Page 24 of Freed Wolfsbane

“What are you doing?”

I narrow my eyes at him. I’m trying to focus on being annoyed with him rather than the panic that’s squeezing my chest and making it hard to breathe. “I’m fine, so I’m getting out of here.” I attempt to jackknife up, but Malachi prevents me from even moving.

“Baby girl, the doctor needs to check over you. He’s with some other patients, but he should be here in less than thirty minutes.”

I shake my head, my heart beating frantically in my chest at the thought of having to stay in this soulless white room any longer. “I need to get out of here. Please, Malachi.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I want to close my eyes in embarrassment, but I’m too afraid that Malachi will disappear if I take my gaze off him.

His face softens. “Okay, baby girl. We’ll get you out of here. I can take you up to our room and let the doctor know where you are. Does that work?”

He waits for my nod before carefully scooping me into his arms like I weigh nothing. My scratchy, multicolored hospital gown wrinkles at the movement, and I hope I can get into real clothes soon. I’m sick of hospital-wear.

I try to hide my wince at how the movement causes pain to splinter through my abdomen. By the way Malachi’s expression turns thunderous as he starts walking to the doorway, I don’t think I do a great job. Clenching his jaw, he shifts me around so he can open the door.

When we walk out into the hallway, I lay my head against his strong shoulder and breathe in his smoky scent that smells like home. I mumble into his neck, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, so goddamn much. All of us have.” He presses a tender kiss to my hair and squeezes me tighter. “Don’t you ever fucking do that again, Briar.”

I huff a laugh. “I was barely conscious, but I do still remember your warning, Malachi.” A tiny flash of arousal burns through my core at the thought of him spanking me, but I shove it down because I’m in no shape for anything like that.

“Good,” he rumbles, sounding way too pleased with himself.

When we reach the double doors to the infirmary, Malachi pushes one door open with his hip. I let out a sigh of relief as his shoes clack on the burnished wood floors. I focus on the cream and gold walls that we pass by, trying to make it seem real that I’m free. If I never see another all-white room in my life, it’ll be too soon.

At the reminder of when he rescued me, I realize I forgot about Annabel. “Where’s Annabel? Is she okay?” I frantically look around like I can somehow find her in the middle of the Wyldhart mansion. All I see around me is a bunch of closed double doors and the grand staircase that leads up to the second floor.

Malachi hugs me to his chest in reassurance. “She’s fine. We reunited her with her family. Their pack was decimated by the Knights, so they’re staying here for a bit. They and the other packless shifters have the option to join our pack permanently, or we’ll help them find another one to transfer to.”

I sag in relief in his arms. “Can I see her soon? And where are Xander, Bastian, and Saint? And where’s Ava?”

As elated as I am to see Malachi, I still crave my other mates. A part of me wonders if they’re angry about how I took their choice away by forcing them through the portal and that’s why they don’t want to see me. I know he said they’re not, but it’s hard to believe him. I wouldn’t blame them if they still are, though.

Malachi’s gravelly voice pulls me out of my thoughts. “You can see her when you’re healed up. The twins and Saint left probably twenty minutes ago to debrief about the operation. We’ve all been by your side since we pulled you out of the facility, but there was only so long we could avoid the end-of-mission bureaucracy. Ava’s with my mom. We didn’t think you’d want her to see you injured.”

He’s right that I don’t want Ava to see me hurt. I’m the older sister. It’s my job to protect and worry about her, not the other way around. All the kids in the Knights facility made me simultaneously miss Ava like crazy and be glad she wasn’t there. It’s been at least a couple weeks since I’ve seen my little sister, but it feels like a lifetime.

Swallowing around the lump in my throat at how much I miss Ava, I ask, “How long has it been since you found me? And why aren’t you at the debrief?”

Malachi flashes me a smug grin as he reaches the stairs and takes them two at a time. “Being an alpha has its perks. It’s expected that I’ll send my betas in my place for meetings like this. And it’s been about thirty-six hours since you passed out.”

I snort at how pleased he is with himself before groaning at how long I’ve been unconscious. “If I’ve been asleep that long, why do I still feel like I’ve been trapped in a room with a very angry hammer-wielding Ryker?”

He walks down the hallway toward his room. “Who’s Ryker? And you feel like shit because you almost died. Again.” Malachi closes his eyes briefly, but not before I see the fear and anger swirling in them. “It takes longer than a day and a half to fully heal that much damage.”

We’re both silent as he pushes open the door to his room and carries me inside. The familiar navy walls instantly make me feel calmer. His cloud-like bed looks so comfortable after spending a couple weeks on a hard cot. Skirting around his graphite-colored upholstered couch, Malachi marches us over to the bed before setting me down.

He heads over to his dresser and pulls out one of his soft gray tees. Walking back to me, he wordlessly offers me the shirt. I struggle to get the hospital gown off without hurting myself. Sighing, Malachi grabs the fabric with both fists and tears it apart. He lets the pieces of the white, blue, and purple fabric flutter down as I gape at him.

Then I realize I’m sitting here in only my undies, so I hurry to pull on the shirt, much to Malachi’s amusement. Not that it’s anything he hasn’t seen before, but it still feels awkward to be mostly naked when he’s clothed. I resist the urge to bury my nose in the fabric that smells like him, having missed his campfire scent.

As soon as I have his tee on, he picks me up again and pulls back the dark blue comforter. He gently sets me down under the blankets before covering me and grabbing a few fluffy pillows to prop me up.

Once I’m settled, I realize I haven’t answered his question. “He was the main Knight who cornered us in the church. Ryker’s apparently in charge of all North American Knights, and he was the one running the experiment I was involved in. And I’m sorry, Malachi.”

“For what?” he whispers as he perches on the side of the bed. He cups my face in one hand and softly strokes his thumb along my cheekbone, staring at me like he can’t believe I’m really here.

That makes two of us.

I lean into his touch. While I went seven years without physical comfort like this, I’ve gotten used to it from my mates in the past couple months. I’ve missed it more than I allowed myself to really acknowledge while I was with the Knights. “For worrying you. For getting us into the situation in the first place. For not thinking of a better way to get us out of there.”

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