“You heard what the doctor said. He’s hopeful I’ll get full mobility back in my ankle, but there’s no guarantee, and I’d be worse off than ever then! I thought you out of everyone would understand.”
Silence. Then, “Yeah, I do. Of course I do. Sorry.” Jared sighed, the sound audible in the quiet. “What about Tim?”
Tim froze midstep, and Alec almost bumped into him.
“What about him?”
Yes, what about me?Tim held his breath, not moving a muscle.
“Why didn’t you ask—?”
“Jared.” Nathan’s voice cut through the air, low and urgent. Tim wanted to strangle him.
The door swung wide open and Nathan stood in the doorway, his expression cool.Yeah, he knows we’ve been listening. Fucker.“Tim.”
“Nathan.”
Nathan stepped to one side in invitation, and Tim couldn’t do anything other than go in.
“Hey,” he said, managing a small smile for Seb, who almost mustered one in reply.
“Hey.” Seb’s cheeks had more colour in them this morning and he was sitting up in bed, not lying down.
The greeting was all they could manage.
Thankfully, Alec stepped in before the silence got awkward. “I just got a text from Daryl.”
Tim glanced at him and Alec smirked. Had he? Tim hadn’t heard his phone go off, too busy listening in on another conversation.
Alec sobered. “He’s awake.”
Seb glanced between them all. “Who’s awake?”
“One of the shifters who attacked you,” Alec answered.
Seb immediately looked at Tim, his accusation as clear as day. “Why didn’t you say anything last night?”
“You never asked about them.” Tim didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but Seb was making him feel guilty.
“I—” Seb turned his attention to Jared and Nathan, frowning.
“We just got here.” Jared offered, hands out in front of him.
“I assumed they were dead,” Seb muttered, then closed his eyes and rested his head back on the pillow.
It was only then that Tim noticed the dark shadows under Seb’s eyes. If he’d been talking to Cam since early this morning, he must be shattered. Tim wanted to talk to him alone, tell him that he didn’t need to do this. Asking for a shifter’s bite wasn’t something to be decided when you were in hospital, for fuck’s sake.
Alec cleared his throat, garnering everyone’s attention. “Two are dead, one was touch-and-go for a while, but he pulled through.”
Seb met Tim’s gaze. “Did you treat him?”
Tim couldn’t tell what answer Seb was hoping for. Whatever it was, he couldn’t stop the harsh laugh that burst out. “Are you kidding? If I got within ten feet of him, he’d never wake up again.”
His teeth slid out as he thought of them attacking Seb, hurting him so badly they put him in hospital. His low growl filled the room, surprising no one by the looks of it, except maybe Seb, who stared at Tim wide-eyed, bottom lip pulled in between his teeth.
“Where are you keeping him?” Nathan spoke, either oblivious to the tension building between Seb and Tim, or trying to take everyone’s focus away from it.
“Somewhere safe.” Alec glanced up at the clock, then at Seb. “If we’re going to do this, it needs to be now. The room’s ready. It won’t be the full pack—just Cam and the betas.” He looked around at the rest of them. “And anyone else who wants to be there.”
