Page 92 of More Than One Way: Part Two

I hadn’t realized that the volume of my hysterics had risen enough to draw attention until cool fingers pressed against my lips and Shae tilted my chin in their direction.

“That’s part of what the doctors wanted to see you about. I noticed your temperature was rising when we were in the ambulance. And having to endure that much stress when you were already so close to your heat? They have an abortive shot that can delay it, but you have to be sure.”

“Yes. Yes, absolutely. Give me the drugs!”

My pack and Miles' parents all chuckled at me, which did stupid things to my emotions because I suddenly felt like they were laughing at me, and I wanted to cry. I really wanted that shot as quickly as they could possibly get it to me. Shae disappeared and apparently asked if someone could come to the surgery waiting area to give me the shot since I was inches from being a completely hysterical Omega, and thankfully they agreed. Within an hour, I was feeling more like myself.

Miles' mom and dads sat with us while we waited for news. The nurse who’d given me the shot had warned me that the heat abortive meds would make me drowsy. I’d started to doze off on Jade’s shoulder, when the surgery doors opened and a woman in scrubs came out calling Miles' name. We all stood and moved toward her but it was Miles' mom who asked how he was first.

“It went well. The bullet itself didn’t do any major damage but Alpha Owens actions after did tear some ligaments. We’ve repaired the damage as best we could. As you all likely know, Alphas typically heal faster than the other designations but keeping your Omega close will likely speed it up further. He should have full use of his arm in a month or so.”

“When can we see him?”

The doctor turned a tired smile in my direction.

“He has to stay in the post-op area for about an hour once he comes out of the anesthesia but one of you can go sit with him and then he will be taken up to one of the rooms for overnight observation. Your pack can stay together there.”

We decided to let Miles' mom sit with him until it was time to take him up to the room where we were going to stay for the night. Once we got up to the room, we maneuvered things around so that, once Miles' bed was brought in, we would again have three beds to share. Shae and Theo left to get food for everyone, and Trevor stepped out to talk to Miles' dads about handling things at Drake House until my heat was over. It seemed like something that Jade should be handling but, instead, she lay next to me on one of the beds, tangling our legs together and tipping my chin up so she could brush the tip of her nose along my jaw.

“Tell me what was bothering you, Ethan. Before everything happened, you were sad and ashamed. You know you don’t have to quit school, right? We will fight every step of the way for you to be treated fairly. Nothing that has happened has been within your control?—”

I silenced her with a kiss and tried to share my gratitude in the bond, and the answering feeling of warmth and affection told me that I had succeeded.

“I realized some things that I wasn’t proud of, I knew that I had been sheltered and had learned so much working with Haven but I—what have I really done to help?” Squeezing my eyes shut, I tucked my face into her neck, below her chin. “I kept going back to my parents’ giant house and never thought about those people again after I fixed their paperwork. Then I found you all, and we’ve been caught in this whirlwind of horrible shit, but I want to do more, Jade. I want to really help people.”

She carded her fingers through my hair and purred softly. I wrapped an arm around her waist and sank into the love and comfort my Alpha was offering me.

“We can do that, Ethan. You’re not alone in feeling that way, though. After what happened to Shae, and to you, we’ve all been confronting the realities that we can do more than write checks to organizations that can be corrupted so easily. We need to do more.”

“Like what?”

“I want to bring Haven into the light. Make their work something that others can back with their money. Hire people to build more teams at Drake House that will focus on protecting and helping Omegas who need to escape and start over or just need protection. I think partnering with your mother’s organization, and working on bridging the gaps between what exists and what these vulnerable populations need, would be the next step.”

“Can we do that?”

Jade shifted so I would have to meet her eyes.

“Yes, sweet Omega. We’re going to blow it all up and force people to look at the ugliest parts of what happens in our world. We’ll do whatever we can, to make it better for the people who can’t do it on their own.”

Before we could say anything else, Theo and Shae came back with several boxes of pizza and Trevor trailed in shortly after. We had just begun eating when Miles' mom came into the room, pushing the door right open so that a rolling hospital bed could be wheeled in, containing a groggy Miles covered in thin blankets. His eyes moved blearily around the space in a way that told us he was still fighting either the effects of the anesthesia or the pain meds.

“Where ‘re th-they?”

“Where are who, Miles?”

His mother’s voice was calm but had a note of thinly veiled worry as well. I wrung my fingers together, knowing he meant Shae. They moved toward him and some of the tension left him when he gripped their hand with his good one, but his eyes continued to look around. His heart rate spiked minutely, causing the monitor to alert, and the nurse moved to see what the cause had been.

“Where’s ‘e? Did take ‘im?”

The monitor was beeping more worryingly now and Trevor cursed before reaching for me and tugging me from where I was trying to stay out of the way while they maneuvered his bed between the others.

“He’s here, Miles, Ethan’s right here.”

I caught my hip on the other bed and was the epitome of grace and coordination when I stumbled into the side of Miles' bed. His eyes widened and he tried to sit up then grunted in pain and flopped back as a flurry of scolding and activity happened around him. Between Shae, his mom, and the nurse, he was arranged back in the position that wouldn’t harm his shoulder. Shae moved out of the way and, once again, I was manhandled until I was seated at Miles' side.

“You’re ‘lright?”

I struggled to see him through the tears building in my eyes, but I nodded frantically, and he gripped my hand. I wrapped my other hand around his and the incessant beeping of his pulse monitor slowed. He looked from me to Shae and then to the rest of the pack where they all stood around his bed before his eyes began to droop drowsily.

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