Page 8

HAVEN

Alpha shoots up from the chair, fear washing over his face as my hand rushes to my mouth to capture my gasp. Livvy’s eyes flutter open again, blinking rapidly, her hands darting out for Poppy. “I’m okay, sweetheart. Just… tired.”

Alpha exhales loudly behind me while a nurse appears in the doorway. “Hi all, I’m Miranda, I’m one of the nurses who works under Livvy. Okay for me to come in and check the monitors before adjusting Livvy’s IV?”

Alpha waves her through, and she steps up beside Livvy’s bed, weakly smiling down at her while she checks her over. “Hey Liv, you want some more pain medication?”

Livvy weakly smiles at her friend. “Yeah, thanks, Mir.”

Miranda pushes the meds through Livvy’s IV, then gently rests her hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “You need anything, just buzz me, okay?” she explains quietly before slipping back out.

It’s almost like when the meds hit Livvy’s system, they send her straight off to sleep, her eyes flicking closed as her body finally relaxes. Letting out a long breath, that heightened tension in the room eases slightly. I glance at Alpha, and there is a silent conversation between the two of us, saying that we know we’re going to be here, in this hospital room, for a while.

So, we do the only thing we know how. We settle into a vigil around her bed—Poppy holding her mother’s hand, sitting in a chair beside her mother, Alpha standing like a sentinel at the foot of the bed, and me keeping watch over them all from a chair in the corner.

Time stretches, two hours, four, then six. Marked only by the steady beep of monitors and Livvy’s increasingly labored breathing. She drifts in and out of consciousness, sometimes lucid enough to speak, other times lost in a haze of medication and pain.

It’s the early hours of the morning. I’m sure the rest of the guys out in the waiting room could use some information. And, honestly, I need to stretch my legs. Standing, I let out a long yawn and stretch. Alpha turns to glance at me, raising his brow. I keep my voice low so I don’t wake Livvy or Poppy, who is snuggled up on her chair asleep. “I thought I’d head out and tell the guys what’s going on. Maybe send them back to the clubhouse?” I whisper.

Alpha cranes his neck to the side and moves to stand, rolling his sore shoulders. “I should go talk to them,” he whispers back. “You okay to stay with Poppy?”

I glance over at her, then back to him. “Of course. You go. I got this.”

He swipes his hand through his hair, steps up to me, and plants a tender kiss on my lips. My eyes close, taking him in. I didn’t know how much I needed him until right now. My hand reaches out, my fingers clenching onto the leather of his cut and gripping hold of him for dear life as I kiss him harder. His arm wraps around my waist, holding me to him. The kiss isn’t passionate, deeply sexual, or full of lust. It’s more about two people who are going through something horrific and showing that they are here for each other in the moment.

As my stomach dances with that same rush I always get from kissing the man I adore, I slowly pull back, my eyes flooding with tears while I stare at him. His pain-filled eyes devour mine as we just look at each other.

Not saying a single word, yet saying so much.

He inhales sharply, nods his head once, then moves to pull away when a quiet voice echoes from the other side of the hospital room. “Stone?”

We both turn to see Livvy’s eyes trying to open, though it seems like she’s possibly still half asleep or maybe still fighting sedation.

Alpha turns, walking back toward her bedside. “Yeah, Livvy?” he asks.

“Remember when Poppy was born?” she murmurs, her eyes still fighting to open.

He nods, a slight laugh escaping his throat. “Smallest damn thing I’d ever seen. Thought I’d break her.”

“But you didn’t.” Livvy smiles faintly, her eyes finally fighting through and opening to look at him. “You were so gentle. Always were, underneath all that macho bullshit.”

I hold in my laugh as I make my way back to my chair and take a seat.

Alpha folds his arms over his chest, scowling. “What do you mean macho bullshit? I am macho.”

Livvy slowly smiles, her head turning to look at me. “You hearing this… Haven?” Livvy’s tone is slow, but the humor behind it still packs a punch.

I shrug nonchalantly and roll my eyes. “Hey, I find that with Alpha, it’s best to let him think he’s the top dog. But we all know that the women in the club are the macho ones.”

Alpha glances over his shoulder at me, raising his brow, but I see the humor behind his fake agitation. “I’ll remember you said that.”

Livvy giggles, which, of course, turns into another cough, instantly waking Poppy.

She bolts upright, reaching out for her mother’s good hand. “Mom! Are you okay?” She locks her fingers with Livvy as she continues to cough, the machines starting to buzz.

Alpha moves in and pats Livvy’s back, but it’s not helping.

Poppy stands dramatically, her breathing quickening. “Mommy, your hands are cold. Why is she cold? Dad?”

Alpha turns to face me as I stand dramatically. “Get Lock . Now !”

Nodding, my heart slams into my chest as I race for the door, but I don’t even have to make it far into the corridor, and I see him come running toward me.

“I got the alarm. What’s happening?” he calls out as he approaches.

“She’s coughing and cold. I don’t know, Lock. I don’t know!” I scream back at him.

He doesn’t say anything to me, just runs straight past into the room, pushing Alpha out of the way and moving in next to Poppy. Alpha steps back, letting him in as Livvy continues to cough, and he secures an oxygen mask around her head.

“Mommy!” Poppy cries when Alpha begins his relentless pacing. “ Mama !” Poppy screams this time as Lock places his stethoscope on her chest, checking her vitals.

Livvy’s eyes widen, staring directly at me. A plea of desperation. A mother asking for help. Nodding, I rush forward, reaching out for Poppy and wrapping my arms around her. She tries to fight me off. And Lord knows she’s strong—I trained her after all—but I use all the strength I have to pull her against my chest, and I step back against the rear wall, holding her back to my front, so Lock can do what he needs to do to stabilize Livvy.

Alpha spins to look at me like he is in shock while Poppy continues to thrash about.

The sheer terror on his face seeing his daughter falling apart in my arms and Livvy fighting for breath is activating something inside him.

I see it clicking over.

His PTSD rampages through him as he fights the demons in his mind.

He drops to the floor, his knees to his chest, sweat dripping down his face as his hands rise above his head to shelter from imminent attack.

My heart shatters watching this strong, stoic man breaking in front of me.

Lock turns, glancing at Alpha, concern crossing his features. “Stone, Stone, can you hear me?” he calls out while continuing to calm Livvy’s breathing.

Poppy screams against me, still thrashing, trying everything to get to both of her parents now, while I fight the urge to let her go so I can go to Alpha and help him.

Livvy’s monitors continue to beep uncontrollably.

Miranda rushes in to help Lock, and she hesitates on Alpha for a moment.

I shake my head. “No, help Livvy,” I reassure her.

She rushes toward Lock, and they work together. I have no fucking clue what they’re doing, but her monitors begin to slow, her breathing eases, and her coughing stops, bringing the tension in the room down a notch.

Poppy stops thrashing, her energy now completely spent. Mine is, too, as Alpha remains on the floor, rocking back and forth.

Lock turns to face Alpha, swiping a bead of sweat from his brow, and he glances at me. “PTSD?” he asks quietly.

I simply nod, a single tear falling down my cheek. Lock exhales, carefully walking past Alpha so he doesn’t disturb him, and he steps up to me while I still hold Poppy. He clears his throat, but it’s the devastated expression that tells me everything I need to know.

Grimacing, I tense all over and simply shrug. “Just tell me, Lock.”

He swipes at his chin, then exhales like he’s preparing a speech he’s had to prepare for other families a thousand times. The thought makes me want to be sick. “From what I can tell with her decline, blood seems to still be pooling internally. Even though we tried as hard as we could to fix the wounds to her liver, the bleeding isn’t going to stop.”

A cold shudder runs over my body as I stare at him. My breathing stops as I take in the gravity of the situation and what he’s telling me. A sudden wave of nausea slams into me violently, and I have to force myself not to be physically ill.

Poppy’s tiny little doe eyes glance up at me, not understanding the severity of the situation. “What does that mean, Haven?” she asks.

A small whimper escapes me, tears instantly falling from my eyes as I shift my gaze back to Lock, pleading for help. He kneels down on one knee in front of Poppy to be at her height, his eyes almost bloodshot red.

This must be so fucking hard for him.

“Sweetheart, your mother is strong. She is so strong. And she has taught you to be strong as well. Unfortunately, her injuries are too severe. So now your mama will need you to be the strong one for her. Do you understand what I’m saying, Poppy?”

Her bottom lip trembles, her head shaking just the smallest amount. “She’s going to die?” she whispers.

Lock clears his throat, his eyes clenching, trying to fight through his own pain. “Yes… yes, she is.”

Before I have a second to comfort her, Poppy uses all the strength she can muster, and she rips herself from my grip. “No, Mama, no,” she screams, the sound so gut-wrenching it causes Alpha’s head to snap up from his trance.

Poppy takes off like a bolt of lightning. Neither Lock nor I can grab her before she is out of our grasp. I take off after her, thinking she’s going to head for Livvy, but she diverts and makes a beeline for Alpha. My heart leaps into my throat. Panic washes over me because I know the one thing you cannot do is startle Alpha when he’s having an attack. He’ll lash out, even though he doesn’t mean it. And if he hurt Poppy unintentionally right now, it could do untold damage to their relationship.

“Poppy, no ,” I scream, but it is too late. She catapults herself toward her father sitting on the floor.

My muscles almost seize with anxiety as I watch her land on him. He falls back to the floor, his eyes wide in terror as she snuggles into him.

“Alpha!” I yell.

Lock and I race toward him to stop him from hurting her, but the second he sees her and notices his daughter in unprecedented pain, he flips. The lights come back on, and his arms instantly wrap around her so tight, cuddling into her, holding her to him just as we reach the floor. He holds her to him, kissing her hair, my heart pounding out of my chest as I shift beside them, my hand sliding out, resting on his shoulder. Tears are sliding freely down my face now.

“It’s okay, princess. Daddy’s okay,” he whispers against Poppy’s ear as she snuggles into him, seeking his comfort. Though Alpha still has no idea that Livvy isn’t going to make it, and considering he just came out of a PTSD episode, I’m not about to tell him.

He can live with hope for now.

It might be cruel, but at least it will give him a little bit longer to hold onto hope.

Because having hope gives you something to cling on to.

Poppy and I don’t have that now, and I don’t want Alpha to feel like we do.

Not until he has to.