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I dropped my head back against my pillow and closed my eyes; it was all too much. After a few deep breaths, I felt a little calmer. Then, there was the lightest brush of fingers against my right cheek and my pulse skyrocketed as my eyes flew open. I whipped my head to the bed beside me where Theo was giving me a weaker version of the crooked grin I loved so much. The sound I made at seeing that he was awake was an unhinged melding of a screech and a cry as I scrambled out of the bed and launched myself on top of him. I nearly tripped in the blankets and my foot connected with something that resulted in cursing. But I didn’t pay any attention. All I could focus on were those bright blue eyes that were crinkling at the corners, as if he found great amusement in my scrambling urgency to straddle his lap and drape myself over him.
“You’re awake! I’m— Oh, fuck! Am I hurting you? Shit. I wasn’t thinking.”
I started to move off him much more gently than I’d climbed on, but one of his hands gripped my hip, holding me in place, then the other wrapped around the back of my neck as he pulled my mouth down to his. My hands fisted into his hospital gown as he pressed our lips together in a sweet kiss. Jade’s throaty, sleep-roughened laugh cut through the daze that I’d fallen into, first from Theo’s waking, and then with his kiss. I lifted my head up and inhaled deeply, Theo’s scent had shifted again. It was still slightly chemically but it was also stronger. So much stronger than any Beta’s scent should be. I involuntarily pressed my hips down onto him and a whine escaped me. In response to the sound, a deep Alpha purr rumbled through the room. I turned my head to look at each of the three Alphas, but they were all looked shocked, and Shae’s eyes were wide. When I turned back to Theo, his brows were drawn together in confusion, I realized that I could feel the vibrations of the purr from where I was sitting on him. Holy shit. Theo was purring.
“What the fuck?”
Theo’s voice was gravelly from disuse but the sound of it spurred the rest of us into motion. I slipped off him and dropped into the remaining chair on the side of his bed that was closest to the window. His eyes followed me, and I snagged his hand, holding it tight. Jade dropped her legs over the side of the bed we’d slept in to stand between the two beds. She lifted her hand to his face and brushed the backs of her fingers along Theo’s jaw, causing him to turn to her and smile.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I watched Jade’s face scrunch and her chin wobble as tears welled in her eyes. Theo shook his head, tugging her down to press their foreheads together, murmuring, “None of that.”
He kissed her just as sweetly as he’d kissed me, and a smile split my face. Theo was awake. We had Shae back. Sure, we were all a mess of traumas and Theo was purring like an Alpha, when he was actually a Beta… but none of that mattered, really. As long as we were together.
CHAPTER FOUR
JADE
Theo started purring again as I kissed him. Purring. Theo was purring. What the fuck was happening to my Beta? I pulled back from the kiss, worry creasing my brow.
“It’s like what happened to Cat and the others.”
Shae’s voice cut through the trance we’d all been under with the shock of Theo purring.
“No, can’t be, they turned Omega. Shit, am I?”
Ethan answered him.
“No, you feel like an Alpha. How is this possible? And, what did you say, Shae? Cat’s an Omega now?”
Theo patted Ethan’s hand and started to explain.
“The missing Foundation lab guy?—”
“Dayton.”
Theo growled at Shae’s mention of the Beta and my eyebrow lifted in question as Shae continued.
“He didn’t want to help them, Theo. He was under guard and beaten, just like?—”
It was Theo’s turn to interrupt. As he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands fisted in the blankets.
“No more talking about that, please, Shae, I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
I glanced over to Miles, where he sat wrapped around Shae, and when our eyes met, I knew we were both thinking about when he’d emerged as an Alpha. And how much trouble he’d had keeping his protective instincts in check, more so than other Alphas we’d known when we were growing up. I gently scraped my nails down the back of Theo’s scalp to help him relax. He reacted tipped his head further into my hand and closed his eyes before another soft purr came from him.
“Dammit, that’s annoying. How do I make it so I don’t sound like a fucking cat all the time?”
We all laughed as Theo scowled down at his chest like it had betrayed him. Ethan’s voice was full of awe as he leaned forward, still clasping Theo’s hand between his own.
“If Cat’s an Omega now, does that mean Theo really is an Alpha? How is that possible?”
A knock sounded at the door before it opened quietly, and a different doctor stepped into the room. The Beta’s smile was genuine enough and he seemed like an improvement on the one from the day before.
“Good morning, I’m Dr. Lambert. I’m happy to see that you are awake, Mr. Owens. How are you feeling?”
Theo looked at me for guidance then his expression shifted. I could see the moment when he registered the frayed state of our bond. I hated not feeling him, and watching the emotions pass across his face was another blow. His pulse elevated slightly on the monitors. I squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him, before turning to speak to the doctor.
