were furrowed, mouth pinched, but when I looked at him, he softened, offering me comfort.
I yanked my attention back to the doctor who wound a fresh bandage around my arm.
“Everything looks superficial.” She cleared her throat.
“Except for that small part near the wrist. Acetaminophen and antibiotics for now. Keep an eye on the wounds for any pus-like discharge. I recommend you get a tetanus shot as well.”
“You didn’t bloody bring one?” Sinclair snapped, shaking his head.
“There was limited information conveyed to me about . . . the situation.” The doctor’s tone remained level.
Sinclair scoffed, but his irritation faded into the background. I couldn’t let go of how unfazed she was.
The bed dipped under Kyan’s weight, and his hand found mine. I didn’t have the energy to push him away.
She finished bandaging my arm, opened some more compartments from the briefcase, and pulled out four extra bandages still in plastic wrap, a bottle of pills, and an ointment. After placing it to the side, she clipped the latches back in place.
Kyan remained at my side, holding my hand in a tight grip. I . . . didn’t care. I watched everything through a foggy lens.
“Ma’am?”
The doctor had been talking to me for a while. I rubbed my eyes and met hers. She had blue impersonal ones. “Anything else?”
“No,” Kyan answered, squeezing my hand. “I’ll contact you if there is.”
She nodded curtly and straightened, leaving the three Alphas to watch over me.
They hovered, still not speaking. It pissed me off, to be honest, and the flare of anger pushed me through the veil of detachment clinging to me.
I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth.
“Is our deal still on?”
Kyan tensed beside me. I turned toward Sinclair.
“Hello? Are any of you going to answer?” A flame of my rage simmered under the numbness. “Is. Our. Deal. Still—”
Kyan pressed his finger over my lips. “No, Briar.”
I jerked my chin to the side.
“What does that mean?”
“We’ll grab some more things to keep you comfortable,” he whispered.
My heart jumped. Their lack of answer was an answer in itself.
“You already knew what I was to you, so you can’t go and change your plan now.”
“Yes, we can,” Sinclair murmured, raising a single brow.
I glared at all of them, settling on Elias.
“Fuck,” Elias shouted, hands slicing through his hair. He turned, storming down the hall and out of view. What was his problem?
Sinclair scoffed and shook his head.
He dipped, his mouth nearing mine. I pulled away, and his lips touched my cheek. Instead of retreating because I avoided him, he lingered, pressing harder to my skin. Before I could shove him, he was retreating, that stupid smirk on his face.
“Rest up, you’ll need it.”
What did that mean?
I stayed sitting, braced against the headboard with my eyes sealed. Sleeping had been a struggle. Fuck, breathing had been a struggle. I couldn’t keep track of how many days it’d been.
“Eat,” Elias repeated gruffly, hovering near the end of the bed. He’d come in and placed a plate beside me, hosting a bagel, cream cheese, and fresh fruit on the side. “Come now, Briar. Fucking eat.”
Before I could conceptualize getting up, I was already on my feet.
“Get out,” I snarled, shoving at Elias’ chest. He staggered back, his chest heaving, eyes wide and filling with panic. “Get out, you poor excuse of an Alpha,” I hissed and slammed the door in his face.
“Briar.” His voice came muffled by the slab of wood. “I’m sorry, Briar.”
“Prove it and leave me the fuck alone.”
I stayed silent, holding my breath. After several beats, the door remained shut. I returned to the bed, curling under the covers. I’d eat the fruit later.
I rotted in bed for days in this same position.
Arms and legs splayed, eyes on the ceiling.
The fog in my head was beginning to lift, my thoughts turning less sluggish as if I was coming back to life.
I sat up, and a few strands slipped loose from my ponytail.
How long had it been since I showered? Groaning, I scooted off the bed.
Bags lined the wall across the room. About ten medium-sized paper bags.
They’d been sitting there since Kyan and Sinclair brought them in yesterday.
I passed them without looking. The only thing I’d taken from everything they’d purchased was the thick, warm blue blanket, now bunched near the headboard.
Once I entered the bathroom, I turned on the shower and tugged Kyan’s sweater off, hanging it on the hook and placing the towel on top. I climbed into the tub, under the spray.
I exhaled, embracing the sensation of pelting water.
The door slammed open, and Sinclair yanked the curtain aside, his chest heaving. He scanned my body in quick, frantic sweeps.
He pulled on my arm, and water sprayed onto his shirt as he continued to study every inch of bare flesh.
“I’m not going to do it again,” I bit out, freeing my arm from his grip and covering my breasts with my arms.
Shame nipped at my gut. The initial pain that drove me to allow the shadows to win wouldn’t get me again.
I wouldn’t allow my emotions to drive me that low. Life may have seemed hopeless, but I was a fighter. I always had been.
Sinclair exhaled, his breathing leveling out.
Still, he didn’t leave, so I finished washing myself and dragged my body out of the shower, dried myself, and tugged Kyan’s shirt back on. I hated the comfort it brought me, but my Omega instinct wouldn’t allow me anything else.
I climbed under the blanket, ignoring Sinclair’s looming presence.