“I’ll be back with an IV for Olivia. There will be pain medication, antibiotics, and fluids in it. I’ll bring supplies to take care of her wounds as well,” he says. “HerI’ll make time for, free of charge.”
One of us would usually tease him right about now, but instead, I just nod.
“I’m taking her upstairs to my room to rest, hiding all the knives, and making her comfortable,” Gareth says, lifting her into his arms.
“One of us will show you upstairs once you’re back,” I say to Dr. Royal before showing him out the door.
The only silver lining to this all is that now we have a plan, and if that fails, the antibiotics will inhibit Olivia’s heat blockers. We can’t get married if she’s in heat, right?
Maddox slaps me over the head as if he can feel my fucked up thoughts, making me wince. Who am I kidding? He probably can.
Chapter
Nine
GARETH
“I can’t believeyou did this,” I hiss, laying Olivia down on the bedsheets. She was standing in the middle of the room when she slashed her arms, so the sheets are still clean.
My mind races as I think about how easily we could have lost her.
“Wake up so I can yell at you,” I growl, knowing that sleep is important for her to heal. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.
My heart is beating sluggishly and hurts as I gaze down at her. I have to do something.
“Gareth,” Aled says, walking into the room.
I glare at him, and Balthazar follows behind him, showing his teeth before he jumps onto the bed. I open my mouth to warn him to be careful, but he curls up next to Olivia's body, pressing himself tightly against her.
“Good boy,” I whisper, watching how careful he is with her. “What do you want, brother?”
“Don’t do that,” Aled groans. “You’re right, okay? We’ve majorly bungled things.”
“So now you want my help?” I snort, noticing the way that Olivia’s hair is in her face from fighting with my stepfather. Brushing it away, I frown at how pale she looks.
“Yeah. I started it all. We always said that we’d never put an omega through what our mothers went through,” he says.
“I was never part of that conversation,” I deny. “Is it because we’re together?”
“No, it’s because you do things without thought,” Cai says from the doorway. “We also don’t like to remind you of your mother.”
He’s not wrong. I don’t remember her at all. All photos but one have been destroyed by my stepfather. I’ve always told myself that it didn’t matter how she died, because why would you kill your wife and then adopt the kid?
Dylan Behan does everything with an ulterior motive, and I’ve been the perfect weapon for him my entire life. It would track that he’d decide to use me the way he does everyone in his life.
It hurts to think about my mother because of all the secrecy around her. What if he hurt her and she couldn’t handle it? What if he killed her?
Either way, my stepfather needs to pay for his sins.
“Sometimes, you have to do what your gut tells you to,” I shrug.
On a whim, I pick up her hand and bite down hard on her thumb. I want her to open her eyes just so I can see them.
“Should you be doing that?” Aled asks wryly.
“I’m a beta. We can’t bond with omegas, right?” I ask, my brow wrinkling as my body fills with pain. “What the fuck?”
“Could we not have a fire to put out while I’m here?” Dr. Royal asks peevishly, squeezing past Cai. Maddox looks worriedas he gazes around the room as he shows the doctor in, as if he’s trying to figure out where the fire is.
