Page 99 of Knot the Alphas' Feral Omega

The doctor stood up, clearly sensing that Mom needed to sleep. “We’re going to work to make sure that she’s comfortable, Lilah,” she said gently, addressing me again. “But unfortunately...that’s all we can do now.”

I wanted to stand up and rage at her, to bark and growl and tell her that she needed to domorefor my mother, to keep her from dying...but I just didn’t have the energy. So, instead, I just nodded and whispered, “Thanks for trying your best.”

The doctor took that as her cue, and she walked out, leaving the door open so that Mom’s nurse could hover.

Mom’s eyes blinked slowly, staying closed for longer each time, and she squeezed my hand one more time. “I love you, baby,” she whispered. “Come back soon?”

In my head, I vowed right then and there that I would be at my mother’s side every single day for the rest of however much timeshe had left. I wasn’t going to miss a second, and I knew for a fact that my pack would support me in that decision.

“Yeah, Mom, of course,” I said, not wanting to irritate my mother with my intensity. I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, which was somehow fevered and damp but scaly and dry at the same time. I squeezed her hand once more before gently laying it down, and I stopped by her nurse on the way out of her room to let her sleep.

“If anything changes, please call me so I can be here,” I said quietly.

The nurse nodded, her expression soft with sympathy. “Of course, Lilah,” she said equally quietly.

I sighed and then nodded again.

***

It took a while of sitting outside on my mom’s porch before the tears stopped streaking down my cheeks, and I was able to pull my phone out to call Killian and let him know what the doctor had said.

“I’m sorry, baby girl,” he said gently and sincerely. “I wish there was something that any of us could do.”

His sweetness, as always, soothed something inside of me, and I sighed. “I know. Thank you. I’m going to head back to the packhouse now, okay? When will you be home?”

“I’m actually already on my way, so I should be getting home right around the same time you do,” he said. “See you soon?”

A smile tugged at my lips, even as my eyes were swollen and felt too fucking dry from crying. “Yeah, see you soon. Love you.”

I hung up, and with one more glance over my shoulder at the closed front door of Mom’s house, I sighed and forced myself to my feet, digging into my pocket for the keys to my car.

This was just life. It sucked. And Mom was right—at least I had the pack to help me get through this entirely bullshit twist of fate. At least I wouldn’t be alone...once my mother was gone.

The thought sent another lance of pain through my chest, and I reached up to rub the painful spot absently. A slight breeze ruffled my hair around my shoulders, and an odd scent—something almost familiar—was in the air.

That was the only warning I got.

Someone slammed into me from behind and to the side, and I didn’t even have the time to let out a yelp of surprise before a large hand holding a damp cloth pressed over my nose and mouth.

“Finally.” The voice was male and unfamiliar, filled with sharp rage and jagged like glass. “You were in there fucking forever.”

The hand pressed harder against my nose, the fabric practically stuffing up my nostrils, making it impossible for me to get away despite how I squirmed...until I couldn’t anymore.

“What the fuck...” I managed, the words already muffled and hazy from the drug that soaked the cloth, and my knees slowly gave out from underneath me.

I didn’t see the person who had attacked me before my vision went black, and I knew nothing else.

52

Killian

I whistled, low and happy under my breath as I marched up the front doors of the packhouse and let myself in.

“Lilah! Baby girl!” I called out, kicking the door shut behind me as I started to loosen the tie from around my neck. I didn’t have to go into the office to meet with my supervisors often, but they always made it a big to-do when I did.

It only happened about once a quarter, but I was still a little irritated about it, especially since it meant I couldn’t be home right away when my omega returned after learning such devastating news about her mother.

My stomach twisted at the idea of Katrina being on her last legs. I’d visited her with Lilah a few more times recently, and the poor woman had looked worse and worse and worse every single time. It was incredibly difficult to watch her—someone myomega deeply cared about and for whom I had developed my own parental feelings, as well—deteriorate, knowing there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it.

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