“She can’t breathe, Stone!”
She’s going to seriously injure herself.
“Do you want them to survive this or not?”
Where the fuck is she going to go, with her arms and legs strapped to the bed like a fucking lab rat?
Stone glares at me as he pulls a set of keys from his pocket. Moving past me, he selects one from the ring and forces the omega’s head to the side. Her whimpers pull me forward a step, a distress signal I can’t ignore. Stone pushes the key into the lock, snapping his teeth as she tries to pull away from him. The collar unlatches with a click and Stone pulls it away roughly, squeezing his fist around the metal.
I make a split decision even as I hate myself for it. But it’s better than the alternative, better than filling her with more drugs to make her sleep again.
Striding back toward her, her eyes flicker as she sees me and she moans in distress. Her previously subtle vanilla and sugar scent is almost unrecognizable now, the acidic spikes flooding the room betraying just how terrified she is.
My arm reaches out and she renews her push to escape, the leather restraints yanking in a way that must be hurting her. She’s too far gone to realize.
I curl my hand around her throat as gently as I can, mindful of the wires. A high-pitched whine reverberates through my wrist.
“Stop,” I growl. When she slows but doesn’t stop, I push her again, my alpha bark curling out of my throat and wrapping itself around her.
“Stop this,” I bark at her, and she freezes. Her eyes clear slightly, showing me flecks of hazel and green that disappear behind a mist of tears.
She makes a pleading sound, but it’s muffled behind the tube. Stone move in from behind me, but I hold up my other hand, not breaking our eye contact, and he stops. I can feel his disapproval sinking into my back, but I don’t give a flying fuck what he thinks at this moment.
The sound of his shoes hitting the floor disturbs the omega. Her eyes start to flicker around the room, looking for danger, and her already rapid breathing starts to speed up even more.
“Give us the room,” I bark.
Nicole makes a swift exit, but Stone stays where he is. Keeping my tone low, I turn my face away to growl at him.
“Her heart rate is elevated. If I don’t calm her down, it will escalate until her heart stops. At that stage, I may need to defib her or put her back under. Either of those may mean that we lose her and the twins. Give. Us. The. Fucking.Room.”
His response is low and furious. “I’d better see some improvement from this, Dr. Morgan.”
The door slams behind him, and I ignore it as I turn back to her.
She watches me with wet eyes. Tears slip out and down her cheeks, soaking my wrist. When I lean in to meet her eyes, she makes another muffled plea, the restraints sliding against the railings holding her in place. The edge of a whine urges me forward.
I speak quietly, but firmly.
“My name is Dr. Morgan. You’re in the hospital and you have been in an induced coma for several months. You are safe here, and nobody is going to hurt you.”
She stares at my mouth, following my words. When I finish, she squeezes her eyes shut tightly and makes a noise around the tubes. I point to the ventilator next to her and release my grip, keeping my movements slow.
“The tubes in your throat are connected to a machine that’s been helping you to breathe while you slept. Now that you’re awake, I can take them out. Are you comfortable with that?”
She pauses, wide eyes scanning my face. Keeping my expression calm, I wait, not pushing her for a response.
I exhale in relief at her small nod. Turning, I check to make sure we have the right equipment in the room for extubation. I debate calling Nicole back in, but it should be simple enough.
And I don’t want anyone else in here right now. I push down a low growl at the thought. I should not be anywhere near this protective over a patient – let alone an omega in her condition, with her level of trauma. It goes against everything I was taught at med school.
Taking measured steps across the room, I keep her in my line of sight, washing my hands in the small sink as her breathing levels out. Clearing my throat, I focus on explaining what’s going to happen, preparing her for my movements.Try and keep it fucking professional, Max.
“Before I can take the tube out, I need to suction it to clear out anything that might stop you breathing properly when it’s removed. I’ll do the same in your mouth outside of the pipe. The tube is held in place by a cuff – sort of like a balloon – inside your throat, so to take out the tube I need to let it down very slowly and then I can remove it and give you a normal oxygen mask. It’s pretty uncomfortable—”
I pause as an unmistakable small huff of derision comes from the bed. My lips twitch. Glancing over, horror lines her face as she stares at me warily. She’s clearly waiting for a response, but I carry on.
“It’s uncomfortable, and you’ll probably cough a lot – that’s completely normal.”
