When I wake up, I’ve got no clue how much time has passed, it doesn’t seem important anymore when my eyes open and Tally is next to me.
I snuggle and blur lines, but I’m running on experience and instinct when I press closer. If I woke up in a strange nest, surrounded by a virtual stranger, I’d scream. I just hope I convey how safe she is with my touch and scent.
Propping up on my elbow, I lift the comforter and smile at seeing her in one of my T-shirts. She’s still got her panties and bra on. Over her side is a large white gauze, the small dots of blood seeping through from the inside indicating either stitches or staples. Pulling my shirt down to cover her up, I trail my finger over another bandage on her arm before I gingerly touch the small butterfly ones on her face.
A wave of guilt hits. She only got these because of me. I know I’ve got similar bandages covering me, too—honestly, there are probably bruises on bruises—but nothing hurts as bad as my elbow. The more I think about how much I hurt, the more my memories of last night return.
The way my elbow is strapped only confirms the pop I heard was it dislocating. But nothing hurts as much as realizing Tally is out cold because of me.
Before I can fall apart too much, there’s a faint knock. I already know without twisting around that it’s my Alphas.
“Hey,” I whisper, which is “get in here right now” in code.
Ronin and Keegan crawl closer, and I rest my head back down, watching the way they both move. If it was just us, they’d be naked instead of wearing the grey sweats and sexy tight T-shirts. Tynan is the last one in, and he pulls the door shut behind him, locking us in my nest.
I can feel the three of them take a collective breath of relief.
I don’t need to ask if the house is locked up, but after one look at Tally, it’s not an option. “We’re good, right? No one can get in?”
Ronin growls into my ear, biting down on it as an answer. He curls around me and sprawls backwards over a sea of pillows, his decadent peppery-chocolate scent warmed by the shower he recently had.
Keegan and Tynan take a position on the other side of Tally, and the four of us shift until we can all look at her.
“We’re going to freak her out if she wakes up in here,” Kee says quietly, but he doesn’t make a move to give her any space.
My eyes jump to his face to get a better read on him, and my stomach drops. He looks like shit. “Kee, are you hurt? What’s wrong? Roll over so I can see you.”
He reaches over and nabs my hand, squeezing it until I look into his eyes. “Calm down. It was a big night, is all. You’re still off your tits on meds, but you got beat up pretty bad, Raff. Same as Tally. Then all the stuff with Daisy. Singularly, those things don’t sit well with me. All together, and you know…”
I groan quietly. Only because Keegan is our Enforcer. He’s seen bad shit, and lives with it constantly, but for him to saylast night was bad means it was bad. I knew it, but it’s always different when someone says it out loud.
Ronin growls against my ear again. “Stop. You did nothing wrong.”
I have to close my eyes, breathing through the warring emotions. “I’m sorry I was useless. I feel so shit not asking if Daisy is okay. You know how much I adore that girl, but…” I come to a stop, all my words drying up.
Kee’s hand brushes my hair back off my face while Ronin squeezes my hip and tries to comfort me too. “You did good protecting our wife, Raff. You’re going to have to share her. You know that, right?”
Like always, I’m instantly calmer. The way these two Alphas can sway my emotions and make me believe them so effortlessly blows my mind but doesn’t surprise me. We’ve always had that instant and electric connection.
Back to Ronin’s question, though. I shake my head, disagreeing, but I twist to smile against his mouth too. Whatever conversation we were going to have gets lost in a slow kiss, full of reminders of how important we are to each other. He stops, letting me breathe, but he also makes a space for Keegan to reach over and do the same.
“Came too close to losing you today, Raff.” Keegan’s breath blows in my mouth, and more of the anxiety I didn’t realize I was still holding releases. “Did you eat?”
I nod, and he looks down at Tally in the space between us before slumping backwards, his arm bending behind his head. He looks tired. Exhausted, really, and I pull up the oversized blanket so it covers all of us. The lighting in my nest is soft, and the reassuring scents of my pack, and the actual feel of Tally pressed against me, has me fighting to stay awake.
I don’t want to miss a second of this. Us all together. Finally, after so many years. We’ve got so much to talk about, but nowisn’t the time. Behind me, Ronin’s breathing slows, while in front of me, Keegan’s on his side, watching me and Tally until his eyes finally shut. Above him, I can see Tynan already asleep. We’re all together. We’re safe.
The smell of pack surrounds me, warmth from them seeping into my bones and chasing out the cold reality that this nearly didn’t happen. It might be minutes or hours that I think over that very real possibility, but when I roll over, I come face-to-face with Tally. And she’s awake.
Her eyes are open. In them, I can see her emotions but also the medication still affecting her thoughts. She watches me carefully, like a mouse does a cat.
“You’re okay. I promise, Tally. We couldn’t hurt you at all.”
She looks at me some more, and I wonder if my words are registering or if she’s more medicated than I thought. Her hand lifts, shaking like a leaf as she stretches over the small space between us. She’s all out of sorts; nothing is smooth in her movement, including her breathing, and her eyes jump between my face and my hair.
“How did you hair grow back so fast?”
I smile, already knowing she hasn’t figured out that Tynan and I are two people. Thank God she at least recognizes me, or that would have been super awkward.
