Page 37 of No Honor Amongst Shifters
As soon as they were gone, he flopped back down onto the hard ground and groaned.He might not be dying, but it fucking hurt.
“Everything okay?”Roslin said as he turned back to him.
“It hurts.”
“You big baby,” Gunther said as he gently prodded Alcott’s side.
He’d been working on Alcott while the fight was still ongoing.Alcott hadn’t checked what he was doing.He’d wanted to know who would win, and he trusted Gunther with his life.
“I healed you, but only partially,” Gunther said.“You’re not bleeding anymore, but I wouldn’t move too much if I were you.Stay here.Roslin will take care of you.”
Alcott turned to Roslin, who quickly nodded to agree.Hewouldtake care of Alcott, wouldn’t he?He’d been telling Alcott he would since they’d started talking, but Alcott had never allowed himself to believe it.
Maybe now, he could.
Together, they watched Gunther hurry to Elijah’s side.As soon as Gunther reached Elijah, Alcott looked away.The two didn’t have any privacy considering the number of people standing around them, but it didn’t mean Alcott had to stare at them as they reunited.
“You’ll be fine,” Roslin promised.
“I hope so.“
“You will be.I’ll take care of you until you’re fully healed.”Roslin paused and smiled.“I’ll always take care of you if you give me the opportunity to do so.”
Alcott smiled back.“I know.”
Epilogue
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ALCOTT WASN’T USEDto this.No matter how many times he told the people around him that he was okay, they still insisted on taking care of him.Normally, it would’ve just been Misha, but between Misha and Olsen dating and Alcott and Roslin doing the same, Roslin’s entire family seemed to have decided to take Alcott under their wing.
There was always one of them with him.He had no opportunity to get bored because someone always had something to tell him, mostly about what was happening outside his bedroom.He wasn’t locked up anymore.If he wanted, he could leave both his bedroom and the clan.
He wasn’t going anywhere.Gunther had healed him partially, but after the fight was over and someone had checked out Alcott again, they’d realize that the wound had been deeper than they’d thought.It would take him some time to heal, but at least he wasn’t in pain.He was taking enough painkillers that he could probably have run around the house without feeling anything.
Roslin would kill him if he tried.
So Alcott wasn’t in pain and had more people to take care of him than he ever had.His parents had never been the warm and loving kind, but he’d always had Misha.He still did, except that Misha came with a bunch of other people, and it made Alcott feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
There was a knock on the door before it opened.Misha, who was sitting in the window seat, reading out loud, looked up and smiled at Roslin.“Hey.Does Elijah need me?”
Roslin shook his head.“Not as far as I know, but Olsen was looking for you.I told him I’d send you his way.”
Misha pouted.“I was just getting to the interesting part.”
“I’ll continue reading without you,” Alcott offered, only for his brother to glare at him.
“Don’t even think about it.I want to know what happens, and you’re forbidden from reading ahead.”Misha got up and stretched.“In fact, I’m taking the book with me.”
“How do I knowyouwon’t read ahead?”
“Scouts honor.”
“You were never a scout.”
Misha laughed as he left the bedroom.Alcott couldn’t believe he’d almost lost his brother.He would have if he’d been forced to leave the clan.No matter how many times Misha had told him he’d follow, Alcott would have made sure he couldn’t.
But he didn’t have to think about that anymore.Neither he nor Misha were going anywhere.
