Page 73 of Claiming the Pack's Omega

The doctor’s expression sours. God, he’s going to say no to Stone being discharged.

I can see it. Stone can see it.

And it looks like he’s about to have a fucking panic attack.

His heart monitor isn’t beeping, but I can see how the little lines on it are picking up.

“That’s probably not a good idea, with how high Officer Stone’s risk of infection is, I think?—”

“I’ll do it,” I say. I don’t meet Stone’s gaze. I can’t see the hope there, especially if this doctor says no. “I know the basics of wound care and I know the signs of infection to look out for.”

“Oh! Excellent. Do you have any training, Miss…” The doctor glances down at his chart like he’s trying to find the information for a pack omega.

Well, he’s not going to find one.

“Reyna,” I say, giving him my name. “And no, I’m not trained, I’ve just had practice.”

“Alright, then. If Officer Stone here presents any sign of infection, he should return to our emergency department right away. I’ll go and prep the discharge paperwork and bring you care instructions. Do you have any questions?”

“Does he have dissolvable or non-dissolvable stitches?”

“Good question, Miss Reyna. Non-dissolvable, so he’ll have to be brought in for their removal in a week to take them out.”

“Got it.” I turn to face the rest of the pack, my arms crossed over my chest. “I take it I’ll have help bringing him back in, considering I don’t have a car here?”

“Yes, of course,” Theo says, glancing away from me.

If he can’t handle my disappointment, then he shouldn’t have done something stupid. My standards are kind of in the gutter, considering a simple “I’m sorry” blew my mind. Taking care of your packmate seems like basic human decency.

“Alright, a nurse will be back soon to get your discharge paperwork completed.”

Stone reaches out and grips my wrist with his good hand.

I jump at his touch, but I don’t pull away. I have a feeling he needs some sort of physical reassurance. His hand is so warm and big around my wrist.

“Thank you—” he says, his voice breaking a bit at the end. “I—I really don’t like hospitals, it’s… it’s?—”

“It’s fine,” I say, reaching up to squeeze his hand. “You don’t have to explain it to me if you don’t want to.”

I whirl back around to face his pack mates, irritation leaking from every cell I have in my body. I’m pissed at them.

Well, pissed at Theo and Killian, at least. Milo at least offered to try and learn.

“You guys are a bunch of fucking workaholics,” I snarl. “Seriously? You’re going to prioritize your work over taking care of your packmate who wasalmost killed?”

Theo just stares at the floor, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Killian’s jaw clenches, but to his credit, he doesn’t yell at me again.

Actually, fuck that. He shouldn’t get credit for the bare minimum.

“Packs are supposed to be family, right? Well, if someone from my family was beaten, carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and strung up before almost getting killed, I’d bend over backwards to make sure they were okay.”

“You’re right—” Killian starts.

“Shut the fuck up,” I snap. “I don’t need to hear you say I’m right if you’re using it as your get out of jail free card. Saying sorry doesn’t mean anything if you’re going to continue making bad decisions.”

I start edging towards the door of the hospital room and all four of them look like they want to stop me, but they don’t.