Page 200 of Drown My Sorrow

The light in my life is back, and I don’t know how to live without them.

But, no matter what, we’re just friends.

PresentDay

Ezy peels off my clothes and helps me into the shower. He starts it warm and then slowly increases the heat. I don’t want to be near water, but I can’t stop shaking. I can’t even find any words, but, as soon as he comes close, I grab hold of him and cling to him.

“I’m sorry we were late,” Ezy murmurs. “It’s done now. We’re finished. We’re here. I promise we won’t leave you again.”

I don’t know when I start crying, just that I am, and when Ezy towels me dry and carries me to bed, I cling to him, refusing to let him go.

“Where is Nat?” I ask with dread.

“Mitch got her out as soon as the boat flipped. He took her back into town in his car.”

The relief I feel is enormous.

“He, Sonny, and Nat should be at the hospital on the mainland now,” Gael says from the doorway. He gives me a soft smile and heads into the shower.

Unlike ours, his shower is super short, and when he comes out, he’s dressed in clothes that aren’t his.

“Where are we?”

“Mitch’s house,” Ezy murmurs and kisses my forehead. He gets on his knees and starts kneading my aching flesh. I whimper but sit through it, knowing it will feel better.

Gael brings two painkillers, a glass of water, and a pillowcase filled with warmed, uncooked rice that he puts on my leg.

I take the painkillers gratefully and let Ezy arrange the heat bag on my leg. I’m so exhausted I can barely lift my head.

“Sorry, I can’t find anything else.”

“It's fine, Gael. You did brilliant. With all of it.”

“You busted me out of prison. I’ll do anything for you, Aspyn,” Gael says in a soft voice. “I was scared everyone had left me.”

I try to sit up, but Ezy pins me with an arm across my chest.

“No way. Nat and I fought with Sonny every day. I could never leave you, Gael.”

My words hit him hard.

I sense Gael’s happiness before he slips out of the bedroom. His restless pacing around the house becomes the normalcy that keeps me sane and allows me to drift into an exhausted sleep, all the while, the arms of my alpha surround me.

I wake up to my Daane crawling into bed with me.

I throw an arm over Shale and bury my face in his shoulder. I don’t know why I’m crying, but I can’t stop.

“Don’t you leave me again!”

“Never again,” Shale whispers and claims my mouth in a kiss that tastes like home.

Keagan wraps himself around my back, pressing as much of himself around me as he can.

“Missed you so much, beautiful.”

“Missed you, too.”

Damn all these tears.

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