I’m okay,I send to her. I see her shoulders drop just a little bit.
Are you in pain?
I'm okay now. They gave me something, and my healing is already kicking in.
She assesses me with sharp eyes.You’re covered in an awful lot of blood.
I know.It’s no use trying to argue with her or hide it; I am covered in blood.Myblood. There’s a crash from somewhere out in the hallway or maybe another room. The doctor looks over at the door, frowning. I look at my mom and watch as worry crosses her face. I suddenly wonder why my mom is here alone with me without my brother and dad.Mom?Her gaze meets mine.What’s going on?I almost miss the look on her face; it’s there and gone so fast. But I did see it.Mom, tell me.
Her eyes meet mine.Reid’s not exactly being a good patient.
My eyes widen.That’s Reid causing the commotion?
She nods.Your father and brother are trying to keep him contained.
I sit up. “I need to see him.”
The doctor wastes no time pushing me back down. He’s gentle, but it still hurts. ”You’re in no shape to do anything but lie here and begin to heal.” His voice is sharp. He turns to the nurses. “Clean her up. Donotlet her leave this room.” He eyes me, and I don’t miss the seriousness in his gaze. “Don’t make me have to call security like I did for your friend.”
My heart squeezes at that.Oh, Reid.
Chapter 30
Riley
Reid,I reach out to him.
Riley, Baby, where are you? They won’t let me see you. Are you in pain?I can feel the desperation coming off him through the pack link.
I’m okay. I think I’m in a room near yours. My mom’s here. My bleeding’s stopped, and my shifter healing is already kicking in. What about you? Areyouin pain?
I'm fine. I shouldn’t even be here. My healing’s already begun; I need to be with you.
I close my eyes a moment, trying to just center myself after everything.They won’t let you. There’s security outside your door, and my doctor made sure I knew I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere.
He’s quiet a moment, and I figure I've lost him for now. But he reaches out again a moment later.Your dad’s grilling me.
I grimace.I don’t envy you. I take it that your doctors and nurses are gone?
Yeah.
He waits a beat again, and I can tell he’s distracted. My father’s probably demanding an accounting for tonight.Reid, remember, you did nothing wrong. Tonight was not your fault.He doesn’t say anything, but I get the feeling he heard my words.
The nurses continue to work on me. Finally, they go over instructions for healing and then they leave us alone in blissful silence. My mom walks over and takes the seat next to me. “Hey, Baby,” she says softly, pushing the hair off my forehead. “Areyou in pain?” There’s so much concern in her gaze, it’s almost too much.
I take a deep breath. “I’m okay. It’s not bad right now.”
“Hopefully, in a few hours all the pain will be gone,” she says quietly.
She takes my hand in hers. “Do you think Reid is really okay?” I ask, unable to focus on anything else.
“He’ll be fine. You need to focus on your healing.”
I give her my best stern look, and she raises an eyebrow in return. “You do realize I know that look, right? And it hasn’t ever worked on me, and it won’t work on me now. No, I’m not taking you to see Reid.” She puts her hand up. “And that’s not because I don’t want to. It’s because they put a nice big security officer right outside his door, and we’re not going to tangle with him. We’re doing our best to keep our heads down, Riley, especially after tonight. We can’t risk any more attention.” I take in her stiff body language and her hushed voice.
“Is it a mess?”
She gives me a sharp look. “It’s not for you to worry about; you have to focus on healing.”
