My body still ached, still protested each movement, but I found reserves I hadn't known I possessed. Asher stayed glued to my side, his tall frame angled slightly away from me so I could lean against him.
We reached the intersection, and, though I thought I might die from the exertion, I gave Asher the biggest smile I could manage. He studied my face for a heartbeat, emotions washing over his face. Then, without needing to be asked, Asher helped me turn. As we moved back to my room, my inner Omega woke up—as if those instincts had been dormant while I healed—and my scent plumed the air. Asher breathed in deeply, his hold on me growing firmer.
When we finally reached my room, Asher was nearly having to support my entire weight. My legs were gelatin. The nurse appeared out of nowhere, moving quickly past us to straighten my bed and fluff pillows. When Asher lowered me to the mattress and stepped back, I mourned the loss of contact with him. Every part of me tingled with need.
"Easy does it," he murmured as I sank back against the pillows.
I looked up at him, a thank-you on my lips, but the words died when I saw his expression. Tenderness, open and unashamed, softened the lines of his face. I could see the same longing I felt in his eyes, and it made my heart stutter in my chest. Asher was looking at me like I meanteverythingto him.
The moment stretched between us. I never wanted it to end.
“Well," he said, clearing his throat, “looks like you'll be running marathons in no time."
“Yeah, watch out world. Lucy Graves is coming for first place,” I responded, wanting to say so much more—Do you really feel the same way? Do you like me now? Do you want me to stay?
But I didn’t say those things, and Asher moved away to stand by the window.
As the nurse bustled back to check my vitals, I couldn't shake the memory of what I'd seen in his eyes. He’d gazed at me like I was precious. Like I mattered. Like he’d never let me go.
ASHER.
My gaze had repeatedly flashed to the clock over the last half hour, willing it to slow down. My time with her had ticked by too quickly. Leaving was brutal.
"Don't worry about any of the bills," I assured Lucy. "It’s all taken care of."
She'd frowned at that, a tiny furrow appearing between her brows.
“I don’t have insurance—” she paused, cocking her head— “At least, I don’t think I do. My medical bills have been covered by the government for a long time. But I’m sure things are different, now that I’m—” again, she stopped abruptly, biting her lower lip, then finishing her sentence in a tiny voice— “matched with a pack.”
"You don’t have to worry about money," I'd cut her off, gentler than I would have with anyone else, but firm enough to stop further argument. “No strings attached,” I’d added as an afterthought.
We hadn’t told her outright, but Lucy was pack now, whether she fully understood what that meant or not. I wasn’t sure when we’d tell her. I think all of us were terrified that she’d refuse to stay. Hell, sheshouldn’tstay. We’d repeatedly proven that we didn’t deserve her. But when we did ask her to truly become our Omega, I didn’t want her to make the decision based on some bullshit idea that she owed us.
Lucy just stared at me with those electric green eyes, as if trying to see truths in my face that I couldn’t yet voice.
“You won’t be alone for long,” I breathed out, the weight of her gaze taking the wind from my lungs. “Nitro will be here soon.”
She gave me a small smile, still saying nothing.
“If he’s an asshole, let me know,” I added, turning around and darting away before I gave into the part of me that wanted to stay forever and shirk responsibilities.
I left Lucy's room with my heart beating out an almost uncomfortable staccato rhythm.
Something about her smile had gotten under my skin, burrowed past all my defenses and lodged itself somewhere between my ribs. The image of her—silver hair tumbling over her shoulders, green eyes bright with determination despite thepain she was clearly fighting—followed me as I moved down the hospital corridor.
Fuck, I didn’t want to be away from her, but I needed to make it to Henderson before my rehearsal slot. Yes, Nitro would be here soon, but Nitro wasn’t me. I didn’t know if he’d treat her gently. He’d been warring with himself since the accident—oscillating between anger that she’d do something so stupid to guilt that she’d risked her life for him, of all people. Would he lash out at her? If he did, I’d torch the bastard.
Knowing I couldn’t be there for my Omega every waking second of every damn day was torture.
Her laughter echoed in my mind, more intoxicating than any high I'd ever chased.What had I said that made her laugh earlier?
I racked my brain. It was after she’d talked about getting first place in a marathon. Something along the lines of, “I’d place a bet on that, as long as your opponents were turtles.”
The elevator doors slid open with a mechanical ping; the sound startled me, grating on my frayed nerves. I’d been too focused on the sight of her, the smell of her, and the sound of her, causing everything around me fall to the background. I stepped into the lift, tracing a rough hand down my face. Splitting time between the hospital and the Cirque had left all of us ragged, but none of us had complained. Not even once, though Nitro had come dangerously close. He’d known when to shut the fuck up; otherwise, I think the rest of us would have beaten him to a pulp.
I jabbed the lobby button and leaned against the cool steel wall as the lift shuddered and began descending. Floor by floor, and with great effort, I forced my mind to shift to the Cirque. The trick I and the other fire performers hadn’t perfected yet was eating at me. The burn was too hot, the fire flashing out before the full routine. We still had time to get it right, though theinvestigation into the tent collapse was causing various hiccups across the entire operation.
By the time I walked out into the late Nevada afternoon, I had a plan I thought would solve the issue. The day was beautiful, but I paid it no heed. It wasn’t right for me to enjoy a blue, cloudless sky when Lucy was inside this damn hospital. My boots smacked against the asphalt as I strode towards my bike, and I regulated my breathing to sync with that sound. I needed to get into the right headspace before working with fire. If I was out of control, the flame would be too.
