Page 6 of Free Me

…acrid stench of fire…

….screams….

Why does it hurt so much?

My belly is on fire.

Stop holding me down!

Where am I?

“Sleep, baby, just sleep.”

The first thing Miko Tovey understood was how much his entire freaking body hurt. From the top of his scalp down to his toes, he ached in some places, throbbed in others, and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. But the pain kept him away from that comfortable, dark place. So he pushed forward, doing his best to wake up from…what? A hangover?

No, he hadn’t drunk enough at Alton’s party to be hungover. He’d left with Linus because…heat. Heat?

Heat!

“Mghfack?” was all his mouth could manage.

“Hey, there you are, baby.” Omi’s comfortable, loving voice soothed some of Miko’s hurt but not his confusion. He wasobviously safe but why was he so uncomfortable? Everything smelled weird, medicinal even. And this was not his bed at home; his mattress didn’t crinkle when he moved.

“Omi?” He blinked the world into focus. Okay, so less the world and more Omi’s concerned face. Someone else lurked behind him, but Miko didn’t care who right now. Omi always made him feel safe. “Happened?”

“A lot, I’m afraid. But you’re safe and you’re okay now. You just need to rest.”

The person behind Omi finally coalesced into a nondescript face wearing light green scrubs. Stranger. The room had plain white walls, a single window, and a few pieces of generic decorations. It reminded him of a hospital room. “Where am I?”

“You’re in a private nursing wing of the hospital. We had to move you here for the duration of your heat. Do you remember any of it?”

He’d gone through his first heat already? “No. I was…with Linus in the taxi.” He backtracked to the house, to their near-kiss and Linus realizing what was happening. Forward to the taxi. Then nothing. “Did I get sick?”

“No, baby. You were in an accident. You and Linus.”

“The taxi?”

“Yes.” Omi cleared his throat, and only then did Miko realized Omi was holding his right hand in a tight, almost painful grip. “Your driver ran a red light. He was going pretty fast. The oncoming car hit the rear passenger side door.”

Every single throb in Miko’s body disappeared beneath the bolt of complete agony that shot through his heart. “Linus was sitting on that side. Is he okay?”

“He’s alive. He’s in Intensive Care.”

“Why?” Miko tried to sit up on the slightly inclined bed, but his body was so heavy, like he’d spent the last two weeks asleepwith no food and was still weighed down by a wet blanket. “Why can’t I move? I need to see him.”

“You can’t see him right now. Only immediate family can go in.” Omi’s eyes glittered. “You’re so tired because the staff had to medicate you through most of your heat. We made the mistake of telling you about Linus before the heat actually began, and you became hysterical. I’d never seen you like that before, and we were scared you’d hurt yourself. Or that you’d run out of the ward and be attacked.” A single tear slipped down his cheek, and for some reason that angered Miko. “I made that choice to protect you.”

“You told me what’s wrong with Linus? How could I forget that?”

“You’ve been through a trauma. You got pretty banged up in the accident, too, and you witnessed some of the aftermath. I’m not surprised you can’t remember.”

Frustration burned in Miko’s chest and sent hot bile into his throat. “If you won’t tell me what’s going on, I want Dad. He’ll tell me.”

“The only alphas allowed in this ward are doctors who are on pheromone suppressants. Your Dad can’t come in, but Emory’s here. I called him when they said your heat cycle was over and we just had to wait for you to come out of the sedation.”

“I want Emory, then. I need someone to tell me what’s going on!” Miko didn’t regret the scream. It also didn’t make him feel better. Something deep down, an instinct he didn’t understand, was screaming at him to get to Linus. The same part that had been drawn to Linus on the dance floor, who’d wanted to go upstairs with him, and who’d been desperate for…something.

Mine.

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