8. Luca

8

Luca

I wake to a warm body, swaddled in a forest of fresh pears and melon body wash. Blake is wrapped around me like a koala, somehow avoiding all of the machines I'm hooked up to. For a few moments, I just stare at my heart and soul, the peace in his expression as he rests. He's always beautiful to me but even more so when he's happy and right now, his lips pressed to my shoulder, his arms around my body are everything.

I try to reach over and cuddle him back when pain shoots through me, causing me to wince. One of the machines starts beeping and then another, my breathing picking up as my eyes widen at the sudden chaos erupting in the room. Two seconds later, the door is thrown open, strong Alpha pheromones that I don't recognize hitting me beneath the oxygen mask.

Fear explodes in my chest as I scramble off the bed, screaming in a mixture of pain and terror as I try to smash myself into the corner of the room. I don't want to go back. My vision tunnels as I press my back against the wall, hands plastered against my face so that I don't have to see the Alphas coming for me to return me to Hudson. I don't want to go back. I can't go back.

Then that sweet pear scent is in front of me again, blocking everything else. I bury my head into Blake's shoulders, taking several lungfuls of his scent. I don't mind the added scents of his Alphas as I sag against him, giving in until my legs buckle beneath me and I crumple to the ground. Blake follows, tucking me into his chest. "I've got you, Luca."

My body trembles with the weight of my emotions, tears streaming down my face. "Don't give me back. I can't go back."

His arms wrap tighter around me, his lips attaching to my temple before they begin to trail south until those soft lips meet where my jaw connects with my neck, the only part that isn't wrapped up in a bandage. I relax completely in his hold, letting out a little sigh of relief. It takes me a few moments to realize that Blake is rocking me back and forth, humming as he sucks on the sensitive skin. It's a highly intimate gesture but Blake has never cared about etiquette—just me.

"Luca," he purrs as he pulls back, cupping my tear-stained cheeks in his hands. "They have to check you out. Someone does."

"Not an Alpha."

I don't want anyone else in here that I don't recognize. I can't handle the anxiety that comes with it right now.

Blake nods as he helps me to my feet and slowly back onto the mattress. The soft surface reminds me how much pain I'm in as he swings my feet over the edge, a Beta standing on the other side with an understanding smile. The Beta begins hooking the lines back up to me without a word, no judgment in his expression. "We just want to monitor your vitals for a little while longer before we release you to your… Alphas." He smirks and my eyes widen, wondering if he found out my secret.

I twist around to grab Blake, the Omega already there to dole out more sweet kisses. "Quentin is my doctor, cupcake but you can't use me as your phone call anymore. I-" His face turns up in a little pout and it's one of the times that reminds me he's also an Omega.

Grayson pops up behind Blake, setting his chin on his Omega's head. "I'd be more than happy to be your phone call, Luca. For now, we're going to take you home and get you all rested up."

A machine starts beeping again the moment my heart rate kicks up and a thick growl permeates from behind them. I swallow nervously as Luther approaches my bed before stopping a few feet away, respectful of my current state. "You're not going to your home, Luca. You'll stay with us until the police speak with your Alpha and we can determine nothing is going on."

"How—but you're not my Alpha." I croak. There's an unintelligible expression that flits across his face, something akin to disappointment but it's gone before I can dwell on it. "You can't take me home." Please don't take me home. God, if one of them drops me off back at the apartment, I'll do more than try to rip out Hudson's bite.

The big Alpha chuckles, threading his arms across his chest. His eyes flash with amusement, his lip turning up ever so slightly. "Luca, you have friends in very high places. Tell me that you would like to stay here overnight until they speak with your Alpha or for us to take you back to the apartment, I will. No questions asked."

None of this makes any sense. This has always just been about Blake and me. For some reason, I'm getting stupid ideas of all three of them and me.

You already have an Alpha.

I smack that horrid thought away, Blake squeezing my hand a little tighter. The hope in his eyes is overwhelming and staying with them for a night—even if that's all it is, will be the best night I've ever had. "It's okay? Your nest?" I don't want to encroach on the space he calls safe. My pheromones will drench every fucking thing in their house.

"I want you in my nest," he says with a little growl, Grayson nipping at his ear.

"Cool it, babe. Luca needs to heal. Doc, when can we take him home?"

My face turns a shade of crimson as I remember there's someone else in this room other than just Blake and his mates. Quentin, however, doesn't pay me any mind. "Soon as Alpha Blake signs the discharge papers. Fuck me, Blake, I could never see you as an Alpha. Not even a Beta." Quentin plays with a few more dials on a machine beside my head before grabbing a clipboard and waving at Luther to follow him.

"You are a pretty Omega, Blake," I push out, my throat a little sore. Everything is throbbing and I'm hoping that being discharged comes with medication. A lot of it.

He giggles, a beautiful sound that warms my heart. Grayson reaches around Blake and pats my arm lightly. "I don't know if this makes it worse, sweetheart, but Blake isn't the only one who wants you. You are wanted and you aren't an inconvenience."

"I didn't even say anything," I whisper.

Grayson laughs as his hand settles on my arm, his fingers softly rubbing across my skin. His scent is soft in contrast to the other Alphas that had been in the room recently. "You didn't have to. Blake, as much of a shit as he was—still is—always thought he was putting us out. He wasn't. Neither are you. It will be an honor to have you there."

"In my nest," Blake says again. Grayson sighs but doesn't scold the Omega this time. I say nothing because I have nothing to add to the conversation. Blake can ask me all he wants to step into his nest but I won't do it. I won't start something I can't finish.

For one night, they are going to be my safe space but that doesn't mean I need to insert myself into Blake's most intimate places. Blake notices my lack of answer, raising an eyebrow in a silent argument that I refuse to indulge. I'm just waiting for the doctor to return and free me so that I can find a corner to crawl into.

Without the practice of building a nest, my favorite spaces are corners and closets, whichever gives me the best vantage point of the door and also lets me feel completely surrounded. I stay quiet for the next several minutes, both Blake and Grayson touching me, calming my frantic emotions until I'm half asleep. The door to my room slides open, a deep honeyed voice reaching my ears before the doctor begins unhooking me from the machines.

I try to open my eyes to see what is going on when someone presses a kiss to my forehead, strong arms moving beneath me and gathering me against his chest. The hospital gown barely covers anything but I have no strength to argue as I let myself be carried outside and handed to Blake once inside a car. It takes me a few moments to realize Luther was the Alpha that held me.

He's terrifying and yet for some reason, he feels safe.

"I've got you, Luca. You're safe now," Blake mumbles against my ear. I want to believe that but with that fucking bite on my shoulder, I'm not safe until Hudson lets me go.

And that will never happen.