Page 46 of Frenzy
The man looked devastated that he didn’t know what was wrong with his adopted daughter. But I knew enough about how he worked to know he’d work better if we weren’t in the room. I put my hand in Courtland’s, pulling him softly toward the door.
“Come on, Alpha. If anyone loves Bonnie more than us, it’s Doc. He’ll find out what’s wrong with her, but the weight of your Alpha pheromones aren’t helping.”
Courtland stared at Bonnie, and I did too. I stepped forward and kissed her forehead, because Ineededto. Her skin was so hot, it nearly burned. Courtland trailed his fingers over her cheek and we both moved to the door. This was as far as we would go though; I couldn’t leave until she woke up. I needed to see her eyes.
Naja was still there, and I realized she and Raiden were holding Georgia and Gabriel, as Dominic gave instructions. “Your Alphas need to have skin-to-skin contact with them for at least a few hours and their special formula is at the house. I’ve messaged Rosa to collect it for you.”
Gatlin reached out and squeezed his arm. “It will be okay. Bonnie is one of the strongest females I know; whatever this is, she’ll pull through. Until you know what’s going on, we will take care of the cubs like they’re our own. You do not need to worry about your young, Omega.” He looked up at Courtland. “Alpha General.”
Courtland swallowed hard. “Gatlin. Thank you.”
Gatlin shrugged. “When you became Alpha General, you didn’t just inherit problems. You inherited a Pack. This is what the Manix do.”
Naja threw her arms around Courtland, the baby pressed between them. “Keep me updated. Let us know if you need anything, anything at all. Finlo’s sister, Terra, is going to take some meals over to Rosa and the kids, so don’t stress about them either. Concentrate on Bonnie.”
Raiden came over and hugged me, and then they all left. I slumped against the wall, lost about what to do. Bonnie would know. Bonnie would have been on top of all this shit, but I was flailing because without her, I didn’t even know who I was. We’d been a team forever.
Courtland reached out and dragged me closer. “She will be fine, Beta,” he said firmly, like the world wouldn’t dare to let us have such happiness in one moment and then rip it from us literally hours later.
We were fucking Manix. We didn’t get sick, not really. Not until we were so old that our bodies started to wear out completely. I’d just thought she was sleep-deprived or stressed. Even if that was what it had been, why hadn’t I paid more attention to her needs, instead of my own? I felt like utter shit, and no matter what words Courtland was murmuring to me, I knew this was partially my fault. These guys didn’t know her like I did. I should have seen the signs.
Pryce took two big steps toward me, and then I was encompassed in his arms too. “The smell of your fear and turmoil is heavy, Radic. You are not to blame for this,” he whispered in my ear as he nuzzled my jaw. “If you are culpable, then so am I. Something had been nagging at me for a week or more, making meneedto be close to her, and I ignored it. Ignored my instincts because I didn’t know what it was.”
I just nodded, staring at the bare white walls covered in faded medical posters for things like poison ivy and ticks. There was nothing that said what to do if the woman you loved just collapsed with a mystery illness.
“Enough, both of you. We could not have predicted this; there is no one to blame.” I nodded at Courtland’s words, but he was wrong. Dominic was unusually quiet where he stood, propped against a wall. We all fell into silence, listening to every bump and scrape, every beep and swear word that emitted from the room beside us.
I slumped against the wall, sliding down to the ground. I wasn’t moving until either she woke up or Doc knew what was wrong with her. I was prepared to wait forever if I needed to.
When the door finally opened to the treatment room, everyone stood and rushed Doc.
“Hold up. Look, I’ve got her stabilized, brought her temperature back down and given her pain relief. She seems to be resting well. But she still hasn’t woken and I don’t know why.” He ran his hand through his graying hair with a frustrated sigh. “I’ve run every test I can think of and come up with nothing. With your permission, Alpha General, I would like to call in an old colleague of mine, from quite a time ago.”
“Anything, Doc.”
Doc’s face was hard. “He’s a Lycanthrope.”
I gasped, and they all looked toward me, puzzled. Now it was my turn to be confused. “Lycanthropes and Manix were traditionally enemies. Historically speaking. There aren’t enough of them left, or us for that matter, for a blood feud to still exist. Still, they are the enemies in old wives’ tales.” I looked at their blank looks. “Well, in Maxton anyway.”
Courtland raised an eyebrow. “I thought they were extinct, but I don’t care about some fucking feud from ancient times when she’s in there possibly dying.” Doc nodded again and disappeared into his office, leaving us alone again.
“I want to stay with her,” I told them, my jaw clenched.
Courtland stroked a hand down my spine. “Of course. One of us will be with her at all times, Radic. She won’t be alone. You have a Pack now to share the load.”
I didn’t say anything, pushing into the treatment room. Doc would move her into the infirmary soon, keeping the treatment room open, though I don’t know how he’d cope. Doc loved Bonnie, and he didn’t evenlikemost people. This would be his worst nightmare.
I moved over to where she lay. Her cheeks were still flushed but when I reached out to touch her, she didn’t burn anymore. I realized the rest of the guys were at my back when Dominic’s tattooed hand reached over and stroked her arm.
“She looks like Sleeping Beauty,” he murmured. “She does smell wrong though.”
I inhaled deeply and I had to agree. It was raw and sweet all at once, and it wasn’t like her scent at all. What the hell did that mean? We all stood around, staring down at the woman who undoubtedly had the biggest heart of us all.
She was attached to wires and machines that monitored everything, and the machines beeped softly. This morning, I’d been kissing her in bed and now she was here, in a coma.
Each of the guys hugged me tight. “We’ll come and relieve you tonight,” Courtland told me. I opened my mouth to protest and he waved it away. “You need rest too, Radic. We do not need both of you here in hospital beds.”
I ground my teeth but eventually nodded. He was right, and he was pulling rank as my Alpha, even if we hadn’t swapped mate marks yet.
