Page 73 of Alpha Chase

“If you hurt her again…” Nessa’s words fade into the background as I stride around a curtain and my eyes land on Vienna. She’s lying on a cot, a thin white sheet pulled up to her chest, her long eyelashes fanning over her cheeks and her hair pooling around her head on the pillow like a dark halo.

A fucking angel of the underworld, put on earth to drag me to hell.

Her body looks so small against the cot they have her on, so fucking fragile. My heart splinters in my chest as I take in the bruises marring her skin; the skin I’ve touched. The dried blood trailing down from her temple and staining the seam of her lips; the lips I’ve kissed.

The sight of her like this nearly brings me to my goddamn knees. I’ve only ever seen Vienna as this feisty ball of energy, so much ferocity and raw strength wrapped up in a tiny little package. Now, she’s the polar opposite- lying there helpless, out cold, her injured body fighting to heal itself. It’s enough to fuckingbreakme.

Spotting a chair a few yards away, I stalk over to it, grabbing onto an arm and dragging it across the floor. The metal legs scrape against the concrete as I pull it right up to the edge of her bed, falling down into it. Leaning my elbows on the edge of the flimsy mattress, my eyes roam over every inch of Vienna’s body as I watch the steady rise and fall of her chest, each visible bruise on her smooth, tan skin registering like a stab to the gut.

This is all my fucking fault.

I said a bunch of shit I didn’t mean, and she was so upset when she stormed out of the packhouse. If I’d just kept my goddamn mouth shut, she wouldn’t be lying here right now, injured and helpless. If I was a better man, none of this would’ve happened.

I destroy everything I touch.

It was only a matter of time.

“She’ll be out for at least a couple more hours, if you want to come back…” Juliet offers, peeking at me around the curtain.

I lift my head to look in her direction, shaking it firmly. “I’m not leaving.”

Juliet shrugs. “Suit yourself.” She strides around the cot to stand beside my chair, folding her arms over her chest and peering down at me. “I didn’t know she was your girlfriend or I would’ve called.”

“She’s not.” I look down at Vienna’s face, still as fucking gorgeous as ever even though it’s marred by scrapes and bruises. She’d look kinda badass if she was conscious and if I wasn’t the one who put them there. With that knowledge, a familiar numbness settles in, a hollow emptiness in my chest cavity where my heart should be.

“Right,” Juliet muses. “Well whatever she is, her friend’s pretty adamant that she doesn’t want you hanging around, so…”

“I’m not leaving,” I repeat through gritted teeth, grinding my molars.

Juliet holds her hands up in surrender. “Okay, just figured I’d pass it along.” She turns on a heel, disappearing around the curtain as Nessa steps into view. When she sees me, her face scrunches up like she’s just eaten something sour. This girl’s mama bear act is getting old quick.

“I’ve got it from here,” I grumble dismissively, waving a hand toward her.

She frowns. “Like heck you do.”

Heck?The corner of my mouth tips up in amusement for a brief moment, but then my eyes land on the sleeping beauty in front of me again and any flicker of a smile leaves my face.

She’s hurt.

It’s my fault.

“You can join me or you can leave, but I’m staying right the fuck here,” I growl, burying my face in my hands.

“Fine,” Nessa chirps, walking away. For a second, I’m relieved that she’s gone, but then I hear metal legs scraping across the floor and I lift my head to see her dragging a chair toward the cot.

Fucking great.

She places it next to mine, flopping down onto the seat and turning to me with a smug smirk on her lips. “What?” she asks, her smirk deepening as she tosses her hair over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to miss the show. That girl is gonna tear you a new one when she wakes up.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Vienna

Theharshfluorescentlightingassaults my eyes as I work to blink them open, prying my sticky eyelashes apart. The pain registers immediately. It’s a deep ache that’s spread all over, taking root in my muscles and bones, consuming the entirety of my body in a dull throb.

I’m in the infirmary at the squad complex. I vaguely remember being brought here, but all I have are scattered flashes of memory. The panic as I pressed the brake pedal to the floor and was met with no resistance. The curve that I took too fast because I couldn’t slow down. The thick trees rushing at me and the deafening crunch of metal and glass as my car made impact.

I remember seeing Casey and Davis, two squad fighters that I became friendly with when I was at summer training camp. I’m not sure how much time passed between the accident and their arrival, just that I tried and failed to get the door open and required their help to get out. They must’ve just happened upon the accident, and good thing they did, because they immediately took action by rushing me here.

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