Page 34 of Aries Mated

“Don’t worry about us,” Kai insisted. “How’s Atlas? Have they given you any information yet? Is he having surgery?”

“He’s in surgery now,” I informed them. “But I don’t know how it’s gone. They haven’t updated yet. But can’t you guys heal yourself well? Should it be taking this long?”

“Only when we’re shifted,” TJ informed me, making me worry even more. “Atlas will need to wake up to shift. I guess there is nothing that we can do but wait.”

I didn’t like that. I slumped down in one of the seats, barely even noticing that Karly had gone as soon as the men came in. Kai sat beside me and practically pulled me up onto his lap, where I finally let the tears get the better of me. I wanted to hold myself together, but this was so triggering for me.

“This reminds me of the past,” I whispered, letting the men know how I was feeling. “Of Pi. I can’t lose anyone I love again, I can’t cope with grief like that again. It nearly killed me the first time, I don’t know if I can live through it again.”

Talking about my ex wasn’t a great idea, was it? I stiffened, worrying I might have stepped on some toes, but thankfully, Matt sat on the floor in front of me and took my hand. He looked at me so lovingly, I wept some more.

“Tell me about Pi,” he asked. “I have heard a little about him from Atlas, but I would love to hear about him from you.”

I hadn’t talked about Pi in years, not even to Sol, which I felt terrible about, but I was too scared of losing my shit in front of my son and getting him all worked up as well. I justified it to myself that I would talk to Sol about it when he asked, but it hadn’t happened. He never seemed to want to know too much. But here was Matt asking me, and I could see that he genuinely wanted to know. He understood that Pi was a part of my history, Sol’s too, and he always would be. My heart really sung for him.

“Pi was lovely. With such a silly smile. He always made me laugh.” I giggled, remembering the funny inside jokes we had that no one else understood. “Maybe it was a bit of a childish love because we met in high school and things developed from there, but it was sweet. I guess because he died, it will always stay that way. Sweet, innocent, a lovely memory to hold on to.” I wiped my tears away, surprised at how much better I actually felt already. It was nice to talk about Pi, I hadn’t expected that. “As soon as he found out I was pregnant, he signed up to join the armed forces because he figured that was the best way to provide for us all. That’s where he met and befriended Atlas. They are similar, which is what I think draws me to Atlas.” I glanced at each man. Maybe this wasn’t the most romantic place to tell them, but it just felt right. “I am drawn to all of you. I love the individual connection I have with each of you, and the group one as well. I really feel like this could be something worthwhile. I couldn’t go through this without all of you. You’ve changed me. I want you all, Atlas too.”

TJ’s face broke out into a very grateful smile. I already knew he was on board, but I still liked to see it emanating from him. Kai beamed from ear to ear too, his smile so delicious it made my heart dance. Matt’s eyes brimmed with tears, but happy ones. I really felt like I had my answer in the best possible way. Now all we needed for this moment to be perfect was for Atlas to be here with us.

As if on cue, the doctor appeared. I did not like the grave expression on his face one bit. He folded his hands together before he started talking. “We have managed to get Atlas’s inner bleeding under control. We are not going to wake him up before we try to move him to an open area. Obviously, we need him to shift so he can start the healing process properly. It will be some days before his bones are fully set and he feels like himself again, but this is the first step.”

I looked to the guys, trying to get a glimpse of how they were feeling to see if this was good news or not. They knew much more about this than I did. They seemed to be taking it okay.

“This open area…” TJ asked, “…can we come too so we can be there for Atlas?”

Thankfully, the doctor nodded. I was so grateful that Sol had gone home with Viola. This could be really traumatic for him, and I didn’t want him to experience something like this just yet. Not ever if I could help it.

“Yes,” the doctor confirmed. “You can come. You can see him now as well, help us to wake him up.”

My heart warmed. Without even thinking about it, I jumped up to hug the doctor, to thank him for all his hard work and helping Atlas. Without his medical expertise, who knew what would have happened.

It was a nerve-wracking situation to follow the doctor into the medical room because we didn’t know what we were going to find, but all of that melted away the moment I spotted him. Atlas was on the hospital bed, hooked up to wires of all sorts, but his eyes were cracking open just a tiny bit. He was alive, he was okay, and that was all that mattered. He looked a little groggy, but that was fine. He was allowed to be groggy after what he just went through.

“Oh, Atlas,” I gushed as I held his hand. “Don’t ever do anything like that to me again. You have no idea how worried I have been.”

Atlas coughed a little meekly before he answered. “I promise to never worry you again. I will be by your side for as long as you want me.”

A thick ball of emotion lodged in my throat. That was so sweet I could hardly stand it. He wanted me, they all wanted me, just as I wanted them too. This really was a happily ever after for me. I was in heaven.

“Well, Atlas,” I told him happily, “that is going to be a very long time.”

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