Page 21 of Midnight Hunt

VIOLET

Sothiswas what it felt like to be human.

I’d only ever been exposed to silver a few times in my life, and the encounters had been brief. Every occurrence had been while I was shopping, but accidentally touching a pair of silver earrings was nothing compared to the pain I’d felt this morning.

Having silver in my bloodstream was so much worse, and although I’d broken a few bones in my lifetime, I’d never needed to heal this long. It had beenhoursbefore I could finally get out of bed unattended to use the bathroom. Nora and Brielle had practically spent the entire afternoon taking care of me, which had felt strange.

I was used to taking care ofothers, not the other way around. I’d basically raised Melanie from infancy and supported Kolton as he’d become Midnight Pack’s alpha at the tender age of nineteen. I’d become a secretary for our family’s billion-dollar business at age seventeen and oversaw pack communication, making sure the two worlds didn’t collide.

Taking care of others was my main responsibility in life, so being unable to left me feeling useless. My least favorite thing.

The attention was nice, though. Family members had flitted in and out of my room all day, and I’d spent quality time with each of them. Mom had made me a fresh batch of Snickerdoodles, and I’d eaten over a dozen. Nora and Brielle had helped me paint my nails while we watched a movie. When they’d left to feed the babies, I’d finally called Reid and told him what happened.

“Do you need me there?”he’d asked, his worry clear.

“No, that’s okay,” I’d quickly reassured him.“I have a full house of people taking care of me.”

We’d chatted for a bit until his coach had called him back to practice.

When the afternoon dragged on, I started to get bored. Kolton and Jagger had set up a working station on my bed—so I could at least respond to some emails—but not before dropping the bomb that I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere alone until further notice.

“But I plan to visit Reid again this coming weekend,”I’d protested, feeling evenmoreuseless. They were going into protective mode again, and I understood why, but that didn’t make this any easier.

I wasn’t some fragile little omega who needed constant support from big macho alphas. Well, maybe at the moment, but I’d be all healed by tomorrow. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself.

Seeing the frustration on my face, Kolton had only shaken his head and replied,“You can still go, but you’re not going alone.”

He hadn’t saidwhowould be going with me, but I already knew. Which was probably why the male in question had been avoiding my room all day. Everyone else had come to see me but him. I tried not to let it bother me, but by the time evening rolled around, his absence was all I could think about.

Had I done something to upset him? But even on the rare occasions when he was mad, it wasn’t like Griff to avoid me. I must have said something during my pain-filled delirium this morning. I couldn’t think why else he would stay away.

As my unease over his absence grew, I decided to distract myself with a much-needed shower. Choosing not to call anyone for help, I carefully got out of bed and slowly hobbled into the bathroom. My leg was still tender, but the pins-and-needles feeling had lessened. The break should be completely mended by morning. Still, by the time I finished showering, blow-drying my hair, and putting on fresh pajamas, I was more than ready to slip back into bed.

Limping back into the bedroom, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a tall figure leaning against my door.

“Jeez, Griff,” I said, placing a hand over my pounding heart. “A little warning next time.”

“Sorry. Just wanted to check on my patient,” he replied, taking in the way I favored my still-healing leg. A sudden frown creased his brow. “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

“I’m fine. It’s just a little tender,” I began, but he was already striding across the room toward me. My words of protest fell on deaf ears as he scooped me up like I weighed nothing and carried me the short distance to the bed. “Really, Griff? It was likethreefeet.”

Ignoring my grumbling, he set me down on the mattress and started cleaning up my mess. My jaw practically fell into my lap.

“What?” he said, spotting my expression.

I watched him place my laptop on my desk, along with the portable work station Kolton and Jagger had set up for me before replying, “You’re cleaning.”

“So?”

“Sincewhen?”

“I did the dishes last night, if you recall.”

“I do. I was shocked then too. You’ve just never been one towillinglyclean something.”

He shrugged and gathered up the blanket I’d been wrapped in all day to drop it by the closed door. “I clean now. I even do the laundry. Guess you’ve been too busy with Reid to notice.”

The words were delivered lightly, but they still felt like a jab. I watched him collect my dishes and start to stack them before murmuring, “Are we okay?”

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