Page 52 of Gift from the Nexus

My eyes are still closed, head tilted back when the shift in the air occurs, letting me know the rest of my family just arrived.

I barely have time to steady myself before two sets of arms engulf me, and all I can do is slump into the love pouring off Oakly and Gaster. It feels like forever since they both embraced me, and I honestly never want to let them out of my sight again.

“Maybe you both should let me see her before your hugs cause more harm,” Jamie says semi-teasingly from behind us.

Breaking away, I give them both a loving smile, and it seems to occur to them only now, I’m not in nearly as bad shape as I was. When the two of them part, letting Jamie step forward, he stumbles on his own feet, staring at me like I’m a damn ghost.

“What? What is it?” A little worry bleeds into my tone because his shocked expression has me second-guessing my fast healing is not a good thing.

“How…” he mutters out, latching onto my hand unexpectedly. “Fascinating.”

“All right, now you’re scaring me. First, you looked at me like you were scared for me. Now you’re looking at me like a damn experiment. Which is it?”

“Well, if you’re up to—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Caspian warns, daring him to say another word, to which Jamie just rolls his eyes.

“Fine. I didn’t mean to scare you, Willow. I’ve just never seen something like this in my life and I’ve been healing for seventeen years, since I was sixteen. I thought for sure when we got here, I’d be treating you in your room bit by bit until you were better. I never would’ve guessed you’d be fully recharged and your wounds nearly gone. Astonishing.” A beaming smile breaks out across his face as he slowly pulls his hands away from mine and a weight seems to lift from my chest.

If the doctor-healer, slash scientist thinks I’m healing up “astonishingly,” who am I to question him.

“You can question whatever you want,” Tillman says seriously before addressing Jamie. “So you think it’s okay she’s healing this fast? Not too fast to where nothing’s healing wrong or anything like that?”

“No. Everything I sense is completely normal to her, even a tad bit stronger,” Jamie comments, tilting his head to the side, analyzing me curiously.

Yep, I know why it seems stronger, and I will not be discussing it with Jamie, so turning back to Oakly and Gaster, I reinsert myself directly between them and pull them back in for a hug.

“You’re trying to kill me, child, just admit it.”

I know his tone is teasing, but a lump forms in my throat at the thought of losing Gaster. I don’t know how in the world he survived having a bond like this one severing before and still be able to be as amazing and loving as he is. I’m certain I’d be a completely different woman. And not for the better, I can assure you.

“Never. I’d be so lost without you. I love you so much, Gaster, and I’m going to do a better job of telling you that every day.”

“I love you, Willow. Very, very, much,” he says sweetly, emotion clogging his throat.

Not wanting to fall down the rabbit hole again of breaking down into tears, I pull away from him, and we make our way to the patio table. Lunch, well, brunch judging by the assortment of both breakfast and lunch dishes, is already sitting out on the table, waiting for us, and I nearly squeal like a girl when Corentin passes me a cup of coffee.

My happy hum causes everyone at the table to chuckle and fall into easy conversation.

This means everything to me.

Sitting in Corentin’s lap, leaning my head against Draken’s shoulder, Tillman’s hand gripping my thigh, and Caspian’s shadows swirling around my wrist. Gaster’s laughing and teasing everyone. Oakly’s smiling, soaking up the affection she’s receiving from her Nexus.

I never want this to end.

But from across the table, I feel Ry’s eyes on me. I’ve avoided looking at him since they arrived. Even at the prison when they found me, I didn’t want to look at him because the guilt coming off him, both his emotions and aura are so strong, they’re almost tangible. I feel it as keenly as I first felt my men’s emotions when they got to me.

“Ry, please stop,” I say gently, finally growing a pair and meeting his regretful glare.

The table silences as everyone stares between the two of us.

Oakly’s confusion comes swiftly as she looks back and forth from me to him, then it dawns on her and her eyes water as she looks at me with so much gratitude and love. I can understand how it’s easy to forget what happened when the gym was first attacked. Everything that happened after that was so brutal, it seems like it was just a small, forgetful moment in time, but Ry’s not forgetting and he’s not letting it go.

“I can’t just stop. If you didn’t do what you did, I’d be dead. Oakly would be…” he stops, shaking his head and blowing out a forceful breath of air. “And look what happened to you. How can you not be mad at me?”

“Mad at you? Ry, why in the hell would I be mad at you? You took a beating from hell, which gave me enough time to get Oakly out safely and figure out a plan. A shitty plan, but a plan nonetheless,” I say confidently, but it doesn’t matter. I can feel the rising tide in everyone’s emotions.

They each feel like they could’ve done something more or done something to change what happened, and my emotions rise just as swiftly, defensively unfortunately.

---