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"I understand your concerns, really, I do—"
Elias cut him off, voice an inhumane snarl. "You don't."
Levi forced his hand out of Elias' grip with gentle fingers, cupping his cheek too quickly for him to catch. Or maybe he was getting slower the more his brain fogged up. He wasn't sure which.
Fuck, I feel like shit.
"Wait. You're burning up. I thought you were flushed from the conversation, not… Shit, you're actually on fire."
Elias slapped his hand away. "That's the oldest compliment in the book."
His vision went white around the edges as he stared up at the handsome alpha. Levi's brows furrowed, and he ran one thumb across Elias' cheek. Elias was hardly aware of the touch, he was so numb. When has it spread from his hands and feet to the rest of him?
"Why didn't you say you were getting sick?"
Elias grinned. "Okay, that's not a pickup line."
"Of course it isn't! Are you being purposefully obtuse or is this the fever talking?"
The alpha's voice rose with the last question. Elias shook his head and put a hand to Levi's chest, rolling his eyes.
"Chill out. Whenever I get caught in the rain, I always end up dehydrated, so I'll walk home and warm up with a hot shower. No biggie."
Levi's expression grew frosty, his alpha rearing. "Like hell you will!"
"The domineering alpha act isn't attractive to me, you know," Elias admonished, wagging a finger at him.
Levi closed his eyes as if praying for strength when Sel showed up at his elbow, looking between them. "Everything okay over here?"
Levi glanced down at the beta. "No, he has a fever."
Sel sighed, took the towel out from the apron around his waist, and dabbed at Elias' forehead with a tender expression on his face. He tutted as he did so, lips pursed.
"This is the third time in the last few months," Sel chided gently, taking his elbow. "As punishment, I'll take you to get an IV with Ian."
Elias' eyes went comically wide as he shook his head so hard it rattled. "No! He'll yell at me!"
"No, he won't. He'll be worried and raise his voice, but that's not the same as yelling."
He tried to pull Elias past Levi, but the alpha stepped in front of them, taking his other arm in one huge hand. Both Sel and Elias glanced at the alpha, almost surprised he was still there. If it bothered him, Levi didn't show it.
"You're in the middle of a shift. I can take him."
Sel and Elias locked eyes, both apprehensive about that. Did Levi want to meet Ian, or was it simply his alpha demanding he take care of a small, in-distress omega? Elias laughed at the thought, patting Sel on the shoulder.
"It's okay. He probably has a nice car that I can ruin with my wet clothes."
The beta snorted, hiding it as best he could while keeping his eyes away from Levi. "As long as you're okay with it."
"Do I really have a choice?" Elias asked. Sel's face grew serious again, but Elias stopped him before he could explode. "It was a joke."
He pouted. "It didn't sound like it."
"I'm not a funny guy," Elias replied with a shrug. He threaded his arm through Levi's, dragging him toward the front door. "Come on, big guy, take me to get yelled at."
Chapter Ten
It was business as usual in the emergency room, with a steady stream of patients filling every available space. Nurses ran from bed to bed, rushing blood and charts to the doctors working. Elias walked right past the full waiting room, cringing at the thick scent of iron tinged with bleach that came along with the hospital. The nurses' station was a round linoleum counter overflowing with charts, phones ringing off the hook, and three computers.
