“We need to know if he’s anywhere in our systems,” Jake pushes.
Turning my head from where it’s been glued to look at her face, I level Jake with a glare. “Once she’s awake.”
He concedes and goes into the closet to call Logan.
Please wake up Thea. I know she’s going to be okay but I can’t shake that fear from her. It feels like it’s seeping into me. I’m afraid for her. We need her.Ineed her.
2
THEA
Numb and surrounded by darkness. Numb is good, no more pain, crying, grief. Numb is welcome. I don’t like the dark though. The nonexistent chills roll through me.
Why am I here?
Images—me and Liam at the rink, me in the background at the bowling alley. He found me again. He knows about the pack. He’s going to take them away from me like he did Connor. I can’t—no, I won’t go through that again. The anger I thought was buried under my fear and grief is bubbling up. I willnotlose anyone else I love.
There—pin pricks of light are starting to appear, chasing away the dark as they grow. Safe. Protected. Hope. Peace. Joy. Free.
“She’s waking up,” someone tries to whisper but is too excited to be quiet.
They’re all here; even without opening my eyes, I know it by their scents. Then there’s the bonds, the ones I have with Keelan and Parker, both sending me so much love and reassurance it’s chasing away the panic for now.
Opening my eyes, I’m faced with my grumpy doctor’s concerned face. His black hair looks much more disheveled than when we ended our date earlier tonight. And his green eyes are flooding with so much emotion I can’t help but be drawn in.
“Thea, can you hear me?” he asks as he cradles my face with a hand.
“Of course I can. Did that fall on the ice earlier scramble your brains?” I retort.
His reaction is the opposite of what I expected, which would’ve been his annoyed face. Instead, he lets out a breath and smiles, hugging me to him.
I hear a begrudging growl from behind me and feel it in the bond—Keelan. My teddy bear really does like to keep me to himself sometimes.
Liam murmurs into my ear. “Please don’t scare me like that again.”
His voice is so soft, like he’s afraid to acknowledge that fear.
Of course he is, Thea. He needs to fix things, like how most alphas feel that need but he seems to be the one that feels it more than anyone else in the pack.
As he releases me, I look around the room for the first time. Parker is sitting with my feet in his lap. Jake, Ben, and Micah are all standing at the foot of the bed, with Eli on my other side, opposite Liam. And based on the growl from before, I know Keelan is behind me.
I open my mouth to speak but Jake holds up his hand with a determined glint in his eye. “We know, we found your phone next to you after you passed out. I called Logan, we’re going to keep you safe no matter what.”
“I’m sorry. I never wanted anyone else to have to deal with this. Now he knows about you and it’s not just me who could be in danger?—”
“Stop. No apologizing. This is not your fault and we will get through this together as a pack,” Micah of all people says sternly to me. His arms are crossed as he looks at me, like he can see into my head if I agree with his statement.
I think…that’s the first time he’s acknowledged that I’m pack in a positive way. Did I wake up in a different reality?
“Micah’s right, I’m already arranging for some extra security for you, especially once your heat starts,” Jake adds.
Everything feels so heavy.
Thankfully Eli pounces on me, his scent swirling around me more now as he hugs me into him as he says, “Sunshine, I’m going to go gray with all the stress. We all need to relax a bit.”
His words have the opposite effect as my body tenses up.
Ben, of course, notices. “You can’t hog our omega. The best way to relax right now would be a nice hot bath. What do you say?”
