Page 34 of The Safest Place She Knows

“She refused toclot.”

Lya chuckled.“I wasn’t in the mood. It was when I got my arm broken.”

Nohehl sighed.“Do you know who did it?”

“Oh, yeah. Hisbuddies grabbed him and turned him in to the Stronghold.Apparently, proximity to me makes Stronghold Elite a littlenuts.”

“That shouldend once you are properly mated.”

“I have triedsex. There is little that is proper about it.”

He grinned ather. “I love realism.”

The doctorcleared his throat and said, “The bed is on the way for her, and wewill get her into surgery.”

She looked up,and when the bed arrived, Nohehl lifted her and set her into place.He removed her robe carefully and kissed her forehead. “I will beright outside.”

“Feel free towatch. I am sure it is fascinating.” Lya yawned. “Or get a coffeewith Tamara or something. I just told her her world was wrong, andI was responsible for it. She has to be feeling some kind of wayafter that.”

“Venka has her.I am here for you.” He unwrapped the snug shed, and her arm wasexposed. There was a strange feeling of her skin being uncoveredagain, and she was wheeled down the hall to the surgical suite.

Time to get herarm broken by medical professionals.

When she openedher eyes, her mouth felt weird, and she had trouble focusing.Tamara was sitting by her feet and looking worried. Venka was nextto her and had her arm around Tamara’s shoulders.

She didn’t seeNohehl, but hands helped her sit up, and a straw was placed againsther lips. The hand was dark, and when she looked toward its owner,Nohehl was next to the head of the bed. She took a few sips andthen let the straw go. “Oh, hi.”

He smiled. “Hi.A 3D-printed cast has been created for you and will be adjusted asyou heal. It will allow your skin to recover and breathe. You canalso shower with it on.”

She lookedaround and saw her arm slightly swollen in a very pretty goldencage. The cage had a serpentine pattern, so it made Lya smile.“That’s cool.”

“Flex yourfingers.”

She nodded andslowly closed and opened her hand. “I can’t feel my arm.”

Tamarawhispered, “They numbed the hell out of you, but the entire floorstill heard your scream when they broke it again.”

“Sorry.”

Tamara shookher head. “Don’t be. They broke your bones; you should scream.”

“Thanks. So,how long am I spending here?”

Nohehlchuckled. “They used the opportunity to attach an IV. When you aredone with it in twenty minutes, they will provide us with meds foryou, and we will head home. As for Tamara, Venka has pulled somestrings, and she is now going to the same school as Brexel’sboys.”

Lya smiled.“Oh, good. It always hurt that I couldn’t send her there. She needsto be with other alphas.”

Venka smiled.“That is easy. There is a family connection that I am exploiting. Ialso have a physical training program that she is already enrolledin.”

“What aboutsoccer?”

“She has torequalify, but if she focuses, she can rejoin her team.”

Lya smiled.“Nice. I can die happy.”

The occupantsof the room stared at her.

She shrugged.“It’s a figure of speech. I haven’t died yet, and the ones tryingto kill me were really trying. So, I have heard of these thingscalled days off, and I am looking forward to trying a few.” Shesmiled. “Plus, we have to watch the Alpha versus Beta show.”

---