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Midnight? “What time did I get here? How many hours have I been out?” If the lunch was just earlier this day, then there’s still time to apologize. I can tell his parents that I wasn’t feeling well, that it was nothing. That I shouldn’t have talked back to them like that.
“Riley.” Thane’s face falls. He smooths a strand of hair away from my forehead. “Not hours. Weeks.”
A tear slips down my face. Weeks? They’ve had to take care of me for weeks? No wonder my body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. No wonder my voice is hoarse and my throat aches. No doubt there was a breathing tube shoved down there not all that long ago.
And Thane had to see that.
They all did.
My stomach drops and I feel my lower lip quiver.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He stands and rummages through the cabinet to the side of the bed, pulling out some equipment. “Can I ask you a few questions?”
I nod, unable to speak anymore for the moment while I attempt to moisten my throat.
Here it is at last, the interrogation. I can picture the questions already.Why did you lie to us? Why would we ever bond with someone like you?
“Here,” Thane says, lifting a plastic orange cup from a tray to bring it to my lips. He slips a hand behind my head, using his arm strength to support me as I try and fail to lift my own head to drink. “That’s it, just let me hold you up.”
I do, and when the cool liquid fills my mouth, I choke, and he removes the cup. I whine and he puts it back to my lips, cautioning me to drink slowly.
Once the ache in my throat is mostly sated and the cup empty, he gently lays me back down and takes up the clipboard instead, his chair legs scraping the floor as he moves as close to me as the hospital bed will allow.
Why is he still here?
Why hasn’t he run?
“You don’t have to talk too much. You haven’t used your voice for weeks, so don’t force it. Just nod or shake your head, okay?”
I nod in response. Even a simple shake of my head makes me dizzy, and my stomach roils.
Thane begins a litany of examination questions. General ones, like how I’m feeling or what I remember from that day. Gradually, they become more specific as he works through my symptoms. Soon, he’s checking my eyesight and my pupil dilation. When I pass those, he moves on to my hearing. Earbuds are inserted into my ears, and I have to motion where I hear the beep. Sometimes I don’t hear it, but that isn’t uncommon. I have had attacks where one or both ears didn’t work for several days.
Once he is done with the hearing test though, I’m done. I never thought such simple questions could be so exhausting. I can barely keep my eyes open, but I force myself to, waiting for the shoe to drop. I’m waiting for Thane to yell at me for my lies. Ask me theotherquestions.
Except he doesn’t. He’s warm and caring, always touching me, praising me when I answer his questions. Every word of praise from him is like a ray of sunshine, forcing its way through the dark clouds in the room.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I murmur. “It wasn’t to be cruel or dishonest. I’ve been hiding it my whole life.”
He wraps his hand around mine. “How long have you known?”
“Since I was a teenager. I hid it from my Alpha parents, but I think they suspected. I showed my Omega status when I was only sixteen. That’s common for cervus patients.” My cheeks heat. “But you already know that, being an expert and all.”
His soft smile drops. “Like that did you any good. I should’ve caught your symptoms. I could’ve gotten you help sooner.”
“I really was going to live out my life hiding as a Beta. I prepared myself for that kind of life. I didn’t have any expectations because I couldn’t let myself fall in love with any pack. I didn’t want to be anyone’s responsibility like that. I didn’t want to be anyone’s burden. And then Miles happened.” My eyes sting with unshed tears.
“And I swear to God, Thane, I wish I could regret these past weeks, but they are the best weeks I’ve ever had. And I’m glad I’ll have the memory of them when it’s time for me to leave.”
Thane’s lips part as if he is about to speak, but then a noise across the room draws my attention and I watch Fox jolt awake from his perch in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. His eyes immediately go to me, and joy spreads over his face when I give him a slight smile.
“Hey, sugar,” he says, his eyes lighting up. “Look who’s awake.”
I don’t feel very awake. After speaking with Thane, it feels like I’ve been awake for days straight with no rest at all. But I want to stay awake to be with Fox and Thane, to soak up any last memories I can get before they send me away.
Fox comes to sit on the edge of my hospital bed, his scent coming stronger now, washing away the lingering discomfort. He scoops my hand from the stiff hospital blanket and presses his lips to the back of it. “Took you long enough,” he says in jest, but I can see the hurt in his eyes. The worry he must’ve felt. That they all felt.
