“You’re going to have to talk to her,” I add, addressing Jeremy and he nods leaning back against the wall, looking resigned to his fate.
“Would you really want to hide from this? You’ve been given a gift from fate, don’t spit in fate’s face,” Jax say giving Jeremy a hard glare.
Jeremy gazes up at all of us, with the most vulnerable expression I’ve ever seen on his face.
“She’s not going to want me and she’s completely stuck. She didn’t have a choice but if she did, I wouldn’t be it,” he says and his voice sounds weak.
I knew Jeremy had big feelings under all that ice, but he rarely lets them out. He must be pretty scared to have voiced it out loud.
“You’d be surprised Jer. I’m not saying you won’t have some ground to make up and some apologies to give but I really think Aly already likes you. Show her you like her too and I think you guys will be okay,” Nic reassures him.
“Ya, just don’t fuck up and make it worse. She needs you now more than ever, you’ve had time to come to terms with things, she didn’t get any,” Kiran adds giving him a pointed look.
Jeremy deflates and joins us on the floor around her. He reaches out and pushes the hair back from her forehead then whispers, “I won’t fuck it up.”
And I think he means that. I think he’s going to try and be the mate she deserves as she navigates through this new landscape. With all of us around her, hopefully she’ll realize what a gift this is.
She starts to stir some in my arms and we all gaze down, hoping she’s waking up. She doesn’t open her eyes but it’s a positive sign.
“Do you think she’ll wake up soon?” I ask with wide eyes.
“Ya, I think she will,” Jeremy responds.
Kiran stands up, pulling Jax with him and I’m surprised. Don’t they want to be here when she wakes up? I consider them, raising a brow in question and Kiran responds.
“She might be hungry or thirsty when she wakes up, she’s been out for a while. And we don’t know how this has effected her. We are going to go make her something, just in case. Tell us if she wakes up while we are gone, okay?”
I smile at their thoughtfulness and nod my head yes.
With Aly still in my arms, I scoot backwards so my back is against the wall and lean on it to get more comfortable. I run my fingers through her hair, willing her to wake up for me.
She stirs again without fully waking up, but it makes me hopeful she will soon.
Nic and Jeremy stand up across the room, stretching some after being on the floor so long.
They lower their voices but with my shifter hearing, I can still hear Jeremy asking Nic how he should act around her. Damn, he is really nervous. We are all nervous, but he has a lot more on the line now. And he wasn’t her favorite person to start with, at least if it was one of us four we would have already been in a relationship.
Two
Aly
I’m waking up from what feels like the brink of death. My limbs are groggy and feel like they weigh one hundred pounds. My mouth is so dry it feels like I swallowed sand paper and my ears are ringing. What is going on?
The last thing I remember is being over at the guys house. They were acting so weird and clearly had something they wanted to talk to me about. I remember feeling like they were going to make me choose but it’s all black after that. Did I pass out from the shock of their news or something? I try really hard to remember but it feels like those memories are lost to a black hole, never to be recovered. Trying to remember causes sharp pain to shoot through my head, making me feel even worse.
I wonder if they’ll tell me what they said or what happened? I trust them, but they may be sheepish if this is how I reacted the first time.
Nic, Jay, Kiran, Ajax and even Jeremy came out of nowhere this year. They bulldozed right into my life and integrated me into their little group. We’ve only known each other a short time but it honestly feels like they’ve been part of my life forever.
What if they did say I had to choose and this is how I reacted? I’ve shared intimate moments with a lot of them and they seemed like they didn’t mind sharing but how could they not? What guy would be willing to share their girl, even if it is with their best friends?
My mind is racing a mile a minute and I know I need to open my eyes and deal with whatever happened. I brace myself then peel my eyes open and it feels like sharp knives behind my eyes, as the brightness of the room seeps in.
When my vision finally clears, I see Jay is cradling me in his arms. His focus isn’t on me though, he’s staring at something else in front of him which gives me a moment to search him for clues.
He appears as attractive as ever with his huge frame, bulging muscles and gorgeous face but what’s missing is his signature smile. It takes a lot to bring Jay down but right now he looks like a mixture of angry and scared. His hold on me is protective, though, so hopefully he’s not upset with me.
It takes me another few minutes to make my mouth work, it feels like my body shut down on me and is learning how to function again.
