Page 29 of Victorious: Part I

Alpha spins to look at me like he is in shock while Poppy continues to thrash about.

The sheer terror on his face seeing his daughter falling apart in my arms and Livvy fighting for breath is activating something inside him.

I see it clicking over.

His PTSD rampages through him as he fights the demons in his mind.

He drops to the floor, his knees to his chest, sweat dripping down his face as his hands rise above his head to shelter from imminent attack.

My heart shatters watching this strong, stoic man breaking in front of me.

Lock turns, glancing at Alpha, concern crossing his features. “Stone, Stone, can you hear me?” he calls out while continuing to calm Livvy’s breathing.

Poppy screams against me, still thrashing, trying everything to get to both of her parents now, while I fight the urge to let her go so I can go to Alpha and help him.

Livvy’s monitors continue to beep uncontrollably.

Miranda rushes in to help Lock, and she hesitates on Alpha for a moment.

I shake my head. “No, help Livvy,” I reassure her.

She rushes toward Lock, and they work together. I have no fucking clue what they’re doing, but her monitors begin to slow, her breathing eases, and her coughing stops, bringing the tension in the room down a notch.

Poppy stops thrashing, her energy now completely spent. Mine is, too, as Alpha remains on the floor, rocking back and forth.

Lock turns to face Alpha, swiping a bead of sweat from his brow, and he glances at me. “PTSD?” he asks quietly.

I simply nod, a single tear falling down my cheek. Lock exhales, carefully walking past Alpha so he doesn’t disturb him, and he steps up to me while I still hold Poppy. He clears his throat, but it’s the devastated expression that tells me everything I need to know.

Grimacing, I tense all over and simply shrug. “Just tell me, Lock.”

He swipes at his chin, then exhales like he’s preparing a speech he’s had to prepare for other families a thousand times. The thought makes me want to be sick. “From what I can tell with her decline, blood seems to still be pooling internally. Even though we tried as hard as we could to fix the wounds to her liver, the bleeding isn’t going to stop.”

A cold shudder runs over my body as I stare at him. My breathing stops as I take in the gravity of the situation and what he’s telling me. A sudden wave of nausea slams into me violently, and I have to force myself not to be physically ill.

Poppy’s tiny little doe eyes glance up at me, not understanding the severity of the situation. “What does that mean, Haven?” she asks.

A small whimper escapes me, tears instantly falling from my eyes as I shift my gaze back to Lock, pleading for help. He kneels down on one knee in front of Poppy to be at her height, his eyes almost bloodshot red.

This must be so fucking hard for him.

“Sweetheart, your mother is strong. She issostrong. And she has taught you to be strong as well. Unfortunately, her injuries are too severe. So now your mama will needyouto be the strong one for her. Do you understand what I’m saying, Poppy?”

Her bottom lip trembles, her head shaking just the smallest amount. “She’s going to die?” she whispers.

Lock clears his throat, his eyes clenching, trying to fight through his own pain. “Yes… yes, she is.”

Before I have a second to comfort her, Poppy uses all the strength she can muster, and she rips herself from my grip. “No, Mama, no,” she screams, the sound so gut-wrenching it causes Alpha’s head to snap up from his trance.

Poppy takes off like a bolt of lightning. Neither Lock nor I can grab her before she is out of our grasp. I take off after her, thinking she’s going to head for Livvy, but she diverts and makes a beeline for Alpha. My heart leaps into my throat. Panic washes over me because I know the one thing you cannot do is startle Alpha when he’s having an attack. He’ll lash out, even though he doesn’t mean it. And if he hurt Poppy unintentionally right now, it could do untold damage to their relationship.

“Poppy,no,” I scream, but it is too late. She catapults herself toward her father sitting on the floor.

My muscles almost seize with anxiety as I watch her land on him. He falls back to the floor, his eyes wide in terror as she snuggles into him.

“Alpha!” I yell.

Lock and I race toward him to stop him from hurting her, but the second he sees her and notices his daughter in unprecedented pain, he flips. The lights come back on, and his arms instantly wrap around her so tight, cuddling into her, holding her to him just as we reach the floor. He holds her to him, kissing her hair, my heart pounding out of my chest as I shift beside them, my hand sliding out, resting on his shoulder. Tears are sliding freely down my face now.

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