Page 13 of Untamed Omega

“Don’t do that. Blame the human scientists who cause pain in the name of furthering research. They are the bad ones. If I remember correctly, you did nothing but love me. I cried for you for days, maybe weeks. I feared you would think I’d abandoned you. That I’d rejected our mating and our bond.”

“How do we ever move forward?” I asked, still in awe of this moment but mostly of my mate. He could be angry. He could be resentful and callous, but here he was, still tenderhearted and loving and sweet, as he always had been. A true warrior survived the battle with his heart intact. My mate was that warrior.

“First, I need to eat,” Sam said, chuckling. “I’m starving.”

“Let’s get you back to the cottage, and I’ll bring you something. You’ve burned a lot of calories trying to get away from me.”

His cheeks reddened. That blush stole my heart long ago. “Maybe I was hoping you still liked to chase me, alpha.”

A growl burst free at hearing him call me alpha. “It’s been a long time since you called me that, Sam.”

“Do something about it, then…alpha.”

This man was going to be the end of me, one way or another. “Oh, Sam. I want to. You have no idea how much I want to.”

“But?” he asked.

“But you are still recovering. You need to eat and rest and get some more fluids in you.”

One of his eyebrows rose.

Now my cheeks burned. “Not that. IV fluids. You always were funny. I’m glad they didn’t take that away from you.”

“They tried. Trust me. They tried. I-I think you’re right.” He wobbled and reached out to me. “I need to rest.”

Before he could collapse, I scooped him up, honeymoon style, and took off. Even though I’d chased him quite a ways, we’d rounded back so that we were close to my cottage. It only took a few minutes to get him back inside and tucked into bed. “Do you want to shower first?” I asked.

“You’ve already put me in bed.” Laughing, he shook his head. “I’ll shower if you join me.” Despite his tone, his eyelids drooped. He always was a feisty one. Always wanting and needing me. I never complained and never would.

“Omega, you’re too tempting for your own good. I’m going to get you something to eat.” I kissed his forehead then straightened.

“No, don’t go. I can eat later. I just need a nap.”

“I’ll be right in the other part of the cottage.”

His hand latched onto my wrist. “Stay with me, Markus. I’ve been alone so long. Tell me about you. What have you been doing while I was there? How did you come here? You’re a healernow?” The longer he spoke, the more his voice drifted off. His eyes were now closed.

“I’m going to replace your IV.” All I got was a nod while I set it up. It would take a while before his body was properly hydrated, much less healed.

I sat in the chair next to his bed, and he turned to face me—eyes still closed. “I might not let you go for a while.”

Chuckling, I wrapped my arm around him and laid my head as close to his chest as I could get. “That’s fine by me.”

Silence settled between us. I had to let my mind catch up with what had occurred in the last few minutes. Life-changing things. Mind-blowing. “Talk to me, mate.”

“I became a healer because I wanted to help others who had been hurt by humans. I knew there was a chance that you had been taken by them. I never thought you left or abandoned me. Not for a second. Your family didn’t want to talk to me, but I finally learned they’d found your brother’s car on the side of the road. I knew you hadn’t gone of your own choice. This was my way of making up for not being there for you. A penance. There was a small part of me that hoped one day you would show up.”

He smiled, but I could hear his heart getting stronger by the second. Perhaps our bond would help heal him. There were worse things than cuts and bruises and aches. There were scars on the inside that only love could cure.

I loved the omega in front of me more than anything in this world.

Once he was deeply asleep, I turned him onto his back and covered him with another warm blanket then stretched out next to him. I needed some sleep myself and, if he woke, I would feel it.

My bear would know.

Chapter Fourteen

Sam