“I did, sweetheart.” I leaned down to kiss her forehead. “How did it go?”
“It was fine.” She was smiling, but I thought I saw a tightness in her gaze and she kept fidgeting with the thin blanket they’d put over her. Without thinking, I took off my sweatshirt and held it out to her. She immediately tore it from my grasp and pressed it to her face. My alpha preened with satisfaction at how much she loved my scent.
“How much longer do I need to stay here?” she asked me, her voice an almost whisper.
“About an hour. They need to monitor your vitals.”
She frowned, curling up in a ball.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Bear asked, taking a seat next to me.
Westin shrugged. “I just don’t like it here.”
Gray dimmed the overhead lights. “Is that better, princess?”
“Yeah, thank you,” she said with a sigh.
He sat down on the opposite side of the bed, stroking her hair gently. “Are you in pain?” He gently pulled down the hospital gown, revealing the large bandage they placed on her neck.
Before she even answered, I could tell she was going to lie to us. I gripped her chin lightly. “Be honest.” I didn’t use my alpha bark—I would never do that to her—but my tone was deep and serious.
Her lips parted slightly as she met my gaze. “The biopsy hurt a little, but it wasn’t that bad,” she said. “I just feel kind of nauseous and dizzy right now.”
Henry opened his backpack and pulled out one of Westin’s favorite fluffy blankets. “I brought this for you. I have snacks, too.”
I’d wondered why he was bringing a big-ass backpack to the hospital, but now it made sense. Westin’s eyes lit up and Henry peeled off the scratchy hospital one before laying the new blanket over her. Gray rubbed her back and she reached for my hand, tucking it to her chest. Bear held up a glass of water with a straw to her lips and she took a sip.
I knew I wasn’t in competition with my packmates, but sometimes it felt like my alpha needed to be the winner of her affections. As Westin closed her eyes, the stress melting away from her features, it was so clear that what she needed was all of us to work together. Her grip on my hand tightened and my chest felt tight with all the love I had for her. I vowed to do betterfor her. Westin deserved everything, and she wanted us to be a pack, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it yet.
83
WESTIN
My insides were twisted with dread. We’d gotten the call this morning that the pathology results were back. It had been three days since the biopsy, and I didn’t know what was worse—the waiting or the knowing.
I pushed pasta around my plate. “What time do we have to be at the hospital?”
“Our appointment is in an hour, but I spoke to Dr. Ash’s nurse and she said we could do it over telehealth.” Liam had already finished his lunch and his arm was slung around the back of my chair.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll do a video call. I know being in the hospital puts you on edge. This way, you can be comfortable while we talk to her.”
The relief that flooded through me was so intense it almost took my breath away. I abandoned my food and crawled into Liam’s lap. His strong arms wrapped around me and he pressed his face to my hair, breathing deeply. It was like he was trying to catch my scent, and I wished for the millionth time that he could.
“I’m sorry I’m being so high-maintenance,” I said, running my nose along his neck. The more I was around my pack,the stronger my inner omega became. It made sense now that I knew about the Omega Wasting Disease, but I felt uncomfortable with how clingy and needy I was being. What if they thought it was too much?
“I’m not sure you could possibly be classified as high-maintenance,” Bear said. “You’re allowed to have needs, baby.”
“And my alpha loves it.” Liam tightened his hold on me. “Be as high-maintenance as you like.”
The next hour crawled by. My guys were convinced that we would get good news, but my mind rushed to all the worst-case scenarios. By the time Henry was setting up a laptop for us to do the video call from my bedroom, I was an anxious mess.
“Is this weird that I’m in bed? Maybe we should move to the kitchen table,” I said.
“You said you wanted to be here, love,” Gray responded gently.
I bit my lip. My omega didn’t want to leave my nest, but I also didn’t want to appear weak to Dr. Ash.
