Page 34 of Whole in His Arms

He reached for his phone and looked at it. It was just past midnight. Fuck, how had he slept that long? When River looked up, all eyes were on him. Dread settled in his belly at the unsmiling looks on their faces. The somber mood had him feeling nauseous, and it had nothing to do with his pregnancy.

“What happened? Did you hear anything? Is it Nix?” His heart started to beat frantically again.

“Shhhh … It’s going to be alright.” Roman walked over to him and took a seat next to River. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he whispered.

Roman took his hands. “Look at me, Riv.”

He didn’t want to, but Roman simply waited.

“Everything is fine. Nix is fine last we knew, but they are on the mission,” his brother said gently.

That twisting in his gut returned with a vengeance.

Roman looked over to Rick, and he followed suit. His big brother wouldn’t lie to him. “Finn and Ro went for backup, Ryder too, in case anyone needs medical attention. Not to mention he has Maddox, Xander, and Dax watching his back. Trust me. Your mate is going to be okay. I promise you that.”

River swallowed. “You shouldn’t make promises you may not be able to keep.” He looked down, wringing his hands together.

“I happen to think this is one that we can and will keep.” Rome sounded so sure. He wished he had his certainty.

River tried to relax, but he couldn’t. He just wanted to believe that everything would eventually be alright.

Rick and Roman refused to leave, as much as he told them he was okay or would call them if he needed anything. He wanted some space to panic as he waited. But just because his life felt like it was on pause while he waited for Phoenix didn’t mean his brothers had to pause theirs too. His arguments fell on deaf ears.

Which you kind of love.He really did because as much as River had argued that he didn’t need a babysitter, having his family around made all the difference.

It’s not stopping you from checking your phone every five minutes, though. Three hours later, a phone rang, and he froze when he saw Roman answer.

Chapter Twelve

Nix

Nix walked up to Sam and Joshua. The two of them had blankets wrapped around them, and Joshua held a mug in his hands. Huh, where did that come from?

“Are you both okay?” he asked.

Sam nodded, but then his face fell. “I’m sorry, Nix. I shouldn’t have been so determined to stay with Tre. I don’t know why I was.” He sniffed and looked away. “This sounds crazy even saying it, but he’s been the only family I’ve known since …” His words trailed off. Nix feared that Sam was going to start crying, and he pulled him to him.

“You don’t have to say another word. I completely understand.” He winced as he did so, a sharp pain shooting through his whole body from the wound where the bullet had taken a chunk out of his skin as it grazed his side just below his breastbone.

“I’m sorry anyhow,” Sam whispered.

“Nix,” Ryder said, walking up to him. “You can catch up with Sam and Joshua when you’re all patched up. You’re bleeding through your shirt.”

“I’m fine,” Nix said, looking up at him. He was grateful that his new brother had shown up. The pregnant omegas needed Ryder and so did he. Nix would bet his mate had sent his brother in an attempt to keep Nix safe. Right now, he was happy he did. Even though shifters healed faster than humans, medical care was still necessary at times.

“Nope, you need to get checked.” Ryder’s voice was insistent. “My brother will ask, and unfortunately, I’m more scared of him than I am of you.”

Nix snort-laughed, but yeah, he could see his mate having his big alpha brothers running scared.

Thankfully, his teammates had linked up with Ronin and Finn, and they’d gotten all of the omegas and children out. Seventeen omegas and nine little ones in total. They were all safe.

But he knew how bad it could have gotten. If Tre had been a better shot. If the bullet had hit him three inches to the right. If Dax hadn’t taken the shot when he did.

It could have gone tits up in a second, but all he had was a graze that would heal in no time, and every single omega was fine.

Well, as fine as they could be after everything they’d lived through.