“Come back to us, love.” The voice begs.
It sounds like Gabe.
“Can’t,” I choke out. “Don’t want to leave you.”
“We’re allhere, little omega,” Ace whispers. “We’re just waiting for you.”
That sounds perfect. Maybe I am dead.
I force my eyes to open, relieved when there’s no bright light pushing them shut. Even the effort hurts, but I persevere.
A face swims into view. Bright green eyes, full of love. A black curl drops over Rogue’s face as he leans in.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he murmurs. “Time to wake up.”
“You’re dead,” I whisper flatly. His face looks tortured.
“No, love,” he says softly. “None of us are dead.”
A small kernel of hope fills me. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to check. I’ve been wrong before, after all.
I force my eyes back open, staring into Rogue’s glittering eyes. They look misty.
“There you are,” he murmurs. His scent trickles into my nose.
He’shere. He’s not dead. Rogue’s not dead.
A desperate urge fills me, pushing me tosee. I try to pull myself up, struggling, and several sets of hands all jump in.
“Whoa, little omega. Take it easy.”
I whip my head towards the sound and there’s Ace, with a small, sad smile on his face.
Ace. Ace is here.
Gabe pushes him gently out of the way so he can lean in and kiss my forehead.
“We were so worried, love,” he chokes.
Three. One more.
I turn and try to look around the room, an anxious whine peeling from my throat.
Rogue takes a step back and Devlin is there, lines of worry edging his forehead.
“Devlin,” I whisper, as tears start to fall. Four. All present and accounted for. I hold my arms up and he’s at my side in a flash, pulling me into him gently.
“I thought you were dead,” I sob, and there’s a chorus of disagreement. “He told me you were all dead.”
“Oh, princess,” Devlin murmurs, rocking me gently. “It takes a lot more than that little weasel to hurt us.”
They run their hands over me gently as I cry, my face pressed tightly into Devlin’s shoulder.
We’re all here. We’re all together.
Finally, I sit back, and Dev gives me space to look around.
All four alphas look like they’ve aged overnight, stress lines bracketing their mouths and curving grooves in their forehead that weren’t there before. Shadows line their jaws.
