Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sky
“How’s he doing?”
It was a few hours after we’d been evacuated from Foxy’s, and I was sitting in a metal folding chair next to Alexi when I heard Trevor’s voice. He was lying deathly still on the same gurney that Colt had placed him on in the helicopter. The men who’d met us when we landed had simply attached a small ramp to the deck of the helicopter and rolled him out and into the hospital.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted, not looking up from the frightfully slow rise and fall of my friend’s chest. “They - the doctors, I mean – cleaned him up and bandaged his injuries, but, otherwise, said we have to wait and see.”
“I’m sorry, Sky.” Trevor came to stand by me. “Do you need anything?”
I shook my head. “The only thing I need has already been refused me.”
Trevor sighed. “Do you understand why we can’t turn him?”
“No.”
Trevor pulled another chair over and sat next to me. “It’s illegal, Sky. Even if it wasn’t, he isn’t able to say whether or not he wants to be changed. It’s not ethical to do something like that to anyone without their permission.”
“Really?” I huffed, sarcasm dripping from my words. “No one seemed to have a problem with it when Colt did it to me.”
Trevor raised a brow, but his voice remained calm. “Is that what Colt did, Sky? Honestly?” When I didn’t answer, he continued. “Because the last time we talked about it, you told me that you consented to be changed, you just didn’t know what kind of shifter you would be.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.” Trevor’s golden brown eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “Is there something else going on, Sky? Did you and Colt have a fight about something else?”
“No,” I snapped, turning back to watch Alexi. “What would we possibly have to fight about?”
“I don’t know,” Trevor said softly. “I’ll go. If you need anything or if you want to come home and rest for a bit, have the nurse call me. She has the number.”
“Colt was just fucking me, you know,” I blurted out. “He was planning on getting back with Chloe the entire time.”
“Excuse me?” Trevor stopped in his tracks and stared at my outburst. “Are you sure? That really doesn’t sound like Colt.”
I raised a brow and he sighed. “Okay, he has been known to chase a little tail, but that was before he mated with her. Ever since she took off, he’s been pretty adamant that he wants nothing to do with her.”
“He’s going to fight for her,” I said flatly. “I heard him on his phone last night when he thought I was sleeping.
“Oh, honey.” I stiffened when Trevor stooped over and hugged me. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t heard anything about that, but I know he cares about you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I mumbled with another shrug. “Not really. Hopefully Alexi will wake up soon and we can move on.”
From the way Trevor’s mouth twisted into a frown, it was obvious that he didn’t really care for that idea, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he patted my shoulder and repeated that the nurse had his number if I needed anything before leaving and closing the door carefully behind him, leaving me alone.
For at least the twentieth time since I’d found my best friend strung up on a cross like some kind of morbidoffering, the tears blurring my vision began to drip down my cheeks and fall to the floor. I was physically exhausted, emotionally wrung out, and had been awake for over twenty-four hours.
Laying my forehead on the edge of Alexi’s bed, I closed my eyes and sleep quickly overtook me.
Even though I’d been hurt and scared when I dozed off, when I woke, I was warm, comfortable, and well rested. Best of all, I felt safe and cared for. I snuggled closer to the warmth that was wrapped around me like a familiar blanket and sighed.
When my seat shifted beneath me, I froze. When it shifted again, I forced my eyes open only to find a pair of familiar golden orbs staring back at me. Confused, I twisted and took in my surroundings.
I was still in the dreary little room with drab olive green walls and Alexi still slept on a gurney a few feet away. The only change was that Colt was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, cradling me in his lap and letting his comforting scent wrap around me.
“The doctor was just in,” Colt said quietly. “Alexi is improving well. His body is responding to the antibiotics and they’ve managed to rehydrate him. There’s a chance he might even wake up today.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. I forced myself to crawl out of his lap and push up to my feet.
My heart sunk when he let me go without a word.
I was struggling to find something – anything - to say, when his next words stabbed through me and caused the tears to begin building again.
“Sky, we need to talk.”
