Chapter One
Ahearn
I had no idea how long I’d slept when consciousness began to creep up on me. My entire body felt weak and sore, but I had no idea why. Strange noises grated on my nerves and the sickening smell of distress was invading my nostrils, making my stomach roil. I tried to open my eyes, but nothing happened. One by one, I tried to focus on my muscle groups, starting with my toes and working my way up my legs, nothing worked. Forcing my fuzzy mind to remain calm, I focused on what was working, mainly my hearing.
“Why don’t you lie down in the other room and rest?” I heard a soft female voice query. “We’ll wake you if there’s any change.”
I couldn’t say why, but something about the way the woman spoke suggested this was a conversation she’d had many times before.
“I don’t want to leave him,” another voice, this one low, male, and vaguely familiar responded. “He’s my husband. He needs me.”
The woman responded kindly. “The babies need you, too, dear. My shift is over, so why not take one small nap and I’ll sit with Alpha Walsh until you wake?”
Husband? Me? I tried to focus on my senses and found that my sense of smell seemed fine. It was performing so well, in fact, that I had no trouble at all discerning that the babies the woman spoke to my supposed husband about were absolutely not mine.
As the two people continued to converse in quiet tones, I caught another clue.
“Fine. I’ll go and lie down if you’ll agree to call me Bari,” the male voice agreed.
Bari?
Memories flooded back to me, but none explained how I came to be in the hospital or why the Omega known as the village outcast would be holding himself out as my husband. I listened to one set of heavy footsteps leave the room, anger boiling inside me as I struggled against the invisible bonds freezing me in place.
Suddenly an alarm exploded in the room, the sound of shoes slapping on tile filled my ears and the room was flooded with a myriad of smells suggesting a crowd of bodies in the previously empty space.
“What the hell is wrong with him?” one man snapped. “He’s still out, but his heart rate and blood pressure are skyrocketing!”
There was a sudden cold feeling in my right arm followed by a near-immediate slowing of my bodily functions and a fuzzy feeling began to flood my brain. The next time I woke, I was able to open my eyes without trouble
The room was stark white and I was connected to several machines through an absurd assortment of tubes and wires. In a chair next to the bed, a very pregnant Omega was hunched over with his eyes closed, his two hands wrapped around mine, carefully avoiding the tube in my wrist.
Bari Herchel, Son of Mikel. What the bloody hell was he doing there? And what did he believe gave him license to touch me so intimately?
I attempted to pull my hand away but was still weak, and beyond a twitch of my fingertips nothing happened. With the thick tube shoved down my throat, there was no way to speak or demand that he unhand me.
Time continued to pass in the same way. I would wake more aware, but still unable to speak or move. The female voice ended up belonging to a kindly blonde-haired nurse that Bari called Jan who regularly encouraged him to rest, frequently sitting in his chair and reading when he agreed to do so.
It was during one of those moments when I was finally able to break through the prison that my body had become.
“You should rest, Bari,” Jan had said softly, patting him on his shoulder.
“I can’t,” Bari argued, his eyes glued to mine. “He’s opening his eyes more often now and keeping them open for longer. The doctor said they are scheduling a brain scan.”
“That won’t be for hours,” Jan said soothingly, tugging lightly on Bari’s arm until he allowed her to help him up. “You rest in the other room and I’ll keep your vigil, okay?”
It was only a short time later that I was able to clear my throat around the horrid tube, drawing the nurse’s astonished gaze to me.
“Are you awake?”
I managed a weak nod and her face glowed with delight. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Let me get your husband!”
I shook my head quickly, regretting it when dizziness washed over me in waves.
Nurse Jan’s face fell. “You don’t want me to tell him?”
I managed to fight off a wave of nausea as I shook my head again and she frowned. “Very well. Let me get the doctor.”
I waved my hand in the air, miming as if I was writing a note and Nurse Jan brought me a pad and pen from the table by the window.
Fake husband. Make him go.
Jan’s face fell further and when she spoke, her voice was sad. “That’s above me. I’ll get the doctor and administrator.” She offered me a tight smile. “I won’t tell him anything.”
I nodded and relaxed into the pillows, completely exhausted and wondering again what the hell had happened to me.
