Page 31 of Hide or Die

“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “Let’s just get her someplace warm and quiet, please.”

Flynn nodded and scooped Leo up as though she weighed nothing. He didn’t scent her this time—possibly because her perfume was starting to overwhelm the room’s atmosphere again. I followed them out, keeping one hand on the wall for balance.

Flynn nudged an interior door open with his hip and disappeared inside. I slipped in after him to find him laying Leo in the center of a huge pile of pillows, couch cushions, and displaced mattresses in the center of what was probably a bedroom. My jaw dropped open as I scanned the dim, red-lit surroundings. The alpha had pushed all of the furniture to the edges of the room, and draped a sheer, red curtain over the single lampshade. I had no doubt that every bed, couch and chair in the place had been ransacked to construct the makeshift nest, which also boasted several blankets.

Leo groaned in relief and burrowed into the softness.

The room smelled partly of alpha and partly of strangers. The woodsy scent from Jax’s blood and sweat-stained undershirt was definitely in the mix. There was something else, as well... something that made my stomach rumble.Tomato soup?

“Soup and cheesy crackers are on the side table, Mr. Patel,” Flynn said, as though it wasn’t remotely unusual that he’d whipped up a heat-nest and also made soup for me in the space of barely half an hour. “She won’t eat until the heat breaks, but I expect you’re probably going to need it.”

TWELVE

Leona

IWAS PRETTY sure thiswas a dream. And if it was? I’d totally take it. Hard-packed bare dirt had given way to soft pillows and cushions. Frightening shadows had been replaced with a warm, comforting red glow. Except for the hint of stranger-smell clinging to the bedding, it was all reassuringly womb-like.

Nest. My instincts sighed in relief.

Unfortunately, while my instincts might be happier now, my body felt like complete crap. Someone had put me through a meat grinder and topped it off by stuffing my mouth with cotton wool... or possibly with a small, furry animal that had died of gangrene.

One or the other.

I’d regained consciousness in a shower, and Kam had been with me. So had an alpha, but a different one. His pumpkin-spice scent clung to the shirt I was wearing, and that part was okay. I wanted Jax to be here, too—but there was only a stale hint of his scent that smelled...off, somehow. Sick, maybe, or hurt.

Something had happened, and I wasn’t clear what it was. Kam and the new alpha spoke to me, but the sense of the words drifted in and out. Mostlyout, if I was being honest. I was feeling feverish and empty again. Restless, I writhed against the cushions and blankets, trying to transfer more of my scent to them.

“She’s getting close,” said the new alpha. “I brought something to help. What were you using before to knot her?”

Kam knelt next to me, smelling of... tomatoes? Which seemed really random, somehow. Maybe this was a dream after all.

“My fingers,” he said.

“Yeah, this’ll be better. Here.” A pause, as Kam stretched out an arm, reaching for something.

“Do I want to know why you have a knotting dildo in your luggage?” Kam asked.

---