Page 89 of Ruin Me Knot
Gabriel guides my head back and warm water flows over my scalp and back. I moan with the sensation. Even with that first flow, I feel cleaner. Gabriel leans over me. "But if you keep on making sounds like that, I can’t guarantee anything."
I can’t help my shocked gasp.
Jax shoves Gabriel. "If you can’t wash her hair without making her doubt us, you’re banned from hair duty for a month."
"A whole month!" Gabriel protests.
"Perhaps six if you keep this up,’ Ronan adds.
"That’s not fair and you know it," Gabriel says, and I glance over my shoulder to catch the pout he’s wearing.
I’m pretty sure I melt into Gabriel’s hands when he positions my head and starts to gently cleanse my hair. My eyes close, and I’m lost in the firm press of his fingers into my scalp. Their deep voices surround me, laughter warming me as much as the water. Jax glides the softest cloth over my skin while Ronan massages my tired muscles.
Everything melts into languid peace. I drift, half-dreaming, lulled by touch and comfort. Warm water sluices over my skin while hands. I can no longer tell whose, move with care and reverence. Every brush of fingers, every kiss pressed to my temple or shoulder, is a wordless promise.
By the time they’re done, I’m so tired I can’t keep my head up. Gabriel scoops me against him, cradling me through the steamy air while Jax wraps me in a thick towel. They work together, Jax gently drying my hair as Ronan smooths the towel over my body until I’m dry.
When they carry me back to the nest, Ronan bundles the items I’d used to build it, replacing them with fresh throw rugs and clean pillows. I already miss our scents surrounding me, but none of us will be comfortable in materials that probably need to be burned.
“I ordered some food to be brought to us,’ Ronan says.
A tray sits beside the bed. Steaming soup, warm bread, fresh fruit. Simple comfort after everything we’ve been through together.
"Let’s get you fed, then you can sleep." Ronan takes me from Gabriel.
"I can walk by myself, you know," I say.
Ronan kisses my temple. "We know, but this is more fun."
"Open up, Omega." I automatically open my mouth as Jax feeds me soup thick with beef and vegetables.
I let my head nestle into the warm crook of Ronan’s shoulder as Jax spoons food to my lips, and for once, I can’t refuse this tenderness. Not when they tellme I’m good, not when every soft word and gentle praise makes it easier to accept their care. With every mouthful, the deep, gnawing emptiness inside me fades. The moment my hunger settles, exhaustion pulls heavy through my bones. I burrow into Ronan’s side as sleep drags me under, safe in the arms that hold me.
I stir as Ronan’s guarded rumble filters through my drifting consciousness. He’s talking to someone through the speaker. Adrian, I realize, as my mind crawls toward waking, Mira’s mate. The cadence of his excitement is unmistakable, carrying the same edge of urgency as when he requested my blood.
Gabriel and Jax are awake beside me, muscles tense as they rise onto their elbows watching Ronan.
"…gone. I ran the tests three times," Adrian is saying, voice bright with disbelief. "This is nothing short of miraculous. There’s no trace of the Mortalis Strain left in Leah’s blood. Whatever happened in her heat, the virus is completely purged. Ronan, do you understand what that means?"
I clench the sheet and I force myself to sit. I can hardly believe what Adrian is saying. I’m free from the Mortalis Strain? The virus that has killed so many Omegas?
My voice rasps with the weight of truth I wish I could silence. "That’s… that was Hardwick’s goal." Ronan’s head snaps toward me, worry carving deep lines between his brows. I close my eyes, gathering the shards of courage it takes to keep speaking. "She and Wallace infected me with the Mortalis Strain. Then they used me. Experimented on me. This is what they wanted all along."
"Why, Sweetheart?” Gabriel asks gently. “Do you know why Hardwick put you through all that? What was the point?”
I shake my head, sliding my fingers along a strip of satin. "She didn’t discuss her plans with me. I only found out they infected me when Wallace got caught up in his own importance one session."
"We have sources we can…interview to get the answer to that question," Adrian says. I look to my Alphas to gauge if they know what he’s talking about, but it’s clear they don’t. Adrian presses forward. "There’s more, Leah. Something you should know.’
Jax’s arms tighten around me, pulling me flush against his chest. I bury my face in the safe warmth of his skin, breathing in that smoked vanilla, desperate for the sense of security it brings.
A wave of bitter, hollow, furious exhaustion crashes through me. Even now, after everything I’ve survived, it’s still Hardwick and Wallace shaping the course of my life from the shadows.
Adrian clears his throat, and there’s something awed, in the way he says, "Not only have you burned out the Mortalis Strain, Leah. Your blood contains the antibodies we have never been able to manufacture. Thanks to you, we can finally produce a vaccine that will eradicate the disease."
Chapter Forty-Two
Leah
