Page 9 of Free Me

Still, no alpha liked to cry in front of others, even if they were tears of relief. Despite Mikel having raised Peyton from two years old and being his father in every way, Miko was Mikel’s only biological offspring. And Miko was finally out of danger.

For now. Protect him with everything you have, Mikel.

Footsteps squeaked in the hallway. Isa glanced up out of habit, to see if it was another visitor, a friend, or a doctor heading for the ICU door. It gave him something to watch besides the wall. Eriq Lars-Higgs entered the waiting room with a large paper takeout bag and a cardboard tray of drinks, dressed in civvies for a change, instead of his constable uniform.

“I just dropped food off in the OB wing for Emory and Brogan,” Eriq said. “When Em picked it up, he told me Miko’s heat was finally over and that he’s aware of what’s happening. Miko’s pretty upset about Linus.”

“We all are,” Isa said, snapping without meaning to. He loved and had great respect for Eriq, who was his step-grandson, but they’d only developed a strong relationship after Eriq graduated secondary school. Most of it was because it had taken Isa years to fully embrace the fact that his own middle son Demir was in a poly relationship with Eriq’s parents, Brandt and Oliver Lars-Higgs. When Eriq decided he wanted to be a constable like his sire, Isa had seen a new side of the somewhat rebelliousboy. Eriq had further impressed him last year when he claimed Emory Cross as his bondmate, despite Emory having three children by another sire. That entire situation had been beyond complicated, but Eriq had stepped up and was a wonderful father and mate.

Eriq’s expression remained calm, despite Isa’s temper. “Of course, you are, sir. I brought cold sandwiches, in case you didn’t feel like eating right away.”

“I appreciate it, thank you, son,” Isa said. “Who has the babies?”

“Em’s parents, plus Uncles Caden and Zaq were over when I left. Plenty of help.”

“Good to hear it.” The wordsAlways wonderful to have family aroundstayed in his head. They’d all said them hundreds, if not thousands of times over the years, so they were inferred. Some of them came from large, extended families; some of them were orphans who had nothing when they met. Now, they were all family in unique and varied ways.

“Do you want to see Linus while you’re here?” Isa asked. “I can text Tarius and see if he needs a break for lunch.”

“No, I don’t want to intrude. I love your sons, especially Demir, but your immediate family needs to be together right now. Just pass along my love for all of them. Emory’s too.”

“Of course. Thank you for the food.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Peyton. Mikel.”

Peyton investigated the food first. He was a lifelong snacker, but had nothing on the bottomless pit of a stomach possessed by his Uncle Hyatt. Isa took one of the diet sodas and sipped, mostly for something to do with his hands. Peyton offered Mikel half his hoagie, which he ate in silence. Two young betas came out of the ICU and huddled together in a far corner of the waiting room, whispering to each other. Isa had seen them here yesterday, too.

As the afternoon waned and dinnertime approached, Isa got antsy to see his boy again. Before he could text anyone, Tarius left the ICU and wandered into the waiting room, nose in his phone, texting someone. He nearly walked into a chair before looking up. “Hey, Dad, I think Liam could use you for a while. I need to take a walk, anyway.”

“Absolutely. Eriq dropped off some food, so help yourself.”

“Fantastic.” Tarius hugged him briefly, grabbed a container of some hoagie and chips combination, and left. He wasn’t usually so abrupt when around family, but they were all stressed out right now and not quite themselves. He couldn’t fault Tarius for wanting some time alone to process things.

It was one of the two main reasons Layne wasn’t at the hospital today. After what happened with Peyton medically, Layne absolutely abhorred this hospital. He had an almost visceral negative reaction and did his best to overcome his own lifelong anxieties to be here as often as he could. The other main reason was he had a toddler at home, and while Layne had plenty of friends who’d agree to babysit, he found comfort in little Caleb when super-stressed.

Isa knew his omega son well enough to guess Layne was also trying his hardest not to lean on his parents right now. Isa often said his chest was broad enough, his arms strong enough, to support his entire family during any crisis. But he couldn’t force his support on them if they chose to find it elsewhere.

They weren’t supposed to take food into the ICU, but Isa rummaged around in the cooler they kept for their group, found a bottle of water and a protein bar, and tucked them into his coat pockets. The hospital was always too cold for him to take it off, and it made the perfect hiding spot for contraband sustenance during visiting hours.

Even if Isa hadn’t spent the better part of the last two days in and out of this department, he had a pretty recognizable facefrom having once been Chief Constable, which was the highest rank attainable in a provincial constabulary. His family had also been in the news multiple times in the last twenty years. The nurse attending the central station simply nodded without asking for ID or which room.

Isa followed the circular corridor to the third cubicle on the right. His beloved mate Liam sat in an upholstered, reclining chair that had been placed as close as possible to Linus’s bed, without impeding the machines or frequent vitals checks by his nurse. Liam was reading out loud from one of Linus’s favorite childhood books. He and Isa both had committed various passages to memory after reading them so many times to both Layne and Linus as they grew.

Liam paused to crack a long, loud yawn, and startled when he spotted Isa at the room’s entrance. “Hey, love.”

“Eriq brought some sandwiches, if you want to go out and eat one. I can sit with our boy.”

“Maybe in a little while.”

“In that case.” Isa handed over the water and protein bar. “You need to keep your strength up, little one.”

Liam eyeballed him. “I will if you will. What did you eat? You need to keep your strength up more than me.”

“I drank a diet soda.”

With a huff, Liam opened the protein bar, ripped off half and handed it to Isa. “We’ll both eat this. In a little while, we’ll take turns eating a real sandwich, because we both know Linus will be pissed if he finds out you, especially, aren’t taking care of yourself.”

Isa grumped but ate the sweet protein bar that vaguely tasted like chocolate. He hated how much his family henned him, while also acknowledging they did it out of love. His energy and strength weren’t what he pretended they were, and over-exerting himself wouldn’t help anyone. Didn’t mean he had tolike it. They needed to focus their energy on Linus right now, not him. So he swallowed the food and washed it down with some of the water Liam offered.

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