I look at it. I’ve worn these things plenty of times, but I find myself prickling at the idea because the fabric looks scratchy.
I want somethingsoft.
“Look at me, Emmett.” I listen without thinking. I look at him, and that itself is terrifying. “You are not broken. You are still an alpha. You are just…” He swallows, and I can see the glimmer of tears in his eyes as he says the word: “Different.”
I nod.
He opens the shirt and hands it to me. “Can you put this on?”
I grab it and slide out of the gown. Stretching my arms hurts, but I put it on easily.
“Okay, what about your pants?” he asks. “Do you need help?”
I roll my eyes. “I think I can put a pair of pants on, doc.”
He smirks, helping me down from the table, though I tell him I’m fine. I’m not, and I appreciate him helping me, but I don’t tell him that. I brace myself against his shoulder with one hand as I hobble into my underwear and pants. It hurts like a bitch to have things pressing against my softening cock, but I manage.
I have to manage.
Because Olly’s right. I am alive.
And there’s going to be hell to pay for the Orion pack if I have anything to say about it.
Those fuckers should have killed me for sure.
“We’ll need to debrief the others,” Olly says as I head for the door. I stop, looking over my shoulder.
“I know,” I say. Then I open the door and head towards the scent of cinnamon.
Chapter 32
Auryn
I can’t stop pacing. Or whining. Or moving altogether. My nerves are frayed. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since we brought Emmett back to the compound. Twenty-four hours since I’ve seen Olly, because every time I get close to the lab, Gage finds me.
Let him work, Auryn.That’s what he keeps saying, though I can see the worry and concern in his eyes, too.
I’d fought him off once before Diego grabbed me and started purring up a storm.
I hate that it soothed me. Hate that upon hearing that sound my mind thought of something else, someone else other than Em.
It took everything in me not to crumble to the ground when I saw him. Naked. Bleeding. Struggling to breathe. I saw the scars on his arm. The big one across his hip cutting straight down to where his bandages were.
The memories try to resurface now as they did then, but I can’t let them. I don’t know what they did exactly, but I can surmise enough. I’ve lived through their torment. I know the things they put me through; I don’t even want to think about what they’d do with an alpha in their hands.
I growl in frustration, the sound echoing off the walls as Gage tries to speak to me.
“Auryn, sit down. You need to eat, you need to—”
“No!” I cry, that whine in my throat beckoning to release once more. Gage reaches for me, and I fight him off, tears welling up behind my eyes. I can’t come undone. I can’t.
I need to fight, need to—
The smell of burnt cherries wafts in like a summer breeze, and I stiffen. I turn my head only slightly, and my heart beats a little faster.
“Uh…hey…” Emmett stands in the doorway, his dark brown hair sticking out at all angles. His body is marred with cuts and gashes, his eyes tired. But he’shere.Standing in the doorway, and I don’t think twice about running to him before anyone can catch me.
I wrap my arms around him and nearly knock him over, but the minute I breathe in his sweet, smoky scent, I don’t care about anything else.
