Chapter 10
Ten
Jarek
Silas wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses between my shoulder blades. "It's only the first night."
I grunt and shift back from the staircase. The last thing I want is for Silas to fall down the stairs. "Don't care," I mutter, glaring down into the low lighting of the staircase.
"He needs space and rest," Silas adds.
Grinding my teeth together, I work to stifle my concerns for the alpha in our basement. "It's been hours. He needs to eat. Kade's food will help his healing."
"I showed him where to find food in the kitchen down there. He probably just needs some space."
I huff. The food down there is fucking garbage. Snacks at best. I have half a mind to throw fucking meatballs down the stairs so Riot will eat something better than granola bars and water.
"Jarek, you need to rest too," Silas admonishes, giving me an extra squeeze. "We've been going for over a week. Go shower, or help Kade with dinner. Anything but isolating yourself from us, please?"
"It's hardly isolating when Kade is less than ten feet away from me checking out my ass while I stand here," I joke, but it's true. I can feel Kade's worried gaze on me every few minutes while I stand here waiting for our guest to join us for dinner.
Releasing me, Silas rubs his hands down my sides. "Vivie needs us, Jay."
I turn around and find my girl sitting on the kitchen island with a blanket wrapped around her. She's looking this way, but she's not watching me. She's waiting for Riot.
"She does, but she also needs him. I should go get him," I rumble, ready to stomp down there, grab Riot by the ear, and make him get his ass up here.
"Jarek," Silas hisses and grabs my arm. "You already tried that. Go love on our woman, please."
Vivian sniffles, sending urgency down my spine. I brush past Silas and rush to my omega. "Hi, Butterfly. You okay? Stupid question. Here, eat this." I lift an orange slice to her chapped lips.
She turns her head away, making me frown. I haven't seen her eat anything since a few grapes on the way home when we were all snacking. Maybe the painkillers are making her feel sick.
"Okay," I whisper, pulling a tube of chapstick from my back pocket and gently tugging her chin back to face me. "Let me take care of you."
Vivie's eyes glitter with unshed tears, and her bottom lip wobbles as I drag the moisture over it. Nonsense spills from my lips, which quickly turns into soft humming along with Kade's cooking music. Anything to fill the silence and drown out the bad thoughts in her mind.
A bottle of lotion is set beside me, so I lotion her hands, trying to be careful of the faded bruises on one of them. I can't find it in myself to be mad at Riot for crushing one of them, knowing she got in the way of his violent breakdown.
"Vivie, we need to have a talk about how precious you are," I grumble and see Kade stiffen at the stove. "You do realize how tiny you are right? Like I'm almost positive your bones are half the size of mine."
Silas groans and slams one of the fridges closed. I see the warning in his eyes, but his mouth shifts the energy. "I can't stand the thought of trying to reassure you that you aren't fat, Jay. Maybe eat a salad if you're so worried about your...big bones."
Kade snorts and drags our beta toward him with a hard kiss on the lips. When I glance back at Vivian, I see she's frowning down at her hands. I can't remember when she pulled them from my grip.
My stomach drops when I see her mouthing the word precious. Does she really not believe it?
"I'm not precious," she mutters. The anger flaring in the bond shocks me. "I survived. Is that all you see? How bony and bruised I am? I still stood every time! Even after getting stabbed!"
"Whoa, little Omega," Kade interjects, ditching his spaghetti sauce to stand beside me. "He wasn't saying you're weak. Just that we need you to be careful with yourself for our sakes."
She's fuming, practically vibrating on the counter. "I was careful!"
"You most definitely were not," Kade grits out. I know he's holding back all the awful feelings we've been battling with since we rescued her bleeding form from the side of the road.
She opens her mouth to spit some fire, but Kade places his hands on either side of her face.
"You were not careful, but that doesn't mean you weren't super fucking brave and strong.
You can be five-foot-four and be a spicy feral woman too.
Okay? We're not taking that away from you.
But we're damn horrified by what happened.
You are small. You are a warrior. All of it can be true. "
Her jaw clamps shut, and even with the anger pouring off her, her eyes well with more tears. Still she doesn't say anything, but she does nod.
"Our warrior princess," Silas praises, coming up beside me with a meatball on a fork. "Who hasn't eaten all day. If you want your next dose of painkillers, you need something in your stomach."
"Nonnegotiable," Kade adds and slants his mouth over hers to halt her denial. "Just a few bites at least, please," he whispers when he pulls away.
Sighing, Vivian nods and presses her forehead against his chest. If it were mine she was snuggling up to, she would feel my thundering heartbeat. I made her mad enough to fucking shout at me. My first mistake was not thinking before I spoke, and she reacted without thought.
We'll need to slow down for a while in order to find our equilibrium again.
I'm just so damn sorry I made her feel like I only see her daintiness. Silas is right. She's our warrior princess.