Her pupils are still blown as she nods.
I lean down to kiss her, feeling the warmth and contentment spreading through my chest.
Beta made omega happy. Beta is happy.
She wraps her arms around me, purring away. “Don’t go.”
I look to the open door, knowing I should, but—
“I need to check on Gage,” I say. I don’t want to go either, but…
“Please,” she says, her whisper so faint I think I almost imagined it.
“Okay,” I say, settling down into the nest with her. “I’ll stay.” I know fully well when she slips into slumber, I’ll leave. I’m sure she knows that, too. But for right now, the lie is enough. So, I hold her until she sleeps, and then I hold her some more.
And when I open my eyes, the sun is shining through the windows, and Gage is in the doorway.
“Gage…” I sit up, careful not to wake Auryn. His eyes are tired, rimmed with red from his tears, and my heart sinks. “Diego…” I whisper.
Gage smiles. “He’s awake.”
Chapter 25
Diego
Madre de Dios, gunshot wounds hurt like fucking hell.
When I come to in Olly’s lab, I realize Gage must’ve brought me here … which means he didn’t go back to the Orion house.
He didn’t save Emmett yet.
Mi jefelooks like hell dozing at my side, his head and shoulders slumped so far over I think he might fall out of the chair he’s in. His eyes are sunken in and red-rimmed, and he’s paler than usual. I glance around the lab and see discarded transfusion tubing sticking out of the biohazard bin. That explains the pallor, and probably also largely contributes to my continued existence on this planet.
“Gage,” I murmur, squeezing the hand that holds mine. “Hermano, levántate. Get up.”
“Mm?” He shakes his head and lifts it slowly. I bet he’s got one hell of a crick in his neck, especially if he’s been there long.
His eyes blink a few times, and he rubs them with the back of his free hand. Then he looks at me again, and this time I see the focus there. His jaw drops, and before I know what’s happening, he tackles me on the table, giving me the kind of kiss I thought he was keeping in reserve for Auryn these days.
Despite the force of his greeting, Gage takes enough care that he doesn’t rip open my wound. He strokes and caresses my hair, muttering sweet nothings in Spanish.Hermano de mi corazón. Mi amor.
The last one startles me, because as long as we’ve been lovers, we’ve never claimed to be “in love.” Gage fucked me because we didn’t have an omega to have sex with … right? He doesn’t feel the same way I do, doesn’t have the same attachment towards me when it comes to the heart. Does he?
“You scared me, Diego. Fucking terrified me. Don’t do that again, okay?”
My lips spread in a cockeyed grin. “You got it, boss. Next time alocoalpha reject shoots at me, I’ll do my best to dodge it.”
He chuckles and sniffles at the same time. “Fuck. I’ve gotta go tell the others. Auryn’s been beside herself, and even Olly seems shaken. I think he may have started to feel feelings about you.”
I gasp in mock surprise, but I know better. Olly’s a good kid, a good beta, and he cares in his own way. It’s not his fault that emotions and social interactions are as mysterious to him as his science and medicine are to me.
“How long have I been out?” I ask, noting one conspicuous omission from his list of people to notify.
“A few hours. Long enough for Olly to perform surgery. He got the bullet out and stitched you up, and we gave you my blood, but you still need to take it easy for a while. You’re not going to recover overnight, and we need time to regroup.”
“Regroup for what?” He’s being evasive. I wish he’d just tell me.
Gage strokes my hair one more time, gives me one more kiss, then stands straight, his expression grave.
