Taking in my surroundings, I make a face at the IV in my vein, and the very loud monitor logs all kinds of things I don’t understand. I hate hospitals, but I can admit I need to be here.
My entire body is incredibly sore and I’m still tired, yet I don’t want to close my eyes again so I can relive the last week over and over. There’s also the uncomfortable feeling of slick between my legs from my body being forced to work overtime to protect myself.
It doesn’t escape me that Cassidy didn’t have that kind of protection, so I can’t imagine how torn up her insides have to be.
There’s a bed next to mine with a curtain pulled for privacy. A hand reaches out and yanks it open, and I find myself smiling as I see Ansel and Bellamy.
“Where’s Cassidy?” I rasp, my voice sounding like broken glass. Shiloh flinches as he sits up quickly, his eyes moving over me as if I’m going to disappear on him. “I’m fine, Shiloh.”
“Fine is not something I would use to describe anything that’s happened,” he says softly.
“Cassidy is still in surgery,” Ansel says. I stare at him, both because of the information and how deep his voice is. It’s reminiscent of alphas who have gone feral, and I’m kind of concerned. Did we do this to him? “Don’t look at me like that, Princess. The past week wasn’t the best for any of us. If we’re using the word ‘fine’ loosely, then that’s what I am.”
“That’s not reassuring,” I mutter.
“Yeah, only we’re allowed to lie,” Bellamy pouts, making my lips twitch in amusement as our alphas roll their eyes.
“How about no lies,” Shiloh suggests. “We need each other to get through this, and that means only the truth.”
“I had a nightmare,” I sigh, ripping off the bandaid.
“Understandable,” Shiloh says, kissing my hand. “Want to talk about it?”
“No, but I do want to know more about Cassidy,” I admit.
“The knife did some damage,” Abbott says, leaning against the door jamb. Coming in, he closes the door as he continues. “They’re repairing things, and she has a cracked rib.”
“Some asshole squeezed her to get her to behave. I guess he figured if he tried to break her, she wouldn’t fight anymore,” I explain. “Avery was breaking our bonds, and Cassidy lost her shit. God, it was awful. I feel…empty.”
“We can fix that any time you want, Winter,” Shiloh says seriously, offering his wrist. “My mom can deal. I’ll tattoo my bites so they’re always fucking there.”
“Are you being serious?” I ask.
“As a heart attack,” he says.
“Okay,” I say, tugging him closer to me.
“I don’t know if return bites are a good idea right now,” Abbott says carefully.
“Avery stabbed me continually with a fishing spear after throwing me into a pool with a wicked undertow. She kept me for hours there playing Spear the Omega,” Bellamy growls, pulling at Ansel’s arm. “Pretty sure this is a great idea.”
“Is that why you have so many stab wounds?” Abbott asks, horrified. “The doctors had to sedate you so you didn’t end up in sepsis while digging out the shit they stuck in your wounds.”
“Cool trick, huh?” I mutter, biting down hard on Shiloh’s arm with the intent to draw blood. Bell does the same with a shrug, while Abbott looks like he’s going to faint.
“I blew the bitch up,” Shiloh grunts in pain. “At least, I’m pretty sure I did.”
I close my eyes as the bond flares back to life, whimpering in relief.
Lifting my head, I raise my brow. “Context, baby.”
“I saw her while I was in my killing era, and chased her through the bunker. She’s really hard to kill, by the way. I chased her into a room with a whirlpool thing and she jumped in while I shot at her,” he explains.
“Ugh, I fucking hate that pool,” Bellamy mutters. There’s a drop of blood on his lips, and Ansel licks it off with a smirk. “My turn.”
“I won’t say no, even if Abbott thinks it’s a bad idea,” Ansel says.
“Ugh, it’s not a bad idea, it’s simply not the responsible thing to do. After everything, I have to say fuck responsibility,” Abbott sighs.
