Page 18 of Threads of Fate

Jay releases Rowan into Grayson’s capable hold. He’s a bit scent-drunk and limp from the pseudo-scruffing. Graysonhandles the big man easily as if the huge man weighs nothing at all.

Gideon takes Rowan’s place in arms, sinking his sharp teeth into Jay’s earlobe and licking his neck. It sends a hot frisson down his spine, which is not entirely appropriate given the current situation and location.

Jay flushes, because Gideon reserves his public displays of affection for Luca and Luca only, giving affection of every kind on demand for the needy beta. It’s the intense nature of their relationship. But, they have all experienced the reality that Gideon is a generous and creative lover, intuitive and dominating in their den. In their everyday life, however, he shows his love with acts of service and a generally grumpy attitude.

“Shut up. Are you complaining?” With a raised eyebrow, Jay shuts his mouth before he can ruin a good thing. “Good boy.”

Jay can only blush at the praise, and he wonders why he lets Gideon get away with it.

That’s when seven heads whip around toward the noise in the hallway. Finn beats them all to the door, effectively blocking anyone from entering the hall and inadvertently getting in the way. Several staff members are pushing a bed down the hall toward them and into the room to the right of the waiting area. An ICU nurse in blue surgical scrubs directs the somber processional.

On the bed is a small body. He’s intubated with a cast on his left arm, and the blankets cover what looks like a cast on his lower left leg. There’s a bandage covering the left side of his swollen, bruised face from the top of his head down over his eye and cheek. A brace is holding his head immobile, as well as a bag filled with reddish brown fluid hanging off the side. Jay realizes it’s urine; Nix’s organs were damaged enough that he’s literally pissing blood. The pack collectively holds their breath.

Jay struggles to see the boy he knew in the person on the gurney, but the feeling in his chest that Jay now realizes is Nixand has been forever,soars with joy. Nix is the piece of the puzzle he’s been missing all this time. Without warning, Jay is gasping and clutching his chest. Leo lowers him to the floor as he struggles to breathe past the painful relief in his heart.

“Can’t breathe,” he gasps. Nine years is a long time for his wolf to be missing his mate, and the relief is more than he can contain.

Finn holds Jay’s hand to his diaphragm. “Breathe with me, alpha. Come on, slow down. Breathe with me.”

Following the slow, exaggerated breaths, the black spots slowly disappear. Jay thinks it’s funny that all seven of them are sitting on the floor, half in and half out of the lounge doorway when Riordan arrives.

The older man is a close family friend and the pack alpha for his own pack of eight. Jay has often sought his counsel to be the best leader he can be. Ewan is with him, and both are still dressed in scrub gear, exhaustion lining their handsome faces.

“Jay, why am I not surprised to see you all sitting on the floor? Should I join you? I’m not sure I wouldn’t be stuck down there after today, but if that’s where Gideon says we’re doing it, I amabsolutely notgoing to complain.” He looks to the alpha in question, who rolls his eyes.

They all clamber to their feet, and the air of tension grows exponentially. His pack finds seats on the couches, with Gideon remaining standing right behind Jay’s right shoulder and Leo to his left. Grayson takes Luca under his arm and grabs Rowan’s hand. Finn holds his hand out for the tablet, which undoubtedly contains Nix’s surgical records.

“I don’t think so, Finn. Sit your ass down. You’re off the clock right now, and I think it’s best if I…well, it’s not good, okay?”Finn looks like he’s going to grab the chart anyway, but Luca grabs his hand and pulls him down.

“Let him talk, Finn, so we can visit Nix.”

The surgeon nods, adjusting his surgical cap over his curly black hair. “What I’m going to say isn’t going to be pretty or easy to hear, so if you think it might be too much, you can run down to the cafeteria, and we’ll let you know when you can come back.” While no one actually says anything and no one makes for the door, the doctor waits a moment longer, making it very clear he means it. After what they just saw, Jay wouldn’t blame them. The dread is back, and he knows by the look on his friend’s face that this is going to be bad.

“We’ve accepted that Jay is the pack alpha of Austin Rena. The legal department accepted the change in next-of-kin, given the testimony of the attending and witnessed by the three nurses on staff. That’s important. The patient—”

“His name is Nix,” Luca insists.

“You’re right. I should start by saying that structurally, humans and Weres are almost identical, but the rate of healing, blood stores, and treatment modalities are unfamiliar to us for the most part. But we were able to get a hold of our emergency human liaison at Ascension, whose mate is a Were staff member here, and we obtained the blood we required as quickly as possible.”

“Nix has experienced a lot of trauma on top of being in very poor general health. I’m frankly surprised that he’s here at all. That’s a very strong-willed human.” Jay places his hand over that sore spot in his chest that hasn’t let up since he saw that small body wheeled into the next room.

“Just give it to us straight, please, Dan,” Grayson says. It’s what they’re all thinking.

“All right. Nix’s left side seems to have taken the brunt of the injuries. There are absolutely no defensive injuries, and webelieve he must have been unconscious for most of the attack. Frankly, it would be a blessing. However, several recent injuries were not part of this attack, including two broken fingers, a torn rotator cuff, and minor lacerations. There are also numerous bite marks in various stages of healing on his back.”

Rowan gasps. Biting for a Were is an intimate thing, something that brings comfort or intense pleasure, something for mates or children only. Imagining his sweet Sunshine, held down and bitten just to make him suffer, has Jay filled with white-hot fury, quickly turning his pine scent into a forest fire.

He’s not the only one. Rowan has sunk the claws of both hands into the couch cushion in an effort to remain calm while Luca’s cries become quiet, hitching sobs.

Clearing his throat, Riordan continues, “His left leg has several fractures, two of which required Ewan’s expertise. The same applies to Nix’s left arm in multiple locations. Additionally, there were several broken ribs bilaterally and a punctured left lung. The spleen, left kidney, and upper intestine were damaged so much that we had to remove the spleen. Much of our surgical time was spent managing the intestinal perforation and kidney. That appears stable now, but we are monitoring for infection. Intestines are tricky.”

Jay looks to their resident medical expert to gauge how worried they need to be. It all sounds horrific, and the sight of Finn with his jaw clenched tells him it’s as bad as it gets.

“We also needed a Plastics consult. Nix’s face took a lot of repeated impacts. The bones surrounding his left eye and the cheekbone were pulverized. We’ve done the best we can right now, but he will need another set of surgeries to get back some of his original structure. The eye itself is damaged extensively, but we won’t know to what extent his vision is affected until he wakes up.”

Riordan pauses before continuing. “That leaves us with the brain injury. Scans reveal a significant brain bleed and extensive bruising. Neurology thinks they have it under control, but it’s this injury that causes us the most concern. We’re keeping him in a coma for the time being. It’s safest and will prevent any possibility of seizures. Between the brain injury and the bowel perforation, Nix coded four times.”

“So…you’re saying he’s alive for now, but thatifhe wakes up, he might have a permanent brain injury, physical pain for the rest of his life, and possibly be blind in one eye? And that’s if he survives the infection that will certainly occur in the next twenty-four hours.” Gideon has never been one to pull punches, either literally or figuratively.

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