I shook my head, fighting tears again. “The moment we moved to North Crossing, the excuses started. At first, it was catching up with the team, building bonds. I knew there’d be away games, but not for months at a time.”
The sheer alpha energy rolling off my brother would have had any omega ready to cower, but to mine, he was safe. Somehow, he kept any further opinions to himself, quietly seething as I processed everything.
“How long have I been in here?” I asked quietly, eyes darting to the chart on the wall to find answers.
“About a week,” he sighed. “If you hadn’t made it to that phone…” His voice broke then, eyes shining with tears. In those brown eyes that matched mine, I saw how much pain he’d been in.
I hated that I put him through this hell, thattheyput us through it.
“I took them off of your emergency contact list,” he said, as he sat heavily in the chair beside my bed, still holding onto my hand. “They were listed after Mom and our dads. Thankfully, our parents were the ones the staff called first.”
I let my head fall back against the pillow with a groan. “So that means they know?”
“Yes,” he admitted with a shrug. “I think it’s a miracle they didn’t call out your pack with the state you were in. Something like this could land someone in jail for omega neglect.”
“I’m not pressing charges,” I said again, just to make sure it was clear. “I’m just leaving quietly. If I have my way, they’ll never hear from me again. They paid the important bills. I’m cancelling my phone and putting myself on a new plan. I don’t need them. Iwantedthem, and they proved I shouldn’t trust them. So now, I won’t.”
Conrad squeezed my hand. “You don’t need them, but youdoneed to recover. I want you to come stay with me. We’ve got a spare room at the hockey house. The guys will help me set it up. Your exes will never look for you there, and I don’t think you want to sit alone in our childhood home.”
I shuddered. “I think I’ve spent enough time alone to last a lifetime.” All I could picture were those empty halls and the resounding silence. I needed to find a pair of headphones to keep on me at all times. Even the steady beeping of my heart monitor was comforting at this point.
My hand was still clinging to his, and he thankfully didn’t let go. We were close, but we weren’t usually the hand-holding type. Still, my omega needed the contact as much as I needed the pain to stop.
“Your team is going to think I’m pathetic,” I whispered, hating how tragic I sounded.
“No,” he argued. The pure conviction in his voice calmed my nerves. “These guys are different.”
I looked away, staring at the bare trees outside the window. Winter had fully set in.
“Do we need to go pack up your house?” he asked gently after the silence stretched on a bit too long.
“I already started,” I admitted. “I planned to leave if they didn’t show up. But I don’t want to keep most of it. We can boxup my clothes, put them on the curb, and call a charity. I don’t want anything that reminds me of them. It’s time to go home and start over.”
To most, I probably sounded angry, and in some ways I was. More than that, I just wanted to move on. I deserved to be surrounded by people who cared about me.
Family, at least, would never abandon me.
“I just can’t believe they changed this much,” I murmured. “They went from giving me the world to not even bothering to talk to me. They used to message me every day. Now, it’s silence. Hell, look at my phone, listen to the voicemails.”
He grabbed my phone a bit too quickly, and I watched his face carefully as he explored. His jaw was tight, teeth grinding as his face flushed red. His eyes narrowed into angry slits as he read our group chat. I knew what it said already. Me checking in… crickets. Them sending a message every once in a while that wasn’t even a conversation. He would see all the missed calls from me and rare calls from them.
Before he could say anything else, a nurse and doctor bustled in. The doctor was older, gray-haired, with soft wrinkles around his eyes. He gave me a warm smile that I tried to return.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” he said as he held out a hand for me to shake. “I’m Dr. Michaels.”
“Thank you for taking care of me,” I said with a tight smile. In reality, I knew what was coming. Uncomfortable questions about why a bonded omega was found in the state I was.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“I spent the heat alone,” I said with a shrug. He softened at the challenge in my voice. Maybe he’d chalk me up to being a stubborn omega.
“Was someone responsible for seeing you through that heat?” he asked, not letting it go.
I looked at my brother, silently begging him to stay quiet. “No. My pack wasn’t aware.”
The doctor’s brows lifted. “Your pack wasn’t aware their omega was in heat?” My mouth was set in a firm line as I stared at him, giving nothing away.
Thankfully, he didn’t push. “There’s no reason to keep you here much longer. The sedation has worn off, you’re hydrated, and your last labs were improving. You’re out of the woods, just one last round of labs before I sign off. We had to use a temporary feeding tube, but you’ll need to gain weight and eat hearty for a few weeks. I’d also suggest a counselor. This wasn’t easy on you, and it can negatively impact your omega.”
