"Beckett, just calm down, man!" Ronan's thundering voice reaches past the underwater warble of sound.
"LET ME GO!" the blonde guy, Beckett I presume, shoves against my pack alpha and yanks on Lucas and Casey, who are holding his shoulders back.
"Give me one good reason why I should let your feral bonded fucking ass near my mate!" Ronan spits.
I almost wish the ringing would drown out their fighting. My skull feels like someone is punching it over and over again, the tempo rising at an alarming rate. I realize I'm panicking when my lungs start to burn, but I can't take my attention off the stranger.
I remember him as the reason my omega broke through her chains and collided with me in one epic show of strength and revenge. This man, Beckett, freed me from the chasm that has always separated me from my other half.
I have questions, but when his piercing blue eyes lock on mine, everything fizzles. My omega careens to the surface with a cry of excitement, only for my exhausted body to shut her down just as she reaches the surface.
The final straw that sends me back under the covers of nothingness is Beckett's declaration.
"She's my twin! My sister! Please!"
Chapter Forty-Six
CASEY
"Casey, babe, where are you getting all this shit?" Elliott whispers, closing the door behind me since my hands are full.
I grunt quietly, depositing all the goodies on the couch by the window. "Gift shops. I've found three so far," I say, grinning as I take in all my purchases.
"Okay," Elliott drawls coming up beside me. "But how are you paying for all of it?"
"Oh!" That reminds me. Spinning, I address Ronan, "Remy's dad has your wallet and cell phone."
Ronan's eyes widen, then he's out the door with his brother trailing behind with questions. I smile. It's interesting to see them outside of the academy and cell walls.
"Casey."
"What? Oh, my mom wired some money to Remy's mom before she left for the airport so I could get something if I needed it," I say, finally answering Elliott's question.
My alpha's lips twist in thought, his eyes flicking to our sleeping omega. "And you thought stuffed animals, bright colored blankets, and a pillow in the shape of a rainbow were needed?"
I smirk, really enjoying talking to him again like a normal person. I feel like it's been fucking ages since he's looked at and spoken to me like he used to. Not that I blame him. Everything has been fucked for months. I just miss him; I miss us.
"Yeah. She panicked when she woke up because everything was too similar to that fucking place.”
This morning was a fucking roller coaster of emotions when she woke up after the doctor dropped that bomb on us. Not only was Freya completely lost in her head and couldn't hear anything we were saying, but Beckett barging in and declaring her his twin sister was a lot for everyone to take.
"Good idea," he says, kissing my head and walking away.
"Where are you going?"
With his hand on the bathroom doorknob, he turns with a cheeky wink. "Well, I have a mother-in-law to meet tomorrow and there's no way she's seeing me for the first time like this."
He's closing and locking the door behind him before I can tell him I don't mind the beard, nor do I hate the longer ringlets of his hair. I am excited to see his cheeks again without all the fuzz, and see him styling his hair again, though.
Ronan and Lucas cleaned up their look as soon as we were escorted to the room and given freedom to do our shit with the hygiene stuff Remy's mom gave us. I followed suit not long after, hating the itchiness of a scruffy face.
Unfortunately, hot showers, razors, and clippers haven't made me feel any less disgusting after everything we witnessed and had to endure. It's like the trauma is lingering as a constant stickiness clinging to my skin that demands attention.
Blowing out a breath, I shake off my morbid thoughts. I'd much rather build my omega a temporary little nest for her to wake up to.
Rifling through my bags, I sort the stuffies in one pile, blankets in another, and prop the rainbow pillow against the bottom of her bed by her feet. If I would have found a piñata to hang over her, I would have done that so she truly saw something different when she woke up.
Before I begin wrapping her new stuff around her, I spritz the lavender aroma mist in hopes that as she wakes, she won't smell the hospital first.