The warmth hits me like a wall. I start shivering harder.
Malcolm and Vee strip me out of my soaked clothes. I'm shaking too hard to help. My fingers won't cooperate.
Vee brings a towel and dries me off with gentle hands that I don't deserve. She wipes off as much mud as she can.
Alex appears with dry clothes. Sweatpants and a t-shirt. They help me into them like I'm a child.
I can smell something cooking. Finn must be in the kitchen.
They get me to the couch and I collapse onto it. Every muscle gives up at once.
Vee covers me with blankets. Tucks them around me.
"Stop worrying about anything but getting better right now," she says. "We'll deal with the rest after."
I nod, too tired to do anything else.
Malcolm stands across the room, arms crossed over his chest. He’s watching me like I'm a threat he hasn't decided how to neutralize yet.
Alex sits in a chair nearby, steady and calm but his eyes never leave me.
The big alpha is in the far corner of the room.
He's standing with his back against the wall holding back aggression by what feels like a thread.
His eyes move from me to Vee. From Vee to me. Back and forth. Measuring. Monitoring.
Every time they land on her, he settles slightly.
Every time they land on me, it unsettles again.
I don't blame him.
Finn brings broth and sets it on the coffee table.
"Small sips," he says, clipped. "Your stomach won't handle much."
Vee helps me sit up enough to drink.
The broth is warm and salty and my body accepts it gratefully. It’s the first thing I've kept down besides sips of water in days.
"Thank you," I manage.
She doesn't respond. Just takes the mug when I'm done and sets it aside.
I lie back down. The blankets are heavy and warm.
My eyes won't stay open.
From the far corner the big alpha makes a sound. Very quiet. Not directed at me. Something between a rumble and a sigh. Like he's settled part of himself that was unresolved.
"Sleep, Drake," Vee says. "You're safe here."
Safe.
I'm not sure that's entirely true.
But I'm with Vee.
