Page 2

Clark

“S ir, sir, you need to sit back down,” the alpha nurse snapped at me, as I tried to sneak out of my emergency room cubicle. Again.

“I need to find Gwen,” I snapped back. Gweny must be so scared. Hopefully, they let Tens be with her. I had no idea where she was. They’d taken her from me as soon as the ambulance got here. There were too many sounds and smells to pick hers out from where I was.

“Sit back down,” the nurse ordered, just shy of a bark, as she closed the surrounding curtain again, muttering about alpha athletes being awful patients.

My ribs ached. My wrist throbbed. The new cast itched. The road rash from hitting the pavement was going to be a pain in the ass as well.

But most of all my heart hurt.

That SUV had come out of nowhere. I swerved, but they followed like they were headed straight for us. At the last moment, they moved, so they only clipped us. But we’d taken a tumble. The car sped off, instead of stopping. Someone else had called the ambulance.

Gwen had laid there, unconscious and bleeding.

Again.

My eyes squeezed shut as I tried to block out finding her on the ice that night.

No. Austin had done that.

I’d done this. Who knew how injured she was, just because I wanted to feel her arms around me as we rode through the streets of New York?

No. I tried to shove that thought away. It wasn’t me. It was whoever drove that car, who didn’t even bother to stop to help us. Asshole.

The alpha police officer, who’d been on my ass since we’d come in, strode through the curtain. Kylee, the PR person for the Knights, entered with him.

Great. That meant this had become something she had to deal with. She’d want my attention.

What I needed was to find Gwen. Ugh, I didn’t even have my phone to text Carlos and Dimitri, to see if they had an update. No one was telling me anything. Tenzin hadn’t even come back to see me after I told them he could. Hopefully, that meant he was with her.

“Your tox screen came back negative, and your blood alcohol was under the normal amount,” the large alpha officer told me.

“I told you that. There’s no way I’d drive Gwen home if I couldn’t do so safely.” I scowled. They’d also been after me, because Gwen had old bruises–and the marks on her face where one of the Deloitte’s had slapped her. That I understood. It could be why they were keeping me from her.

Couldn’t they at least tell me how she was?

He nodded and looked at his tablet. “We found footage from street cameras and could see that it was in fact a hit-and-run. We were able to get the plates off the SUV. It’s one of those rent-by-the-hour cars. We’re trying to trace who rented it. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a good look at the drivers. We’ll keep you updated.”

“I want to press charges.” I hadn’t seen them either, because of the angle. Though it looked like another person grabbed the wheel and tried to keep the car from hitting us.

He asked a few more questions and left.

Kylee looked at me, frowning. “How many weeks are you going to be out?”

“Doc casted my hand in a way so that I can still play.” Because I’d insisted. She also said I should sit out for a week or two on account of my ribs. But I’d be fine. I just had to convince the team doc of that. Alphas healed fast anyway.

“People aren’t being mean about this, right?” I added. The last thing I wanted was speculation that I was drunk or high and put Gwen in danger.

“No.” She shook her head, light-brown ponytail waving. Her brow furrowed. “Am I a little concerned that three Deloittes assaulted Gwen at Tito’s, then several Knights took them out back and beat the shit out of them? Yes. But this? This is just a terrible tragedy.”

“Gwen’s one of us. How is she? No one will tell me anything.” Anxiousness roiled in my belly.

Please be okay, please, please, please.

She sighed and my heart dropped. “They moved her to the fourth floor. Tenzin is with her. All I know is that she’s unconscious.”

“Fuck.” At least Tenzin was there. I wouldn’t want her to wake up alone and be scared.

“Is Gwen a hidden omega? No judgment. Just trying to be prepared.” Kylee’s expression grew concerned.

“No. We were just going home.” I shook my head. What a weird question.

“I know.” Looking sympathetic, she stood. “I’m guessing the moment you’re released, you’re going to find her?”

“Of course. I filed paperwork, so our relationship is compliant. We both did. I didn’t hurt her. I love her. You can even ask the social worker,” I pleaded. I’d been visited by one of those, too. Again, I understood.

Still, I wanted, no, needed, to be with Gwen. Now. Not being with her made my inner alpha cranky.

“I know.” Her look went soft. “I know that you, her, and Tenzin are together. I think everyone knows after all the cute twirling on the ice. Not to mention you two flashing her heart signs at her from the penalty box. I appreciate that you have your paperwork on file and no one has to chase your asses down.”

That took me a moment. Gwen and I filled out the paperwork for each other and Tenzin. But was she trying to say he filed paperwork for us?

Oh.

“You should fill your agent in. It’ll be okay, Clark. You did nothing wrong, and hopefully, Gwen will be fine.” We talked a little longer, and she left.

“Stay,” the nurse told me, as I tried to sneak out again.

Ugh, if only I had my phone. I’d been here for so long.

“Are you okay?” Dimitri came in. He still wore his suit from the game, his dark hair falling into his blue eyes. Carlos was with him but just wore jeans and a hoodie.

I was so glad they’d finally let someone back here.

“How’s Gwen? Kylee said she’s unconscious?” My brows furrowed with worry.

Dimitri frowned and my heart dropped. “Bucket is with her. She’s complicated.”

Carlos shook his head, brown hair messy. “Her injuries itself aren’t that bad. It’s some other reaction. I don’t really understand what’s happening.”

“Okay.” My worry didn’t dissipate. A reaction? What kind of reaction?

“Some of the team is here. They’re moving up to the waiting room on the fourth floor, because the press arrived. Kylee’s trying to make the reporters leave,” Carlos told me.

“Okay. I have no idea where my phone is.” Part of me wanted to sleep. But the other part wouldn’t rest until I knew Gwen was okay.

“Let me see what I can do.” Dimitri stood and left, Carlos going with him. If anyone could do it, he could. Dimitri was an imposing dude.

A moment later, someone walked in. But it wasn’t the doctor. It was that Lenny guy, Gwen’s brother’s friend. He’d told me some funny stories about her tonight. Like the time she found a baby raccoon and tried to enter it into a cat show, or how one time she had a bowl of tadpoles in her room, then they turned into tiny frogs and got into her sister’s room.

“We’ll take care of the Deloittes, don’t worry about them,” he told me, looking grim.

That wasn’t ominous.

“You’re not going to hurt them, are you? They already got the shit beat out of them. I don’t think they’ll hurt Gwen again.” Of course, you’d think Gwen’s ex would have gotten the message during the game.

But no, Austin had to confront her at the bar, then let his brothers lay hands on her.

He shook his head. “They need to know to leave her alone. Not to mention Austin has to pay for what he did to her. There are plenty of other ways to punish someone. Like getting them where it hurts.”

“In the nuts?” I winced at the thought.

“You and Buttons are perfect for each other.” He frowned. “You should be up there with her. I’m not going to hold her dads off much longer if she doesn’t improve fast. That won’t be pretty.”

“They can’t take her.” My hands fisted. Her dads knew about the accident? Lenny might have told them. Or one of her siblings might be an emergency contact. I knew they’d called hers, because she wasn’t conscious and I was here.

“I was speaking about the hospital and how they’re handling her. This has been a clusterfuck.” He rubbed his forehead. “Of course they don’t have her real records, either.”

Oh. All the stuff that happened to her at the lake house must be under her other name, which would make sense.

“I keep trying to sneak out and find her, but Nurse Nosey won’t let me.” I pouted. “How bad is Gweny?”

“She needs you.” His look went pensive.

My heart fell. Hold on Sweetness. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

His phone rang. “I’ll be around.” Lenny left, speaking in some other language. Italian probably.

“Here.” Dimitri returned, handing me two phones. Mine and Gwen’s. Both were cracked. Mine worked, I wasn’t sure hers did.

Dimitri stayed, but I didn’t care what he heard as I let my agent and parents know what was going on. My agent was reassuring and prepared to do any damage control with my sponsors if needed.

I cringed as I got a massive lecture about the dangers of riding a motorcycle in the city from one of my dads.

A nurse I hadn’t seen yet, in different colored scrubs than Nurse Nosey, came in. “Clark Edwards?”

“Am I being released?” I perked as she scanned my hospital bracelet with her tablet.

“You’ve been cleared for me to take you upstairs. You’re one of Gwen Di Rossi’s alphas, correct?” Worry filled her voice.

“Yes.” I stood, anxious to get to her.

“Go to Bozh’ya Korovka,” Dimitri told me.

I followed the nurse, in the pink scrubs, out of the ER and up to the fourth floor. Several Knights, and a couple Maimers, had made camp in a waiting area.

“Clark.” Grif rushed over to me. “You okay, man?”

“I’ll live. But I’ll be better when I see Gwen. Thank you so much for being here. You can go get some sleep. We’ll keep the chat updated.” I looked at everyone. Verity was asleep on Dean’s lap. A number of players looked exhausted.

The nurse led me toward a locked door, with a security guard and a desk lady. “Alpha for 415.”

Why did they have Gwen in a secure unit? My belly dipped as the nurse took me through it, into the nicest hospital wing I’d ever seen, and past another desk.

Door 415 was closed. A card stuck to her door had a sign I didn’t know and something that had been scribbled out. Through the open blinds I could see Tenzin curled up with her on an enormous bed.

Well, it didn’t look big with him in it. His large frame was curled, so his big feet didn’t hang off. He was fully clothed, light golden arms around Gwen. Her olive skin looked sallow, and her nose was taped, bruises blooming on her face.

“You can go in. It’ll help if you hold her,” the nurse told me.

I slipped in, quietly, to not wake anyone. Hold her? Now that I could handle. Cuddling Gwen was my super power.

“Clark?” Tenzin whispered.

“Hey, Tens. Is there any way we can trade sides?” I held up my cast. The room was dark, and there were lots of machines attached to the bed. The room smelled weird, though I could hear an air purifier running.

“Of course.” He carefully went over to the other side, then stroked her hair. “Firecracker, Clark’s here.”

“Is she awake?” I perked as I took off my shoes. Now I was glad that Carlos had brought me clean clothes when he’d produced my gloves and stick.

I climbed onto the bed. The spot was warm and smelled like him–earthy citrus. She was so still, and she didn’t smell right.

“She’s still unconscious.” He quietly filled me in on what was going on.

I frowned as he told me about her injuries and her spiraling.

“Oh, we’re in the omega unit? She’s not an omega.” The whole issue of her having some sort of life-threatening response to being injured made my heart squeeze, and I snuggled closer.

“But she can react like one, due to what happened with Officer Jones. This was part of what I was researching. It was a good thing, too, because the doctor had no idea what I was talking about. Fortunately, the bond specialist they brought in from the Omega Center did. But I also knew more than she does, her knowledge was more along the lines of lopsided scent matches, where a beta’s with an alpha or omega. At least they’re open-minded.”

I hadn’t even known that was a thing. It made a whole lot of sense, that one scent match might awaken and the other didn’t.

What Lenny said now about them not having her full medical records now made sense. Because those might have things like that. Things Gwen’s record probably lacked.

“I’m so sorry, Gweny.” Gently, I kissed her bruised face, which was clammy.

“None of this is your fault,” Tenzin said.

I was happy he didn’t blame me, since I knew he didn’t like us riding my motorcycle.

“I’m glad you’re here.” For a moment I studied him as fatigue pressed down on me. “You signed the papers in HR for us? When? Why?”

Puzzlement crossed his handsome face. “Just because I have a lot going on, doesn’t mean I don’t fully intend to pursue this.”

“You want us? I’m glad for it. Because I was getting worried that you found out your ex’s baby was yours and you were going to leave us and go back to her.” While what he said in the locker room and at Tito’s explained a lot, it didn’t erase the hurt I’d felt regarding his distance these past weeks.

He sucked in a breath, and I froze.

Oh, fuck.

“I’m not going back to her. I’m not leaving you. But yes, one of the babies, Squiggles, as we’re calling him right now, is mine. Much of my time so far has been trying to work through that reality of me being a father before he graces the world with his presence. He didn’t ask to be born and my feelings toward her shouldn’t affect what I feel for him,” he admitted. “I haven’t told you because I’m not in a place to tell anyone yet. Telling people makes it real. I haven’t even told my sister.”

His ex’s baby was his. Wow. Okay, that made a whole lot of sense. He was going to be a dad, though he had no interest in being a family with her. That was a lot to deal with.

“You’re having a son? Awww. Oh, Gwen’s going to be so excited. You know how much she loves kids.” I smiled, then frowned. “Do you get to be Squiggles’ dad? I don’t know how that works. Your ex has a pack, right?”

“My ex and her pack will care for him primarily, at least for now. But I’ll get time with him and I’m looking forward to that.” His brow furrowed. “I didn’t mean to neglect you. Things just got hectic.”

“I understand. Just talk to us. Please? Gwen needs to know it’s not her. We would have understood. Maybe even helped,” I pushed. Yeah, it was a lot. But words were a thing that existed.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes pleaded with mine in the darkness. “I was so scared when I got that call tonight. If I lost you two, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Same. You being here means a lot.” I reached across Gwen’s body, which wasn’t very warm, and squeezed his hand.

“Tonight has taught me that you two mean everything. When they informed me it was a hit-and-run, and would only tell me you were alive and nothing about her, I thought…” His voice broke, and the salty scent of sadness filled the room besides his woodsy citrus.

He’d thought the worst.

“I’m going to be okay, Tens. Gwen will wake up and be alright. We’ll all be okay.”

He squeezed my hand back. “Yeah. We’ll all be okay.”

“Wait, did you say bab ies ?” I blinked.

“Fraternal twins with two different fathers. It happens. Squiggles, the son, is mine, Bean, the daughter, has a different daddy. To make it weird, they have a sibling, Pickles, carried by the pack’s omega, that’s due about the same time,” he told me. “Those are the nicknames they’re calling them right now.”

It wasn’t that weird. My teenage sisters were only a month apart, one carried by Ma, the other by Mom.

“When did you find out?” I asked.

He winced. “At Jean Paul and Celine’s wedding. Morgan was rushed to the hospital, where they did tests and found Squiggles, the incredible hiding baby. Before that, she only thought there was Bean, who’s not mine.”

Oh. The timeline made sense.

“Again, I fully planned on discussing this with you. I want Squiggles in my life, and you and Gwen. But I needed to accept it myself first.” His face pinched with regret.

“It’s okay.” I yawned.

“We should try to sleep a little. She’s right here between us, where she belongs.” He kissed her temple.

That sounded like a good idea, because whatever they’d given me last made me sleepy. I took off my glasses and set them on the nightstand. Then I reached out and threaded my fingers through his, with my cast resting on top of her fuzzy-blanket covered body. “Stay.”

Stay with us tonight. Stay with us forever.

He squeezed them gently. “Always.”