Page 5

4

OLIVER

T he only time I've seen Vincent without a hat on was during Amaya's heat, and those times were few and far between, anyway. As soon as it would fall off, Maya would be lunging for it and placing it backwards on his buzz cut once again with satisfaction in her gaze.

"You look funny without a hat," I murmur to him, twirling a string on the shitty comforter between my fingers.

My lips twist as I continue to study the alpha lying motionless in the hospital bed. It's been three days since I heard his motorcycle crash in front of our house, but the pale pallor of his face and sunken cheeks make it seem like it's been ages.

I trail my gaze over the bandage wrapped around his head and the cuts finally beginning to scab over on his face. Vincent looks like he's been in an accident, but it's deeper than that.

He's fighting something in his mind. His eyes dart around beneath his eyelids, and he clenches the sheets every so often. I've jumped a few times already today when his whole body jolts with a low growl rattling from his dry throat.

Vincent's a scary alpha when he’s awake, but even asleep I'm wary of the guy. Like now, a rumble vibrates his bed, sending chills up my arms where I'm leaning against it. I train my attention to his face to see if there are any signs of him waking up.

I look from him to the door a few times, silently hoping Sam and Emmett will be back soon after their coffee run. I don't think I'll be able to settle Vincent by myself if he has a panic episode again.

"Come on, Vince," I whisper, trailing my fingers over the intricate vines tattooed up his neck. "Either sleep or wake up."

The doctors are convinced he's battling something we can't help him with, leaving him in this perpetual state of unconscious restlessness. I'm worried about him. Between his concussion and sprained wrist and my omega being snatched right from her home, I don't think I'm holding it together very well.

I don't have a bond to Amaya like Vincent does, and I don't have natural instincts to help me during this fucked up time. I'm just a simple beta with a kidnapped scent match and a fractured pack. Not to mention the alpha who wrecked his bike right outside my goddamn window is a man I don't think I can live without.

My eyes blur as I watch my hand trail from his throat down to his chest. The only solidarity in my life anymore is the connection Emmett and I have. He's my bonded alpha and no matter the shit show that life becomes, we will always love each other.

Leaning forward, my head hits the bed beside Vincent's hip. "Vince, I don't have a clue how to help," I whisper, knowing nobody will hear me break open and bleed. "I almost had her, you know? I've missed her for so long, like something vital was missing from my heart and soul."

Tears tickle my nose as they trail down and drip onto the bedspread. "Holding her in my arms again... it was more than I ever could have asked for. And now... now she gone a-again and there's no rage or hurt to hide behind. I'm just a terrified beta without his omega to love."

A sob gets lodged in my throat, forcing me to cough it away. Vincent's no longer twitching, so I refuse to be the reason he wakes up. He needs real rest. His pain calls out to me with feverish hands that grip my heart and twist.

I don't know what Vincent and I were building between us before that fateful night three days ago, but I can't bring myself to leave his side. Emmett and Sam have begged me to come home to shower or something , but I’m incapable.

Maybe it's the fact that Vincent is my connection to Amaya, or maybe my feelings for the alpha are deeper than I thought. Either way, Vincent and Amaya need me, and I can only be here for one of them. Vince won't wake up alone .

More tears fall and finally a sob breaks free. The whimper that follows my display of heartache doesn't come from me, though. My head shoots up and I ignore the pinch in my neck at the movement when I see Vincent's chest rising and falling at a rapid pace.

Soon the hospital room is echoing with my sniffles and Vince's distress. "Vincent?" I croak. Something’s wrong and I don’t know what to do. I try to reach the other half of him instead. "Alpha?"

He jolts.

"Hey, time to wake up, Alpha," I murmur, wiping my tears and gripping his hand. "Don't let me cry alone," I tease, my voice a little wobbly.

Vincent’s eyes shift and crack open before he releases a stuttering breath. I tug on him just a little, mindful of his wounds. "Wake up now."

Pain and complete devastation reflect back at me in his blue eyes. The tears fall next, my name tumbling from his split lip like a plea. "Oli..."

I give a weak smile because I'm pretty sure that's what I'm supposed to do, and if not, well, it's what I know best. "Yeah, man. I'm here," I murmur softly, hoping not to add to the ache in his skull.

Fucker really did a number on himself and his bike. I'll never be able to scrub the memory of his broken body twisted up on the road. If I tell him he's not allowed to ride a motorcycle ever again, would he listen? Doubtful.

"Am-Amaya?"

Just like that, all thoughts of his bike are squashed as reality crashes in once again. I hesitate, but shake my head, unable to find the words to tell the alpha that our omega is gone. Lost. Disappeared once again.

His face fucking crumbles beneath the lack of news I have for him. I'm expecting him to panic again. Instead, he closes his eyes and grits his teeth until his stubble covered jaw pulses.

"Vincent?" I lean away from him with wariness. "What's wrong?"

His eyes snap open, and fury lashes out at me. "What isn't wrong, Oliver?!" Instead of continuing to speak to me, he starts murmuring to himself. "Come on Amaya. Come back. Come back. Don't shut me out. My god, please Omega!"

My already shattered heart begins to tremble at his frantic pleas. Vincent's head shakes back and forth repeatedly; his eyes are screwed shut. Christ, I don't know what to do!

Just as I'm about to start shouting to get him to calm down, more raised voices join Vincent's rising panic. Before I can truly register what's going on, the door is thrown wide and Paul comes barreling in with a snarl on his face aimed right at the alpha spiraling in a hospital bed.

"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?!"