Page 23 of Claiming the Pack’s Omega (Riverwell Omegaverse #2)

Reyna

“ F ine, we’ll see.”

The moment the words leave my mouth, something changes in the air. It’s electric, and a little scary.

Who would’ve thought three little words could breathe life into a room that’s so sterile it feels like not even the most stubborn bacteria would survive?

There’s definitely a part of me that thinks I’m being stupid, agreeing to this.

I’d be lying if I said my attraction to every single member of this pack wasn’t playing a part in my decision.

Other than how dickish Killian has been today, they’ve all treated me with respect. Obviously, there’s still a part of me that’s pissed they fucking lied to my face for weeks.

I don’t do well with lies. The last time someone lied about who they were and what their intentions were with me, I ended up beaten, bloody, and naked in a park.

Despite that—or maybe even because of that—I always see the worst in people before I see the best.

When I look at the Graylock pack, I can feel in my bones that they lied to me because this situation is bigger than me. Bigger than them, even.

They’re good guys, deep down. Hell, not even deep down. They’re good guys on the surface, too.

They didn’t have to do half of the things they’ve done for me. Because of them, my family has a shot at a dream life here on the Northside.

I’m still going to keep my guard up, though. I already gave my heart away to someone before, only for it to be ripped to shreds and stomped bloody. Like hell am I going to trust an entire pack of alphas when I know jack shit about them.

I close my eyes and take a breath. I may not trust them completely, but that’s no reason to be a bitch.

“So, what’s the plan after this?” I ask them.

“I have to get back to work,” Killian says slowly, as if he’s worried mentioning work will spook me.

It certainly doesn’t relax me, but I’m not going to attack him because he works for the council.

“Me too,” Theo sighs, “The firm has some pretty big cases we’re moving forward with, so they’re going to need me back at the office.”

I turn to Milo, who’s gone back to being silent. I was surprised when he got between a pissed off Killian and I.

I would’ve expected Theo, or Stone, if he weren’t out of commission, but I was under the impression Milo avoided confrontation with every bone in his body.

“What about you?” I ask Milo.

“Nothing much,” Milo shrugs. “Just work, but I do that from home.”

I nod, flashing him a reassuring smile that just seems to send his gaze to the floor faster than if I’d said there were the secrets to the universe on the tile. With how intently he’s staring, it almost seems like he actually thinks he can find answers down there.

“What about you?” I ask Stone, walking to stand beside his hospital bed. “How’re you doing?”

His spicy pepper scent seems to shoot itself past my sinuses and straight into my brain, even though it’s dulled from the pain and exhaustion that’s obvious in his expression.

I can feel the eyes of the other guys on my back as I talk to Stone, but I ignore them.

I met Stone first. There’s this strange sense of loyalty I feel, tugging at my chest, when I look at him. The hospital bed underneath him looks far too small for it to be comfortable, under his bulky frame, especially with how battered and bruised he is.

“Been better,” he chuckles, wincing. His laugh probably tugged on the collection of stitches I know they must’ve given him. “My plan is to get out of here as fast as I can.”

There’s a tightness around his eyes that reveals there’s something deeper there, almost like he doesn’t want to be here or something.

Maybe he hates hospitals.

“I’m sorry for lying to you,” he says softly, his gaze not wavering from mine.

Another apology from an alpha. Two in the span of five minutes, that must be a record.

He means it, too. I can see it in his deep blue eyes, imploring me to believe him.

“I get why you did,” I sigh, offering him a tight smile. “It’s not like you could just go around the Southside announcing you were an undercover Northside cop.”

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t have ended well for me.”

“Thanks, though, for apologizing,” I say, drumming my nails against the railing of the hospital bed. There’s a chip in the polish on my left pinkie finger.

Shit, I left all of my nail polish at the house.

I left a lot of my stuff at the house.

“Of course,” he says.

His expression makes me uncomfortable. He looks like he’s… concerned? Like, he’s concerned that his apology means so much to me.

Well, that’s not my fault. Blame that on all the other alphas I’ve encountered who step all over people like me and expect us to apologize for being in their way. I’ve encountered people like that all the time, even before I got into the work I did.

Jackasses have treated my dad like that at the shop. Douchebags have treated my mom like that at the diner.

“So,” I say, in a poor attempt at trying to change the subject. “Stone’s your real name, huh?”

“It is,” he answers.

“Obsidian is a stupid fight name for someone whose actual name is Stone,” I tease, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Hey, I thought it was decent!” He jokes back.

“Uh huh, sure. It’s very… on theme, kinda like how parents will name siblings. Here, meet River and Lake!”

His expression falls and I instantly know I’ve said something I shouldn’t have.

“Oh, shit,” Theo whispers from behind me. Thanks a lot, Theo, seriously not helping.

From the moment I met Stone, I knew there was more to him than meets the eye. His confident persona hid something else he worked really hard to keep covered.

There’s so much gut-wrenching pain I see in his eyes as he looks at me, it almost takes my breath away.

I fucked up.

I just don’t know how to fix it.

The awkward silence is interrupted by the hospital door opening to reveal a doctor with thinning hair and a white lab coat.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Goldstein. Are you all the Graylock Pack?”

“Yes,” Killian nods.

“And you must be Officer Stone,” the doctor says, glancing up from his charts.

Stone has to clear his throat before he’s able to speak.

He won’t look at me.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Great, I’m glad you’re all here. I have good news, there shouldn’t be any permanent damage, but we noticed elevated white blood cell counts, which could be a sign of infection.

Considering a lot of the lacerations were done with presumably unclean instruments, that’s something we plan on keeping an eye on. ”

“So when do you think I can leave the hospital, Doc?” The normally confident cadence to Stone’s voice is nowhere to be found.

He sounds nervous. Maybe even a little scared.

The doctor’s brows draw down in concern.

“A few days, at least, it’s important that?—”

“No. I want to leave today.” Stone’s knuckles are going white as he grips the railings of his hospital bed. “I want to leave with my pack.”

The doctor purses his lips into a tight line.

“Well, I guess if you’re sure you want to leave… but only if you have someone to help care for you. You’ll need someone to change your bandages at least once a day to keep them sterile, monitor for infection, and administer the proper medications.”

Stone glances at his pack for a split second, and his expression falls.

“Can I… can I do it myself?”

“With your arm in the condition it is? No, son, you can’t.”

Stone’s voice is soft as he turns to look at his packmates.

“I know you guys are really busy, but could you help with this?”

Theo and Killian wince at the same time.

“I can try, but my schedule is busy,” Killian says, staring down at the floor.

“I can help, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to stick to a schedule, since I may need to run into the office at crazy times if the firm needs me,” Theo says.

They’re a bunch of fucking cowards.

Seriously, what the hell?

Their packmate was just tortured . He was nearly killed ! For a case they’re all involved in!

Fuck this. This is stupid.

“I—I can help,” Milo says softly, “I’m always home, but I don’t really know how to do any of that stuff, can I learn?”

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 was almost 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.

Maybe it’s because of the glare I’m shooting all of them.

“You guys say you want me to see where things go,” I say. “You’re not giving me a very good impression of you guys. If you can’t even take care of each other, how can I trust you to have my back if I ever need you?”

My hand shakes slightly as I reach for the doorknob.

I’ve never spoken to an alpha like that. Sure, I’ve yelled at alphas before. A lot, if we’re being honest. Usually to get their grubby hands off of me. Or I’ve yelled at Dom to give me a bigger cut.

For some reason, this outburst is different. I care.

I mean, sure, I cared about getting the money I deserved or not being harassed at work, but I didn’t expect very much out of those men.

I did here.

And the Graylock pack has disappointed me today.

Turns out my knights in shining armor have their own skeletons in their closets and their own issues they’ve got to figure out on their own.

Unfortunately for them, I’m not in a state to save them if they’re drowning. Not at the expense of myself.

“Where are you going?” Stone asks quietly.

The pack is lucky Stone was the one that asked. I would’ve probably responded to Theo and Killian with something snarky.

“I need some fresh air. I’ll meet you guys at the loading zone at the front of the hospital.” I shoot Killian a glare. “See? Leaving the room like a normal person, no more jumping out of windows for me.”

Oh well, so much for being nice.

The heavy door shuts behind me with a thump.