Page 338 of Secret Shifters Next Door

I chuckled, but it sent a lancing pain through my side where I’d been stabbed. “Ah, fuck, that hurts. Where’s everyone else?”

Tate sighed. “I didn’t call anyone until I could be sure you were awake for good. I called Ava as soon as they moved you to this room. She’s on her way. I talked to the guys a second before I came in here. They’re coming.”

My heart ached at hearing Ava’s name. “How is she?”

“If I’m honest? Pretty shitty. You and her father have both been knocking on death’s door. Gio’s fine. He got released yesterday. She’s been holding up as well as she can, but…” He shook his head and shrugged.

I sighed. Tate leaned forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll never know how much it meant to me. The way you raced in and saved Steff like that. But you can’t…you can’t scare us like this again.” His voice cracked as he spoke and his eyes misted with fresh tears.

At that moment, I understood how worried everyone had been for me. It really must have been bad. Tate wasnota crier. For him to be this emotional, I truly must have been right on the edge.

That thought gave me an existential fear that made me a little dizzy. I wanted to raise a hand and pat his shoulder, grab his forearm for comfort, but it was like hundred-pound weights were tied to my wrists. My body was still too tired.

“Where is he?” a voice in the hall called out. “Blayne Walker. Where the hell is he?”

My heart sped up when I heard that voice. Ava.

Tate turned and opened the door, waving her in. Ava stumbled into the room. Her hair was messy, like she’d just woken up. Her eyes were frantic and red. My heart shattered when I saw how strung out and worried she looked.

“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered.

Ava’s hand went to her mouth, and she began to sink to the floor as tears and sobs burst out of her. Tate, lithe and quick,leaped forward and caught her around the waist before she could hit the floor.

“Come on, Ava,” Tate whispered.

He helped her walk to me, and a lump formed in my throat. Seeing her this broken tore my insides up. It made the physical pain I felt seem like nothing.

Tate lifted her up like a bride, then settled her in the bed beside me, on the side that was not injured. The doctors and nurses would have probably lost their shit if they’d seen him do it, but they could fuck off. I wanted to hold my girl.

Tate helped me get my arm up and around her before backing away toward the door. “I’ll head out and wait for the guys.” He closed the door as he left.

Ava’s fingers twisted into my hospital gown as she clung to me. She buried her face in the crook of my arm and sobbed. The shaking of her body as she cried shook my own body. It made her sadness more real somehow.

I managed to stroke her hair twice before getting too tired. “It’s okay. I’ll be all right,” I whispered into her ear.

“I thought I was gonna lose you,” she mumbled into my chest. “I’m gonna kick your ass for scaring me like that.”

Even though it hurt, I couldn’t stop the chuckle that came from me. We sat like that in silence for a long time. It was nice—holding her against me, feeling her heat melt into me. She needed this as much as I did. The comfort of being together, of hearing each other breathe was what I needed to heal.

Finally, she looked at me. “I was so scared, Blayne. It was bad when Liam died, but when I thought I was going to lose you, too…” She shook her head. “I thought it was going to be the end of me. You need to promise me that you’ll never do something like this to me again. I don’t think I could survive it.” Fresh tears filled her eyes.

I kissed her. My lips and tongue were dry, but it didn’t matter. “I promise.

The nurses continued to come in and check on me. Tate started bringing in visitors. Steff and April had been the first to get there. Steff had his usual cocky smile, but it was forced.

“You asshole. Had to go and be the hero. I guess you had to do something since you’re the ugliest one of all of us.” Steff took my hand as he spoke.

We talked for a few minutes before Celina came in, rolling Miles in a wheelchair. Miles grinned at me, and I could see he’d been crying. All these guys were getting sentimental now that they had families.

At the edge of my bed, Miles stood. It looked painful for him, and even though Celina chastised him for it, he stepped over to me and leaned on the bed. He rested a hand on my shoulder. “Good job, bro. I never had any doubt you’d pull through.”

I nodded toward his injuries. “How are you?”

He grinned. “Got shot in the shoulder and leg. Shifter healing, though. I’ll probably be walking on my own in another day. Limp for a week maybe. I should be fine by the end of the month. No need to worry about me.”

Ava never left my side, huddling against me in the bed.

The last visitor was Gio. Sam pushed him through the doors in a wheelchair similar to what Miles had been in. Gio looked much worse for wear, though. The two men smiled when they saw I was awake.

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