Glancing over my shoulder, I find Kaitlin perched on the edge of the nurse’s station with Foster at her back. Shepherd hovers nearby, watching as the hospital staff fusses over my daughter. They pull out a box of donated stuffed animals and dolls, and help her choose one to keep. Shep catches my eye and nods, silently telling me he has them.
Trusting him to protect my little bug, I open Omen’s door and walk inside. My breath catches when the hospital bed comes into view. It’s been a little over two weeks since I last saw my sister. How has she become this frail? She’s tiny compared to the wide bed. Her cheeks are drawn, and she’s lost weight. A lot, if the way her collarbones jut out tells me anything. Tears gather on my eyelids, but I refuse to let them fall.
My arms cross over my chest as I come to a stop at the end of her bed. It’s easy to fall back into the parental role I’ve always played in her life, expression slipping into a mom-glare. Her lips twitch ever-so-slightly, but she doesn’t smile. Regret wars with sadness in her moss-green eyes.
“You may never make such careless, impulsive decisions ever again. The rejection may diminish your will to exist, but when it gets to where you are willing to die, you call me.” I can’t hold back the tears this time. Seeing her only proves how close I came to losing her. How close she still is to giving up.
“I’m sorry, Hannah, I didn’t mean–”
“I know.” I cut her off, scrubbing the tears from my face. Feeling guilty won’t help her declining mental state. She needs my love and unwavering support, not my anger. Her decisions were reckless, but she didn’t make them alone. There are others who deserve my ire. The DAU agent who convinced her to go to Whitlan certainly seems like a great target.
Rounding the bed, I take her hand in mine and try to send her some of my strength. “This chemical rejection is kicking your ass, but you can beat it. You were strong enough to face our father and his vile scientist, so overcoming a chemical imbalance should be a breeze. Especially when you aren’t doing it alone.”
Because that’s one thing I will be certain of—she will not be alone again. We will surround her with enough love to cancel out the effects of the rejection, and then she, too, will be free to live and to love as she pleases.
When I linger, she squeezes my hand and tells me everything Doctor Russell has explained since she woke up. From the weakness in her heart to the partial bond mark causing havoc in her body. Fury rips through me, and I have to bite back a curse. Whoever Pack Graves are, they’d best hope we do not meet soon. I don’t know if I’d be able to hold myself back from ripping them to pieces. With what I know of Foster and Shepherd, they’d willingly jump into that fight for me. They may throw a punch before I can.
Amusement sparkles in Omen’s eyes before she shifts the topic away from her Fate-matched mates. “Where’s Kaitlin?”
Glancing at the door, I tell her the nurses are pampering her. Under Foster’s watchful eyes, of course, because I would never leave her with strangers. Especially not so soon after our father’s arrest.
“How are you feeling today?” Omen mentioned that her doctor started her on medication that is supposed to help with the worst of the rejection’s effects, hopefully slowing her spiral enough for us to find a permanent solution.
“Better, I guess.”
My feet are aching from standing, so I slide into the chair positioned by her bed. I imagine Donovan moved it there while he watched over her last night. According to Foster, the older Alpha has become something like a grandfather to my sister since she fled Whitlan. I’m grateful she had him in her corner, supporting and advising her. She deserves good role models. Those who aren’t indoctrinated into an anti-designation cult.
“Having Father locked away is relieving, isn’t it?” Part of Omen’s mental health problems likely stems from the abuse she suffered as a child. I tried my best to shield her, but there is only so much I could do, not without making things worse for both of us.
A pang in my ribs has my hand instinctively moving to soothe the area. The baby has enjoyed using them as punching bags for the last few days. With how big he feels, it’s hard to breathe sometimes. Pregnancy isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, but I know the pain will be worth it as soon as he takes his first breath in this world.
She smiles, but her body is tense. “As long as he stays that way.”
Ah, yes. The fear that Father will somehow find a way out of the charges presented against him is very real. There is no doubt he will come after us both with the fury of a man scorned if he is released. We also have to worry about the rest of our family. Mother, Ben, and Jacqueline are as awful as Father is, and the FCDA has yet to capture any of them.
They will. Of that, I have no doubt. The Montgomery household will fall. I’ve worked too hard for there to be any other outcome.
“So what next?” Omen asks after a few minutes of peaceful silence. She looks tired. We both are, but she is exhausted in that bone-weary, edge-of-death type of way.
“Now you keep fighting this rejection, while I file for divorce and full custody of my children.”
They sound like simple goals, but there is a wall standing before each of us, and we do not know how thick it is. Somehow, we have to break through. To find the happiness that awaits us on the other side.
I bite back a laugh when my sister’s jaw gapes. I’ve stunned her silent with my admission. Did she think I would stay with Colin? That I hold any form of love for a man who has never cared about me beyond my ability to give him Montgomery heirs?
The door opens before either of us speaks. Tiny giggles filter into the room as Foster and Shepherd swing Kaitlinbetween them. My girl looks so darn happy, it makes my heart ache. When she sees me, her smile grows even brighter, and she dives for me. Shepherd quickly catches her, stopping her from barreling into me with her full weight. “Careful, princess. Remember, Mommy has your little brother growing in her tummy. We can’t jump on her.”
Our eyes meet as he sets her gently against my side. The love burning in them sets me aflame. Did the room suddenly get ten degrees warmer? Foster rests a hand on the back of the chair, hovering on my other side. I can feel his eyes on me, too, and the tension between us grows thicker. Fates, these men are going to make me explode if they don’t stop staring at me like I’m their whole world.
Foster’s fingers play with my hair as he talks to Omen. He’s much snippier with her than I was. Less afraid to make her spiral. Watching their interaction, I realize she needs people like him, who will support her but won’t let her get away with endangering herself.
It’s almost lunchtime when her eyes start to droop. Leaving is difficult, but I know she needs to rest. I’ll be here to visit every day she is admitted, and as many days as I can after she is released.
Lilah Adler is a gorgeous female Alpha with short, ash brown hair, cobalt blue eyes, and the sharpest eyebrows I’ve ever seen. She greets us outside her office with a firm handshake and direct eye contact. I’m in awe of her self-confidence. The wayshe carries herself as she escorts us into the room lets you know immediately who is in charge.
I want to be her when I grow up.
“Miss Montgomery-Boyd, please take a seat. Would you like a bottle of water?”
