“He’s going to be fine with some rest. I’m keeping him in the coma until morning to give his body time to rest and heal. He was exceedingly lucky you found him so quickly. Any longer and—” She shakes her head and swallows hard. “Any longer and I would have lost one of my best friends.” She wraps me in a tight hug, and I feel her tears against my cheek.
I find I have more tears left to cry than I thought I did.
* * *
I insiston staying with my alpha, and the rest of my men insist on staying with me. I curl up in a chair beside Ian’s bed and pull his hand between both of mine, lacing my fingers with his.
His pulse beats in his wrist, slow and strong, and I shudder with relief.
Sometime in the night, Mai brings me a coffee from Ciel and a slightly stale cinnamon roll, sitting beside me as she tears into her own pastry.
“He sat beside you just like this both times you were in my infirmary,” the young healer says. “I’m glad he has you, Juniper. He deserves all the happiness in the world, and you’ve brought him that.”
“I doubted him,” I tell her, my voice hollow. “I didn’t think he’d believe me about Cadigan. Saints, I didn’t even want to believe it at first. I sensed his hatred of me and hoped that was it. But the more I saw… Doc, if I had told him sooner, maybe the attack could have been prevented. Hundreds were hurt because I was a coward.”
She shakes her head and rubs at the bridge of her nose before adjusting her glasses. “The Soldiers would have found a way. Evil is persistent and its agents are patient and clever. We will heal, and, thanks to you, no one was killed. My greatest worry is what will become of the omegas the police took into custody.”
“Detective Miller said they’re all in critical care, but as soon as they’re well enough, I’m sure they’ll be sent to prison. Doc, Graeme’s plantdiedin prison,” I murmur. “The Soldiers have enough power to make that happen. To destroy the evidence of their crimes.”
“How many more omegas were in the lab?”
“That I saw? Maybe fifty. But I only saw parts of the facility. We need to find it, but everything we’ve tried has been unsuccessful. It feels like Luca and I have driven down every road in New Brunswick by now.”
“You don’t think Radcliffe will move it now that the resistance knows it exists?”
“When we don’t know where it is? When he’s hidden it as well as he has? No, I don’t think he’ll move it. It’s hidden by warding and crawling with guards wearing mage tech. I’m not saying it’s impenetrable, but even if we did manage to find it, infiltrating it won’t be easy.”
“I want to see it emptied and burned to the fucking ground,” Mai mutters. “With Radcliffe inside it.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “You and me both.”
“He will not prevail, Juniper.”
She leaves me with that, retreating into her office to catch a few hours of sleep.
I sigh as I sink deeper into the armchair, wondering how to stop a force like Rad, an untouchable alpha who always gets what he wants.
I tap out a quick text to Graeme.
>
His response is immediate.>
I stare down at Ian and take a moment to respond.>
>
>
>
I frown down at my phone, but don’t grasp his meaning.
Marcus ducks his head into the curtained-off section of the infirmary to check in on me, and I show him the conversation.
He frowns, gray-green eyes narrowing. Eventually, he shakes his head. “I don’t know, sweet-tart. How are you holding up?”
He sets a strong hand on my shoulder, and I lean into his touch.
