Page 56 of These Bonds that Unite Us
“Omen, we really need to stop meeting like this,” she greets. I offer her a sad smile as she starts to check my vitals and asks a few questions.
“W-what happened?” My voice rasps out. The sound has Nexus jumping to grab a cup of water off of the nearby wheeled table. I sip it gratefully, thankful for the relief to my dry throat.
“The physical exertion from your escape, the heat spike, and the bonding was too taxing on your body, so you passed out. It isn’t unexpected given the state of your current health. Any overly exhausting activity could have the same result.” When Doctor Russell is satisfied with what she sees, she warns me again about the risks of a full heat before leaving to attend to her other patients.
“Well, kid, we’ve got a real mess on our hands, don’t we?” Donovan huffs. He comes to stand by my shoulder, not too close since the guys eye him warily.
“We’ve talked about it, and we are going to have a security firm come and check over our system. Adding extra precautions if they feel there are any gaps,” Callisto tells him.
Anxiety and guilt churn in my stomach knowing these are only precautions they have to take because of me. Maybe I should find somewhere else to go until the FCDA can find my brother…
“Sounds like a great plan,” Donovan nods. “We’ll find them. They’ve already been spotted around town, but they aren’t staying in one place long enough for us to grab them. You focus on getting better.” He adds the latter for me specifically, his eyes roaming over the bruises beneath my eyes.
I hate worrying everyone, it stresses me out to see them all constantly looking so afraid every time they see me. Maybe the drop of sunshine on this gloomy day will be Nebula’s bond stabilizing me enough to stop the progression of the chemical rejection.
The guest room door slams open, startling me from where I am looking out over the back garden. Bea’s coconut lime scent fills the room as she tosses her bags on the floor and beams at me.
“It’s girls night!” She tells me. “I already made sure your boy toys know this room is to be man-free for the next twelve hours, so it will only be you and me! Though they can act like delivery boys and bring us snacks!”
My bestie makes herself at home, tossing her pile of blankets and clothes on the chair in the corner before collapsing across the bottom of the bed. She groans into the comforter for several seconds, stretching her toes now that they are free from the heels she likely wore to work today.
Her blue eyes shimmer when she turns her face to look at me. The worry in her expression guts me, even if what happened today wasn’t my fault.
“I’m okay,” I promise her.
“You were hospitalized, again, because you passed out. I don’t think any of that says you’re okay.” One eyebrow arches as she pushes up to her elbows. “Your brother is a relentless asshole, huh?”
“He sure is.” I’d told her almost everything via text during her lunch break today, after which she insisted on a sleepover. I certainly don’t plan on leaving the guy’s house again anytime soon. At least not without all four of them by my side.
“And Nebula helped you with the heat spike? You finally got to ride his knot?” Her eyes sparkle with mischief.
Grabbing the remote, I turn on the television and flip to one of her favorite singing shows. More as a way to distract myself for a few minutes before I reveal the part I hadn’t told her over the phone earlier.
“Yeah, uh, he did.” I fidget for several seconds, trying to gather the courage to admit he bonded me out loud. I’m still torn about the entire thing.
“What the fuck is that?” Bea hisses. Snapping my head toward her, I see her eyes are trained on my throat. I guess it’s now or never.
“My heat spike sent him into a rut and he bonded me.”
She reels back, her mouth hanging open as she struggles to find something to say. “You didn’t consent to being bonded?” Her eyes narrow as she asks the question.
“I was in a heat spike,” I remind her.
“So how do you feel about that? Being bonded to Nebula?”
“Confused. Terrified. And maybe a little resigned.”
A knock at the door has us pausing as Nexus drops off a giant bowl of popcorn and several different types of drinks for us toshare. As soon as we are alone again, Bea pins me with a harsh glare. “Resigned about what?”
Needing the tension in the room to dissipate, I toss a handful of popcorn at her. We both laugh when several pieces get caught in her loose curls. Swallowing down the giggles still caught in my throat, I lean back against my pillows and stare up at the ceiling. It’s become entirely too familiar over the past week.
“About joining their pack. There isn’t any escaping them now, not with Nebula’s bite on my skin.”
Bea crawls up beside me, propping herself on the other side of the mattress and securing the bowl of popcorn between us. “Ideally, a bond with them is what you wanted, right?”
Blowing out a breath, I nod. “It is. Or was. I don’t know. I can’t shake the feeling they will change their minds and leave me again.”
“They’re assholes who made mistakes, and while I hope you make them grovel for a lifetime, I also recognize they are trying. Those boys are putting in the effort to better themselves so they can be a pack worthy of you. Give them time, and they might be able to ease that fear.” She grins conspiratorially. “If they screw up again, I happen to know a whole lot of ways to destroy their lives.”
