Chapter 52
Jason
The last thing I ever wanted to see was Ariana in another hospital room.
But there’s no feeling as sweet as seeing her stir. We spent too long apart. Watching her blink up at us now is the most precious thing I’ve seen.
“You’re awake.” I comment softly. We all lean over her bed.
“How do you feel, pretty girl?” Nico mumbles, leaning close to her.
Ariana presses a hand to her chest, tilting her head. “It’s gone?” She blinks, then looks up at us excitedly. “It’s gone!” Her face breaks into a smile.
“How does it feel?” Evan asks curiously.
The omega considers his question, biting her lip as she thinks. “Empty, but not in a bad way. Like I got a tumor removed.”
“What about your ear?” Nico presses, concerned.
She waves a hand by her right ear, then the left. “This one’s worse, but I can hear.”
“Oh, thank goodness. We were so worried.” Nico looks about ready to pass out.
Ariana leans against her pillow, smiling at us fondly. She tiredly looks at Evan like a thought’s occurred to her. “I broke your umbrella.” She points at me. “That’s my lawyer. He’ll be in contact if you want to sue.”
Evan smiles, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. Then, as if he can’t stop, he squishes her cheeks in a single hand and peppers kiss all over her face. When he pulls away, her cheeks have turned rosy. Both the scent of aloe and chamomile have sweetened, filled with affection.
The blond alpha brushes the hair away from her face. “It’s okay. It was Nico’s, remember? Not mine.”
“You can break a million of my umbrellas,” Nico declares. “So long as you’re alright.”
She rests her hands atop each other, frowning at his statement. “No thank you. I’ve had enough rain and umbrellas for a lifetime.”
The door swings open, the smell of sandalwood entering alongside Sebastian. He nods at us, then his face splits into a grin seeing Ariana awake.
“Hey, bunny.” He heads to her bed, giving her another kiss.
Her eyes flutter shut, then open big and wide to look up at him. I’d almost forgotten just how adorable they were.
The omega’s amber gaze falls on Sebastian’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you got shot because of me.” She says apologetically.
“Ariana, I would take a hundred bullets for you.” His face grows serious. “You never should have been in that situation in the first place. We’re sorry we didn’t protect you enough. We’ll spend the rest of our lives being sorry. I hope you can forgive us.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I never would have been able to leave it in the first place without all of you.”
Her hand lands over mine, the closest. Compared to mine, it’s so small and delicate. I hold it dearly, never intending to let go of it again.
“The boxing lessons came in handy.” She laughs, a sweet noise I’ve been missing.
Evan nods, agreeing. “We’ll have to keep in mind not to get on your bad side.”
“You better.” She makes a fake claw with her hands.
It’s Nico’s turn to press a kiss to her. “Brave girl. You must have been so scared.”
“I cried as soon as I saw you. Can I still be brave if I’m a crybaby?”
“You’re braver because you did all that scared. If you weren’t afraid, it would have been different.” I add, patting her hand.
She smiles. We sit in comfortable silence, reluctant to leave each other’s presence now that we’re reunited. Eventually, Ariana’s hands find her way up to her neck, frowning as she feels the scarred skin.
“It’s still there,” she notes sadly.
“They did say it would take time to fade,” Sebastian consoles her gently. I tug the blanket higher, tucking it under her.
“I know. It just would have been nice for it to be a little faster.” She sighs. Sebastian looks guilty. He took an entire bullet and managed to heal quickly due to being an alpha, while Ariana was stuck in surgery for hours as they removed the bond.
She’ll still carry the scar of the mating mark as a reminder of what happened to her for some time. The emotional scars will likely linger even longer. The thought makes my own scars prickle.
Never again. I’ll never let anyone hurt her again. Especially not those men.
“What happened to them?” Ariana asks, as if she’s read my mind. “How’d you guys come to me?”
“All three of them were arrested. Ian wasn’t given bail, and the other two had to surrender their passports.” Sebastian answers her quickly.
We recount what happened gently, starting from the events of the hospital. Their attitudes don’t surprise her. Our counterattack, submitting the petition for breaking the bond and the expose pieces that have been running on Viewer.
“That explains why they were so antsy.” The omega nods. “They wouldn’t let me use anyone’s phone, so I had no idea.”
“I wish we’d been there sooner. I was so scared you would feel like we abandoned you.” Evan clutches his heart as he speaks.
Ariana tilts her head. “I never thought that for a moment. I was trying to find my way back to you too.” She recounts her time away from us and we listen, rapt with attention, growing steadily more disgusted with the men.
“That’s when you found me,” she concludes.
The doctor comes in, doing a final checkup on Ariana. We’re in a different hospital than before, but it reminds me that I still have more to do with Dr. Allen. Cracking my knuckles, I nod to myself. I’ll be busy for a while, it seems.
“Stop that.” Evan says next to me.
“Stop what?”
“Smiling like that. It’s creepy. What’s so funny?”
I study him. “No rest for the wicked, Ev.” He blanches at my use of his nickname, making me snicker. He somehow manages to become more appalled at my laughter. “Dr. Allen,” I say in explanation.
He inches closer. “Involve me.”
The doctor declares Ariana free of her bond sickness, but she’ll need to come in for follow ups for the bond removal.
The omega looks up excitedly. “So that means I can go home?”
Nico beams, pressing his forehead against her hair. “It means you can go anywhere now, Ariana.”
“I want to go with you.” She smiles at us, making my heart swell with affection.