"Sebastian?" Alrick sounded worried. "Can you talk to me?"
I nodded and sighed when he quirked a brow at me.
Right. He would want to hear for himself.
"Yes, Alpha." I winced as the words left my mouth. The position that we were in was too intimate for me to be calling himthat. "I mean, yes, I can talk." My voice was rough, but it was there.
"Good." Alrick didn't seem concerned by my gaff. I relaxed slightly, thinking that he may not have even noticed. "Do you think you can eat?" Large, rough hands were sliding along my body, appearing to check for damage. "I was able to keep you hydrated, but you've already lost some weight."
"I have?"
His hair flopped a little as he nodded his head, it was too damn cute. I shook my head at my line of thought. Alphas are notcute. Whatever was wrong with me seemed to be impacting my thought processes.
"Just a little," he assured me, his hands still roving. "But I think we should try to get some food in you."
"What happened?"
Alrick paused in the act of easing me off him, and his lips drew into a frown.
"You don't remember?"
I shook my head carefully, mindful of the roaring in my ears when I moved too fast.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The lake," I said, closing my eyes and fighting for the details. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry about that," Alrick murmured. "I didn't mean to. I wouldn't have hurt you."
I nodded, my eyes still closed. "You caught me."
When he didn't respond, I opened my eyes and found him watching me with confusion.
"When I fell," I clarified. "You caught me before I hit the water."
"Oh," the Alpha acknowledged. "Yeah."
He gently rolled me over onto my back, his fingers ghosting over my chest and coming to a stop on a bandage above and slightly to the left of my heart. I followed his finger and felt my eyes widen. I hadn't even noticed the injury until he touched it.
"We were jumped heading down the trail," he explained, "they knocked us out with darts and brought us here." He paused and inhaled deeply, like the rest of the story was difficult for him to tell. "You were shot when we overpowered them." Those beautiful, troubled eyes met mine again. Alrick gathered me back against his body, holding me tight and stroking my back. "You saved my life."
I barely managed to choke back a gasp at Alrick's words before I calmed myself, realizing he must be joking.
"Very funny," I growled, pressing against his solid chest with both hands. "Let me up. I need to pee."
I climbed off the bed and headed for the open bathroom door, closing it behind me and collapsing onto the toilet seat before dropping my throbbing head into my hands with a groan that I immediately knew was a mistake.
"Sebastian? Are you alright in there?"
"Fine," I managed to get out. "I just..just moved too fast."
"Do you need help?" The doorknob jiggled.
Seriously? I sighed.
"N..no," I considered standing up and said screw it, leaning back and tucking my dick down to relieve myself. Flushing the toilet and washing my hands, I was only mildly surprised to find the Alpha pacing on the other side of the door.
"Alrick, I..I'm fine," I tried to assure him. "I promise."
