Chapter Twenty-Two
Scott
"No!"
Harley's scream echoed in my ears as the collision with his attacker threw me to the ground. I tried to speak, but the impact with the floor must have stunned me or knocked the air out of me or something, because I could seem to make any words come out. Instead, there was a gurgling noise and suddenly I was coughing as pain blazed through my chest.
"Motherfucker!" I recognized the angry snarl in my left ear as Zade's voice as another body thudded down beside me. "Hang in there, Scott."
My lungs were getting uncomfortably heavy, so instead of answering I tried to nod, only to be held down by strong hands that were oddly gentle. "Don't move, Scott. We've got Harley. He's fine."
Clint. It was the werewolf Alpha holding me in place.
"Ambulance is on the way." Rafael's voice seemed far away. "What do you need, Clint?"
"Need to stop the bleeding…" the words trailed off as darkness rushed over me, sucking me into silence.
~*~
"Harley, kid, we need to go."
A male voice whispered through my mind.
"No!"
I'd know that voice anywhere. Trembling and scared, my Omega's sweet timbre also had a touch of the defiance I was used to hearing in it. Something that had been missing since he lost his memory. "I'm staying."
"Honey, we don't even know when Scott will wake up." A soft, gentle voice. Omega, maybe? Not one I recognized.
More sounds – voices as well as odd mechanical noises – began to filter through and I realized I was waking up from…something. The noises around me combined with the anxiety that was rolling off Harley suggested that I was in a hospital or clinic, so it stood to reason that I'd been injured or fallen ill.
As my mind began to process my thoughts more clearly, I began a mental inventory of my condition. My eyelids were still too heavy to lift, so I tried to open my mouth, but there was an obstruction of some sort. I tried to move my toes and then my legs, but either they didn't move or I couldn't feel them do it. Not good. There was a slight tingle as I tried to move my fingers. I concentrated and tried again, rewarded by a gasp from beside me.
"He moved!" My fingers were immediately crushed. "Call the doctor!"
"Scott? Can you hear me?" Harley was speaking into my ear, his hot breath sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. Sadly, I wasn't sure if my response was psychosomatic or if it meant that my spine was intact.
"He can't talk with the tube in his throat, honey." That gentle voice again. "Scott, can you squeeze Harley's fingers?"
Unfortunately, with as tight as he was gripping mine, I really couldn't. But apparently wiggling them was enough, because Harley began to sob as he spread kisses over my cheeks, my eyelids, my hair.
"I'm so sorry, Scott," he whimpered, pressing more tear-soaked kisses to my face. "Please forgive me."
My foggy brain couldn't make heads or tails of what Harley would need forgiveness for.
"Okay, Harley. Step back so the doctor can see to him." Zade was using the Alpha voice and it occurred to me that this was the first time I'd heard it from him. Knowing how headstrong Harley could be, I was surprised by that revelation.
Harley squeezed my fingers one last time and then kissed the back of my hand. "I'm just going over by Trevor."
Trevor. Right. The werewolf Omega. That was probably the owner of the gentle voice.
Several minutes went by as my body was poked and prodded, my pulse was taken, and I responded to a series of questions by squeezing the doctor's hand. While that was going on, I was finally able to work my eyelids open, although I did immediately flinch as the bright light accosted my eyes.
"Well, I think we're ready to try and take the breathing tube out," the doctor informed me. He turned to look behind him and for the first time I noticed that it wasn't just Trevor, Zade, and Harley – the whole damned gang was there. So much for privacy. "If you could all step outside?"
Harley choked back a cry and I squeezed the doctor's hand as hard as I could manage. He looked down at me and I could see that he understood.
"Ah, that's the way of it, eh?" He gestured to Harley. "You can stay as long as you can sit quietly on the chair while we work. Can you do that?"
