Page 26 of Mask and the Magnolia

Oddly enough, we get along relatively well so far.

I think we’re all still guarded and hesitant, skeptical at best, but no one has tried to assert themselves as the big bad alpha of Ward C yet, and I’m hoping things stay that way.

If the five of us keep being civil and actually work the program, if no one decides to lose their shit on the lovely littlepyromaniac beta or our delicious doctors, I think we might have a real chance at a more pleasant and normal existence.

The others do, anyway.

I’m not real sure what my future holds right now, not with how I’m currently feeling, so planning beyond one day at a time seems like jumping the gun.

If nothing else, I’m good at that, and it might be enough to hold onto for the time being.

As long as Nurse Hubbard doesn’t fucking kill me first.

I grip my stomach tighter as I double over, the muscles contracting, my guts cramping so hard I jerk forward and thump my face against the glass wall.

This is brutal.

I’ve detoxed before, had doctors play with my meds and experiment on me, but this? This is different.

Nurse Hubbard isn’t trying to ween me off my meds or change them to something new the doc wants to try. No, the bitch is mixing shit with my monthly shot of Haldol, and for the first time in my entire life, I’m worried about what my meds are going to do to me.

“Hawthorne.”

I press my cheek against the cool glass for a second before I try to sit up, a small smile tugging at my lips despite the liquid fire surging through my veins.

Korvin was the other one who noticed our omegas when they let shit fly.

I can confidently sayouromegas because of that, and the fact that I’m roughly ninety five percent sure he matched with one if not both of them the way I did.

Do I know if he has any idea what happened or what it means? No, not even a little, but I can tell he’s drawn to me the same way I’m drawn to him, and it’s definitely not just becauseKorvin Severe is sexy as fuck and I’m dying for the day we get the freedom to mingle.

All thoughts I had before the scent match shit went down, but he and I are connected because of our omegas, who seem just as oblivious to all of this as Korvin, and now the giant fuck who didn’t talk the first few weeks we were here has grunted my name down the hall once a month when the certifiable nurse tries to play angel of death.

That part sucks, but Ireallyenjoy being the only one clued into the intense and trying game fate is playing with a handful of us up here on Ward C, so hearing that voice say my name is just an added thrill. Korvin knows I’m hurting, he doesn’t like it, has no idea why, and I find it adorable.

“Yes, pookie?”

Korvin’s annoyed huff is the only response I get and while I know the various pet names I use get under his skin, he just wanted to confirm I’m not dead yet and that suffices.

Probably stupid on my part.

None of us are small, we are all dangerous, and even though Ivan is hands down the biggest and scariest, there’s something extremely unnerving about Korvin Severe and I don’t doubt for one second, one day he’s going to punish me for being an asshat.

I’m running the game right now but I’m not stupid enough to think that male isn’t going to put me in my place as soon as he has the chance.

And I just need to make sure to stay alive long enough for it to happen because I cannot fucking wait for it to.

“No sidekick today, doc?”I ask as I gingerly shift around in my seat, trying not to draw attention to the way I’m feeling as the guards leave us alone.

He shakes his head as he sets his briefcase down on the desk. “I’m afraid Ms. Reynolds won’t be joining us this morning.”

His tone is off.

Tone, demeanor, his entire mood. Something happened that has Dr. Lowe feeling some kind of way, and I’d put money on it involvingMs. Reynolds.

Isaak is never late, he hasn’t been in almost two months, and he’s usually not in a mood like this when he makes his way onto Ward C.

The day we had our first group session was the only other time I’ve seen him worried and when Magnolia burst into his office and crashed to the floor, it morphed into a weird sense of anxiety riddled relief. Then it was business as usual.