Everett
All six of us have been in the hospital overnight. We took turns sleeping on the couches and extra recliners the nurses brought in for us.
“Hello everyone,” an older male alpha in a white coat says, knocking on the open door. “My name is Dr. Abel. Are you guys the family of Edison Wade?”
“Yes,” Andi says, sandwiched between Cameron and Leo. “I’m his daughter. This is my pack.”
“Your father is stable for now,” Dr. Abel says, taking a seat across from us. “But, unfortunately, because he was unresponsive for an indeterminate amount of time, we want to keep him in a medically induced coma while he recovers.”
“Why—why did he collapse?” Andi asks, her voice surprisingly steady.
“He had a heart attack caused by an extreme, hormone-imbalance-induced version of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, colloquially known as broken-heart syndrome. We noticed he has rather extreme-looking severed bondmarks, and we believe that to be the cause.”
Andi makes a noise at the back of her throat that I can only compare to that of a kicked wolf-pup. A mix of devastation, hurt and feral fury.
Her perfume mirrors the intensity of that sound, carrying the bitter notes of her despair… But underneath, is the sour bite of simmering rage.
I understand why.
Not only has Gina stolen parts of Andi’s life she’ll never get back, but she’s stealing Andi’s father away from her too.
“Do you know what his chances are for a full recovery?” I ask, my voice tight.
I’m not sure whether I should be asking this question in front of Andi, while she’s in this fragile emotional state, but the last thing we should do is infantilize her and take away her autonomy, even if it’s with the intention of protecting her.
We should all know and understand the prognosis.
“It is... unclear. The risk of loss of brain function is always a possibility when the brain lacks oxygen for that long,” Dr. Abel says.
More broken sobs from Andi.
“How long will he be kept in the coma for?”
“It depends on the markers of recovery we’re able to see. For now, he will be receiving IV treatment for the hormone imbalances. The last thing we’d want is to wake him up prematurely, only for him to experience yet another episode.”
Well... fuck.
That revelation leaves me reeling.
If he’s going to be kept in a medically induced coma, it’s only a matter of time before Gina files another emergency petition claiming that he’s no longer fit to be Andi’s conservator.
And she’d win.
Because she’d be right. There’s no way he can be Andi’s conservator while in a coma.
“I will... leave you all to process. His room is right down the hall. We have arranged for a private room that will be covered by his insurance.. I will warn you, he is on a ventilator with a lot of equipment hooked up to him right now and the sight can be... distressing.” His gaze flicks towards Andi.
“You are free to stay in that room or this one, or move between them as you’d like. ”
“Thank you,” I say, my voice betraying my exhaustion.
The door clicks shut behind the doctor, leaving us to suffocate in the heavy tension of the room.
“Do you want to go see him?” Beck asks softly, reaching out to smooth some of Andi’s hair down.
“Y—yes,” Andi says between sniffles. “Please, can we go? I need—need to—I don’t know—” She shakes her head. “Even if he’s not going to wake up, I think—think hearing a heart monitor or something would help. He looked dead when he was—was—”
“That’s because he was,” Eli grunts. He rolls his shoulders as he stands, trying to ease the tightness from cramming himself on one of the little couches to try to get some sleep last night.
“Not helpful,” Beck hisses.
“Sorry,” Eli says, running a hand through his hair before tugging Andi into his side. “Stupid comment.”
“It’s—it’s okay,” she rasps. “Let’s just—just go see him.”
All six of us move down the hallway, trailing Andi like we’re following her into battle.
Leo hangs back by me, his brows drawn down in concern.
“We have a problem,” he murmurs, soft enough for only me to hear.
“I know,” I nod.
“How long do you think we can realistically keep things under wraps?”
“Probably not for long,” I sigh, scrubbing a hand down my face.
“The likelihood Gina has hired some sort of private investigator to keep an eye on Andi is high. Plus, there’s also the risk of anyone noticing and recognizing Beck in the hospital.
“And the last thing we’d want to do is force Beck to stay at home,” Leo sighs. “They need each other.”
Leo is right on that front, too. Beck’s hand is the one she’s holding as we all step into Edison’s hospital room.
He’s pale. He’s always been pale—maybe a product of the hormone imbalance from the medical condition sparked by Gina’s forced unbonding—but now? He might as well look like a vampire.
His chest rises and falls, but the tube down his throat, emerging from his mouth and connected to a loud machine by his bed, is a reminder that it’s artificial.
Could one of us have prevented this tragedy?
I’d been recognizing signs of fatigue in him over the past few weeks, but I’d thought it was related to the stress of the case.
Well, I guess this heart attack was also related to the stress of the case. He stood in a room with his ex bond-mate. Spoke to her. Looked her in the eye.
That would be a difficult task for anyone to do. Add in the traumatic, chemical unbonding, and it’s a wonder he’s managed to stay upright so long after the hearing.
“We need a plan,” Leo mutters. “And we need one fast.”
His comment isn’t a surprise, but the reminder combined with my own thought spiral, wondering whether I could’ve prevented Andi from feeling the pain and devastation she must be feeling right now, makes my own scent turn dark and overwhelming.
“What are you guys talking about?” Beck coughs, turning away from Edison to face Leo and I, hovering at the back of the room.
“Nothing,” Leo says with a wave.
I keep silent, my jaw clenched. I know if I utter a single syllable, they’ll be able to tell I’m one light breeze away from losing my shit in a way I haven’t since my father died.
“It’s not nothing,” Andi says, her gaze darting between Leo and I.
“Yeah, tell us. We deserve to know.”
“Not right now,” I bite out. “You should...”
I trail off. What can I even tell them to focus on? Andi’s unconscious, unresponsive father? The stale reality of the hospital room?
“Please don’t do this, Everett!” Andi bites out, throwing her hands up in the air. “Just—just tell us! Tell me! Don’t leave me in the dark about something that’s clearly affecting you.”
“Come here,” I snap. Shit. Too harsh. “Please.”
“I’m not a dog,” Andi huffs, that familiar snark emerging, despite the thick cloud of hopeless despair hanging in the room.
But despite her protests, she still makes her way to me until she has to tilt her head back to meet my gaze.
“Good girl,” I murmur. “Thank you.”
I rest my hands against her waist, needing to ground myself in her presence.
“Leo and I have come to the conclusion that we’re...”
“We’re fucked,” Leo finishes for me.
Eli and Beck’s heads jerk towards him. It’s an understandable reaction. Leo rarely curses like that.
“How so? Stop edging us and just spit it out,” Andi huffs.
“The moment Gina catches the faintest whiff that we’re all here in a hospital, she’s going to find out that Edison is in a coma. And then she’s going to file another emergency petition.”
That cloud of despair turns into the thickest fog imaginable. It hurts to breathe, the stressed notes of all of our scents mixing together.
“And it will be granted,” Cameron finishes for us. “Because the judge will have no choice. The likelihood Gina will be granted custody again will be high. Andi doesn’t have any other family it could go to.”
Andi’s hands come to rest against my chest. They’re trembling.
Fuck, her whole body is trembling.
I pull her tighter to my chest, offering her physical reassurance because it’s the only kind I know how to give her.
“No,” Beck says quietly. “Not fucking happening.”
“You have an idea?” Eli asks, his arms crossed over his chest.
“I do,” Beck says, stepping toward Andi and I like he’s being pulled into her gravitational field. “Andi... do you trust us?”
“Of course I do,” she sniffles, wiping at her damp cheeks.
“I know—I know these aren’t the circumstances omegas dream of while growing up. but how do you—how do you feel about spending the rest of your life with us? All of us?”
Beck’s idea clicks into place with startling clarity.
It’s genius—from a logistical perspective.
But from an emotional one?
I’m unsure.
“Are you—are you asking what I think you’re asking?” Andi whispers.
“Yeah,” Beck says, offering her one of his signature grins. “Would you do us the honor of bonding us, Andi? Making the pack official?”
We all go still, waiting for her answer. The steady beep of the heart rate monitor the only thing that breaks up the suffocating silence.
“How—how exactly will that help the situation?” she asks.
I tense against her, closing my eyes to hide my reaction.
Well... that certainly wasn’t the resounding yes I think we were all hoping for.
“A bondmate’s authority would supersede that of a parent’s, Sweet Tea,” Cameron says gently. “It would mean, if the judge is determined to continue your conservatorship until that original review date, that it would be transferred to one, or all, of us.”
“Oh,” she breathes, her lower lip wobbling.
“What’s going through your head,” Leo asks, his gaze sharp and assessing as he takes in her expression.
“I don’t—don’t want you guys making that sacrifice,” she whispers.
“Huh?” Beck says, his eyes going wide.
“Sacrifice?” Eli snorts, sounding only a little more articulate than Beck’s single-syllable response.
“This—this is a big commitment and I don’t—don’t want you making a choice that’s only reversible through—through crazy chemical processes that obviously have the possibility of going terribly wrong—” she gestures towards her father, lying unconscious in his hospital bed, “just for me. I can—can handle waiting until the next hearing, even if it’s—even if it’s with my mother. ”
“No!” Cameron says, starting to pace. He runs a hand through his tight coils. “Thirty days in her custody nearly killed you, Sweet Tea. There’re fifty days until the next hearing. That’s almost two months.”
“Starlight,” Beck says, dropping to his knees. “I meant every word from the bottom of my heart. Please believe me. I want to be your bondmate and for you to be mine. I know the timeline is a little faster than we originally thought, but I won’t regret this decision for one second.”
Leo drops to a knee beside Andi next, blinking up at her.
“I know you find it difficult to believe what we’re saying, but your very presence is a blessing in each of our lives. You’ve changed our lives, you’ve changed us for the better.”
“What—what are you guys doing?” she whispers, clinging to my button-up shirt, her eyes wide as her gaze darts between the two of them.
Eli drops to a knee next.
“Please be ours, Princess. I think a part of me knew from the very moment I saw you falling into Beck’s arms that you’d be ours. You’d make us the luckiest fucking bastards in the world.”
I offer her waist a squeeze before letting her go and dropping to a knee in front of her. I consider myself the luckiest one, because I actually get to hold her hand as I look up at her.
My thumb traces over the ring finger of her left hand. We’ll have to get her a ring. I like the idea of Andi wearing anything and everything that shows our claim to her.
Maybe the rest of us should get rings too. I want to wear her claim proudly too.
“Honey, ever since you came into our lives, I knew you were special. Please give us the honor and privilege of accepting our commitment to watching you grow into the person you want to be.”
Cameron drops to a knee next, wiping his clammy hands against his jeans.
“Please, Sweet Tea, I know this must be so scary, but nothing has to change. We’ll just continue on existing as we are; you and I will continue working on projects together, you’ll continue to flourish in different ways with each of us.
The only thing that will change is knowing that we’ll be together forever.
But honestly... I known that you’re it for me.
Maybe that’s why I’ve been so... hesitant.
Because I know this is a big commitment and the last thing I want is to overwhelm you.
Once I have you, I’ll never be able to let you go. ”
“You guys are crazy,” she sniffles, wiping at her cheeks. She meets each our gazes. “Yes. You have my yes.”