Page 202 of Roulette Rodeo
"So you snuck into the hospital? Illegally?"
He rolls his eyes. "Obviously."
I can't help but laugh, though I keep it quiet. "You're insane. But you brought sweets, so I forgive you because this hospital food isn't shit—it's what shit would scrape off its shoes."
He chuckles, that low rumble that I've grown to love, and pulls a chair close to the bed. We eat in companionable silence for a few minutes—maple donuts, those little cream puffs Molly makes special, and what appears to be an entire slice of chocolate cake he somehow fit in the bag.
I'm halfway through demolishing a cream puff when he asks, "Why did you go back inside?"
The question hangs between us, heavy with everything we haven't talked about yet. I set down the pastry, suddenly not hungry.
"The shrine stuff was left behind," I say carefully. "I didn't want it to perish."
He huffs, and there's pain in it. "There was no body, Rowenna. No ashes to retrieve."
"But the items?—"
"YOU are the most valuable thing in our pack." His voice rises slightly, emotion breaking through his usual control. "YOU are our omega who means the universe to us. Only YOU matter, Red! Not some stupid photo and book and... all that fake shit from a relationship that was never real!"
His voice cracks on the last word, and I can see tears gathering in his eyes. "Your life is our world, and... we almost lost it."
My own eyes are getting glassy now, and I have to blink rapidly to keep the tears from falling. "I'm sorry," I whisper.
He sighs, deep and heavy, then stands and carefully leans over to hug me, mindful of the IV and monitors. I hug him back, breathing in his scent of ice and winter storms that's become synonymous with safety. He won't understand now why I reallywent back, why that photo of Sophia was important, but he will. Once my plan takes effect, everything will make sense.
"You're grounded when all of this is over," he mutters against my hair.
I laugh, pulling back to grin at him. "Aw, too bad. Let me hope I go into heat and I can just be fucked all day long and eat sweets in my nest. Can't ground someone who's biologically indisposed."
He gives me a look of pure annoyance but there's fondness underneath it. "Your heat is actually around the corner."
"Wait, really?"
He nods, settling back in the chair. "That's why you've been running hot. The omega doctor confirmed it—you'll be experiencing it very shortly after you get discharged here. Probably within a day or two."
"So I guess we gotta enjoy that in a vacation home?" I say, already knowing the answer but wanting to pout about it anyway.
"We can't stay at home," I whine, giving him my best puppy eyes.
He groans, running a hand through his hair. "They're still doing the investigation. Arson investigators, insurance people, probably federal agents at this point given the attempted murder aspect."
I amp up the puppy eyes, adding a slight lip quiver for good measure.
"Fine," he caves with another groan. "I'll deal with it. I'll get those fuckers off our property before you go into heat. Somehow."
I grin in triumph, already imagining spending my first heat in our actual home, in the nest I've been carefully building for weeks. "Maybe I should do a health scan with Corwin first, just in case?—"
"You're healthy," he cuts me off.
I frown, confused by his certainty. "How do you know?"
"Corwin did an initial health check when you first arrived, after you passed out when Marnay drugged you at the auction." He pauses, seeming to weigh his words. "He identified the cause of the numbing in your legs and body. It's not genetic."
My heart stops. "What?"
"It was a drug in the suppressants. You have an allergic reaction to one of the components—something that restricts blood flow over time. I'm assuming your mother was on suppressants back when you were a child, maybe to ensure she didn't go into heat, and the allergic reaction was slowly killing her."
The pieces click into place with horrible clarity. Mom's gradual weakness, the way she seemed to fade rather than fight whatever was killing her. Not a disease but a reaction to medication she probably thought was keeping her safe.
