ELIANO #2
"Right, you were unconscious. They started pounding on the door, looking through the windows, trying to break them, but it turned out the windows are solid, armored glass."
"But how did it happen that…"
Salt keeps grinning. "We were joined for a good five minutes before they finally brought Bram. During that time, the bleeding slowly started to stop. I saw it with my own eyes, and I could breathe again."
"Wow… So… it really works? Joining?" I choke out, stunned. I can’t quite wrap my head around it. What powerful magic.
"Of course it does. And as soon as they got in, they separated us. It was awkward. I told them they should leave us like that, but I think they felt uncomfortable seeing us literally stuck together. So the process isn’t finished yet.
We still have ugly, barely closed wounds, but it’s nothing one night of proper Joining won’t fix. "
Salt flashes that wide smile again.
I shake my head. It all sounds like a fairy tale.
"Incredible, is regeneration really that powerful?"
"Apparently so," he says. "As strange as it sounds, it literally pulled us back from the edge of the grave."
"Fuck. A miracle," I murmur, staring up at the ceiling as if the answer might be written there. Then another thought crashes into me. Drax. What happened to him?
Before I can ask, the door opens and a nurse steps inside. He’s a beta I vaguely recognize. He gives us an overly sweet smile from the doorway.
"Oh, you’re awake already. That’s wonderful," he says, coming over to check something on my IV.
"Is… that really necessary?" I mumble, eyeing him warily.
"Oh yes. You needed a transfusion. We had to draw blood quickly from donors. Luckily, several alphas had your blood type."
That surprises me. "Wait, so… how long was I unconscious?"
The nurse sighs. "A few hours. You lost a lot of blood."
I catch Salt’s gaze and swallow. I thought his wounds were worse, but it turns out mine were just as dangerous. I was already dying when we went into Joining.
Those were literally our last seconds to act.
For a moment, a strange tightness grips my chest. We both brushed against death.
My parents died like this, but in their case… They never got the chance to heal. The awareness of how lucky we were feels unreal. It hasn’t sunk in yet, but maybe I should value life more now. It’s like a second chance.
I glance at Salt again. There’s something in his eyes as he looks at me that’s hard to read. Could it be something like… tenderness?
The nurse checks a few more machines behind my head.
"Doctor Cooper will be here shortly," he adds, "but we’d like to keep you at least a few days here, just to be safe."
I don’t say anything. My mind is still in that dazed state, aware of how close I came to the end of my story in this world.
"There are people who’d like to talk to you," the nurse adds suddenly. "You’re stable enough, so the doctor would allow it."
With that same sugary smile, he heads for the door.
Before I can respond, Bashir and Fred appear in the doorway.
I blink in surprise. What are they doing here? We’re friends, but they’re not exactly obligated to visit patients in the hospital.
"Good to see you in one piece," Bashir says with a tight expression as he comes up to my bed.
I offer him my hand, which he shakes. Fred moves toward Salt.
"Uh… thanks. For now, we’re still around," I mutter awkwardly.
"I wanted to let you know," Bashir starts, "that we’re leaving the island, along with several other couples. Enough is enough."
Silence settles over the room. Fred sits down on the edge of Salt’s bed, his head lowered.
The tension in the air is thick.
"I’m not even asking why," I mutter.
"Yeah. I still can’t believe how insanely lucky Fred and I were.
We got home and found our washing machine knocked over in front of the secret bathroom door.
Drax came to our place first, but we were out for a walk.
A miracle. He got tired of waiting and came to you instead.
We were one step away from sharing your fate. "
"Oh, fuck," Salt mutters. "Good thing you went for that walk!"
It dawns on me that if Drax had shot them, they wouldn’t have had any way to regenerate. That would have been the end for them. No wonder it hit them hard.
That reminds me of the question burning in the back of my mind. "What about that bastard?"
Before Bashir can react, Salt perks up instantly. "I’ve talked with the nurse before. Unbelievably, but that fucker survived too."
I turn my head toward him. "What? Three shots to the chest, and he lives?"
Bashir snorts grimly.
"He did take the bullets, but as a purple alpha, he has those bony plates along his ribs. Only one round went deeper into his guts."
With some difficulty I stop myself from a loud curse.
"Unreal! The freak slipped through," I growl. "What did they do with him?"
"They stabilized him here, then transferred him to a city hospital on the mainland under police escort," Bashir adds bitterly. "With purple alpha regeneration, he’ll be fine in two days."
"Bastard," I snap. "He tried to kill four people!"
I lift my free hand to rub my face and feel a sharp pull in my shoulder. Salt is right. The wound is barely closed, and the muscles around it still ache like hell.
Fred speaks up, his voice heavy. "He’s under arrest for attempted murder, so he won’t be walking free anytime soon. Still, Bashir and I are done with this damn island. It’s too much." His lips press into a thin line, and I can’t blame him.
"But how did he even get here?"
"He must have snuck onto the island somehow. Their security really is garbage," Bashir mutters.
Salt snorts and looks up at the ceiling. "If you can escape the island on a ferry, you can get back onto it too."
Bashir crosses his arms. "And Drax made no secret of wanting revenge on everyone during questioning by the BA oversight board. He was furious. He lost a comfortable position here, and he made sure people knew it."
"Comfortable position?" Fred snaps suddenly, his face pale. "Occupation: medical rapist."
He drops his gaze quickly, but it’s obvious how much rage is boiling inside him.
A heavy silence falls.
"So, yeah. I don’t feel sorry for him," Fred adds darkly, staring out the window.
"Neither do I," Salt adds. "He literally went on a killing spree."
I decide to shift the tone. "So where are you both heading?"
"That’s still up in the air," Bashir replies. "Either another center, or back to my house, which is currently rented out. Once the tenants are gone, we can return. We’ll decide within the next two weeks."
Fred opens his mouth to add something, but Doctor Cooper walks into the room.
"All right, time for us to go. Glad to see you’re holding up," Bashir says, stepping aside.
"Thanks for coming by," I add awkwardly. "And… I’m glad you went for that walk."
"You took those bullets for us," Fred murmurs. "I hope you recover quickly, and that the bastard stays in prison for a long time."
When Bashir and Fred leave, Salt sighs and speaks in a dark tone.
"I didn’t want to bring that up in front of them, but the nurse told me that Drax insisted he’d been treated horribly and maintained his innocence.
He blamed Sidorov the most and stated he would never force himself on betas without their green light and consent forms with signatures.
He had lost his only job, which, with his monstrous looks, was precious to him. "
Doctor Cooper checks something on the machine behind Salt, and I add in a low voice.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if Sidorov was the main person behind it all. You know purple alphas aren’t exactly geniuses. There had to be a mastermind pulling the strings."
For a moment I stare at the IV line in my arm.
Unexpectedly, the doctor, who keeps checking some readings, mutters.
"I also heard about Drax’s case. He can’t live among normal people because of his pheromones. They trigger extreme reactions. He can’t take suppressants because he goes into anaphylactic shock, and he’s allergic to deodorants."
"Well, he looks like a monster and smells like one, so I can imagine it’s practically impossible for him to live outside, but still.
He should take a closer look at what’s going on here.
He surely saw that the betas weren’t happy.
If he had talked to them instead of just going for a fuck, he might have realized Sidorov was blackmailing them. "
Salt sighs. "True, but as you said, purple alphas are not known for their brainpower. He just dumbly went with the flow. And now he dumbly went for revenge on us. Because of what? Why not Sidorov first?"
"Well, maybe Sidorov’s in prison? And we were easier targets. I exposed their dirty operation, and Bashir humiliated him in front of all the participants. It was like the last nail in his coffin. He took it all out on us."
Doctor Cooper suddenly speaks. "Luckily it’s all behind us, and I’m pleased to see you in better condition," he says, checking one of the machines.
Then he turns to me, and there's a hint of satisfaction in his voice as he says, "By the way, while you were unconscious, we removed the metal rod from your back. It was practically starting to push through the skin on its own."
"Seriously? I’m finally free of that damn thing?" I can hardly believe it. After all these years of carrying that symbol of my captivity and dependence on Anzo, I’m free?
"Yes. We managed to take it out without any bleeding. Your body was basically rejecting it."
"Wow… that’s great news," I mutter, a wave of unbelievable relief washing through me. That chapter of my life is closed for good.
And it feels incredible…
Then the doctor turns toward Salt.
"And you. Are you feeling okay? No bleeding?" he asks Salt in a lowered voice, slightly leaning toward him.
Something tightens in my chest at the words, and I dart a glance toward Salt. A terrible thought pierces my mind.
"What about the baby? Did he survive?" The question comes out more agitated than I intended.