My beautiful face.
Mymoney-maker.
The nose that launched a thousand ships—or at least a thousand desperate johns willing to pay triple my rate just to look at perfection while they got their rocks off.
Gods, what if it heals wrong? My entire identity is wrapped up in being devastatingly pretty. Without my face, I'm just another fucked up alpha with too much trauma and nowhere near enough therapy.
Cosima sits on the examination table like a queen holding court while some poor medic cleans up the bite marks that psychoticferal omega left on her thigh. She's hissing and cursing about Ivy's lack of class.
"Fuckingdisgusting," she snarls through clenched teeth. "Who the fuckbitessomeone like a rabid animal? Thatblyarais lucky I didn't pop her head off like a grape when I had her between my thighs."
"But what a way to go," Nikolai muses, earning himself a half-hearted glare.
I run my fingers through her silver hair, hoping the gentle touch might distract her from her murderous fantasies. The silky strands slip through my fingers like water.
"At least you won this round, goddess," I murmur, keeping my voice soothing even though internally I'm calculating how many plastic surgeons might still be alive in this post-apocalyptic hellscape.
"Won?" She whips around to glare at me, violet eyes blazing. "I wasdominatinguntil you all showed up and that bitch decided to use her teeth like some feral wasteland mutt while I was distracted."
Geo nearly chokes on his beer, and that's when he gets a good look at my face in the harsh medical lighting.
"Holy shit, Raven." He sets down his bottle, moving closer with his brow furrowed in obvious concern. "Your nose is fucked."
"Thank you for that stunning observation," I snap, turning away from him. "I hadn't noticed the throbbing pain or the fact that I'm breathing through my mouth like some caveman."
Nikolai pushes off from the wall, circling around to get a better look at the damage. His lips curve into that particularly irritating smirk he reserves for when he's about to be an absolute asshole.
"Well, well," he drawls, adjusting his red glasses. "Looks like you won't be the prettiest male in the pack anymore. Tragic, really. Guess I'll have to bear that burden now."
"You?" I sputter, genuinely offended.
"Let me fix it," Geo interrupts, already reaching for my face with those massive hands that could snap a neck without trying.
"No!" I jerk back so fast I nearly fall off the stool I'm perched on. "Don't you fucking touch it!"
"It needs to be set or it'll heal crooked," he insists, following me as I back away. "I've done this dozens of times."
"On people you wereinterrogating," I hiss, putting the examination table between us. Cosima watches our little dance with amusement while the medic applies a bandage to her thigh. "After you broke their noses in the first place!"
"Same principle applies," Geo grunts, still stalking me around the medical bay like I'm prey. "Quick snap, barely hurts."
"Barely hurts? It'salreadybroken!" My voice cracks embarrassingly on the last word. "And your hands are the size of fucking hams! You'll shatter my entire face!"
"What's left of it," Nikolai adds helpfully, examining his nails with affected boredom. "Though I suppose asymmetry could be your new thing. Very avant-garde."
"Fuck you," I snarl, still backing away from Geo's advancing form. "At least I started with something worth saving. Your facehas always looked like someone set it on fire and put it out with a fork."
"And yet I'm not having a meltdown about a broken nose," he says, that smirk widening. "Maybe because I have other qualities. You know, like a personality that extends beyond being a pretty bird."
"My personality ismultifaceted," I protest, dodging around another medical cart. "Ethereal beauty is simply one of those facets."
"Boys," Cosima sighs, but she's fighting a smile. Even in pain, even with some beta currently bandaging her flesh, she finds our dysfunction amusing.
Knight rumbles from his corner, the sound vaguely threatening. Or maybe supportive. With him, it's always hard to tell.
"Come here," Geo growls, his patience clearly wearing thin. "Stop being such a fucking baby about it."
Nikolai blows a puff of air through his nose. "He just wants attention from Daddy."
