Page 3 of His Bonded Omega Mate
I landed awkwardly with a thud, my head smacking against the floor; the breath knocked from my lungs. My arm screamed in protest as it was forced into an unnatural angle with my landing. Struggling to rise, I’d just gotten my legs under me when they shoved me back to the floor.
It was impossible to tell how many of them there were. My wolf was too frantic, calling out for pack mates to help me as the men kicked and punched me.
Then there was silence. I couldn’t reach him. My claws wouldn’t unleash themselves. I was defenseless against the onslaught.
There were at least three of them. All big. One was a wolf for sure, another feline, but it was all too confusing for me to identify them properly. I had an idea for one.
They shouted obscenities at me as they continued their abuse on my body. Told me I didn’t deserve my place in the pack. That I shouldn’t be around Kade and needed to leave. To take this for what it was. A warning.
For endless minutes, they kicked and punched what felt like every inch of my body as I curled in on myself, trying to shelter some of myself from the abuse. I begged for my wolf to help me even as I felt a void where my wolf usually lived.
Eventually, their assault ended, the culprits fleeing as someone rounded the corner coming from the kitchens.
“Roan? Roan! Are you okay?” The familiar voice of Larken called, pulling me out of the darkness that was descending, consciousness slipping away with each stuttering breath.
“Lark?” I whispered.
“Stay awake, Roan. I think you’ve got a head injury.”
One eye cracked open, the other swollen shut. I saw my friend’s hand come away from my skull, covered in blood.
“Don’t —“
“Where’s your phone? I’ll call Aldrin. You need a healer.”
“No,” I weakly protested, “help me up.”
“You’re seeing a healer. Stay here. I’ll call him.”
“You can’t!” I protested at his retreating back.
I think I lost my battle with unconsciousness because when I roused, they had moved me to the large sectional sofa in the living room.
Aldrin was perched on the coffee table next to my head, hands hovering over the worst of the injuries there. “Stay still,” he cautioned as I moved to sit up. “I’ve got the worst of it. Cracked skull, three broken ribs, broken humerus, ulna, clavicle, tibia and fibula fractures. All on the right side. Not to mention countless contusions and lacerations.” Aldrin pulled away, taking his healing light and warmth with him.
Cautiously, I moved to a seated position, slowly taking in the concerned faces of the pack healer, his mate, and my only awake friend in the compound.
James rushed forward to hand me a steaming mug. “This will help with the remaining pain.” He wrapped a blanket around me as I clutched the mug and took a tentative sip. The liquid tasted of honey and lavender. It was immediately soothing, taking some of the pain that lingered. I felt weary to my bones.
I took a moment to observe the healer and his mate. Both looked exhausted. Signs of age that hadn’t been there before had crept along their faces.
“Are you okay, Aldrin?”
The large bear shifter wobbled in place, his face ashen. James rushed to his mate’s side, steadying him. “He did too much.” James chided his mate.
“Not enough.” Aldrin corrected. “The fractures aren’t finished healing, and the breaks are more like fractures. You’ll have to rely on your shifter healing over the next few days to do the rest, I’m afraid.”
“Thank you. Both of you. For coming.” Words were difficult to get out. “I appreciate it.”
“Are you going to tell us what happened?”
I groaned as I turned too quickly to meet the eyes of Larken. I turned away as I lied. “Fell down the stairs. Hit my head on the way down.”
“Meh!” He made a weird noise. “Try again.” Larken immediately called out my bullshit.
“There’s nothing to tell. No point.”
James perched on the sofa next to me, wrapping an arm around me. “We know it hasn’t been easy here for you recently. We could scent pack mates, though they’d tried to conceal their scents. Do you know who it was?”
