The pack showed up, a line of people each carrying flowers or little baubles, all of them wanting to pay their regards. It took everything in me not to lash out, asking where they’d been when he was suffering in high school, looking for something to hold onto.
My siblings Deron and Maia came in, looking bedraggled, both more somber than I’d ever seen them. They even hugged me before they left and said to call if I needed them. They both said they’d be happy to join Dad in finding out who’d hurt Mase and help him end them. It felt good to know they’d accepted Mase in my life.
The days passed with no change. The doctors insisted he would get better, but I didn’t share their confidence.
Until I could look into those eyes I loved so much, I wouldn’t believe anything.
“I heard one of the nurses saying I needed a shower,” I whispered to Mason. “Apparently I stink.”
“Maybe because you do,” came a voice from the door.
I jerked my head up. John stood there, his eyes puffy. He came over to where I sat and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Still no change?” he asked.
“No, and I’m worried,” I admitted.
“Mason is strong and he has you as his Dominant,” he informed me. “Hewillget through this.”
Of course he was strong. He’d survived his whole pack shunning him. I wanted to shout it, to punch John in the jaw, but I held back because Mase would either disapprove or else be angry I hadn’t waited for him so he could watch.
I laughed, the sound loud and shrill.
This is it, I’ve finally cracked. I’m going insane.
Two nurses entered the room, and I immediately went on the alert. There had only been one at a time, unless they were with the doctor.
“Is this him?” one of them asked.
“It is,” John replied. He grabbed me and pulled me close, locking his arms around mine, pinning them to my side.
“What thefuckare you doing?” I shouted. I snapped my head back, catching him in the jaw.
“Fuck! Hurry up,” John told them. “He’s stronger than you might think.”
A second later I felt a prick in my arm, and within moments the world was spinning. John dropped me into the chair beside the bed, but I wasn’t about to give up. I stood—sort of—then cocked my fist and swung for his face.
It never landed. I fell, sprawling across Mase’s bed, unable to feel my legs.
“John, don’t do this,” I begged, my voice slurring.
“It’s for your own good,” he said.
And then everything went dark.
I don’t know how long I was out. When I woke, the sun was high in the sky and I was strapped to a bed beside Mason’s. I glanced around wildly, then my gaze landed on John, his head tucked into his arms at the table.
“John, what the fuck are you doing?” I struggled against my bonds.
He lifted his head, and I flinched. Judging by the darkness beneath his eyes, he was exhausted.
“Hey, good afternoon,” he rasped out. “Feel better?”
“Get this shit off me!” I demanded, tugging against the straps once again.
“Relax,” he ordered. “We’ll take them off.”
He reached for Mason’s call button and pressed it. A few moments later, the same two nurses came in and started to unstrap me. They were clearly practiced hands, because itwasn’t even two minutes and I was sitting up, ready to throw myself at John, despite the weakness washing over me.
