Chapter 42
A hand closed over my mouth and nose, jolting me out of sleep, a bolt of panic electrifying me down to my toes.
Andrew stared down at me, his eyes hard and cruel. “You selfish little cunt.”
My heart rate skyrocketed, the monitor beeping frantically. I tried to pry his hand away, clawing desperately, my lungs already burning as my pounding heart rapidly used up my oxygen. Why was he here? Where was my pack? I glanced over at where the baby was sleeping in the hospital bassinet right next to my bed, needing to reassure myself she was safe.
“You just had to interfere, didn’t you? Were you ever going to sign the fucking papers? She won’t leave if there’s another baby. You’re not going to ruin this for me.”
Black spots danced in my vision.
“Don’t you fucking pass out before you give me what I want.” He freed me to suck in one breath and before I could use it to scream, his hand slammed back down. Andrew grabbed my hand that wasn’t attached to an IV and shoved a pen into it, bringing it down to a clipboard on my lap. “Sign those and I’ll let you breathe.”
“ Andrew , what are you doing here?” Charlotte’s stunned voice echoed behind him. “Oh my god! What are you doing? Let her go!”
Charlotte threw herself at him, trying to pull him away, but he shoved her away, making her trip over the chair behind her. The tussle had him letting go of me, and my shriek of a panic sent nurses running in.
Charlotte wrapped her arms around Andrew, trying to drag him away from me. She’d stayed at the pack house with her children overnight while I was in the hospital. I hadn’t expected to see her again.
“Get him out!”
“Security!”
Andrew tried to push through them, but Micah filled the doorway, blocking his way. “What the fuck are you doing here? I told you what would happen if you came after my family again.”
Andrew moved faster than I realized he could, throwing a punch at Micah. My alpha dodged it and dropped the water he’d been carrying to snare Andrew by the back of the neck, bringing his head down at the same time he brought his knee up. The crunch made me queasy and Andrew dropped to the ground, cradling his face.
Micah swerved around him and cupped my face, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Ava, are you all right?”
“Micah,” I called out, breaking into a relieved sob. “Don’t let him go near the baby.”
Andrew rose up like a vengeful demon, tackling Micah. My alpha caught himself with a grunt before Andrew’s weight would have made him crush me, and wrestled him out into the hallway.
I scooped up my daughter as the two alphas fought. Cradling my baby to my chest, I whispered to her. “It’s okay. Mama’s here. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
I kept my face tucked down as security got involved, the shouting growing louder, turning into a din in my ears. My baby girl wailed over the commotion.
“I know, baby. I know. I’m sorry.”
“Jesse, take the kids!” Luke shouted from the hallway, and then more yelling from a handful of voices.
Charlotte wrapped her arms around me. “I’m right here, Ava. Security’s got him and your pack is here.”
Micah dropped to his knees at my bedside a moment later. He had the start of a black eye but otherwise seemed relatively unscathed.
“Where were you?” I cried, burrowing into Micah’s arms with the baby still clutched to my chest.
“Angel, I’m so sorry. I just stepped away to grab some water. The nearest machine was broken so I had to go to the next one. I had no idea he was here.”
“Where is everyone?”
“They’re with my kids,” said Charlotte. “They all went to the cafeteria to get some lunch. I’m sorry. I had no idea Andrew was coming here.”
“How did he find me?”
“I didn’t tell him where you were, I swear,” said Charlotte before she burst into tears right alongside me. “I did tell him I wanted a divorce, though. I didn’t think he would come here. We have trackers in the kids’ shoes for safety. He probably used that and saw that we had been at this hospital.”
Micah cradled me, kissing my hair.
Jesse stepped into the crowded hospital room, Charlotte’s youngest in his arms, and the elder holding his hand. He passed them both over to their mother and wedged his way in, wrapping me and our daughter in his arms. “Are you okay? We felt the bond going haywire and almost had to flatten some people to get out of the cafeteria line. What happened?”
“Andrew tried to force me to sign adoption papers.” I hiccuped, pressing my forehead to my daughters. “He wouldn’t let me breathe.”
“What the fuck? Sweetness, I’m so sorry. If we had any idea he was here, we’d have all been here guarding the door.”
“Okay, I need everyone to back up,” Janessa said as she swept into the room. “Ava, I’m going to give you a quick check-over. Are you hurt? Did anything happen we need to know about to treat?”
“My lips hurt. He pressed them really hard into my teeth. And my throat aches.” They weren’t going to be able to do anything for the little splits inside my lip, and he hadn’t choked me so my throat wasn’t hurt, just achy.
Janessa started going through my vitals.
“Fuck, angel.” Micah sighed. “I thought you and the baby would be fine if I stepped away for a couple minutes. I should have waited.”
“He was probably watching, waiting for you to leave,” said Charlotte. “I can’t believe he got here so quickly. He must have gone to the airport as soon as he read my message.”
“There’s a pretty hefty punishment for omega assault, especially when they’re in a vulnerable situation like you are,” said Janessa. “Security is detaining Andrew Lawson until the police arrive. They’ll want to take your statement. Is that all right?”
“I guess so.”
“He went down swinging, caught a half dozen staff in the crossfire, so the hospital will likely be pressing charges.”
The police arrived not too much later. They took a statement from me, and from Charlotte since she had been the only other person to partially witness what Andrew had done to me, and then talked to all of my pack and the nurses in the area. My alphas took turns sitting with me and distracting Charlotte’s children while the police were doing their tasks.
Every minute sucked away my energy, leaving me exhausted.
“Sweetness, did you want anything to eat? I abandoned my spot in line so I never got you the treat I’d been planning on.”
“Just something to drink, please.”
After all the commotion had come and gone, I sat quietly with them, the silence oppressive, like everyone was afraid to speak. I accepted the cranberry juice and ginger ale Jesse had located for me, staring at my daughter cradled in Bryce’s arms.
“How are you feeling about coming home?” Luke asked.
“I’m very ready for my own bed.”
“Do you want to register the name for the birth certificate before you leave?” asked Janessa. “Or are you still struggling to pick?”
“Nothing I think of feels right,” I replied. My baby still had no name. I’d hoped she’d make it easier on me and react to one more than another so I’d been testing names by calling her each one, but none of them fit her the way I wanted.
“You have time,” Janessa told me. “You’re free to head home as soon as the police are finished up. I signed off on your discharge. Just make sure you register the name within ten days.”
I stayed huddled up with my pack, Charlotte, and her two children, who stared at me curiously. I hadn’t officially met them yet. Maybe that would be a good distraction for all of us while the police completed their interviews. They both seemed relatively relaxed, so maybe they hadn’t seen their father in all the commotion.
“Charlotte,” I said quietly.
She startled, turning toward me. “Yes?”
“Would you like to introduce us?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” She moved stiffly, her small smile not reaching her eyes.
It was already absolutely surreal for me to experience Andrew this way. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was for her to see what he would stoop to. They had checked her over as well, but luckily she only had some bruising from her fall that should heal quickly. She ushered both of her sons over to my hospital bed, my pack parting to let them get a view of the baby. “Boys, this is Ava and your little sister. Ava, these are my sons, Samson and Oliver. They usually go by Sammy and Ollie.”
Ollie thrust out his hand for a very grown-up handshake that made me smile at how serious his face was. “Does our sister have a name?”
“Not quite yet,” I replied. “We’re still picking a favorite.”
“Is she going to come live with us?” Sammy asked his mother.
“No, honey. She’s going to stay with Ava and her pack at the lovely house where we slept last night.”
“Oh.” Sammy quirked his head at the baby. “How is she our sister if you’re not her mommy?”
Charlotte swallowed hard. “Sometimes that’s just how it works. I’ll explain it to you when you’re a bit older.”
Ollie pouted. “That’s no fair. I wanna know now.”
“You have to be patient,” Charlotte told him. “Mommy will tell you when she’s ready. Are you excited to go back to the nice house?”
“Yeah!” The boys flung their arms into the air, their shrieks of delight to follow quickly muffled by Charlotte’s hands so they didn’t startle the entire ward. I smiled. She knew her boys well.
Luke left to get the car seat, everyone else waiting with me. I had heard of the hot dad walk, but as Luke lovingly tucked our daughter into the car seat and carried her off ahead of the group, I gained a whole new appreciation for him. Jesse pushed me in one of the wheelchairs, while Bryce and Micah walked the boys down, the children excitedly swinging their joined hands. Charlotte walked at my side, looking like she was doing her best not to cry. I reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
The trip home was blessedly uneventful. Charlotte took her boys out by the pool to work off some energy, and my pack took over baby care.
Jesse carried me up to the nursery. “Would you like to shower or sleep?”
“A shower sounds like heaven.”
“Who do you want besides me to assist?”
“Is it needy of me if I say everyone?”
“Not at all.” Jesse kissed the top of my head. A few quick texts was all it took to get the rest of my pack into the bathroom with me. Micah blew up a donut-shaped pillow for me, he and Jesse helping lower me onto it on the shower bench.
I closed my eyes and let them wash my hair and body. Luke cradled our sleeping baby, hovering nearby while the rest of the pack scrubbed me down. I felt their love in every touch. The affection flowing freely down the bonds filled up everything Andrew had hollowed out.
My pack was here.
My baby was safe.
I was safe.
As I stared at Luke holding our daughter, another name floated up. “What do we all think of Lucy?” I asked quietly, my gaze flicking between her sleeping face and Luke’s. “I think she’d like being named after one of her daddies.”
Luke swallowed hard, tears instantly making his eyes shiny. “You’d name her after me ?”
“Only if you want me to.”
“Fuck, yes.” He clutched us to him, keeping the baby out of the water spray, but getting soaked himself. “I love you so fucking much.”
“In a different life she would have been yours from the start.” I kissed him softly. “She always should have been yours. And now she is.”