“That’s fine.” He nodded, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Spencer is handing Lyle over to them now.”
I didn’t let go of Bear when we got into the car and drove away. I wanted Chase and Spencer as well, but my bond with Bear was screaming, demanding proximity. Thankfully, the car was full of their combined scents, which immediately eased some of the deep panic attacking me.
“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice slightly muffled, given that my face was pressed firmly into Bear’s chest.
“Hospital,” Chase said from his spot next to me.
“But I want to go home,” I whined. It had been a long,awfulday. The last thing I wanted was to go to a cold hospital full of overly bright lights that smelled like chemicals. I wanted my nest, wanted to be surrounded by the scent of my alphas. Safe, warm, and protected.
“Soon,” Chase assured me, his hand resting on my thigh, his touch reassuring.
Spencer should have been touching me as well—all of them together would have grounded me more. And everything felt too distant, fuzzy around the edges. But when I looked closely, trying to figure out what I was feeling, I was met with excruciating pain. Retreating was instinctual. I couldn’t process everything right now. I just… couldn’t.
Nuzzling back into Bear’s chest, I did my best to block out any conversation, which came surprisingly easy. And at some point, I passed out.
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting on a gurney, grumbling as the kind female doctor shone a flashlight into my eyes. She smelled like freshly cut grass with a hint of lemon; it was clean and comforting, sure, but it wasn’t my alphas.
Still, I held Bear’s hand in a vise-like grip as she checked me over. Chase was hovering nearby, looming over the doctor while she worked. Spencer wanted to stay with me, but when he heard that the police were there and were asking to speak to me, he excused himself to take care of it.
“Considering what you’ve been through, you’re doing okay. I’ll bandage up your ankle, and we’ll do some imaging of your neck. But, other than that, you need to rest and drink plenty of fluids while you recover from the effects of being drugged. It really could be a lot worse, so that’s positive. It looks like your alphas got to you before any major damage was done.”
“No other injuries?” Bear asked as Spencer slipped backinto the room, his eyes raking over me, trying to assure himself I was really okay.
The doctor smiled indulgently at my pack mate. “No, some rest for her throat and neck, a little antibiotic ointment on that ankle, and she’ll be fine. I’ll give you my card, so you can call me if you have any questions.”
“Thank you,” I said, but it was just a reflex. I was a million miles away.
“Now… There’s one thing. This gentleman here”—she nodded at Spencer—“brought a bottle of what you were drugged with for us to examine. I’m not worried about any long-term issues, but may I ask; are you on heat suppressants?”
“I am now,” I stared at the floor. “I was taking them regularly, but he… the person who did this… he, umm”—I gestured to my disheveled self—“swapped them out for sugar pills.”
“Excuse me?” The doctor’s mouth opened in horror.
“Trust me, we were all infuriated,” Spencer growled. “We got her another prescription as soon as we found out.”
“I started taking them after the… heat happened,” I added.
“So, you did have a heat, then?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah, that was how we figured out the pills had been swapped.”
“Ugh, I hate people. Umm, well…” the doctor groaned. “Unfortunately, all this starting and stopping of suppressants isn’t good for you. You’re going to have another heat again. Soon, most likely. Your blood tests back that up. On the bright side, it should be a small, mini-heat.”
I stared at the doctor, who offered a sympathetic look and reached for my hand. But I pulled back, shaking my head.
“But I… I did that already. I don’t… Is that even safe?”
“If you have your pack with you.” The doctor looked around. “And you take it easy during your healing so you’re asstrong physically as possible, I think you’ll be okay. But you can always call me—or another doctor—if things don’t feel right. Trust your body.”
My head was spinning, but I found myself nodding. “Well, at least that will give me a chance to bond with the rest of my pack.”
I looked at Chase and Spencer, andI thinkI smiled. But I couldn’t be sure. Everything still felt… far away, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Spencer pushed off the wall he had been leaning against. “We don’t need to decide that now, princess. You need to rest first.”
I frowned. “I know that. But after I rest. It’ll be good then. Unless… We love each other, don’t we? And want to be bonded… unless… unless that’s not what you want?”
Were we over now that my stalker situation had been resolved? Did they still want me? Bear and I were bonded, so I was part of their pack, but in that moment, after all the adrenaline crashing, I wasn’t sure.
