Page 14

SKYE

Someone was always with me though.

This morning, it was Halo. Just us girls, and that was nice.

I was in my room all alone though, because she was having a shower. As I waited, I watched a movie that I wasn’t really paying attention to.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up.

Crux

Checking in. How are you feeling?

I bit my lip and grinned as a wicked thought floated through my mind.

I put my phone down and reached behind my neck to untie the laces keeping my hospital gown on.

They unknotted easily, and I shrugged my shoulders then dragged the neckline of the gown down and let my bare chest breathe.

Excited, I picked up my phone, ready to send Crux a sexy surprise.

On the phone screen, I saw myself. Pale and bruised. A bright red-brown track of staples and flakey, scabbing skin running from my clavicle, to just below my ribcage. I felt…wider. More distant from myself. Torn apart.

There was nothing sexy about this.

I wiped a tear from my face and covered myself up with my gown.

Skye

Fine.

I sent the text and dropped the phone onto my mattress.

The door to the bathroom opened and with it, a puff of steam, followed by a refreshed and pristine Halo.

Her hair was tied back, and I could see the sheen of her SPF moisturizer on her otherwise makeup-free face.

She looked stunning in a simple green t-shirt and black yoga pants that seemed shrink wrapped to her long, lean legs that had prowled dozens of catwalks.

In her hands was a familiar plastic bowl filled with soapy water, and a wash cloth and hand towel draped over her shoulder.

“Ready for a bath?” Halo asked brightly.

“No.” I turned away from her, showing her my back, and probably the untied laces.

“No?” She sounded genuinely confused. “What do you mean no?”

A sponge bath had been a regular routine now, private time between Halo and I. Even if it wasn’t routine, I, like most omegas, loved being pampered, and I almost never said no about anything, especially not to Halo.

“I said no,” I snapped, gripping my favourite soft blanket with white knuckles.

“You’ll feel better after. You know you will.” She touched my shoulder and I shrugged away.

“Just leave me alone.” I grit my teeth, hot tears coming to my eyes. I didn’t want to be mean, I loved Halo. She was one-third of my entire world.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I will. But not until you give me an explanation. Deal?” She touched my hair and I let her.

“I don’t… I…” But I couldn’t get the words out.

“Come on,” Halo cooed. She put her hands on my shoulders and pulled lightly. “Sit up. Let’s talk like civilized people.”

I let her prop me up on the bed, on my back, and I hastily swiped a tear from my cheek. I looked at her, then away, hugging myself. The skin on my torso felt so tight. It was hard to breathe.

“I don’t want you to see how ugly I am,” I admitted.

“You’re not–”

I cut her off. “Don’t patronize me.”

“You’re not ugly,” she insisted, but tenderly. “You’re healing.”

I swallowed and forced my chin not to quiver. “Both things can be true.”

“Scoot.”

I did as I was told, shuffling over so Halo could get into the bed with me. She draped her arm around me and held me to her chest.

“When I first saw you, you know what my first thought was?” Halo asked. “It was, no way I was lucky enough to have this beautiful, dainty little omega as my scent match. I never did anything that made me worthy of you.”

“You thought that about me?” I asked. Halo, the professional model. One of the most mind-shatteringly gorgeous women on the planet, and a rare lady alpha, thought I was out of her league?

“I was so intimidated,” Halo confessed. “I think I finally knew what it was like when people look at me. You know?” She blushed a little. “Sorry, that sounds so self-centred.”

“No, I think I know what you mean. When I first saw you, I… well…” Red rushed to my cheeks.

“Even though you were already half-naked, I wanted to tear off all your clothes and…” I blushed brighter.

I guess that was a good sign, that my new heart was pumping blood where it should be going. “My thoughts were a lot less refined.”

Halo let out a throaty laugh. Her fingers traced the collar of my gown, until she slipped it off one shoulder. Then the other.

“I wanted that, too.”

With her eyes on me, she dunked the wash cloth into the bowl of still-warm water, and slowly unveiled me. I cringed when she exposed the top of my scar. She kissed me lightly.

“I’ll go slow,” she whispered. She ran the warm, damp cloth over one shoulder, across my collar bone, to the other shoulder. Drops of water rolled down my skin. I felt goosebumps on my back and arms. She lowered the gown more, and it caught on my hardening nipples until Halo revealed those as well.

She moved the soft, wet microfiber cloth around and under my breasts, across the nipples. Butterfly-lightly, she kissed the cloth to my healing incision. Pat. Pat. Pat. She coaxed my arms out of the sleeves and ran the cloth from shoulder to fingertips, across my palms, and under my arms.

“Turn.”

I shifted so she had better access to my back, and she scrubbed gently, squeezing the cloth so water rained down my spine.

Then, we got to my legs, and the horrible indented red scars from the ECMO ports. Halo gently dabbed at them, then washed my legs.

“There, doesn’t that feel better?” she asked, wiping me dry with the hand towel.

It did. It was rejuvenating. “Sorry for being a bitch,” I said.

Halo hugged me to her. “You have the right to feel however you want,” she said. “And no matter what happens, I’ll always be on your side. I promise.”

We sat together like that, staring at the television screen but not really absorbing the story. The guys entered about twenty minutes later and all four of us piled together on the hospital bed.

“One of the perks for being hosted in the pack suites,” I said, nuzzling Crux’s jaw with my head and planting my scent onto him.

I saw the discrete flair of his nostrils as he took in my perfume.

I turned my head and did the same to Severen, eagerly awaiting the tell-tale nose twitch of him inhaling my scent.

When I got instead was a flick of his jaw, which confused me.

“Sev–”

Doctor Houser knocked on the door frame and walked in. He grinned at the sight. “Don’t we look comfortable? How are you feeling, Skye?”

“Good. Stronger.”

He picked up the tablet that was slotted in the footboard of my bed and swiped through.

“We’ve been monitoring your situation closely and you’ve been eating well, your heart rate is strong, blood pressure is looking good.

No sign of infection or rejection.” He glanced up at me with a grin. “Think you’re ready to go home?”

Joy flooded every cell in my body. “Really?” Around me, my alphas sat up, mirroring my excitement.

“Tonight sound good to you?” the doctor asked.

“Yes!” It came out like a squeak. “Yes, yes, yes!” I wrapped my arms around the first body within reach and felt Severen’s solid frame in my arms, his hands stroking my hair.

“You’ll still have to take it easy. You have to take your antiviral medication. No strenuous activity for the next while.”

“Of course.” I flopped down on the bed, practically swooning. “I can’t wait to lounge on the beach, lay in the ocean waves, bask in the sun.”

Dr. Houser’s expression gradually changed from happiness to hesitance. “I’m afraid I have to advise against such things,” he said. “Along with hot-tubs, and submerging your incision.”

I sat up again. “What?”

“Environments like the beach significantly increase the risk of infection. As well, your medications will weaken your immune system, making you susceptible to elevated risk of skin cancer.”

“We live in a port city,” Crux responded flatly.

“Yes,” Dr. Howser said, without wavering. “So you must limit your exposure to the sun and if you insist on going out, be sure to cover your skin. Sunblock, long sleeves and pants, and sunhats.”

My joy seeped from my chest. I imagined it leaking between the staples holding me together. Crux’s aura turned sharp and edged, Severen’s as unreadable as his stoic personality, and Halo was nothing but plums filled with compassion for me.

“Oh,” was all I could manage to say.

“A small price to pay for a second chance at life, though, right?” Dr. Houser said.

“What about sex?” I asked.

“Take it slow, don’t overexert yourself. If you’re careful, it should be alright. For heat, we can recommend some mild over the counter heat suppressants so your heats won’t be as strong and long-lasting, but still enjoyable.”

I managed a small smile. At least I could still show my pack how much I loved them.