“Alphas,” I whisper breathlessly.
Knox kisses the top of my head. “We’re right here, Omega.”
“We’ve got you,” Walker murmurs through his soft kisses.
“What do you need? I can get it for you,” Eli says from the chair. “You thirsty? Hungry?”
A yawn drops my jaw before I relax further against Knox. “I want to mark my Alphas,” I murmur as I slip into sleep.
Lia
Idon’t remember when the fire finally stops. Only the quiet that comes after it.
It’s not sudden. It doesn’t just vanish. It fades out, like a storm rolling out of town that leaves everything drenched in its wake.
My body aches in places I don’t have names for. My limbs feel like they weigh twice as much as they should. Even my thoughts come slower, like they have to push through fog to reach me.
But the fever is gone. And in its place?
Peace.
Real peace. Not the frantic, clawing peace that comes from having everything under control.
This is different. Steadier, and more gentle than before.
A voice catches my attention through the fog.
“Hey,” Eli murmurs.
His voice is the first thing I truly latch onto. It wraps around me, low and soothing, and when I manage to crack my eyes open, his face is the first I see.
There’s a soft concern behind his glasses and tired edges at the corners of his wondrous blue eyes. The kindness in his eyes makes my chest tighten.
“There she is,” he whispers.
My smile is lopsided, and my voice is wrecked. “Hi.”
Eli smooths his thumb along my cheek. “How you feeling, Alley Cat?”
“I feel…” My voice throat is dry. My voice, weak. I swallow hard and try again. “I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
Knox huffs out a quiet laugh somewhere nearby. “Yeah, that tracks.”
I try and shift to see him, but Eli moves quicker than I do.
“Easy.” Eli’s hands slide beneath me, lifting me like I weigh nothing. He carries me as if I might break if he shifts me wrong. I curl against him. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
I don’t protest.
I don’t think I could if I tried.
I just let him gather me up. My head falls against his shoulder as he carries me, and I breathe him in without thinking.
There’s still that underlying Alpha edge, something that makes my instincts stir even now, but it’s softened. Calmer. His scent, woven with the rest of theirs in something that feels and smells like… home.
The bathroom fills with steam before I fully register what’s happening.
The sound of running water echoes softly, and when Eli lowers me into the tub, I hiss at the first touch of hot water against my skin.
